Rock in Retrospect

Aaron Conn (host of Albums Uncovered ) comes on to discuss the legacy of the late, great David Johansen. He was the lead singer of the legendary protopunk band the New York Dolls and had a very successful solo career under both his name and his persona Buster Poindexter. We celebrate the life and career of a one-of-a-kind performer who is one of the most underrated and influential in the history o...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let's honor the Irish by discussing Kneecap, the rebellious trio from Belfast who have taken the world by storm with their unique brand of Irish-infused hip hop. I invited Patrick Dupuis ( EETF Podcast ), Hector Contreras, Kyle Hildreth, and Tony Greathouse to talk about the group's upcoming 2024 film. We also discuss Michael Fassbender's involvement, t...

Writer Ross Warner ( Drunk on Sunday ) joins us to discuss his latest book, American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond (2024), about the early years of the legendary American rock band. We also discuss our shared love of the band, how Pearl Jam's Mike McCready came to write the book's foreword, and much more. We conclude by sharing our favorite Cheap Trick son...

David Lizerbram ( Rock Docs ) returns to discuss Sofia Coppola's biographical drama Priscilla (2023) starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi as Priscilla and Elvis Presley.  Support the show

Kailyn, Jordan, and Sam return to discuss the recent Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late . The film focuses on the life and career of the legendary performer and also incorporates performances from his farewell tour. We talk about our earliest memories of Elton, our thoughts on the film and its Oscar-nominated song, and conclude with our 5 favorite songs from his catalog.  Support the s...

Darren Hines and Peter Waters return to discuss the nominees in the music categories at this year's Academy Awards. We analyze all ten scores and songs, give our personal rankings, our predictions on who will win and cap it off with great works that were snubbed. We also discuss the Oscars’ decision to omit live performances from this year’s ceremony.  Support the show

Scott and Andrew (hosts of I've Got That on Vinyl ) join Nick to discuss James Mangold's A Complete Unknown (2024), the Oscar-nominated biopic that focuses on the early years of Bob Dylan. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Elle Fanning. Other topics discussed include Scott meeting Dylan in the early 1990s and a rundown of our all-time favorite Dylan son...

Tom Lane, Mark Lempke, David Schnelwar, Michelle Bourg and Greg Peurach return to discuss this year's nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2025.  Artists nominated this year include Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish and The White Stripes....

All aboard...the Douche Caravan is sailing away on a yacht! Jon Lamoreaux (Host of the Hustle Podcast ),  Patrick Dupuis (Host of the EETF Podcast ) and Michael Bagford return to discuss the latest film in Max's Music Box series Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary (2024). This film charts the music and careers of Yacht Rock's most famous artists including Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, The Doobie...

On this very special episode, Hadyn Murdoch, Jon Jamen (both part of the INXS All Areas Podcast ) and Jim Skivalidas (a member of the Induct INXS campaign ) to discuss why they feel INXS should be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It's what you need to kick off February! If you haven't already listened, check out our previous INXS episode  with Hadyn and our friend Jon Lamo...

Joe Kwaczala (host of Who Cares About the Rock Hall? ) returns to discuss Nick's recently updated 'Rock Hall Prospects Project' list, now in its fifth year, which ranks the worthiest and most deserving artists for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. We discuss the artists who made the top 10, the 14 newly-added artists on this year's list, and concludes with Joe's sugg...

R.I.P. Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States who was also one of history's greatest humanitarians. To pay tribute to this great man, I invited three Carter historians and biographers (Randall Balmer, Michael Brown and Mark Lempke) to talk about Mary Wharton and Bill Flanagan's 2020 documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President . Featured in the film include music le...

To celebrate what would've been Elvis Presley's 90th birthday today, I invited the great Tom Lane (Tom Lane's Music Blog) to discuss the Netflix documentary Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley. The film covers Elvis' life and career and, most notably, his triumphant 1968 television comeback special. This is a companion piece to our earlier episode where Tom a...

For our first episode of 2025, let's start with a draft....more precisely a Rock Hall Nominees Draft! Tom Lane, Mark Lempke, David Schnelwar, Michelle Bourg and Greg Peurach return to discuss who they believe will be nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Performers category in 2025. To spice things up, we're gonna predict the ballot in a draft-style format!...

A holiday surprise! I invited Patrick Dupuis ( EETF Podcast ), John Mutford, Mike Drew, Hector Contreras, Kyle Hildreth, and Woody Meachum to discuss the 2024 documentary Band Aid - The Making Of The Original 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' - to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic charity single. The movie is streaming for free on YouTube! Support the show

Scott Kummer and Josh Hohbein (hosts of the I Got That on Vinyl ) come on to discuss the 2022 Netflix documentary Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres .  Support the show

Writers David Cantwell ( No Fences Review ) and Tom Lane ( Music Blog ) return to discuss the career and legacy of Jerry Lee Lewis. We talk a lot about Ethan Coen's recent documentary Trouble in Mind (2022) and also emphasize Lewis' place in the both the rock and roll and country genres. We conclude with our favorite tracks from the Killer. Support the show

On the latest Movie Talk episode, things get a little weird...as we talk about all things Weird Al!   I invited past guests Patrick Dupuis ( EETF Podcast ), John Mutford, Mike Drew, Hector Contreras and Kyle Hildreth to talk about the 2022 music biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story . Support the show

The second of two episodes covering the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. For Part II, I invited Mark Lempke and Greg Peurach to talk about their experiences watching the ceremony live and in person! The ceremony took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday October 19th.  Topics discussed include our favorite speeches (from both presenters and ind...

The first of two episodes covering the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. For Part I, I invited Darren Hines, Jordan Collins, Cliff O'Neill and Andrea Lewis to talk about their experiences watching the ceremony live and in person! The ceremony took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday October 19th.  Topics discussed include our favorite spe...

Mike Wiles ( Retro Rock Roundup ) returns to discuss the life and legacy of singer-songwriter Barry Manilow. Topics discussed include Manilow's status as one of the most versatile and talented creative forces in American music , his many collaborations with famous artists, and  his catalog of classic songs.  Support the show

Albert Tsibu, who runs the @InductAaliyah campaign on various social media platforms, joins Nick to discuss his all-time favorite artist: the one and only Aaliyah. We have an in-depth conversation about the late singer's career and legacy. We discuss various topics such as Aaliyah's music videos, her status as a fashion icon, and our favorite songs from her catalog. We also talk about Aa...

Music writer and critic Tom Lane (check out his Music Blog ) returns to talk about Nelson George's documentary Thriller 40 (2023). The film focuses on the creation and legacy of Michael Jackson's iconic 1982 album. We have an informal discussion of the best and most memorable moments in the film, provide insight into the album's production history, celebrate the many talented indivi...

Returning guests Kailyn Champlin, Peter Waters and Sam Ratner join Nick to discuss the recent concert film Gaga Chromatica Ball (2024) starring the one and only Lady Gaga. We share how we became fans of her music, our thoughts on the film, and choose our favorite songs from her catalog. A really fun episode that was just born this way! Support the show

We just celebrated our 3-year anniversary this past week and this is our 75th  episode! To celebrate this achievement, I invited the great David Festini back on the show to talk about one of our favorite artists of the 1980s: Huey Lewis and the News. We discuss this hugely popular band's rise to fame, their unique sound, their status as icons of the 1980s and why they deserve to be considered...