The Curmudgeon Rock Report The Curmudgeons

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 with dashes of soul and psychedelia. After self-recording their first four albums--and mostly doing so in basements--the band graduated to the majors with the help of storied hip-hop producer Danger Mouse, instantly growing as an incredibly sensual musical force. We explore the band's entire catalog, including their brand-new record, Ohio Players. 
 
Enjoy heaping helpings of The Black Keys via our special Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xTGizMTwVDR2bKBWulliT?si=b908d0c0745345fe
 
Here's a handy navigation companion to this episode. 
 
(0:52 - 5:20) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion
 
(05:21 - 27:41) - We share the origin story of The Black Keys and revisit their first three albums - The Big Come Up, Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory 
 
(28:26 - 52:19) - We discuss the albums Magic Potion, Attack & release, Brothers and El Camino
 
(53:47 - 01:14:30) - We discuss the album Turn Blue, "Let's Rock," Delta Kream, Dropout Boogie and Ohio Players
 
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curmudgeon-rock-report/id1551808911
 
https://open.spotify.com/show/4q7bHKIROH98o0vJbXLamB?si=5ffbdc04d6d44ecb
 
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons

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 it. A pulverizing wave of annoyance after annoyance. And the annoyance has yet to stop. Let us tell you all the ways we think this band is a giant turd burger.  
 
Listen to the abomination and judge for yourself by accessing our Arcade Fire-focused Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1C30jnDsJQySuV4wEPzq5r?si=9bd7c9df43514814
 
Here's a handy navigation companion for this episode. 
 
(0:52 - 04:50) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our Arcade Fire beatdown
 
(05:06 - 16:21) - The Paralell Universe, featuring reviews of albums by The baby Seals and Kurt Vile
 
(17:06 - 36:25) - We goof on maximal grandiosity and discuss Arcade Fire's albums Funeral and Neon Bible
 
(37:57 - 01:03:09) - We discuss Arcade Fire's albums The Suburbs, Reflektor, Everything Now and We
 
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curmudgeon-rock-report/id1551808911
 
https://open.spotify.com/show/4q7bHKIROH98o0vJbXLamB?si=5ffbdc04d6d44ecb
 
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons

  
 
 

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 year, and its core members all released solo albums in 1970. There also was the "soft-rock" movement, which made stars out of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and a guy named Neil Young. We soak it all up and pay tribute to that calendar trip around the sun 54 years ago.
 
Listen to our special Spotify playlist dedicated to the sounds of 1970:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/53S1aHJv6oguRVLUtIszEe?si=22b0dfd685cd433f
 
Check out a great book about the music of 1970 we discuss - David Browne's "Fire & Rain":
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/fire-and-rain_david-browne/455158/?resultid=22bd0d08-9aae-467f-9e8b-345c1438860a#edition=6906336&idiq=7763326
 
Revisit our discussion of the Grateful Dead's early catalog of albums:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-grateful-dead-in-the-studio-a-legacy-part-1/id1551808911?i=1000577054207
 
Here's a handy navigation companion for this episode.
 
(0:52 - 03:48) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of the music of 1970
 
(03:49 - 30:42) - Our Current Universe, featuring discussion of new music by St. Vincent, Drake and Kendrick Lamar
 
(31:27 - 01:17:43) - We discuss the explosion of "soft-rock," the first solo albums by The Beatles, James Brown, Black Sabbath and The Stooges
 
(01:45:18 - 02:24:08) - We discuss 12 more great albums releases in 1970, including releases by The Grateful Dead, Santana, The Velvet Underground and Creedence Clearwater Revival
 
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons

 
  

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, Schooly D, Ice Cube, 2 Live Crew, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Gang Starr, A Tribe Called Quest, The Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah and scores of other great and hugely influential artists. 
 
Listen to our special Spotify playlist dedicated to this episode:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sf98fg4Qr5L4hJTg2uDQS?si=76c9e51cf474410f
 
Listen to an old episode of our podcast, in which we argue for A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory as the greatest hip-hop album ever made: 
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-greatest-hip-hop-album-ever-made/id1551808911?i=1000545909663
 
Here's a handy navigation companion for this new episode.
 
(0:52 - 4:43) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of hip-hop's golden age
 
(5:02 - 18:25) - The Parallel Universe, featuring reviews of new albums from Bodega and Mdou Moctar
 
(19:10 - 01:16:54) - The Curmudgeons analyze 12 amazing albums that sprung from the golden age of hip-hop
 
(01:18:15 - 02:14:40) - We celebrate a whole ton of great, mad-fun hip-hop singles from the golden age of hip-hop
 
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curmudgeon-rock-report/id1551808911
 
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons

 

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 relevance more than integrity. Starting in 1975, his career descended into a series of schlocky, cheesy singles that, while they proved to be his biggest hits, must be heard to truly appreciate their awfulness. We recount both the good ol' days and the bad ol' days of Rod Stewart during this episode. 
 
Listen to all things Rod Stewart - good, bad and ugly - by accessing our special Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0nXvqAv6Yby0h6pWeDSEG4?si=1ddcbbd651df4677
 
Here's a handy navigation companion to this episode
 
(0:52 - 03:31) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of Rod Stewart
 
(03:50 - 15:25) - The Parallel Universe, featuring reviews of new albums by Sahra Halgan and Khruangbin
 
(16:09 - 37:33) - Good Rod - a discussion of Stewart's beginnings and analyses of his first five albums, including his masterpiece, 1971's Every Picture Tells a Story
 
(38:32 - 58:27) - Bad Rod - a discussion of Stewart's nosedive into mediocrity, following him from 1975 through the New Wave days of the early 1980s
 
(59:25 - 01:21:17) - More Bad Rod - a discussion of the nadir that was Rod Stewart's 1980s and then something of a brief comeback in the early 1990s. We end by contemplating the ultimate legacy of Rod Stewart. 
 
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons

  

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. There would be blood, serving as arguably a perfect prelude to the 1970s. 
 
Read a gripping book we discuss during the episode, Joel Selvin's "Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day":  
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-darkness-got-to-give_joel-selvin/9920665/?resultid=fdbf7f90-5f20-4371-8ae3-f5f6616ace4f#edition=13196916&idiq=28301699
 
Listen to lots of wonderful music from 1969 by accessing our special Spotify playlist: 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fSB03xBvDiODLdA6S1d4V?si=0c6b037284a54d13
 
Here's a handy navigation companion for this episode
(0:52 to 2:44) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of 1969
 
(03:06 to 15:21) - The Parallel Universe, featuring reviews of new albums by The Black Crowes and Waxahatchee
 
(16:06 to 01:14:54) - Discussion of the 1969 output of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Stooges
 
(01:16:05 to 01:42:49) - Discussion of the 1969 output of Isaac Hayes, Sly & The Family Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band and The Allman Brothers
 
(01:43:48 to 02:30:06) - Discussion of a bunch of great albums from 1969, plus a contemplation of the divergent stories that were Woodstock and Altamont
 
Join our Curmudgeonly Community today! facebook.com/groups/curmudgeonrock


 
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Subscribe to our show on these platforms:



https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curmudgeon-rock-report/id1551808911
 
https://open.spotify.com/show/4q7bHKIROH98o0vJbXLamB?si=5ffbdc04d6d44ecb
 
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80M
 
Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons