What Makes a Classic?

a record player
Listen nowDownload file
Embed player
Original Air Date: 
November 13, 2005

What makes a classic?  Well, for one thing, it’s got to have some staying power.  The Bob Dylan song, “Like A Rolling Stone,” certainly fits the bill. It was recorded more than fifty years ago but it’s still considered by many to be the greatest pop single ever made.  In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Greil Marcus tells us what makes “Like A Rolling Stone” a classic.  Also “Lolita,” “Leaves of Grass” and “Psycho.”

To The Best Of Our Knowledge
Audio

Greil Marcus explains why Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" was an anthem for the sixties and a critical turning point for Dylan as an artist.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge
Audio

Doug Gordon reports on Gus Van Sant’s efforts to re-make the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film, “Psycho.”

To The Best Of Our Knowledge
Audio

Michael Cunningham won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Hours,” which re-imagined the life and death of Virginia Woolf. His new novel is called “Specimen Days” and involves Walt Whitman.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge
Audio

Steve Paulson talks with writers and editors about the enduring influence of Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge
Audio

Anne Strainchamps talks with Anne Fadiman about her book “Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love.”

Show Details 📻
Last modified: 
March 22, 2023