The Curmudgeon Rock Report

In which The Curmudgeons explore one of the most extraordinary years for rock music of all time. We won't call it the greatest, because we don't really believe in such a superlative. But, still, 1971 was pretty freakin' great. Patheon albums from Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Who; stone-cold masterpieces from Carole King and Joni Mitchell; and classics by Funkadelic, David Bowie, Santan...

In which The Curmudgeons celebrate the music and indelible legacy of one of the 21st Century's smartest, most vital rock bands. When The Black Keys first hit in 2002, comparisons with The White Stripes were inevitable. After all, they were a duo that blasted forth with just a guitar and drums. But that's where the fair comparisons ended. The Black Keys offered up lean, mean, reverent blues rock wi...

In which the Curmudgeons hammer one of the most perplexing "it" bands of the entire 21st Century. Arcade Fire stormed out of Montreal in 2004 with Funeral, a debut album that captured the imagination of throngs of unimaginative indie hipster d-bags. Whereas their fans and a whole bunch of fawning rock critics heard glorious art in all the band's maximal grandiosity, we just heard...noise. Lots of...

In which the Curmudgeons continue their romp through rock's second golden age by revisiting perhaps the age's most underrated year. There were a ton of great albums released in 1970, as we discuss at least half-a-ton of those albums during this episode. It was a year when the rock 'n' roll generation started to mature and grow more varied in its tastes and its demands. The Beatles split up that ye...

In which The Curmudgeons straight cold rock a party and revisit hip-hop's greatest, most electrifying, most unendingly thrilling period, which stretched from 1986 to 1991. We tear through 12 brilliant albums and dozens of awesome singles that taught all the MCs and producers that followed how it should it be done--and how it would be done from here on out. We cover Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, School...

In which The Curmudgeons marvel at the trainwreck that the career of a pretty fabulous rock 'n' roll singer became. Rod Stewart's gravelly, soulful voice was the engine for a series of great ramped-up yet mostly acoustic albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, all of which cemented a solid legacy for the singer. And then Stewart became beholden to a rock-star, sexy-man persona that craved releva...

In which The Curmudgeons meditate on one of rock's most important years. The music of 1969 was as inspiring as the times it was released were tumultuous. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who all released celebrated masterworks. Southern rock was born, and the newfangled form of funk continued to evolve. And two gigantic festivals hit the United States--one glorious, the other notorious. The...

In which The Curmudgeons make the case for what we think is one of the most underrated bands of all time: The Doors. Wait. The Doors?! Yup. Once revered and now reviled, The Doors, we believe, are viewed by younger generations as a Baby Boomer fossil that is as pretentious as it is insufferable. But that misses the mark badly. Listen as we discuss the influences and artistic ambition that made Jim...

In which The Curmudgeons introduce you--again--to your new favorite band. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club spliced the neo-psychedelic swagger of bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre with the rawkin' menace of the Stone Roses, Oasis and other British bands to offer a maximal yet poignant vision of what rock 'n' roll should be. Their five-album output during the first decade of the 21st century is on...

In which The Curmudgeons explore the dichotomous year that followed 1967's Summer of Love trippiness. The previous year's highs represent a peak creative burst. Well, where to go next? That's where the era's most storied artists diverged. On the one hand, you had bands that went bigger and bolder--The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead fall into this category. On the other hand, you had a...

In which the Curmudgeons marvel at how quickly, and how well, hip-hop evolved after the Sugar Hill Gang's massive 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" changed the game completely for everyone. We tell the story of how entrepreneurs, hustlers and visionaries seized the moment to bridge gaps between the streets, the art galleries and the record-label boardrooms. We celebrate a string of amazing singles that...

In which the Curmudgeons count down our selections for the 50 best B-side songs in rock history. The B-side is something of a lost art as digital music dominates and physical media becomes less prevalent. But there was a time when the other side of the 45 or tracks 2 and 3 of the CD maxi-single mattered. There, you could find songs the artist intentionally withheld from an album to give them their...

In which The Curmudgeons revisit an unbelievably fertile year for popular music during the 20th century. The Beatles dropped Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. James Bown dropped "Cold Sweat." And a staggering number of artists announced their arrival in stunning fashion--Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, the Velvet Underground and others. And, yes, there was a whole lot of flower power emanating...

In which The Curmudgeons each reveal their favorite records of the year. Frankly, it was a mediocre past 12 months for popular music, and there aren't a whole lot of records people will remember a decade from now. Yet there were some gems, and during this moment in time, we're excited to share our picks. Call it a public service.    Enjoy a sampler platter of our selections via our Spotify playlis...

In which The Curmudgeons celebrate an underrated classic album that was Chris's favorite for a stretch when he was 18 years old. Yes, the episode title is a direct assertion about Blind Melon's debut record Chris made once upon a time to Arturo. But was it a warranted statement from a tortured 18-year-old kid? Of course not, but don't we all have an album like that from our youth we adore? Regardl...

In which The Curmudgeons plumb the vast archival releases of one of our favorite artists, Neil Young. Chris, in fact, considers himself a Neil Young-ologist, and he takes the lead in touring ten of the most essential releases in what has seemed, since 2009, like a never-ending torrent of live recordings and unreleased studio material dating all the way back to the 1960s. Also, Arturo shows how muc...

In which the Curmudgeons revisit the year when rock 'n' roll exploded into psychedelic glory. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles' Revolver greatly expanded rock's vocabulary--with a little help from their friends. All three albums are considered timeless greats, and we discuss the myriad reasons why. We also parade through 1966 albums and singles that followed...

In which The Curmudgeons espouse the virtues of Bston's glorious, pioneering arena rock masterpiece. Boston's self-titled debut was the product of the creative mind and engineering talents of a guy who worked by day as an engineer for Polaroid. His use of multiple tracks to layer lead guitar parts and vocals effectively created what became a cliche--to the detriment of this band's legacy. We discu...

In which the Curmudgeons remember and pay fond tribute to one of our favorite bands of all time, which now unfortunately is masquerading as an emblem for Las Vegas tourism. We give close attention to the hope, grace and sense of wonder that made the band's anthemic brand of rock 'n' roll so magnificent. We focus especially on the period between 1983 and 1993, when U2 ruled the world via six studio...

In which the Curmudgeons focus their gaze on music that exploded into our cultural consciousness 58 years ago--and is still exploding now. For the second consecutive year, The Beatles and Bob Dylan changed and everything and then some. The Rolling Stones started writing songs and kicking ass. James Brown, The Byrds, The Who and The Beach Boys also startled with innovation. Was 1965 rock's greatest...

In which the Curmudgeons wake up in the city that never sleeps once more and offer a countdown of what we think is the definitive list of the greatest 40 rock 'n' roll songs about the Big Apple. We touch on the city's love-hate dichotomies and make the argument that these songs paint the city as an experience more than as a residence. And Arturo recounts all the places he bought weed from once upo...

In which The Curmudgeons give the origins of hip-hop a serious treatment and contemplate the magical melding of time, place and resources that makes its early history so compelling. The pioneers of the genre stared down the destruction and impoverishment of the South Bronx with the swagger of kings, organically spinning celebration, and positivity, out of their circumstances. They also channeled t...

In which The Curmudgeons launch their latest "golden age" series, this time on the one that arguably matters the most: the second one. Between 1964 and 1972, everything changed, and then changed again. The whole cultural powderkeg exploded into something thrilling, something indescribable and something that ensured podcasts like ours will always exist. It's when rock 'n' roll became "rock music" t...

In which The Curmudgeons marvel at the pure rock 'n' roll glory of what we think is an underappreciated band, The Black Crowes. The band blended the influence of the Rolling Stones, Faces, Humble Pie and dollops of Southern Rock into a blast of audio dynamite that exploded in...1990, when MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice and Paula Abdul otherwise ruled the universe. It was a neat feat, one we explore intens...

In which the Curmudgeons follow James Brown into his disco-era slump and his triumphant return to the top of the charts with the shining monument that was "Living in America." We also cover Brown's troubling descent into drug addiction and criminal behavior, which in 1988 culminated with a 2-year-plus prison sentence. There also are sordid allegations of violence against women we must address.   ...