Palmyra Delran was a veteran East Coast pop-punk rocker when previous Caropop guest Stevie Van Zandt offered her a hosting gig on his Little Steven’s Underground Garage Sirius XM channel. His instinct was dead on, as she turned out to be a natural, super-lively storyteller and record-spinner, especially when she’s dusting off her Trash Pop Treasures. She traces her love of 45s back to her aunt’s corner-store jukebox in New Jersey, where she grew up and developed her passion for drumming. She recalls her stints in the bands Pink Slip Daddy and the Friggs and her solo work with the Doppel Gang, including their new cover of Joey Ramone’s “Spirit in My House.” She also discusses forming the Coolies with the late Kim Shattuck and tells how she puts together her Underground Garage shows. Is she playing her own records? Does Van Zandt have to approve her playlists? And how did Nancy Sinatra come to record the “Trash Pop Treasures” intro?

How did David Byrne go from being a twitchy art-rock frontman to one of our most beloved artists? At age 74, he’s got a new book, Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up, plus associated live events; an ongoing immersive experience with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Theater of the Mind; the new Sirius XM pop-up channel Talking Heads Radio; an upcoming Talking Heads Fear of Music deluxe package; and a recently completed, dazzling live tour spotlighting his latest album, Who Is the Sky? Byrne discusses all this and more, including whether music needs movement; what he’s learned from Theater of the Mind; how Jonathan Demme and Spike Lee treated point-of-view while directing Stop Making Sense and American Utopia, respectively; what everyday people don’t understand about band dynamics; how involved he is in the Talking Heads-related projects; whether he would enjoy playing music with his ex-bandmates in an empty room; and which song of his is the biggest Sleeping Beauty of them all.

Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak shared a love of the British Invasion and Beach Boys with classmate and drummer (and previous Caropop guest) Dennis Diken when they teamed up with bassist Mike Mesaros and signed on singer-songwriter-guitarist Pat DiNizio. Babjak describes this New Jersey power-pop group’s rise, fall and current resurgence as a live band featuring a rotating roster of lead singers substituting for the late DiNizio, including previous Caropop guests Marshall Crenshaw, John Cowsill and Wesley Stace. Who wrote the indelible riffs for songs such as “Only a Memory” and “A Girl Like You”? How did Babjak gain confidence in his own songwriting? He explores the thorny issue of publishing royalties and explains why he took a job with a bank for 20 years. He also describes DiNizio’s last years and what prompted the band to resume playing after he was gone. How did 2026 become the Smithereens’ busiest year since 1994? What’s happening with that prospective new Smithereens album?