Guest Dj Project

Actress Ellen Page was a bit nervous to do the Guest DJ Project, well aware that revealing the songs most important to her would reveal a LOT about her.
(Some guests don’t realize that until they’re in the middle of taping the show and get surprisingly emotional.)
So, what did we learn about Ellen? She definitely uses music as a tool in her life to get …

One day I found myself looking through the photographs of Douglas Kirkland. His photos of Marilyn Monroe, with little more than a white sheet and a glass of champagne, are now legendary and he captured famous shots of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson and many more. He’s traveled the world working on movie sets – he’s worked with Baz Luhrmann a bunch, including …

Saturday Night Live is finishing up its 38th season this weekend so we invited cast member Jason Sudeikis to share song songs that have shaped him as part of KCRW’s Guest DJ Project.
From favorites he inherited from his parents to the West Coast gangsta rap that informed him of a lifestyle far from his own in suburban Kansas, music seems to have been as …

We’ve hosted five years of laughs, tears, and lots of great music. Nearly 250 guests bared their souls to us and took on the painful task of choosing FIVE songs that have inspired them throughout their lives.
Many have complained about how torturous it is to choose just five, but the result is a 10-minute window  into someone’s personality, more so than just their music …

It feels like a lifetime ago when John Hodgman was a literary agent.  It is hard to remember a time when he was anything other than a famous minor television personality, a resident expert, an author, a humorist, and a deranged millionaire.  Now he is all of those things to us, and more.
What Hodgman is more than anything is an inspiration to anyone that …

While I don’t follow the movie industry too closely, I do live in Hollywood, and I’d heard stories through the grapevine about director David O’ Russell and some on set antics.  I’m not one to make assumptions about people until I’ve met them myself but, needless to say, I had a bit of nervous anticipation about taping a Guest DJ Project set with him …

I have a soft spot in my heart for choreographer/actress Debbie Allen.
I’ve always been attracted to the arts, even as a kid, and “Fame” was a big movie for me. I was young, but I remember being totally mesmerized by the dancing.
Debbie leads a dance academy based here in LA and puts on an annual holiday production called the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at UCLA’s …

When it comes to sports, I’m a dedicated basketball fan.  I mean, c’mon, I’m a Hoosier by birth and attended UCLA for college, both places hotbeds for hoops!  What else could I be?
Admittedly, I’m no good at it myself, but I enjoy watching it, particularly the NBA. Believe it or not, I’ve been a longtime LA Clippers fan, well before the Blake Griffin/Chris Paul/Lob …

With the enormity of most Thanksgiving undertakings, it’s easy to overlook one important ingredient – music!
KCRW’s Guest DJ Project has hosted a number of chefs over the years, talking about songs that inspire them – both in life and in the kitchen.
This week’s guest is acclaimed LA chef Vinny Dotolo. He has received attention on a national level for his creative culinary style, …

As impossible as it may sound, I sometime get my fill of music.
Working daily in the KCRW Music Library, listening to all the new submissions, cataloging the new additions, refiling the older records – every once in a while I’ll need to cleanse the palate! Besides blissful silence, one of my regular go-to palate cleansers is sports talk radio, and my favorite show to …