For this week’s newsletter, we wanted to tell you a bit about how Track Star came to be and where we’re headed. We also wanted to reflect on some of our favorite episodes. Keep reading for our highest-scoring guests, the hardest songs we’ve played, and a playlist of our guests’ favorite songs.

A Note from Jack

Track Star was born out of a simple question: What is something that everybody can talk about? 

Music.

Of course, a simple idea turned into so much more than we bargained for. I always knew that songs were this really special thing, but I’d never really spent that much time thinking about it. Songs are just there… they’ve always been there. New ones come out everyday, and old ones come on the radio and bring us back in time. Songs move us in all sorts of ways; to dance, to smile, to tears.

Since we started this show, I listen differently. Not just, “do I like this?” but, what is this song all about? Where does it fit into culture? Is there more to this story? And of course, who sings it?

The game goes, “name the artist, win $5” and not “name the song.” Artists and songs are very different from one another. An artist comes up with a sound, a style, an aesthetic, that’s supposed to be unique to themselves. Whitney’s high notes, Elton’s piano playing, Keith’s guitar, Jay’s rhymes… The artist’s sound is imprinted on everything they record. The more songs that bear their signature, the bigger an impact they leave on the world. 

Most artists perform other people’s songs before they start playing their own. I think of the Beatles cutting their teeth in Hamburg. They started playing music because they liked listening to music. They tried playing songs they liked and did so over and over again until they tried their hand at their own songs. Even those of us who don’t play music, we’ll hear a song and try to sing or dance or clap along. It’s human nature. We do this because music moves us—physically and emotionally.

We’re trying to incorporate this feeling into all of the new projects we’re taking on. We’ve released six episodes of Track Star Presents with six incredible artists, and we have many more on the way. It’s a way for musicians to share a different version of their songs with a new corner of the internet. It’s an unexpected cover of a great song. It’s a conversation about being inspired to write something that moves someone else. 48 Hours is trying to do the same thing: understand artists a bit more by learning about where a certain song came from or how a venue moves them to reach even higher. This newsletter is all of those disparate ideas written up into something cohesive. Hopefully it can grow and become a home for great music writers from around the world. Hopefully you enjoy reading it almost as much as we enjoy putting it together.

We started Track Star so we’d have something to talk to people about. We talk to people everyday. Regular folks in Astor place, Grammy winners who come by our studio, and those of you who comment on our videos or send us a DM. We love talking to all of you because the conversations are usually sparked by joy. Joy in music. Joy in discovery. It feels to me like a celebration of life, and I’m so happy to be a part of it. 

It all started with music and conversation, and hopefully this newsletter helps us build community. I think music is good for that. Thanks for reading all this, more from me soon. 

– Jack

Track Star Presents: Mt. Joy

Watch Here

Songs Everybody Should Know (according to our guests) 

Sometimes, we ask our guests to play us a song that everybody should know. We love hearing how they discovered them or what makes them special. You can watch all these videos on our Best Song Ever? playlist on Tiktok, and you can listen to all the songs on the playlists linked below.

1. Blind Willie Johnson, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground – Hozier 

2. Uffie, Pop The Glock – Charli XCX 

3. The Whatnauts, Only People Can Save the World – Erick the Architect 

4. Todd Terje, Inspector Norse – Marcus 

5. Alan Jackson, Remember When – Walker Hayes 

6. Paul Simon, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes – Wyatt Flores 

7. Juan Gabriel, Amor Eterno – Ricky 

8. Wet, Over and Over – Cautious Clay

9. Shaggy, Rik Rok, It Wasn’t Me – Shaggy 

10. Arrow Through Me, Wings – Medium Build 

11. Rosalía, Malamente – Marcin

12. INXS, Original Sin – Luke Hemmings

13. Guster, Come Downstairs and Say Hello – Adam Melchor

14. War, Galaxy – Maseo 

15. Thee Sacred Souls, Can I Call You Rose? – Pos

16. Santana, Smooth (ft. Rob Thomas) – Rafy 

17. Postal Service, Such Great Heights – Colin 

18. Steely Dan, Glamour Profession – Jimmy 

19. Bob Dylan, You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome – Ashley 

20. La Unión, Lobo-hombre en París – Daphne 

Track Star Scoreboard  

Not every high score takes home the cash, but we still wanted to honor some of our biggest music buffs. To watch all these videos, go to our High Scores playlist on Tiktok.

Our Hardest Songs

In case you didn’t know, we post guess-the-artist quizzes on our Instagram story every time we post a new video. Turn on post notifications to make sure you don’t miss a chance to play along. This week, we wanted to share some of the hardest songs we’ve played on TrackStar, according to our audience.

Play Along

Every Track Star Song

Click below to follow our playlist on Spotify or Apple Music and keep up with every song we play on the show.

Listen Here