Brooke Wentz on “Transfigured New York”

Illustration by Camille Morrison

Who smoked more: academics like John Cage, La Monte Young and Vladamir Ussachevsky- or the underground scenesters, like Glenn Branca, Arthur Russel and Laurie Anderson?

Why is turntablist Christian Marclay on the cover of "Transfigured New York," but not in the book, even though she interviewed him multiple times? Could AI design be to blame?

How did the old guard of "New Music" feel about the sudden rise of consumer-friendly music production four decades ago?

In the 1980s, Brooke Wentz hosted a radio show in the middle of the night that focused on experimental music, which was developing all around her in New York City. Over the course of a decade, many of the artists Brooke played on that show would join her in the studio. Her journalism days are through, (now she works on the business side of the industry) but she has just released a book with selected interviews back in the day called “Transfigured New York: Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians," available now from Columbia University Press. This may be a bit of a shock to you, but I’ll say it- I’m a big fan of oral history interviews, and I’m a big fan of experimental music. I’m pleased to feature Brooke and her work here today, which includes a couple of clips from her interviews (with Morton Subotnik and John Lurie, respectively). She joins me today from a working holiday somewhere in Mexico.