Lost In The Crowd CD
Marc Cushman and WHATSTHEIRNAME introduce a remarkable musical archive decades in the making. Cushman is an award-winning author, screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his books on pop culture, including the acclaimed These Are the Voyages trilogy about the original Star Trek series and his biography of the Moody Blues. But alongside his work in film and publishing, he has spent more than five decades writing and recording songs—nearly 400 in all, most of which have never been publicly released.
Cushman began recording his original songs as a teenager in the early 1970s, creating homemade albums under the name WHATSHISNAME. His songs eventually found their way onto records, films, and television soundtracks, and in 2025 he released “Burnin’ On,” a collaboration with longtime musical partner Philip Franchini. Now, with the help of AI-assisted production, Cushman has transformed his extensive collection of vintage master recordings into more than two dozen potential albums.
The first release, Lost in the Crowd, arrives in August 2026. The album collects 16 songs Cushman wrote when he was just 16 and 17 years old, yet its themes—war, racial tension, inflation, social conflict, depression, apathy, and self-doubt—remain strikingly relevant. Inspired by artists including the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, John Lennon, and Jimmy Webb, Cushman sought to combine memorable pop melodies with thoughtful, sometimes darker lyrics.
Musically, Lost in the Crowd deliberately evokes the late 1960s and early 1970s while incorporating touches of indie folk, alternative and garage rock. With 16 tracks spanning roughly an hour, the album unfolds like a musical journey, with recurring themes and a wide stylistic range reminiscent of the eclectic Top 40 and FM radio of its era.
For Cushman, releasing these songs is the fulfillment of a decades-old ambition. WHATSTHEIRNAME represents an evolution of his original alter ego, expanding beyond Cushman’s own performances and those of his colleagues to include a wider cast of voices and instruments alongside AI-assisted production. The result is, in his words, “one big, harmonious family”—a long-delayed opportunity to finally share a lifetime of music with the public.