Rose-Colored Headphones

On our second annual Holiday Cheerstravaganza, we make a case for Bob Dylan's utterly delightful (if slightly unhinged) Christmas party record. Also, we look back at whatever 2025 was supposed to be, look ahead to 2026, and take calls from some of our wonderful listeners. We also talk to Derek, unfortunately. Thank you for joining us for our third season. We'll be back in 2026 with our fourth seas...

Remember this? For listeners of a certain age, this CD was the soundtrack to pep rallies and gym class and probably a whole litany of adolescent humiliations.  But we're here to convince you to listen to it with an open mind to hear what you missed.  Also in this episode, Ralph and Michael play basketball.  Plus, we present our very own original Jock Jam.  Don't forget to subscribe to hear new epi...

Just imagine having to replace both Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. That's exactly what Ray Wilson had to do when he got the lead vocalist gig in Genesis. And you know what? He nailed it.  In this episode, Michael and Ralph make a case that Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks gave up on this incarnation of Genesis too soon. But it's not too late!  Later, Ralph transforms "Alien Afternoon" into a "class...

MF DOOM biographer S.H. Fernando is here to talk about that one DOOM project that you can't find on CD and people say isn't very good anyway. Truth is, it's fantastic. Listen in as we unpack the work ethic, pop-culture obsessions, and esoteric interests of hip-hop's greatest enigma, and dive into the DOOM project most deserving of a re-evaluation.  Later, Ralph and Michael pay tribute to the "Dope...

01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 00111111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01110111 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01100101 0110...

Remember that broadway musical about Spider-Man with songs by Bono and The Edge? If not, hear us out: There was a broadway musical about Spider-Man with songs by Bono and The Edge. Keep an open mind; we're in this together now.  Ralph and Michael have very different opinions about superheroes and very different opinions about musical theater, but they're doing their best to find some good in the s...

If you're the sort of person who scoffs at the ever-shifting boogyman of "today's Country music," sit down and listen. Clover-Lynn is here to guide Michael and Ralph through two very different examples of contemporary pop-country: Lainey Wilson's Hillbilly Hippie and HARDY's The Mockingbird and the Crow.  Why are people so opposed to pop-country? Is it a matter of classism? Is "Americana" just gen...

Aaron Carnes is back! For a non-ska episode! What's the deal with this album? Why is it the one Daft Punk album that people don't adore?  Is this album fun? Is it dark? What was Daft Punk trying to tell us, and were we just not ready to hear it?  Later, Ralph performs "Steam Machine" in the style of Incubus. (It'll make sense once you hear it.)  Check out Aaron's book In Defense of Ska and his pod...

Miles Davis made a hip-hop record. This should be an easy episode to do, right? I mean, we like Miles Davis. We like hip-hop. But… we also read Miles Davis' autobiography. This wasn't the episode we set out to make, but here we are.    We've got some stuff to tangle with. And it's been brewing for some time. Our experience with music is shaped by our ideas about the people who make that music. You...

Megadeth sure did a thing here. And Megadeth fans sure didn't like it. But why not? Calibrate your expectations and let us help you find a way to enjoy this thing!  Also in this episode: Ralph and Michael attempt to banter like normal podcasters. And they talk about that movie Highlander, for some reason. But it's more on-topic than you would think.  Is Risk the perfect album for a day by the pool...

Ann Powers is here to share her insight into the creative life of Joni Mitchell in the 1980s. We delve into the influence of new musical technology, a shifting musical landscape, and Joni's romantic and creative partner Larry Klein.  Don't you think it's time you checked out some of those Joni Mitchell albums you haven't heard yet? Start here. Also, check out Ann's wonderful book Travelling: On Th...

Ralph and Michael have been assigned a Disney tribute album featuring Sun Ra, Tom Waits, Garth Hudson, one of The Beatles, Sinead O'Connor, Bonnie Raitt, Michael Stipe, Herb Alpert, The Replacements, and more.  Hear us out. It's... eerie. Later, a response from a Disney Adult and the return of Saucy Walter.  Thanks for listening to our second season. We liked making it, and we'll be back soon with...

In the eighties, Nina Simone recorded one of her most eclectic and personal albums. It's also one of her best, and Ralph and Michael are here to tell you all about it, doing our best to understand her as a musician, as a person, and as a political figure. (Michael says this is his favorite album we've covered on this show so far. What do you think, listener?)  Later, Ralph performs a Nina Simone o...

This is another one of those episodes where Michael struggles to get into the album, and Ralph has to take the wheel. What is it about the Red Hot Chili Peppers that Michael doesn't get? Seriously, what crawled up that guy's butt? First Lil' Wayne and now this. It's like he hates fun or something, that Scrooge. Don't worry, listener; empathy and open-mindedness will win in the end. (In this episod...

Dee Snider drops by to talk about Christmas music, his time as a choir boy, and the making of a yuletide metal classic on our first annual Holiday Spectacular! Yeah, we do holiday specials now, like Doctor Who! And don't worry, listener; we ask him about that book and he's got news about it.  Also in this episode, Michael is visited by ghosts and he and Ralph grapple with complicated feelings abou...

Aaron Carnes drops by to educate Ralph and Michael about the wide world of Ska. Why is "Third Wave Ska" a misleading term? Where do the Bosstones fit into the larger story of the genre? Plus more listener mail from Michael's arch-nemesis Derek. Ugh. Later, Ralph is joined by drummer Elwood Bond as he brings a Bosstones anthem back to the roots of ska.    Be sure to check out the new expanded editi...

Ralph and Michael dive into the Christian-Rock equivalent of Thriller and weigh DC Talk's evangelical credentials against DC Talk's counter-cultural inclinations. To whom is this album speaking? What is being said? Is it more than a collection of 1990s pastiche with religious lyrics? Maybe this album isn't what you remember. (Well, it probably is in a lot of ways, but there's more to it than that....

Ralph and Michael are on their best behavior as Dan Charnas stops by to detail the history of J Dilla's shelved-and-then-resuscitated should-be classic. What happens when a legendary hip-hop producer decides to rap over beats by other producers? More importantly, why would he decide to do this? Plus, Ralph explores the relationship between hip-hop and bossa nova by performing "Diamonds."   If you...

Ralph and Michael put on full KISS makeup (trust us) to contemplate this heady concept album that Michael keeps calling "Music FOR the Elder," which is not the actual title. (Get it together, Michael.) Turns out there's more to Gene Simmons than most people realize, and we're going to convince you of that. Along the way, Ralph tries to define "butt rock," Michael rethinks his concept of heroism, a...

Ralph and Michael dive into the Beastie Boys Album That Time Forgot and reminisce about the hostile political climate that surrounded it. The Unhinged Lunatic who forces us to do this podcast likes giving us these trips down Painful Memory Lane. Anyway, how are you? Still profoundly uneasy about everything? Us too. Maybe just forget about it for a while and listen to these knuckleheads talk about...

Ralph and Michael dig into the original "everybody hates it" album and try to unpack the incredibly negative reaction it received back in 1970. And wouldn't you know it? It's actually pretty dope! That's right, Rose-Colored Headphones is back! Season Two is going to be so good, you guys. We're definitely not as weird as before. This is a respectable show now. Maybe we'll even find out why that Unh...

Imagine a season finale where time drifts slowly… a world where music carries you away. Experience our episode about Pure Moods: the perfect soundtrack for your way of life. Also, Ralph and Michael talk about Twin Peaks and the Butthole Surfers. Later, they present an original song in the style of Pure Moods and the unhinged lunatic who forces these guys to make this podcast finally breaks his sil...

You know we couldn't make a show like this and not talk about Trans, right? So here we go: Ralph and Michael think you should circle back to Neil Young's synth-heavy early-eighties opus, and they'd like to raise questions about the nature of "folk" music, lycanthropy, and Neil Young's reaction to Blade Runner. Also, this podcast's interstitial music has a mind of its own, Michael uses a vocoder to...

It's a prog-stravaganza as Ralph and Michael dive into a polarizing double album by Yes. Michael remembers an overheard comment that saved him from music snobbery, while Ralph extols the virtue of being a dork and learns some surprising trivia about The Buggles. Later, Ralph performs some prog-rock!    Send us an email: rosecoloredheadphonespodcast@gmail.com  

On this episode of your favorite PodKast, Ralph and Michael daydream about an MF DOOM movie, plan a Stevie Wonder heist, wonder if Andre 3000 likes King Crimson, and eventually get around to making a case for why you should give OutKast's final album (and the accompanying film) another chance. Also, Michael misremembers dialogue from the Sun Ra movie and Ralph performs "Idlewild Blue."    Send us...