Ted Allen: 8Track, Ep. 2-8

As Sylvan Esso, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn are one of the most innovative duos in the electropop world, and they've recently released their latest album, "No Rules Sandy." Their creative community extends well beyond the band via their record label, studio, a long list of other collaborations, and simply by being music fans. It all fed into these 8 song picks, which they shared with joy (and some doom) for our Season 2 finale of "8Track." [Recorded 11/17/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Maya Hawke is an actress, singer and songwriter who recently released her second album, "Moss," and who also portrays Robin Buckley on the Netflix series "Stranger Things." For her "8Track" picks, Maya chose the theme "Songs that I wouldn't have found without my friends," and the music fed into a conversation about creativity and connections — between people as well as songs. [Recorded 9/13/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Ted Allen is an author and TV personality who you know from shows like "Queer Eye" and "Chopped," and outside his food-focused career, he's also a huge music fan. For "8Track," Ted shared the stories, threads and decisions that led him to pick these 8 songs, and his William DeVaughn opener fit right in for our Thanksgiving episode. [Recorded 3/16/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Elvis Costello is a legendary singer, songwriter, musician and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his talent and curiosity have led him in countless musical directions. So for "8Track," he shared 8 songs (and even more stories) of how his path has crossed with other artists, giving us a master class in collaboration and reinvention. [Recorded 3/8/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Adia Victoria is a musician, songwriter, poet and host of the podcast "Call & Response." She's based in Nashville these days, but her path includes time in South Carolina and New York, and the 8 "time travelin' songs" she picked to look back on with "8Track" earlier this year. [Recorded 3/1/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Tom Morello is musician, songwriter, activist, actor, podcaster and DJ who checked in with 8Track late last year between the releases of two new albums: "The Atlas Underground Fire" and "The Atlas Underground Flood." Clearly, he'd been keeping busy, but for his 8 song picks, Tom chose the theme, "Songs that kept me going and/or allowed me to wallow in misery during the pandemic." [Recorded 11/11/21; More at 8trackpod.com]

Ron Darling played Major League Baseball for 13 years, most notably with the New York Mets and Oakland A's, and these days, you can catch him on SNY as an analyst for those same Mets as well as on national games with TBS. It was early in this season's MLB lockout when Ron turned up some memories for 8Track, picking 8 songs with a great story for each — and telling a few extras. [Recorded 12/6/21; More at 8trackpod.com]

Tegan and Sara Quin have been making music for over two decades, including their new, 10th album, "Crybaby." Their 2019 memoir "High School" was also just adapted into a TV series, but instead of looking back in their 8 songs, Tegan and Sara each let us know what new songs they're loving right now. Talking about them led to a fun and wide-ranging conversation about the music industry, new parent advice and more. [Recorded 10/3/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Our next guest DJ is record executive, musician, and author Nabil Ayers. He is the President of Beggars Group U.S. and recently released a memoir, "My Life in the Sunshine." Nostalgia is the vibe here as Nabil's list of eight songs takes us through some great stories centered around his life and the MTV era of the early Eighties. [Recorded 5/26/22; More at 8trackpod.com]

Welcome to Season 2! We've got 10 new 8Track episodes for you, where you'll hear from WFUV's Russ Borris and a lineup of guest DJs ready to share 8 songs and talk music. First up is Courtney Barnett, who chose 8 songs with the theme, "What's in my headphones right now." Russ caught up with the acclaimed songwriter in the fall of 2021, just before the release of her latest album, "Things Take Time, Take Time." [Recorded 11/4/21; More at 8trackpod.com]