KZSM — Music, talk and talk about music

As the months stretch on and we remain confined by the COVID-19 pandemic, we at KZSM.org continue to provide a full range of programming to inform and entertain. We offer all kinds of music, including heavy metal, funk, ambient, Celtic, and a curated collection of Texas music, including many local performers. We interview the mayor and the county judge about the response to the pandemic, and we talk with guests from San Marcos and around the nation about local politics, sports, depression, and unexplained phenomena.

And sometimes we talk about music. On “Philosophy and Popular Music” (Thursdays 3-5 p.m.), professor and musician Paul Wilson and his guests explore the connections between the two. Wilson was also a recent guest on my program, “Bookmarked” (Tuesdays 4-5 p.m.), for a discussion of “The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature,” by Daniel J. Levitin. We debated Levitin’s contention that music was essential to the formation of human identity and human society.

Talk about music seems somehow especially appropriate in this time of isolation. I know I’m not the only person who plays favorite songs for comfort and inspiration and enjoys the videos musicians post on social media in lieu of the live performances they have to cancel. So, it seems right that books and music also converge on my Bookmarked broadcasts.

Last week my guest Dr. Brandon Beck and I discussed “Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary,” by Sasha Geffen. Next week, August 18, I’ll be talking with Steve Chelmsford, host of “The Mop Tops and The King (Mondays 9-10 p.m.) about his favorites among the hundreds of books written about The Beatles and about Elvis Presley. His widely syndicated show, featuring music, commentary, and entertaining trivia is our only program not generated in our storefront studio. Along with Chelmsford, Tuesday’s “Bookmarked” will feature librarian and Beatles fan Jennifer Kabay and librarian and Elvis fan Priscilla Delgado.

Are you also a fan? Is there music you love or a subject you love to talk about? There is plenty of room on our schedule for new programs to expand the range of our offerings. Contact KZSMSanMarcos@gmail. com to learn how you can develop your own broadcast, how you can volunteer your time, or how you can donate to support our 501(c)(3)nonprofit.

Tune in, stay in, help out.