Music Monday means we get to spin some GBH music lovers’ top picks for another edition of All Things Considered Turntable.
This week, GBH News anchor and New England Music Hall of Fame inductee Henry Santoro joins us again, this time to share a blend of choices from his playlist with host Arun Rath. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation.
Arun Rath: I love talking about music with you. So let’s dive right in. What do you have for us first?
Henry Santoro: Well, we’re going to do something old, then we’re going to do something local, and then we’re going to do something brand new that is going to blow your mind.
Rath: Wow.
Santoro: So first up is a very familiar song that’s featured prominently in this new documentary film that I’ve seen. It’s called “Los Lobos: Native Sons.” Now the film is a must-see, not just for fans of the band, but as I told the filmmakers last week when I was hosting The Culture Show, this film should be shown in classrooms, it should be shown on Capitol Hill, it should be shown in the White House, which will never happen. And the reason why is because it not only looks at Los Lobos as a band that’s been together for 50 years, all original members, but it also looks at their commitment to their values and their social justice issues and how they were involved in issues like representing the Mexican farm workers in Southern California. This film is very impactful, and this song, “Will the Wolf Survive,” is just a classic song. It’s a song that Bonnie Raitt says is the perfect song.
Rath: Bonnie Raitt is right. That should be in the Library of Congress, right?
Santoro: It really should. I mean, this song — inspired by a National Geographic magazine article about wolves. It was written by Louie Perez, who was the drummer for the band, and he had a collection of National Geographic magazines in his house, and he found this article about wolves, and the title of the article was “Will the Wolf Survive?” And it was ...
Rath: I remember that cover, Henry.
Santoro: Yeah.
Rath: With the wolf looking intensely?
Santoro: Yeah, and so if you translate the name Los Lobos, From Spanish into English, “los lobos” means the wolves. So the band related the headline to their own identity as a Mexican American rock group trying to break through this industry that really didn’t know how to market them. And the lyrics describe a lone figure hiding and searching for a path forward by morning light, which mirrors the, you know, their marginalized communities that they grew up in. And of course, the band’s career uncertainty because, you know, they were a Chicano band from East L.A. The song was released in 1984 on the album “How Will the Wolf Survive?” And I’ll tell you, this film is just unbelievable. It had screenings last week at the Woods Hole Film Festival. The place was packed and I am going to try to get this film shown on PBS because it is that good.
Rath: Do it, Henry. Let me know what I can do to help.
Santoro: Well, I think you can help.
Rath: We’ll talk later.
Santoro: It’s all in the family.
Rath: Yeah... I just I can’t believe it’s been 50 years, but then I look at the calendar, it’s 2026. So, the math makes sense.
Santoro: And Los Lobos, I mean, they play— there’s five guys in the band. They play 15 instruments that they can interchange. They all play all the instruments. It’s unbelievable how they just swap out and, you know, “You play this and I’ll play that, then give me this and give me that.” They’re an immensely talented band.
Rath: Wow, and that’s off to an exceptional start. What do you have queued up for number two?
Santoro: Well, number two is a local band, friends of mine. They’re called The Chelsea Curve. They are Boston-based. It’s mod pop, it’s power pop. They’re a trio that was formed in 2019. Now, I’ve worked with this band over the years because every December I host a Let’s Rock cancer benefit for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Chelsea Curve are a staple. They have been at every one of these benefits that I’ve hosted. Members are Linda Pardee —she’s on vocals and bass, Tim Gillis on guitar and vocals. Bruce Caporal on drums. And again, the name of the band, Chelsea Curve, it comes from a traffic report that Linda heard on the radio one day, and she said, “The Chelsea Curve, what a great name for a band.” And so they have just released their sophomore LP, it’s called “The Ride Out,” that came out in May of this year, and everyone seems to be gravitating towards this particular song, it’s called “I Can’t Help It” from that LP.
Santoro: Now the song explores the chaotic, dizzying feeling of, you know, falling head over heels for someone. With the lyric, “What a mess I am with you,” instead of without you but you can hear Linda’s punchy vocals. And a lot of the critics that I’ve talked to and stuff that I’ve read think that the song really is an homage to classic Boston indie power pop, which it most certainly is. And you can really liken it to heritage Boston bands like Letters to Cleo.
Rath: It’s great. I love the energy, how they’re tight but still have edge. It’s just great music.
Santoro: And they’ve performed at Boston Calling Music Festival 2022. They also played London’s Mods Mayday Festival in 2024. They’re all over Spotify. They record on the local Rum Bar Records label and again, really driven by Linda’s incredibly punchy vocals. I mean, for three people on stage, they make a lot of great noise.
Rath: Two for two. What do you have next?
Santoro: Next up is this guy that I am completely obsessed with, and I have been obsessed with him now for several months. His name is Tom A. Smith. Now there’s a Tom Smith rocker out there, but this is Tom A. Smith. He’s 22 years old. He’s an indie singer-songwriter from Sunderland, England. He started playing music at a very young age. He performed his first gig at age 8, playing at the Glastonbury Music Festival, if you can believe it. This kid’s got more energy than anyone that I’ve ever seen in a long time. You’re mesmerized watching him on stage and he’s a very snappy dresser. And he’s got these quirky kind of like David Byrne moves to himself. The song that really sucked me in is called “I Don’t Blame You.” And anybody can Google it and watch the video, and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. He’s just a bundle of frenetic energy. But he’s got a new EP that just came out, It’s called “Put on a Record, Tommy.” I had to order it special from England because I needed to get my hands on it. And the record is — it’s six songs. It’s an EP, It’s really brilliant. There’s not a bad song on it. But there’s one ballad that he wrote, and I saw him perform it live on video where he said that he absolutely loves this song, and it’s called “The Only One.”
Rath: Quite a sound.
Santoro: He’s — Arun, he’s unbelievable. You really — this song, I think, can do for Tom A. Smith what “Fade Into You” did for Mazzy Star. This song, it’s mesmerizing. And again, to watch him perform, there’s a ton of footage of him performing at live venues. He’s selling out every show that he’s done. And he did play South by Southwest earlier this year, but it was — he came in, he had no money to — he couldn’t even afford a hotel room. And so they came in, the band came in, they flew in, they played the show, and they get on a plane and they flew right back home again.
Rath: Wow.
Santoro: And that was their first foray into the American music scene. But I’m telling you, this kid, Tom — well, first of all, Elton John handpicked him to play the Hyde Park Music Festival in England when he was like 17 years old. So Elton John has had his eye on him for quite a while. You know, like I said, he played Glastonbury. He played the Newcastle Music Festival at age 8. And again, he’s just— he’s an immensely great talent that really needs to get the attention here in this country. And I would be willing to bet that this is the first time it has been played on the radio here in the United States.
