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Episode number nine (~NUMBER NINE~) of Music In Time turns to The Beatles' Abbey Road and delves into the "Paul Is Dead" conspiracy theories that spread like wildfire in the wake of the album's release in the fall of 1969. Join host Evan McCormick as he examines the evidence that fueled the theories, and illuminates the context that explains why the theory took off in 1969 and why it remains one of the most enduring in music history (despite Paul being very much alive and well). The show suggests that this peculiar musical myth has something to tell us about the appeal of conspiratorial thinking in other realms and other moments, like the present.
Playlist:
1. Come Together - The Beatles
2. Oh! Darling - The Beatles
3. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
4. Mean Mr. Mustard - The Beatles
5. Polythene Pam - The Beatles
6. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window - The Beatles
7. You Never Give Me Your Money - The Beatles
8. Better Days - 2Pac
9. Volcano Girls - Veruca Salt
10. The End - The Beatles

Music does not just exist. It exists in specific times and places, and in the sonic world of each individual listener who engages with it. That’s the basic idea behind "Music in Time," which explores the social and political context in which songs and albums emerge, are listened to, and reflected on over the years. Each broadcast will focus on a single album, detailing the social and political circumstances surrounding its release and moments in time that made certain music resonate anew. How is music shaped by these historical moments, and, in turn, how does it shape the histories that we remember?

By day, Evan McCormick is a historian at Columbia University, where he is part of the Obama Presidency Oral History project, interviewing a range of people — from cabinet members to ordinary folks — about their memories of the Obama years. By night McCormick is a music lover and singer-songwriter, recording under the stage name Egan Caufield. For most of his life these two worlds remained separate, but after relocating to Catskill, in 2020, he chose to bring history and music together over the airwaves, and Music in Time was born.