Six-time WWE Champion Chris Jericho is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. He also fronts the band Fozzy, and shares the bands that inspired both of his career paths -- from Ozzy Osbourne to Kiss. He also dedicates a song to his mom. His online comedy series “But I'm Chris Jericho!" is now in its second season. (Hosted by Raul Campos)

Tracklist:1. The Beatles - "Get Back"2. Ozzy Osbourne -"You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll"3. The Cult - "Wild Flower"4. Kiss - "Charisma"5. Fozzy - "Judas"

e76f-484b-ba1c-918bf7ab0efb.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Photo of Guest DJ Chris Jericho and host Raul Campos by Larry Hirshowitz

Actor Brian Tyree Henry stars in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning TV series Atlanta, playing rapper Paper Boi. Off camera, music serves as an inspiration for living life right, and his Guest DJ set features everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to Rufus and Chaka Kahn. Season 2 of Atlanta returns to FX on March 1 and you can also see him starring in Lobby Hero on Broadway this Spring. (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence)

Tracklist: 1. Solange - "Don't You Wait"2. A Trive Called Quest - "Ego"3. NERD - "Lemon"4. Zhane - "Vibe"5. Rufus feat. Chaka Khan - "Smoking Room"

 d1cb-4113-8b8e-7305218b39a8.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Host Eric J. Lawrence and Guest DJ Brian Tyree Henry (Photos by Dustin Downing)

Actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker Greta Gerwig describes herself as a person who “lives with very vivid emotions” and she gravitates towards musicians who are like that as well, from Kate Bush and Judee Sill to Brian Eno. Her film “Lady Bird” has been an awards season favorite and she now has the distinction of being the 5th woman ever nominated for a best director at the Academy Awards. (Hosted by Aaron Byrd)

Tracklist: 1. Kate Bush - "Hounds of Love"2. Bob B. Soxx The Blue Jeans - "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"3. Judee Sill - "The Pearl"4. Laurie Anderson - "Baby Doll"5. Brian Eno - "Lay My Love"

Aaron Byrd: Hey I'm Aaron Byrd. I am here with actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker Greta Gerwig. She is having a big year with her film Lady Bird, which she wrote and directed. It was nominated for a bunch of Golden Globes and won a couple -- and NOW she has the distinction of being the 5th woman ever nominated for a best director at the Academy Awards.

We are here with Greta to talk about some of the songs that have inspired her throughout her life as part of KCRW's Guest DJ Project. So first of all, welcome Greta. Thanks for joining us.

Greta Gerwig: Hi, thanks for having me.

AB: What did you bring today?

GG: Well, I brought in a variety of songs. They all qualify as songs that I have listened to obsessively.

If I love a song, I listen to it over and over and over again. Until I feel like I can never hear it again and then I won’t listen to it for six months and then I will rediscover it. So the first song is "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush. I find her lyrics mysterious and evocative - almost like poetry -- and there is a real spaciousness to her music that feels cinematic to me. But specifically with this song, "Hounds of Love", I had really been obsessed with it for a long time. But then I did a play - it was called “The Village Bike" -- and in the play a women is taken over by irrepressible, destructive lust and there was something about this song that really tapped into that for me.

I'm a person who lives with very vivid emotions that feel like they often can only be expressed in heightened states of either music or poetry or films or theater and I think that she makes the kind of music that feels like she is always at a 10, emotionally. That level of just sheer emotion and excitement, and it taps me into probably the reason why I make art.

AB: That's great. So up first we have "Hounds of Love" by KCRW favorite Kate Bush.

*Song: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love*

AB: And that was "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush and, going on to the next song, what do you have for us?

GG: The next song is "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," which I think most people know from Disney movies. But this "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" was first recorded by a group called Bob B. Soxx the Blue Jeans in 1962, I believe.

It was produced by Phil Spector and it's the most haunting, mournful version of this song that you can think of that's associated with almost maniacal cheeriness.

The voices are just aching, but it also has that Phil Spector kind of wall of sound thing going on.

I haven't found the film I want to use it in yet, but it's definitely a song I would like to use in a movie so, I feel like I am taking a bit of a risk because, in a way, I want to play these more close to the chest so that nobody steals them out from under me. It's been my go-to song to play to friends or something. I’ll say listen to this and everybody just stops, and they're like, ‘WHAT! WHAT! I have never heard this recording.’ Then I look very cool indeed.

*Song: Bob B. Soxx the Blue Jeans - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah*

AB: And there you have it. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the pick of our guest DJ today, Greta Gerwig. So up next we have something from Judee Sill, right?

GG: Uh huh, I first discovered Judee through my writing partner and my creative partner, Noah, when I first read his screen play for Greenberg. You know, she is sort of part of that folk scene of Californians in the sixties and seventies and she is actually quite religious; a lot of her songs have pretty religious imagery and angels and Jesus, but she was also a big druggy so it was that combination of heroine and Jesus, which makes for really great folk music.

But this song, "The Pearl," you have a sense of the thing you have been looking for has been inside you and that's what the lyrics of this song point to and there is a lyric in this song that can make me cry every single time. It’s a quite soaring part of the song when she sings, "I found a way outside myself to make my spirit climb."

Every time I hear that I think I know what she means to find your way outside of your own confines of what you think your goals are or your personality is and find something that goes beyond the edges and this song to me is about that. I think anytime I feel like, what am I doing? What am I doing with this writing and acting and filmmaking and I listen to this song, I think, Judee knows what I'm doing.

*Song: Judee Sill – The Pearl*

AB: That's great. So moving on from the combination of heroin and Jesus by Judee Sill, that was “The Pearl”. Let's see, what do you have next for us?

GG: "Baby Doll" by the great Laurie Anderson. This is not a sad song at all. This is an incredibly happy song.

It is also a song that I feel relates to my life as it is -- making art and not knowing exactly what you're doing all the time. It features one of the greatest lyrics, I think. She says, "Take me to the movies ‘cause I love to sit in the dark."

And it's about her brain, talking to her. It’s like one part of her brain is saying, "Why don't you get a real job?" and "What's wrong with you?" you know, and struggling to come up with words and the other part of her brain is like, "Take me to the movies" and "Take me to the ballpark" and "Take me out town tonight" and there is something about the celebration of the part of you that wants to slack off and just go have fun that I love!

*Song: Laurie Anderson – Baby Doll*

AB: So moving on to the last song, I see you have Brian Eno for us.

GG: This is "Lay My Love" by Brian Eno.

I listen to music when I write. Not all the time, but I find writing to be quite isolating at times because it feels like the all the kids are outside playing and you have to stay inside and work and it can be lonely.

I don't listen to music all the time, but sometimes a well-placed song in the middle of writing will get my spirits back up. I've used this song for that a lot, because it’s got this kind of relentless beat underneath it, it’s got a driving sound. It’s not really like chorus, verse, chorus verse, it more just goes on a loop. It's the kind of song you would run to, but I write to it.

*Song: Brian Eno – Lay My Love*

AB: I like how you set us up with all the sad songs to lead us to the happy songs in the end.

GG: Yeah, yeah that’s right. I’m jealous of your listeners if they’ve never heard these songs and then they get to hear them for the first time. I mean that's my most exciting moment, when somebody says, “I’ve got a new song for you" and you think "Oh my God, yes! Now I have a new obsession!"

AB: That was amazing! Thanks so much Greta for joining us at KCRW.com.

GG: Thank you so much for having me, it was really super fun. It’s such a fun format!

Phil Rosenthal is best known as the creator of the hugely popular sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” and is now bringing his signature sense of humor to the world of food, as the host of “Somebody Feed Phil’ on Netflix. His Guest DJ set ranges from Broadway classics to The Boss and The Beatles. (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence)

Tracklist:1. Danny Kaye - Mommy Gimme a Drink of Water2. West Side Story - Gee, Officer Krupke3. The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand4. Elton John - Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting5. Bruce Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

a7d8-43df-be74-a1d94d4270df.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Guest Dj Phil Rosenthal and host Eric J. Lawrence

 Eric J Lawrence: Hi I’m Eric J. Lawrence and I am here with Phil Rosenthal. He is best known as the creator of the hugely popular sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The show won more than a dozen Emmys during its nine season run and continues to air on syndication across the globe.

But now Phil is bringing his signature sense of humor to the world of food. He is the host of “Somebody Feed Phil’, a new Netflix travel series. Today however, we’re here to explore his musical inclinations. We’ve asked him to choose 5 songs that have inspired him throughout his life as part of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project. Phil, thank you so much for joining us.

Phil Rosenthal: It’s my absolute pleasure. Love the show, I happen to love music. I’m not going to sing…well, maybe later. But wow. I’m very happy to be here. Thank you.

EJL: Very cool. Well, what’s the first track you got for us?

PR: I went in chronological order of influence in my life. I was born in 1960. So that was a huge influence on me, but my mother had an album and usually she only had opera in the house.

EJL: Ok

PR: None of those albums were influential. They were only influential in getting me to shut the door and go to my room. But she had one album; she was a huge fan of Danny Kaye. She loved Danny Kaye.

And this album came out two years before I was born and it was a child-like album, in other words it was geared for children, but it had huge production. Danny Kaye…I hope the listeners check him out because you know stars disappear, we don’t hear about Danny Kaye that often. When was the last time you heard that name?

EJL: It’s been awhile.

PR: Yeah. So he was very, very sweet. And very talented. And had such an enormous heart, but this was an early record and the track is “Mommy Give Me a Drink of Water.”

And it has a New York accent and I was born in Queens. And as a -- I’m going say two year old, maybe three year old -- this song struck me. It was the name of the album and it was the name of the song. What it is, is a little boy, probably around two or three, alone in his bed calling out for his mom. And who doesn’t identify with that? It’s primal.

But this is 100% relatable; it’s almost like an aria of the depths of a little kid trying everything to get his mom back in that room. I kind of get emotional listening to it again because it’s so sweet and so relatable, identifiable of what everyone goes through, that loneliness. It is calling out for your mommy. What more primal thing is there?

EJL: Let’s get primal with Danny Kaye with “Mommy Give Me a Drink of Water.”

*Song: Danny Kaye - Mommy Give Me a Drink of Water*

EJL: That was Danny Kaye with “Mommy Give Me a Drink of Water”. So moving from Danny Kaye doing a kids song, we’re now moving into Broadway. With something from the Tony winning show, West Side Story.

PR: So the other thing, and maybe I’m sure I’m not the first guest you’ve had in here who said that their early influences were what their parents listened to, right?

EJL: Sure

PR: So I’ll never forget this, my mother said that in 1957 there was a new Broadway show opening and she went to this show as a young women and it was the only time at intermission she bought tickets to see it again. That’s unusual.

And so we had the original cast album for West Side Story in our collection. Again, it was one of the only pop culture albums in our house that wasn’t opera. That was the pop culture. Danny Kaye. Westside Story. That was it. This song on this record was also funny. It’s the only one in the show that is comic relief. “Gee, Officer Krupke”.

EJL: At this stage, were you sort of thinking about your future life? And was comedy something that was important to you?

PR: Yes. Very important. My father was hilarious and my mother was funny too, that was the way we communicated in the house. We were either yelling or laughing. That was it.

We were living in the Bronx now and comedy was just, that was just the currency at the dinner table. And I loved tele vision. I loved it. I watched The Honeymooners who, that were already in reruns when I was a boy but I just wanted to be Art Carney. I just could imitate him and I could imitate Jackie Gleason and I knew the shows by heart because they were rerun every night. I loved it so much, and you just see funny people, you want to be them. And so you imitate them.

That’s the first leg up in the show business world. Make your parents laugh and if they have guests come over try to make them laugh so you can stay up a little later and maybe get some cake.

Right? So that was it. And I found that if I could act out this scenes from the Honeymooners, or “Gee, Officer Krupke”, or something, but “Gee, Officer Krupke”, I remember “oh here the show is stopping now for something funny.

EJL: Well, here it is from West Side Story. It’s “Gee Officer Krupke”.

*Song: West Side Story - Gee, Officer Krupke*

EJL: That was “Gee, Officer Krupke” from West Side Story. A portal song from our guest Phil Rosenthal. Now, you’ve got a hardcore pop culture song next on your list.

PR: Absolutely. This is, you know, if I was to go in my room and create my own entertainment, right, here’s a radio and now you get to choose what you want. Opera is blasting in the other room. Every Saturday afternoon that opera is coming on and I actually was told “don’t make noise”, right?

So I’m in my room and it’s 1964 I want to say, and here comes The Beatles so how do you not respond if you’re a kid to “I Want to Hold Your Hand”? The other thing I loved about them was their sense of humor. This was not serious time. This was fun time. Fun and they were funny.

EJL: Well here’s an AM radio staple. It’s The Beatles with “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.

*Song: The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand*

EJL: That was The Beatles with “I Want to Hold your Hand” as selected by our guest Phil Rosenthal. Well, the next song you picked is something of a fast one I would say. A classic from Elton John.

PR: Yes, so I’m 13 when The Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album comes out. And I just thought it was a masterpiece. Even at 13, I’m like “this now, this is the evolution of the form. This guy, whoever this Elton John character is, this is amazing.” And then you see him. And wow, is he hilarious. I mean, he had a real sense of fun about himself. He is the least likely looking rock star in the world. I think, right? He’s kind of pudgy and short and he’s got big glasses and he just played it up. I didn’t know what gay was. I didn’t know that that’s what was happening. I just thought, this guy is dressing up like a character and was hilarious and didn’t take himself or the music seriously. But damn, if this song is not one of the best rock-n- roll songs of all time.

EJL: Well here’s an example from Elton John. It’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”.

*Song: Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting*

EJL: That was Elton John, co-written by with the classic Bernie Taupin with “Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting.” Now the last track you’ve got for us is something more of a tough guy.

PR: Exactly right. So when I first heard Bruce Springsteen, the first cut I heard was “Born to Run” when I was 15, ok? I’m listening to Elton John and here comes “uhhh”! And it actually scared me a little bit. What the hell is this? But then I saw maybe a clip. There were no videos. But I saw something or I heard, maybe I heard a concert and I heard the fun that he was having. And I heard that he wasn’t so serious either. And that he loved rock-n- roll and that he was the personification of rock-n- roll.

EJL: Now you’re talking about Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. Which is kind of the story of the band in a way.

0598-4471-82cc-b6a57b7efe9f.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">An image of a vintage image of Phil Rosenthal with Bruse Springsteen

PR: Yes, yes. And it almost struts down this street of Tenth Avenue. You know it’s got this power and glory and everything that is Bruce Springsteen, the reason I love him, above everybody else in the world of music, is because he encapsulates a spirit and a feeling of joy. It’s like I wish I was a 10th as good at what I do as Bruce Springsteen as what he does. And yes it is the story of the band and now when he does that song, I was lucky enough to see the Broadway show, he does that song at the piano and he stops in the middle to talk about Clarence and there’s a break in the song where he says “and the big man joined the band.” And it brings the house down.

EJL: Sure, yeah. Well, here it is Bruce Springsteen with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."

*Song: Bruce Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out*

EJL: That was Bruce Springsteen from the classic Born to Run album with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” At what point does food sort of enter your life because that seems to be such a big focus for you with the new TV show at the moment.

PR: You know food is food. And music, laughs, travel. These are the joys in life! Right? Combine them all and you got a night! I’m just so lucky, is the overriding word in my life, very, very lucky. In fact, when my brother heard that I was going to get a show like this where I travel the world and eat, he said “Really? What are you going to call the show? The Lucky Bastard?”

EJL: Well, Phil I want to thank you so much for coming in and sharing your musical picks with us.

PR: I love it.

EJL: For a complete track listing and to find these songs online go to KCRW.com/guestdjproject

For this special Guest DJ Project set, we took a field trip to the SpaceX headquarters to visit with Founder and CEO Elon Musk. He is revolutionizing transportation both to space and on earth, via Tesla Motors and Hyperloop. He is also one of the creators of Pay Pal. For his Guest DJ set, we learn about his early beginnings as an inventor, the song he whistles while he works and much more. (Hosted by Raul Campos)

Tracklist:1. Frank Sinatra - "Fly Me To the Moon"2. Monty Python - "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"3. Team America World Police - "America, {expletive} Yeah!"4. Andrea Bocelli - "Con Te Partiro" 5. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

Raul Campos: Hey, I’m Raul Campos from KCRW and I’m here with entrepreneur Elon Musk; best known for co-founding PayPal as well as CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Today, we are here to talk about songs that have inspired him over the years as part of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project. Elon, thank you for inviting us here to SpaceX. This is really, really cool.

Elon Musk: Absolutely. Thanks for having me on the show.

RC: “Fly Me To The Moon”…

EM: (Laughter) That’s the obvious one.

RC: (Laughs) The obvious one. Explain a little bit, why Frank Sinatra?

EM: I like the sense of possibility and it’s really inspiring. And I’d really like to fly to the moon. (Laughter)

RC: Well, I’m sure that’s going to happen pretty soon!

EM: Yeah, absolutely. You know, obviously I own a space company, I’m going to tend to like something that involves flying to the moon. You hear this song and it sounds like it’s really going to happen.

RC: Well, lets check out “Fly me to the Moon”, Frank Sinatra, as selected by our guest DJ Elon Musk, right here on KCRW.com

*Song: Frank Sinatra - Fly me to the Moon*

RC: You’re known as the entrepreneur, but what was the first thing you ever sold? Or said, ‘wow, you know what, I have this knack for designing stuff and things that people like.’

EM: I kind of think of myself more as an engineer and a designer rather than as an entrepreneur. In that, the things that I’m interested in are advanced technology and the things that are pushing to the forefront and I think the things that are perhaps likely to change the future of humanity in a positive way. And I’ve found out that I needed to run the company in order to design and engineer the things that are important, or that I think of as important, otherwise somebody else makes me do a different thing.

I guess that the first thing that I sold when I was a kid was… I wrote this computer game called “Blastar.” It was sort of a space war game that I thought was cool because I thought that, ‘Wow. I got paid money to make a game. That’s great.’ (Laughter)

RC: How old were you?

EM: Maybe about 12 or so.

RC: Wow! That’s crazy! What’s the next one we are going to check out?

EM: It’s “Always Look on the Bright side of life.” And it’s from [the Monty Python film] “Life of Brian” and obviously it’s a pretty funny song because [the characters] are being crucified at the time. (Laughter) But I think it is a good reminder not to get focused on the negative things in life. And my personal philosophy is I’d rather be optimistic and wrong rather than pessimistic and right.

RC: Now, you are originally from South Africa. What was your first introduction to the Monty Python?

EM: I saw it first when I was pretty young, probably about 8 or 9 or something and I didn’t quite get it. (Laughter)

RC: So, Elon, talk about this wheel of cheese that went up into space.

EM: You know, I’m a big believer in not getting too corporate and losing any sort of sense of humor. When we did the first test flight of our Dragon spacecraft, we were thinking of what sort of interesting and wacky things we can put on there and I really liked the cheese shop sketch from Monty Python. So it was like, “lets put a big wheel of cheese on the spacecraft.’ So we got the biggest wheel of cheese the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop had – a giant wheel of stinky Gruyere. And we kept it secret because if something had gone wrong with the flight, then people would have thought that perhaps we’ve been distracted by the cheese or something. We don’t ever really want to be a boring corporate situation. It’d better to have a sense of humor and don’t get too wrapped up in yourself.

ebc4-4e36-9cf9-860ef6e9bcd1.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Space cheese!

RC: So let’s get into the tune from Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. Our guest DJ is Elon Musk and we’re hanging out here at SpaceX.

*Song: Monty Python - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life*

RC: So that was, “Always look on the bright side of life,” from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Our guest DJ is Mr. Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla. What’s this next tune that you have for us here?

EM: This is, “America, Blank, Yeah” (Laughter)

RC: And we should say that the “blank” starts with an ‘F’ (Laughs)

EM: (Laughs) Yeah, right. That is from the movie, “Team America”. I’m a big fan of “South Park.” The shows that I watch, they just capture a little bit of essence of America in both a good and a bad way.

RC: You can say that a little bit. (Laughter)

EM: I think it’s funny and inspiring in a weird way – a song that just kind of gets you fired up. (Laughs) It’s just cool. I like it.

RC: So let’s get into it. “America, F Yeah!” from “Team America.” Our guest DJ is Elon Musk. Known for PayPal, SpaceX and the infamous arcade game Blastar!

*Song: Team America World Police Theme - America, {expletive} Yeah!*

RC: This is KCRW.com. Raul Campos here with Elon Musk and we are just picking tunes and we just heard “America, F Yeah!” and now were are going to kind of flip the script and go to something quite on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s Andrea Bocelli.

EM: Right. I think “Con Te Partiro” is an incredibly beautiful song.

EM: It’s really calming. And, it’s just a really beautiful song. And obviously Andrea Bocelli is just an incredible singer.

RC: Well, when you need to be in that kind of relaxed mode or to put you in a mellow environment, is this something that you go to?

EM: Yeah, it is actually. I think that song is kind of a reminder that the world is a beautiful place. It’s an incredibly beautiful song, sung really beautifully so I think that’s why it makes me feel that way about the world.

RC: Alright. So let’s get into this Italian superstar, Andrea Bocelli, “Con Te Partiro,” right here on KCRW.com.

*Song: Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partiro*

RC: Our guest DJ is Elon Musk picking tunes that have inspired him over the years. Well, I’ll let you explain, the next one we’re playing. What’s this one we are going to get into?

EM: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

I personally don’t understand it, but it’s the song that I whistle the most. I don’t even realize I’m whistling it. I just go into auto-whistle and this one comes up more than any other so I must like it at a subconcious level, but I’m not entirely sure why. I could guess. It’s sort of a positive song. I mean, who doesn’t like Santa Claus? I guess it’s good to have him come to town. (Laughter)

RC: You came here in the late ‘80s.. Did you come with a vision or with a hope of finding something in The States or in Canada?

EM: Well, when I was growing up I read a lot of books and bought a lot of comics and things and it just seemed like interesting things happen in America. And particularly with the perspective to cutting edge technology – it seemed to happen in America almost all of the time and I was really interested in being involved in the cutting edge of technology. That’s what got me excited and I knew I wanted to come to America. In college, I was able to transfer to U Penn. I do think America is the greatest country in the world. I don’t think it’s flawless, obviously, it’s not perfect, but it’s the least imperfect country in the world.

*Song: Santa Claus is Coming to Town*

RC: So that was, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Of course! So, Elon, I can’t let you go without hearing a little bit of the whistling! How about some “Fly Me to the Moon.”

EM: [Whistles to the tune of “Fly Me to the Moon.”] (Laughter)

RC: That is awesome! So that was such a wide variety. Thank you so much for taking a little bit of time out. I know you are a super busy guy and you’ve got a lot going on, but we really appreciate you taking a little time out to chit chat with us and play some tunes, so thank you.

EM: You’re welcome.

RC: So for a complete track listing and to find these songs online, go to KCRW.com/guestdjproject

08ed-474f-b650-24f01136cb73.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Willem Dafoe (Images by by Larry Hirshowitz)

Acclaimed actor Willem Dafoe has appeared in over 100 films throughout his remarkable career and his latest, The Florida Project, is generating a lot of awards season buzz. He grew up absorbing the musical tastes of his siblings and his tastes expanded as he traveled around the world. He selects songs in four languages for his Guest DJ Project set! (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence)

Tracklist:1. Jimi Hendrix - “Little Wing”2. Bob Dylan - “Love Minus Zero/No Limit"3. Angelique Kidjo - “Malaika”4. Franco Battiato - “La Cura”5. Tribalistas - “Ja Sei Namorar” 

Joni Mitchell is widely considered one of the most influential songwriters of all time. She's a folk legend who crafts timeless songs that are deeply moving and have made a big impression on many of the creative individuals we've hosted on the Guest DJ Project. This special episode brings together some of their stories, including Megan Mullaly, David Sedaris, Lisa Cholodenko, Jamie Lee Curtis and Martin Short. (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence) Image of "Blue" courtesy of Amazon.

Joni Mitchell special edition tracklist:1. "Blue" - Megan Mullaly2. "Hejira" - David Sedaris3. "Car on the Hill" - Lisa Cholodenko4. "California" - Jamie Lee Curtis5. " For Free" - Martin Short

Eric J Lawrence: Joni Mitchell is widely considered one of the most influential songwriters of all time: a folk legend who crafts timeless songs with evocative, soul-baring lyrics and sophisticated musical arrangements. Her music is deeply moving and made a big impression on many of the creative individuals we’ve hosted over the years as part of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project. We’ve gathered some of their stories for this special edition of the show, starting with actress Megan Mullally, of Will Grace fame. She chose the title track of “Blue”, which has been called the greatest relationship album of all time.

Megan Mullaly:  I was very young when I first heard this, 12 or 13, that tender age. I remember I had a record player, I would put this record on after hours when I was supposed to be sleeping and I would put it on very low. I would lie in my bed and just think, here it comes, here it comes. Then when the song would come on I would go into just a trance state. I’d be teleported away from the cares of pre-pubescence. This was the first song that really made me have to stop and think about what the hell is she saying? What are these lyrics? I found it all so moving and ephemeral and mysterious and beautiful. I think it was the first song that had a major, major impact on me.

*Song: Joni Mitchell – Blue*

Eric: When you were a kid listening to this song on your record player, and sort of dreaming of future activities. Did you see yourself as singer primarily? Where did acting fall into that?

Megan: I never thought much about acting, I started out singing and I sometimes have said sometimes that I came out of the womb in a top hat and tap shoes. There’s an element of that, but I would say it would be a very sensitive top hat and a delicate pair of tap shoes. I always loved sad songs the most. I would always sing them and work through my emotions by singing them, and I still do that.

Eric: Best-selling author and humorist David Sedaris is known for his sardonic wit and keen social observations. He takes us back to when he discovered Joni Mitchell for the first time, in the mid-70s…with the album “Hejira.”

David Sedars:  I went off to college, and I made friends and they all listened to Joni Mitchell -- which wasn't the kind of music that I ever listened to. But this was my, sort of introduction to her and I guess it just spoke to me. At the time. I was maybe 20 years old and it's an album about constantly moving and traveling.

Joni Mitchell is, she's not just traveling, she's moving through a series of relationships and I had never had a relationship at that point. I mean I had a…I longed to have one…and all my ideas of how that relationship would be, came from this album. And I hoped that when I had a relationship, it would end poorly and I would be hurt and devastated and create art from it. Plus, I was hitchhiking across the country and staying in cheap hotels so it was sort of like a…such a young-person's sort of like a romantic young person's life. But I had everything except the person to be romantic with and I think Joni Mitchell made me realize that something was missing.

And she made me want to hurt. Boy, I listened to this record. I put holes in this record. Just over and over and over and over again. I still think the writing on that record is really good. I mean, you've got to hand it to Joni Mitchell….

*Song: Joni Mitchell - Hijera*

Eric: A native Canadian, Joni settled in southern California in the mid 60’s, becoming one of the most iconic figures of the SoCal singer-songwriter boom and helping to define an era. award-winning director – and L.A. native -- Lisa Cholodenko felt she captured it perfectly.

Lisa Cholodenko: “Court And Spark” was one of those records that you never forget.  I was like 11 or 12 when I was exposed to it, and I just immediately kind of fell in love with Joni Mitchell's voice and vibe.

When I think about that song, I realize that it was the first time, having grown up in L.A., that I could feel a sense of place where I was raised.  "Car On The Hill" was expressly about climbing up the hill and I knew that it was Laurel Canyon. And I had never really thought about it in contextual way, like what is Laurel Canyon and who lives up there, and had any kind of fantasia about it, but this song kind of like just galvanized this thinking, this kind of meditation on place.

And on time.  I really felt the spirit of the time that it was recorded, which was the mid ‘70's and how people behaved and what the kind of zeitgeist was.

*Song: Joni Mitchell – Car On The Hill*

Eric: Actress Jamie Lee Curtis also grew up in Los Angeles and felt a strong connection to Joni’s work, particularly the track “California,” which kept her going through a difficult time in her life.

Jamie Lee Curtis: I went for my senior year of high school to a prep school in Connecticut. I was a girl from Beverly Hills, I had frosted hair, bell bottoms jeans, little French t-shirts, no bra, corkys. I walked into the dorm in this prep school and there was a girl sitting in straight leg cords, Brooks Brothers striped shirt, down vest, Monet Love Knot earrings, plaid ribbon in her hair, duck boots, smoking a Marlboro Red in the lounge of this dorm that I had just arrived in with my trunk and my glasses on top of my hair.

And this girl was smoking this cigarette and she took a drag on her cigarette and went “You Tony Curtis’ daughter?” And I looked at her and I went “Uh huh.” And she went (inhales), “We heard you were coming.”

And from that moment, I was miserable. I was so homesick and I couldn’t come home and Joni Mitchell’s “California” I played on my stereo in my room over and over and over again. It was my connection to my home. And I can’t tell you what it did to hear that song when I was so far away from home.

*Song: Joni Mitchell – California*

Eric: Even though Joni embodies California to so many, her fellow Canadians proudly claim her as their own. We revisit the folk poet’s 1970 classic album “Ladies of the Canyon” with our final guest, comedian Martin Short.

Martin Short: I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan. She’s a Canadian artist from Saskatchewan, the province of Saskatchewan, and of course I’m Canadian.

The song is Joni Mitchell’s “For Free” from her album “Ladies of the Canyon”. It’s an amazing song. You just listen to the lyrics and you’re taken right into the story of her basically seeing a husker on the corner playing his clarinet and she starts reflecting on how much she gets paid, how much attention is given her, her fabulous life, and yet, she’s hearing a guy playing what she thinks is just equally or, if not, better music, and yet, no one’s stopping to pay attention to him.

Eric: Is there something about Canadian music that those of us in the U.S. might miss?

Martin: For years, I was always asked, ‘Why are there so many people in comedy from Canada?’ and I used to think, ‘Well, the arts have no border.’

I did acknowledge that maybe the Canadian sensibility is looser or we’re like the middle sibling of three kids and, you know, you got the elegant kind of Hugh Grant England and you got George Clooney to the south and we’re kind of maybe a little overweight, but still we’re hip and we can make fun of both of you. And so, but, but in music I really doesn’t really have a tremendous border, I think Joni came from Folk and then went into Rock and then Jazz and I think that her music was borderless.

*Song: Joni Mitchell – For Free*

Eric J. Lawrence: Thanks so much for listening to this special edition of the Guest DJ Project. To hear the full Guest DJ sets from the contributors to this show, go to kcrw.com/guest-dj- project and subscribe to the podcast through itunes.

Evan Kleiman is the beloved host of KCRW's award-winning program Good Food. From a cello suite to chaotic classic rock and an Italian classic, she takes us on a musical trip from her childhood to her first time in Europe with lots of eye-opening stories along the way. (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence)

Tracklist:1. Alec Guinness - "Peter and The Wolf (Prokofiev)"2. Pablo Casals - "Suite #1 - Bach Cello Suites"3. The Beatles - "A Day in the Life"4. Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower"5. Mina - "Parole Parole"

4d0a-454d-810a-6322b8d3d29a.jpeg" alt="" class="image-inline" title="">Host Eric J. Lawrence with Guest DJ Evan Kleiman (Photo by Chris Ho)

E.J: Hi, I’m Eric J Lawrence - Evan Kleiman, the much beloved host of Good Food since 1998 knows better than just about anybody about food and its surrounding culture: making it, eating it, and selling it. She owes her expertise to her passion for all things culinary, and being a former restaurateur, and author to numerous cook books and a frequent speaker on food sustainability. Oh, and she can bake a mean pie. But today like a Lazy Susan we turn the tables on Evan and I grill her about the music that has influenced her life in and out of the kitchen. Welcome Evan.

E.K: Hello, Eric.

E.J: So, what's the first track we got for us?

K: So, for my first pick I chose “Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev. It may seem like a very strange first pick, but I grew up in a household where music was always playing, and I was brought to concerts here in Los Angeles as a very young person, and “Peter and the Wolf” is one of those pieces that’s meant to teach little kids about all the different parts of the orchestra. I kind of took it in a different way though because I made my nursery school teacher break the record in front of me because I was so terrified by the emotions that it stirred in me.

E.J: Wow. What were those emotions?

K: I think fear. Disney is very different now. When I was a little kid -- and this was a very classic Disney version of “Peter and the Wolf” -- it's very scary. The wolves, wherever the evil is, it’s super evil, so this is the ultimate soundtrack of that.

I just remember that there was this one day I was probably three and a half, and my nursery school teacher put on “Peter and the Wolf”, and I think it was the combination of being in that brick building enclosed, and the rain pouring down, and starting to hear that wolf sound of the wolf coming after Peter that I just flipped out, and I just told her she had to break the record. And, she said: I’ll tell you what Evan, we’ll just put it aside. And I just wouldn't give in.

E: So, she really did have to break the record?

K: I made her break it in front of me.

E: Wow. Well, here it is. A powerful piece of music from Prokofiev's “Peter and the Wolf”.

*Song: Alec Guinness - Peter and The Wolf (Prokofiev)*

E: That was Peter and The Wolf the Alec Guinness narrated version. Well, what's the next track you got for us?

K: The next track is a little bit from “Bach Cello Suite No. 1,” as played by Pablo Casals. I started taking cello lessons when I was about seven -- probably due to what I had seen going to see Peter and the Wolf. I fell in love with the instrument because of its timbre, which is just like a human voice. And there is something about the Bach Cello Suites that at that time of my life -- by the time I got around to starting to be able to play them, I was maybe an early teens-- when you feel that your life is really chaotic, and this piece of music is really about order and melody. And I've always been very drawn to melody and music. It fed me emotionally, this music. I would listen to it over and over again.

E: Do you still play the cello?

K: No, basically once I started... This is my excuse of why I don't play the cello anymore. When I started cooking and I had my hands in water all the time, it became much more difficult to maintain the calluses necessary to be good at playing a stringed instrument.

*Song: Pablo Casals - Suite #1 - Bach Cello Suites*

E: Well, here it is the “Bach Cello Suite No. 1” as performed by Pablo Casals.

E: That was Pablo Casals performing “Bach Cello Suite No. 1”. What's the next track you have for us?

K: Well ,Of course the next track its the Beatles.

E: Sure

K: The Beatles. That was my first concert. When people say: Who's your first concert?

E: Wow K: My first concert was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl.

E: Okay, That's classic.

K: So, they were the soundtrack of my childhood because I was 11 when they were on the Ed Sullivan show. And picking a Beatles song is incredibly hard, but I have just vivid memories of listening for the first time to “Sgt Pepper”. I think I ditched school with my boyfriend, and another one of our friends, and we went to his friend's house and got properly baked. And literally for probably six hours did nothing but listen to this album over and over again which is, you know, great that we all have access to this music, but we listen to all of our music alone by ourselves within our heads and our headphones. The social activity of sitting with really close friends and discovering a piece of music for the first time together and then exploring it by repeated playing. There's no substitute for that. So, I chose “A Day in the Life” from “Sgt Pepper”.

And for me “A Day in the Life”, just like Casals for me was order; “A Day in the Life” to me is chaos, but melodic as well. And going back and listening to the lyrics of that song -- very, very in the now.

E: Well, here it is. A timeless piece of music from The Beatles' “A Day in the Life.”

*Song: The Beatles - A Day in the Life*

E: That was the Beatles classic “A Day in the Life” as selected by our guest Evan Kleinman. What's the next song you got for us?

K: The next song is Jimi Hendrix, “All Along the Watchtower” because it's a two-fer. It’s Jimi Hendrix and It's Bob Dylan.

K:What can you say? You know, I was coming of age. So, that also means sexually, right? It was during the 60's, and I grew up in LA, and I went to concerts constantly. And I don't know how this happened, but I went to the Whiskey all the time when I was a teenager. Either they never checked ID, or they didn't care or they had a different focus then, but I remember going to see The Jimi Hendrix's Experience at the Whiskey, and so being like 15 ft away.

E: Wow.

K: But “All Along the Watchtower” for me is again, lyricly, just a song that takes you away, and also I think a perfect song for now. But his incredible talent of the guitar and his musicality, but then that voice of butter which, to a teenage girl, was swoon worthy. Yeah, he was definitely my fave.

E: You speak of these components that made the essence of a magisterial song like that, as if they are ingredients.

K: I am really aware of layering. I love how there are layers in life. And certainly with music, when you have different layers of tracks coming together; each of them exploring something emotional. And then you lay on top of that lyrics -- somebody is taking you on a journey. It's the best part of what music offers.

What I think is fascinating about music, compared to what I do, is what I do is so physical and non-ethereal. It's something you make in real time and then gets consumed. Whereas music is the absolute opposite of that. It exists in these waves that we can barely see. E: Well, here is that great combination: Jimi Hendrix covering Bob Dylan with “All Along the Watchtower.”

*Song: Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower*

E: That was Jimi Hendrix with “All Along the Watchtower.” So, what's the final track you've got for us?

K: Ok, the next one is kind of a wild card but, in my life, not really. And it's Mina, who was the classic Italian singer of the 60's and 70's, which was the time that I was going to Italy for the first time. So, when I was exploring Italy when I was 17, 18, 19 years old - Mina was the soundtrack to that experience. Just,in my mind, it's being on a train and having my walkman, and listening to her sing “Parole Parole”. And just becoming besotted with the culture; with the way the air felt, and the way the countryside looked, and, of course, the way the food tastes.

E: Is that around the time you kind of first, taken serious the culinary experience of being something that you might venture into as a profession.

K: Well, I started cooking for money when I was in high school, and I would sell cookies to stoners.

E: (laughs)

K: They were not stoned cookies. They were just regular cookies, but there was an appreciative audience at my high school at the time. And that's actually how I financed my first trip to Europe.

E: (laughs) Wow! That's a lot of cookies!

K: (laughs) Yeah, a lot of demand. And so I was already, sort of, like some young people would finance their first foray into earning money by being a server, for me it was being a cook. I already kind of knew that I loved cooking, but Italy definitely was where I became really aware of my hunger to learn about cooking in a cultural way -- not just what's on the plate, but the story behind it.

E: Well, here is Mina in duet with the song “Parole Parole”.

*Song: Mina - Parole Parole*

E: That was the song “Parole Parole”, a classic Italian song. Well, Evan, we really appreciate you taking some time to share some of your music favorites with us.

K: Thank you, Eric!

E: For a complete track listing, and to find the songs online go to KCRW.com/guestdjproject and subscribe to the podcast through itunes.

Warren Olney is one of the most important voices in Los Angeles and will soon be transitioning from a daily radio show to host a weekly To The Point podcast. We were thrilled he took on the Guest DJ Project challenge. He tells personal stories about growing up in Washington DC, his affinity for jazz and, not surprisingly, picks some artists who make political commentary part of their poetry. (Hosted by Eric J. Lawrence)

Tracklist:1. Duke Ellington - “Caravan” 2. Chuck Berry - “Johnny B. Goode” 3. Bob Dylan - “The Times They Are A'Changing” 4. Leonard Cohen - “Everybody Knows”5. Bob Seger - “Night Moves” 6. John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme"

Eric J. Lawrence: Hi, I’m Eric J. Lawrence. Warren Olney is one of the most respected voices on KCRW’s airwaves. He’s hosted KCRW’s Which Way LA? for 24 years, and another 17 years at the helm of To The Point. Tack on to this an extensive career as a television broadcaster and a print journalist, it all makes Warren a true legend in his field, a quintessential part of KCRW, and someone I am truly honored to claim as a colleague. But today, we turn the tables on Warren, and I get to ask the questions as Warren joins us to talk about some of the music that has inspired him throughout his life.

And we’re doing this just as Warren starts the newest chapter in his storied career. This week, he transitions from radio to host the weekly To The Point podcast. Warren, thanks for joining us.

Warren Olney: Thank you! And it’s a great pleasure to be a colleague of yours.

EJL: Well, thank you. So, how did you enjoy this exercise of trying to summarize your life in five songs?

WO: Well, it was kind of fun, actually, and it made me think of various eras in my life and music that I enjoyed at a particular time. It’s a very eclectic choice of pieces, I think, and I hope people enjoy it.

EJL:OK. Well, what’s the first track you’ve got for us?

WO: Well, the first one is called “Caravan”. It is by Juan Tizol. He is a magnificent trombonist and he’s playing with Duke Ellington. I love Duke Ellington and that’s how I discovered it. But the reason I wanted to play it was because I started playing trombone, myself, when I was in elementary school. The difference being that I played the slide trombone; Juan Tizol plays the valve trombone. The other difference being that he really knew how to play his and I didn’t really know how to play mine. But I just think it’s magnificent; the round, rich sound that he gets out of that horn is amazing.

EJL: What brought you to that instrument specifically?

WO: My mother said that it was because the slide trombonists were the ones who walked in front when the band came down the street. And that’s as good an explanation as I can give.

*Song: Duke Ellington - Caravan*

EJL: That was Duke Ellington with the track “Caravan”, featuring the valve trombonist Juan Tizol. What’s the next track you’ve got for us?

WO: Well, the next one is “Johnny B. Goode” with Chuck Berry and it’s sort of a generic choice because he made the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll. I love both of those forms of music. “Johnny B. Goode” came a little bit late, but when I first went to Washington, D.C., I moved there from California, and I was a white kid living in the Pacific Northwest part of town, going to prep school there. The place was very segregated, more even than it is now, I think. So we all felt somewhat adventurous in going down to various clubs that were in the inner city, and everybody was always very nice to us. We had a great time.

At one point, we went to the Rocket Room, which was on on New York Avenue. And they’d give us a little beer when we were there, the age limit was not all that important.

What I thought was sort of amusing about it was this: We were at the Rocket Room one time, a friend of mine and I, and we came out and it was a beautiful summer night. We decided to walk down New York Avenue. You don’t have to go very far before you run into the White House. When we got to the White House, we both realized we had that beer and we really felt like we needed to... get rid of it.

So here was the White House and we sort of walked around the fence and out towards the ellipse and then it was just too much, we couldn’t find any place. So we walked up to the fence and we peed on the White House lawn.

And what’s funny about it is that my father was the assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division at the time and my friend’s father was the legal advisor to the president of the United States. So that tells you about youthful rebellion, something about the nature of security -- I don’t think you can get near the place now without getting electrocuted. And I just thought it was fun.

*Song: Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode*

EJL: That was the late, great Chuck Berry with the track “Johnny B. Goode”. A little bit of nostalgia there for our guest, Warren Olney. What’s the next track you’ve got for us?

WO: How could I not choose Bob Dylan? As a person who covered both the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War protests, Bob Dylan was just an extraordinarily important voice.

I just have to read a couple lines from the song I have chosen: “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call, don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall.” It’s so applicable now, the kind of change that he was talking about when he talked about the times a-changing that it seems to me it’s just as relevant now as it was then.

EJL: How was music an inspiration for you in terms of thinking about journalism?

WO: As I say, when Bob Dylan wrote those lines and talked so specifically as he did about our political life, and how irrelevant it was somehow to what was really going on in the street, and as a reporter, you want to catch what’s really going on on the street, and contrast it if you can. In Washington that’s very, very difficult to do because the news is so completely dominated by politicians. And I think it’s one of the unfortunate things that’s happened over the years is that there are fewer and fewer people now out around the country covering people, real people, and it seems to me that’s one of the reasons we kind of miss the fact that were so many people outraged at government, and who made it possible I think for President Trump to get elected.

EJL: Do you find music today kind of gives you that same sort of perspective or was it really of its time?

WO: I don’t have as much time to listen to music today as I used to. I know there’s a lot of it, and I hear music that I think is wonderful. It doesn’t have the direct relevance that it did for me at that time, I think probably because I was in the midst of a reporting career and I found it so directly relevant, as I said music from the past still is.

*Song: Bob Dylan - The Times, They Are A-Changin*

EJL: That was Bob Dylan, with the powerful “The Times They Are A-Changin’ Next up is another important voice in music -- Leonard Cohen, with his track “Everybody Knows”. Did this song also inspire your journalism career?

WO: Well, I wouldn’t call it an inspiration. I think what it does is capture the mood sometimes that you feel after you’ve covered a story so many times, and the outcome of it is so similar to what it was before and so here we have… “Everybody Knows that the boat is leaking, everybody knows that the captain lied, everybody knows this broken feeling like their father or their dog just died.”

And I have to say that I come home sometimes...I have come home as a reporter sometimes and felt as if my dog just died, simply because I’ve been so depressed by the way that things are going. And other times, quite the reverse -- I have been elated by the way things are going. I just love the irony and the dark nature of that particular Leonard Cohen song, so that’s why I chose it. It’s not my ongoing mood, I wouldn’t say. I’m not a depressant. But I just love the way it’s phrased and that’s what I love about Bob Dylan too. I like the words and the poetry and the way people put those things together.

*Song: Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows*

EJL: That was Leonard Cohen with the darkly comedic song “Everybody Knows”. So Warren, what’s your final music choice.

WO: Well, the final track is Bob Seger, and my wife Marsha introduced me to Bob Seger relatively late in my life, although Bob Seger had been going for a long time. And in fact, we actually went to a Bob Seger concert in Michigan because we thought it was gonna be his last concert. And we have since seen two Bob Seger concerts, so he’s one of those guys who’s having a lot of last concerts. But I love this song, “Night Moves”.

EJL: “When we were just young and restless and bored,” takes me back, and he refers to that later in this song. He says, “I awoke last night to the sound of thunder, how far off I sat and wondered, started humming a song from 1962.” It has a nostalgia about it about youth and, again, I was young and at that stage, when I was in Washington, D.C. in high school, a little later as well, and it just takes me back. I just love it. I love the vitality of Bob Seger, and he’s got great musicians playing with him. It’s really fun to go to his concerts.

*Song: Bob Seger - Night Moves*

EJL: That was Bob Seger with “Night Moves”, as selected by our guest, Warren Olney. One final question: music has been used often as a theme song to news programs. I think of John Williams’ score for the NBC News. I think even the ABC local station here used Lalo Schifrin’s soundtrack to Cool Hand Luke as sort of a theme that they used for their show. And, of course, Which Way LA? is so strongly associated with that John Coltrane riff. How did that come about?

*Song: John Coltrane - Love Supreme*

WO: That’s “Love Supreme”. Or a portion of “Love Supreme” and one of the most magnificent pieces of music I think that I’ve ever heard. And of course that saxophone riff is only a part of it because there’s much more to it, it has movement after movement and it’s interesting...the reaction to it’s been interesting. Every so often we get a message from somebody who says thanks so much for playing that, I never get a chance to hear it. And other times we get someone saying this is sacrilegious when you play just a fragment of John Coltrane.

It came about here in the studio as you indicated of course this is a place where music is all around us. And it wasn’t my original idea and I hadn’t heard it before, but the moment I heard it, I said “Okay! Let’s go with that one.”

EJL: It’s legendarily associated with the show and only appropriate in that you are really one of the great legends of KCRW. Thank you so much for sharing some of your musical selections with us.

WO: Well, thank you! I had a lot of fun.

EJL: For a complete track listing and to find these songs online, go to KCRW.com/guestdjproject and subscribe to the podcast through itunes.