100 episodes

Rock Critic Steven Hyden ("Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me", "Twilight Of The Gods") talks with rock stars and the country’s biggest music writers about what’s happening in rock. Presented by 93X (www.93X.com) and Uproxx.com (http://uproxx.com/music/)

Celebration Rock Cumulus Media Minneapolis / KXXR-FM

    • Music
    • 4.8 • 354 Ratings

Rock Critic Steven Hyden ("Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me", "Twilight Of The Gods") talks with rock stars and the country’s biggest music writers about what’s happening in rock. Presented by 93X (www.93X.com) and Uproxx.com (http://uproxx.com/music/)

    Celebration Rock: Best Albums of the Decade with Ian Cohen

    Celebration Rock: Best Albums of the Decade with Ian Cohen

    Steve decided to take the podcast out of hibernation for this special one-off episode on the best albums of the 2010's, with special guest Ian Cohen.
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    • 2 hr 8 min
    Our Favorite Albums of 2018

    Our Favorite Albums of 2018

    Every year of my professional life as a music critic, I've made year-end lists. Sometimes it was because I simply had to do it, but more often (especially when I was younger) I did it because I thought it was fun. Making a year-end list was like saying, "Here I am, this is what I think, and here's why I believe you should actually care." But now that I'm a little older and wiser, list-making feels more like work. In 2018, it was practically a job. I don't know if that has to do with my age or the fact that, to me, 2018 felt like a "good, not great" year for music. As always, there were scores of albums that I really enjoyed. But in terms of records that felt like instant classics, or at least inspired me to get obsessed for a good week or two, 2018 seemed a little fallow. Nevertheless, the 10 albums on my year-end list did manage to strike a chord with me, and I was excited to talk about them with my friend Ian Cohen, who shared his own top 10 list. Surprisingly, there's not a ton of overlap on our lists –- listen to us debate the merits of the 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Boygenius, Father John Misty, and Kacey Musgraves in this special "best of 2018" episode. 
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    • 1 hr 6 min
    Contrarian's Canon: Joni Mitchell's "Night Ride Home"

    Contrarian's Canon: Joni Mitchell's "Night Ride Home"

    This week we return with another installment of Contrarian's Canon, our semi-regular series with Ryley Walker where we talk about great albums that for some reason have been maligned or forgotten about in the course of music history. This time, we explore an under-appreciated should-be classic by one of the greatest singer-songwriters ever, Joni Mitchell.While Mitchell is rightly celebrated for landmark '70s albums like Blue, Court & Spark, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns, she continued to put out excellent albums as she entered her 40s. After a fallow period in the '80s, Mitchell forged a comeback with 1991's Night Ride Home, an album that nodded to the jazzy folk sound of 1976's masterpiece Hejira while also reflecting on the changes in her life as a middle-aged artist. For Walker, Night Ride Home is one of the best albums that Mitchell ever made, and for him the highlight "Come In From The Cold" is one of her best ever songs, with a sophisticated musical and lyrical structure that is communicated with simple, straight-forward grace. We both also confess our love of other early '90s albums by boomer-era rockers, including Jackson Browne's I'm Alive and Van Morrison's Hymns to the Silence. Are these late-career landmarks worth revisiting, or have Ryley and I slipped into an adult-contemporary coma? Step into the smoothness with us!
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    • 55 min
    Fantasy A&R: The Ultimate Mid-'90s Oasis Album

    Fantasy A&R: The Ultimate Mid-'90s Oasis Album

    Last month, we started a new game called Fantasy A&R, where we take a classic album and attempt to improve/mutilate it by making our own stupid suggestions, such as adding or subtracting songs, swapping in alternate versions, and other probably ill-advised ideas. The first time we played Fantasy A&R, it was with the Beatles' "White Album." This time, we decided to play with a band who's even bigger than the Beatles, at least in their own minds: Oasis. Between 1994 and 1996, Oasis put out two classic albums, Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory, along with a series of classic singles that included scores of B-sides beloved by fans and later compiled on The Masterplan. But what if Oasis' record company decided instead to take the best songs from the albums and singles to create a 14-track super album? What it would look like? How painful would it be to cut songs out of two '90s masterpieces in order to make it happen?  In this episode, I'm joined by fellow music critic and Oasis fan Stuart Berman to come up with our own "ultimate" mid-'90s Oasis album. Naturally, we intensely disagreed when it came to our choices, particularly when it came to which Morning Glory deep cuts to include. 
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    • 57 min
    The 2nd Annual "Last Waltz" Holiday Special

    The 2nd Annual "Last Waltz" Holiday Special

    Back in 2016, I wrote a column in which I declared that The Last Waltz is the best Thanksgiving movie. "It affirms the faith in the power of ritual to heal — at least temporarily — whatever is awkward or unresolved or plain broken about your familial bonds," I wrote. "Sometimes, that belief is just enough to make things okay for a little while." Last year, I invited friend of the pod Hanif Abdurraqib to revisit the film with me, and marvel at the majesty of Van Morrison's purple suit and Robbie Robertson's ill-considered gold-plated guitar. This Thanksgiving, I decided to keep the tradition going, firing up The Last Waltz once more with another friend of the pod, Steve Gorman. As the drummer of the Black Crowes, he watched the movie repeatedly on tour buses throughout the '90s, and over time came to recognize the weariness on the faces of The Band after years and years of touring. We talked about the unspoken resentments that linger in the film's interview sequences, as well as the subtle power of The Band's performances, which have not been diluted by the passage of time or the many, many rewatches. 
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    • 53 min
    Fantasy A&R: How To Make a 12-Track Version of the Beatles' "White Album"

    Fantasy A&R: How To Make a 12-Track Version of the Beatles' "White Album"

    In the week's episode of Celebration Rock we introduce a new game called Fantasy A&R, where we take a classic album and attempt to improve/mutilate it by making our own stupid suggestions, such as adding or subtracting songs, swapping in alternate versions, and other probably ill-advised ideas. The first album up for discussion is ripe for editing: The Beatles self-titled 1968 double-record, popularly known as "The White Album." This masterpiece turns 50 on Nov. 22, a milestone recently commemorated with a pricey box set. But we're not interested in making "The White Album" even longer. Instead, we've posed the opposite challenge: What would a tight 12-track version of this classic look like?To help me figure this out, I've invited my friend Rob Mitchum to play Fantasy A&R with me. To be clear: We both agree that "The White Album" is better as a sprawling experience, in which weird curveballs like "Wild Honey Pie" sit next to undeniable bangers like "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." However, it's still fun to imagine what a shorter "White Album" would look like, if only because it's our chance to finally wipe "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" out of existence. Or is it? That song is kind of good, isn't it? Let's find out! 
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    • 55 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
354 Ratings

354 Ratings

TLKingdom ,

Great Podcast

This is a great, raw podcast that discusses a wide range, unbiased look at various topics. I am a little late finding your show but glad I have. There was a little annoyance with some of the guests. For instance, you had a guest on for your review of the dmb lillywhite sessions. I think your guest shared a very well known, kinda wide angled, stereo typical, overly simple take on who the band and what their draw is. If I were you, I wouldn’t have been sold on the band. The whole “frat/bro/90s/beer/party” stereo type is true to a point but the band means so much to so many different types of people. Like any band. But the mention of, for example, “dmb tracks were all over movies and TV in the late 90s early 2000s” This isn’t true. Any list you find, there are roughly 8 movies/shows their tracks have ever appeared in. DMB is pretty tight on which hands their music falls into. But my point, some of these “takes” of the anti-dmb audience are literally just that, takes and stereo types where one will find little truth. ANYwho. Point is, great podcast. Makes you think and it’s great conversation. Keep it up. Hopefully a new season coming??

Bruiser Brody ,

Great Podcast

Steven - I just discovered this pod after reading Twilight of the Gods (amazing, by the way). I’m going through the 20th Century Boss series right now. Thank you so much for doing this. I’m a lifelong Bruce (and classic rock in general) fan, but haven’t always done deep dives or analysis on the music I listen to. Listening to you and others talk about these songs I know so well and break them down has added another layer to my love and enjoyment. Thanks for helping me expand my understanding. You are my rock and roll professor.

PJ Fan #3 ,

Thanks for

Absolutely great, wish would comeback! Appreciate your podcast totally!

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