Nile Rodgers and Mark Frauenfelder

Episode 71

21st May 2013

Nile Rodgers played guitar on the new Daft Punk single, but decades before that he launched a string of hits with the group Chic, including “Le Freak” and “Good Times”, and went on to become a songwriting and producing superstar. He was behind Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out”, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and many more. Now, he reflects on decades of hit writing, collaborating, and the meaning of music in his life.
This interview originally aired in November 2011.

Episode notes

Mark Frauenfelder Recommends: The Hunter by Richard Stark and Every Noise At Once

BoingBoing founder and editor Mark Frauenfelder joins us to share a few of his all-time favorite pop culture picks. His first recommendation is The Hunter, a dark 1962 novel reminiscent of antihero-driven television shows like Breaking Bad. Next, you’ll need something to soothe your senses – how about some new music? Check out Every Noise At Once, a website that introduces listeners to obscure genres from Arab soul to zouk.

Disco Pioneer Nile Rodgers on Producing Hits, The Legacy of Disco, and the “Deep Hidden Meaning”

You might not recognize Nile Rodgers, who began his music career as part of the purposely faceless band Chic — but you’d definitely know his music if you heard it. He founded Chic with bassist Bernard Edwards, launched a string of hits including “Le Freak” and “Good Times”, and went on to become a songwriting and producing superstar with a tried-and-true formula.

The anthem “We are Family”? That’s one of his, too. He was behind Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out”, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. He continues to make and perform music, both with Chic and as a producer. This month, you can hear him on Daft Punk’s new album Random Access Memories, contributing a signature guitar sound to the single “Get Lucky”.

Back in 2011, Rodgers spoke with us about a beatnik childhood, decades of writing hits (including the gay anthem “I’m Coming Out” for Diana Ross), and the legacy of disco.

His memoir is Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny.

(This interview originally aired in November 2011.)

Nichols and May Examine Doctors

Who are Mike Nichols and Elaine May? You might know them both for their film and theater work (among many other things, Nichols directed The Graduate and May helmed The Heartbreak Kid). But first, they performed as a improvisational comedy duo in the early 1960s on TV and on bestselling comedy albums, often fixed on skewering relationships. Case in point: a classic comedy sketch from 1962’s Nichols and May Examine Doctors, in which a workplace fling becomes a matter of life or death.

Nichols and May Examine Doctors was recently reissued as a CD and digital download.

The Outshot: Bill Cunningham New York

Jesse examines the often superficial fashion world and finds a stunningly sincere and emotional portrait of a man. The man is New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, and the portrait is Richard Press’s biographical documentary Bill Cunningham New York.

(This segment originally aired in April 2012.)

Embed and Share The Outshot: Bill Cunningham New York

In this episode...

Senior Producer
Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow
Video Editor

Guests

  • Nile Rodgers
  • Mark Frauenfelder

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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