Six Degrees of Dylan - Audio Episodes
By Six Songs. Five Connections. One Destination.
Categories: Music, Music History, Music Commentary
Join me, Colin Macgadie, on a journey through six songs and five unexpected connections, tracing each episode’s opening track back to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”. Through stories, musical insights and guided listening cues, I’ll invite you to pause, explore the accompanying Spotify playlist and hear the connections for yourself. sixdegreesofdylan.substack.com
12 episodes indexed on podsearch.
Recent episodes
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place” opens a journey through belonging, city nights and the possibility of breaking free. Colin Macgadie follows the CBGB scene into Television, Tom Verlaine’s collaboration with Patti Smith, and Smith’s later interpretation of Dylan. The Byrds’ “Chimes of…
- Wichita Lineman
Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” opens a journey through the people who carry songs between different lives. Colin Macgadie follows Jimmy Webb’s writing into the 5th Dimension, Laura Nyro’s own performance and two distinct Blood, Sweat & Tears lineups, before Al Kooper’s organ brings the route to…
- Glory Box
Colin Macgadie follows the Isaac Hayes sample inside Portishead’s “Glory Box” into Alessia Cara’s “Here”, then moves through Lorde and David Bowie to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”. Along the way, six records explore the space between belonging and refusal, and the freedom of a voice to change…
- Water No Get Enemy
Fela Kuti’s “Water No Get Enemy” opens a journey through rhythm, political testimony and the changing meanings of freedom. Colin Macgadie follows Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone towards Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”, distinguishing documented connections from his…
- Sign of the Times
Harry Styles opens “Sign of the Times” as if he’s speaking to one person. What happens when a whole room can sing the answer? Follow the piano into Bowie’s cinema, hear Mott the Hoople turn a verse into a gathering, and listen for Bowie behind Lou Reed. Mick Ronson takes the microphone before his…
- Work It
Missy Elliott’s Work It begins a journey through the power of a repeated phrase. Colin follows a sample into Run-D.M.C.’s Peter Piper, crosses into rock with Walk This Way, and compares two strikingly different performances of Baby, Please Don’t Go by Aerosmith and Them. Along the way, turntables…
- Private Life
Grace Jones’s “Private Life” opens a journey through personal boundaries, emancipation and collective hope. Colin compares Jones with the Pretenders’ original, follows the spacious rhythms of the Police into Bob Marley’s acoustic “Redemption Song”, and hears Tracy Chapman’s quiet conviction meet…
- Northern Sky
Nick Drake’s “Northern Sky” opens a journey from tentative hope to the unsettled world of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”. Colin Macgadie follows John Cale, Nico, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon through shared credits, distinctive voices and songs that leave room for uncertainty. From the…
- Let It Happen
Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen” opens a journey through repetition, reinvention and the uncertain pleasure of change. Colin follows Kevin Parker’s songwriting into Rihanna’s “Same Ol’ Mistakes”, then makes a listening connection to the Beatles before tracing the Byrds and Them back to Bob Dylan’s…
- Funky Stuff
Kool & the Gang’s “Funky Stuff” opens a journey through music’s borrowed fragments and shared hands. Colin follows its sample into the Beastie Boys, then returns to Bob James before tracing arrangements and songwriting through Paul Simon. A live performance by Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper brings…
- Cold Little Heart
Michael Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” opens a journey into songs that make room for uncertainty. Colin follows its documented connection to Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain”, then listens across Pink Floyd’s expansive remembrance, the Beatles’ fractured everyday world and Jimi Hendrix’s electric…
- Strange Things Happening Every Day
From gospel’s rhythmic confidence to soul’s public demands and Dylan’s insistent questions, this episode explores how a singer can change a song’s meaning. Colin Macgadie begins with Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Strange Things Happening Every Day”, travelling through Little Richard, Otis Redding…
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