Stuff from the B-Side

People who suffer from tone deafness have difficulties differentiating between one pitch and the next. Tune in as John a... Read more

The iPod's shuffle function is meant to randomly move from one song to the next -- but how random can a random function ... Read more

Nerdcore is a special type of hip hop custom-built for nerds. Tune in as the B-Side team takes a look at the underground... Read more

A good soundtrack can often make the difference between an above-average film and a cinematic masterpiece. Tune in as Ma... Read more

The evolution of the steel drum is inextricably tied to history of Trinidad and Tobago, where drumming was banned in the... Read more

In 2003, researchers compared students' personalities to their music preferences. Could they predict a student's persona... Read more

Billie Holiday was a pioneering jazz singer and tremendously influenced generations of musicians. Join the B-Side guys a... Read more

Dave Brubeck is a legendary American jazz pianist known for his use of unorthodox time signatures. Tune in as Mark and J... Read more

Today, the guitar is one of the world's most well-known and popular instruments -- but where did it come from? Tune into... Read more

From the 1920s into the 60s, the Great American Songbook covers iconic music of the stage and screen. Yet there's no def... Read more

The term 'interval' refers to the distance or relationship between two notes. In this continuing series on the basics of... Read more

Bursting onto the scene in 1975, "Jaws" became the first blockbuster film. Much of the film's success comes from John Wi... Read more

As the world reels after the death of Michael Jackson, fans across the planet pay tribute to the King of Pop. Join Mark ... Read more

Building on last week's exploration of tempo, Mark and John break down the use of time signatures. Lend our resident aud... Read more

Historically, musicians have a penchant for drug use -- the old association of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll has a grain of... Read more

When the Beatles toured the U.S. for the second time in 1965, the sound systems were terrible in many venues. That all c... Read more

When Joe Satriani listened to Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", he detected a familiar melody -- one so familiar, in fact, that... Read more

In this episode of Mark and John's continuing series on Les Paul, the B-Side crew takes a look at Paul's inventive side.... Read more

Conductors lead groups of musicians in a simultaneous performance. Despite their prominent role, many people don't know ... Read more

In this episode of a continuing series on music theory, Mark and John explore notation and pitch, two fundamental concep... Read more