Prisoners of Rock and Roll

The Ramones and The Clash are two of the most important bands in punk rock, and they put out two of the greatest punk rock albums of all time. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re debating their masterpieces -- the self-titled album from The Ramones versus London Calling by the Clash. It’s Hey Gabba Gabba versus the Only Band That Matters!  Part of Pantheon Podcasts. Check us out o...

Summertime is the right time for taking road trips, and whether you’re taking a day trip or loading up the car for a cross country adventure, you gotta have some tunes. On today’s episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’ve put together the ultimate road trip playlist. We’re going to play some clips, share some insight, and talk about some great music to check out while on the road.  Part of Pant...

The blues is the foundation for practically every type of modern music ever made, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues, jazz, and even hip hop. On today’s episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re going to explore the more than 150 year history of the Blues. We’re going to visit the plantations and juke joints of the deep south and follow African Americans as they moved out of the region a...

Our show features has a segment every episode called The Electric Chair where we sentence a song to death for being terrible. We’re taking that to the next level by making the whole show about tunes that make our ears bleed. And we let a bunch of our listeners in on the fun too! Episode Playlist: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Prisonersofrockandroll Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrisonersofRock...

Nothing goes better than a cold beer and some good tunes. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we are celebrating the triumphant reopening of our home base at McCusker’s Tavern in Philadelphia by putting together a list of the greatest bar songs of all time. Grab a cold one and turn up the radio because we’re here to be your jukebox heroes! Check out our episode playlist for the full all...

Rock and roll wouldn’t be what it is today without MTV. Before the rise of Napster and YouTube, MTV was where you discovered music and learned about what was going on with your favorite artists. There was something for everyone with shows like Headbangers Ball, Yo MTV Raps, 120 Minutes, and Club MTV. It also had shows like Remote Control, Singled Out, and Beavis & Butthead. On today’s episode of P...

The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three day music festival held in California during the summer of love during 1967. This is where the US got introduced to Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who. It also featured performances by the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Mamas and the Papas, Ravi Shankar, Jefferson Airplane, the Steve Miller Band, and m...

Shock rock combines rock and roll with theatrical live performances that include costumes, special effects, and provocative behavior that pulls from circus sideshows, science fiction, horror, and religion. In this episode, we look at famous shock rockers like KISS, Gwar, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie, as well as a handful of other artists and their outrageous antics.  Check out our...

Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. The Big Four of Thrash metal put America on the heavy metal map and ruled the back of denim jackets everywhere from the mid 80s to the early 90s. They’ve made some of the best albums in metal history, including ...And Justice for All, Persistence of Time, Rust in Peace, and Reign in Blood. On this episode, we take a look at some of the fastest, loudest mus...

The Rat Pack was a group of entertainers that made movies, recorded music, performed on stage, drank booze and chased broads -- usually all in the same day and all while wearing a suit. In this episode, we take a look at America’s first supergroup of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. We talk about their legendary shows at the Sands and the influence they h...

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re talking about U2, the most successful band to ever come out of Ireland. Over the course of their 45-year career, they’ve stayed relevant by consistently evolving their sound and reinventing themselves. On today’s episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re going to talk about their legendary career then get up close and personal with the Joshua Tree, their s...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has released the list of nominees for the class of 2021, and it’s one of the most diverse groups of artists to ever be up for induction, including 7 first time nominees, 9 people of color, and 7 women. The artists are from heavy metal, punk, R&B, hip hop, new wave, rock, afrobeat, and singer-songwriters. In this episode, we share our thoughts on the class of 2021, ca...

Hair metal was one big rock and roll circus that burst onto the scene and ruled the airwaves, concert venues, and MTV in the 1980s. They embraced the idea that rock and roll is about having a good time and they took it to cartoonish levels of excess. Join us as we raise our cigarette lighters in salute to our top six hair bands of all time. Cue the song by Europe -- it’s the hairband countdown! Pa...

Bruce Springsteen is famous for writing songs about characters in the trenches of everyday life, trying to make a place for themselves and make sense of it all. His concerts are legendary nearly religious experiences that routinely last over three hours. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we talk about how The Boss went from a working-class kid at the Jersey Shore to one of the biggest...

The history of music is filled with counterculture movements, and none of them gave the middle finger to society louder or angrier than punk. We take you through a brief history of punk music, starting with the garage rock of the late 60s that inspired it up through the commercialized pop punk that sold tens of millions of copies. We talk about some of the most interesting characters and influenti...

1991 was one of the strangest and greatest years in modern music history. It's a year that brought us huge releases from U2, Van Halen, and Guns n' Roses, as well as debuts from Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. It's also a year where Do the Bartman, Rico Suave, and Ice Ice Baby were on the charts. On today's episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we jump in our music time machine and discuss a...

New Year's Eve sure was different this year. Time Square was more or less empty and everyone was stuck at home instead of celebrating with friends and family. That sucks, but we’re here to help! We decided to record a short episode as the ball drops to look back at some music of 2020 and talk about some of the music that’s usually played at New Year’s Eve Parties. Grab your champagne as as we say...

Ah, the holidays! It’s time for putting up decorations, eating too much, spending time with friends and family, and listening to Christmas music! On today’s festive episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we spent hours wandering around malls and listening to the radio to hand pick the best songs for the most wonderful time of the year.  Episode Playlist Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck Get In Tou...

The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. People have been debating this one in living rooms and bars around the world for over 60 years. Lennon and McCartney or Jagger and Richards? Yesterday or Gimmie Shelter? Everyone has an opinion, and we’re going to share ours when it comes to the Fab Four vs the bad boys of rock and roll.  Episode Playlist Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones Get In Touch Facebook Twitt...

If music is a religion, then Sun Studio in Memphis Tennessee is one of it’s holy sites. Inside this former auto glass repair shop, a man named Sam Phillips invented rock and roll, discovered Elvis Presley, and brought us artists like BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash. This is where it all started. Sam opened his studio in 1950 because he wanted you to experience...

People have been associating music with scenes from movies since before Judy Garland sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz over 80 years ago. Some of the most memorable scenes in the history of film have music playing behind them -- and some of the most memorable soundtrack songs are just as well known as “That song from The Breakfast Club” as “Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Min...

America is second to none when it comes to going to inventing music: blues, salsa, country, jazz, hip hop, bluegrass, funk, doo wop, ragtime, surf music, punk, disco, and of course rock and roll. Unless you’re into the symphony, polka, or Australian didgeridoo, the music you’re listening to either came from or has deep roots in America. On today's episode of the Prisoners of Rock and Roll, each of...

Motley Crue has been making music for almost 40 years. Despite their enormous commercial success, they and most of the other hair bands from that era get written off because of their party lifestyle, spandex, and high hair. On this inaugural episode of the Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re going to make the argument that Motley Crue belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We'll discuss their ri...

What's up, cellmates?! Welcome to the Prisoners of Rock and Roll . We release an episode every two weeks where we talk about music, the people who make it, and the influence it has on all of us. We talk about our favorite bands, dive into music history, and settle once and for all some of those music arguments you have with your friends. We also have a segment called The Electric Chair where we se...