Rock N Roll Archaeology
39 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 227 ratingsRock N Roll Archaeology (RNRA) is more than a podcast; it’s an immersive, carefully researched and produced audio documentary.
RNRA explores the history of Rock Music, and then goes a step further. We contextualize Rock N Roll; we place it within the cultural, political, and technological landscapes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
With storytelling, commentary, and a dash of musicology, we explore how music, culture, and technology interact and affect each other—how they ARE each other.
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Episodes
Shorts: Celebrating Country Soul
March 26, 2024 00:48 - 30 minutesA little about Country, a little about Soul, and more about how they are really just the same thing. And why it’s not at all surprising that a big Pop-Soul star like Beyoncé is releasing a Country album. For this RNRA Short, we tapped the expertise of Professor Charles Hughes of Rhodes College in Memphis, author of “Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South.” We’ll look at the origins of the Alt Country Revolt, and name-check some great artists working very loudly and d...
Shorts: Swifties - Beyond Beatlemania?
February 07, 2024 08:00 - 30 minutesTo mark the 60th anniversary of The Beatles' inaugural performance on U.S. soil, we decided to do a quick compare-and-contrast. We’ll revisit that watershed moment in music and culture, and talk about something recent that actually comes close to matching that moment: the ongoing Eras Tour from Taylor Swift. Not “Bigger THAN The Beatles,” but in our not-so-humble opinion, “Biggest SINCE The Beatles.” Listen in and let us know what you think! www.rocknrollarchaeology.com/listen Producer and Ho...
Episode 24: The Wonder Years
December 25, 2023 08:00 - 1 hourThe Soul of the 1970s. First, Marvin Gaye kicked the door open with “What’s Going On,” and then Stevie Wonder barged in. The Wonder Years spanned 1971 to 1976; when the transcendent, diverse talent of Stevie Wonder was in its fullest flower. That five-album span is one of the most successful and impactful creative runs in the history of recorded music. Our podcast offers immersive storytelling, insightful commentary, and a stellar musical playlist. Join us as we delve deep into the lives an...
Shorts: Celluloid Heroes
August 21, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutesWelcome back to Rock N Roll Archaeology! Got another RNRA Short Podcast for you. This one is named after the Kinks song “Celluloid Heroes.” Rock N Roll goes to the movies (and television) in this one. We’ll take a look at three shows that feature fictional Rock bands: the movies “Almost Famous” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” and the television miniseries “Daisy Jones & The Six.” Visit our website for more about this and all our other podcast episodes, and for links to our Patreon and Social Media....
The Metallica Report: Trailer
July 24, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutesThe Metallica Report is coming! Keep up with all things Metallica by going straight to the source for your news. This weekly report is hosted by Steffan Chirazi, long-time rock scribe and editor of the band’s online mag, So What!, and Renée Richardson, a well-known Bay Area radio personality who now oversees the band’s foundation, All Within My Hands. Steffan and Renée will keep you in the loop each week with updates, features, and interviews. They’ll also get YOUR questions answered by tho...
Shorts: Disco Demolition!
June 07, 2023 19:05 - 34 minutesRNRA Shorts: Disco Demolition! Take us back to the Distant Days of Disco, Summer of 1979. Steve Dahl, a brash young DJ at WLUP- FM (“Chicago’s Best Rock!”), has declared war on Disco. On July 12, 1979, he took the fight to Comiskey Park, in between games of a doubleheader between the home-team Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Things…got out of hand. Since then, the “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey has achieved no small amount of notoriety, and at least according to Steve Dahl, it...
Episode 23: Radio, Radio
May 03, 2023 07:00 - 57 minutesWe want the airwaves, baby! Chapter 23 of Rock N Roll Archaeology tunes into radio and radio culture in America and elsewhere. There was a brief moment in the 70s and early 80s where FM Rock Radio was something pretty special.So what was that like, and where have all the good times gone? Some storytelling in this one, but it’s a little heavier on the commentary…and of course we’re featuring some killer songs, because that’s how we roll. “Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtr...
Shorts: Diamond Dust (A Tribute to Jeff Beck)
January 17, 2023 17:39 - 25 minutesRemembering the late great Jeff Beck, the guitarist’s guitarist. An innovator and an iconoclast with a bold experimental spirit, Jeff left his unique stamp on hundreds of great songs. Songs Jeff Beck: “Diamond Dust,” from Blow By Blow Jeff Beck: “Blue Wind,” from Wired The Yardbirds: “Stroll On,” from the soundtrack to Blow Up Jeff Beck with Bones UK: “The Revolution Will Be Televised” from Loud Hailer Jeff Beck: “Freeway Jam,” from Blow by Blow Bill Haley and The Comets: “Rock Around t...
Rock N Roll Archaeology Horror Podcast Short
October 30, 2022 07:00 - 31 minutesExamining–and reconsidering–The Rocky Horror Picture Show. At the time, it was transgressive, outrageous; but now it seems a little bit tame. And…a bit problematic, when taken in a modern context. But it's still the ultimate midnight movie, and it's still…just a jump to the left! Songs: RHPS Cast: “There’s a Light,” from the soundtrack album RHPS Cast: “The Time Warp,” from the soundtrack album Tim Curry: “I Do The Rock,” from Fearless RHPS Cast: “Sweet Transvestite,” from the soundtrack...
Shorts: RNRA Horror Podcast Short
October 30, 2022 07:00 - 29 minutesExamining–and reconsidering–The Rocky Horror Picture Show. At the time, it was transgressive, outrageous; but now it seems a little bit tame. And…a bit problematic, when taken in a modern context. But it's still the ultimate midnight movie, and it's still…just a jump to the left! Songs: RHPS Cast: “There’s a Light,” from the soundtrack album RHPS Cast: “The Time Warp,” from the soundtrack album Tim Curry: “I Do The Rock,” from Fearless RHPS Cast: “Sweet Transvestite,” from the soundtrack...
Shorts: Secrets From A Saucer
September 23, 2022 07:00 - 31 minutesBands in the van, and a band at the crossroads. In this episode of RNRA Shorts, we’ll get into the early days of Pink Floyd, and the latest from a Pink Floyd member: Nick Mason’s 2022 Saucerful of Secrets tour. Written by Richard Evans and Christian Swain, Sound Design by Jerry Danielsen. Sponsors and Partners Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets Rock’s Backpages Songs Pink Floyd, “Echoes,” from Meddle Pink Floyd, “See Emily Play,” from Piper at the Gates of Dawn Pink Floyd, “Set the Co...
Shorts: The Art of the Steal
August 11, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutesContent warning: Here at RNRA, we don’t hide our views. At all. But when it comes to politics, we try not to be in-your-face about it either. Our little slogan is “Just tell the story, and the point will get made.”This time though, we’re a little more overt, we’re letting it rip just a little bit. This particular burr has been under our saddle for a while now.Now: on with the show. Summer Time is Shorts Time! RNRA Shorts, that is! So…here’s a thing. Sometimes we visit Right Wing World online...
Episode 22: The Second Wave - On the Morning After the Sixties
July 05, 2022 07:00 - 1 hourWe start with a tragedy, then a cautionary tale of the world not ready for a band. We then find more positive inspiration from an artist who delivers a huge seller. We end with a legend. Janis Joplin dies just before releasing her magnum opus, “Pearl.” A band called Fanny is ready to rock, but a culture poisoned by the patriarchy isn’t yet ready to accept them. Carole King makes Tapestry, a sincere, modest, and deeply personal album that hits huge and becomes a milestone for women. We compl...
Rock N Roll Archaeology Shorts: The Juggalos are Alright
March 15, 2022 19:00 - 26 minutesWelcome back to RNRA Shorts! This time, it’s Filth Through The Ages, and let’s meet some unlikely Free Speech Warriors. Yes, we said it, and we will die on this hill: The Juggalos Are Alright. Psst, hey! Got a topic suggestion? Let us know! Songs Frank Zappa: “Stinkfoot,” from Apostrophe’, 1974 Insane Clown Posse: “My Axe,” from Bizzar, 2000 Insane Clown Posse: “Hokus Pokus,” from The Great Milenko, 1997 Insane Clown Posse: “To Catch A Predator,” from Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear, 2010 Insane...
Shorts: The Juggalos are Alright
March 15, 2022 19:00 - 26 minutesWelcome back to RNRA Shorts! This time, it’s Filth Through The Ages, and let’s meet some unlikely Free Speech Warriors. Yes, we said it, and we will die on this hill: The Juggalos Are Alright. Psst, hey! Got a topic suggestion? Let us know! Songs Frank Zappa: “Stinkfoot,” from Apostrophe’, 1974 Insane Clown Posse: “My Axe,” from Bizzar, 2000 Insane Clown Posse: “Hokus Pokus,” from The Great Milenko, 1997 Insane Clown Posse: “To Catch A Predator,” from Bang! Pow! Boom! Nuclear, 2010 Insane...
Rock N Roll Archaeology Shorts: Joni & the Prince
February 22, 2022 22:38 - 19 minutesA quick look at an intriguing relationship: Joni Mitchell and Prince. Enjoy! Oh, hey! Got a topic idea for RNRA Shorts? Shoot us an email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shorts: Joni & the Prince
February 22, 2022 22:38 - 19 minutesA quick look at an intriguing relationship: Joni Mitchell and Prince. Enjoy! Oh, hey! Got a topic idea for RNRA Shorts? Shoot us an email: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 21: Guitarmageddon
July 28, 2021 22:57 - 1 hourThe fuse was lit in 1966. Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Keith Moon came together to record a proto-metal classic. After the session an offhand quip from Keith Moon sticks with Jimmy Page. Then we meet The G; the imposing Peter Grant. Led Zeppelin’s fearsome tough-guy manager was a key reason why Zep dominated the rock landscape in the early 70s. Well away from Swinging London, in the grimy industrial town of Birmingham, Black Sabbath comes together. We’ll also take a look at o...
Episode 20: Ohio
January 15, 2021 00:53 - 58 minutesRock N Roll as the First Draft Of History We begin in the midwest college town of Kent, Ohio, in the late spring of 1970. We’ll meet three future rockers--students at Kent State University, barely out of their teens--who will be changed forever by what they witness. We’ll check in on Motown, where the fluffy pop “Sound of Young America” is still alive, but there's a big change coming, a movement towards a tougher, more topical sound. We’ll foreshadow that just a little--lots more to come in a...
Episode 19: 1969 Part II
July 08, 2020 07:00 - 1 hourThis episode is dedicated with love to the memory of our dear friend Dennis Gordon. Dennis was the big booming voice on our show “bumpers” that would begin and end each chapter of Rock N Roll Archaeology. Thank you Dennis, we miss you. May the Four Winds blow you safely home. Welcome back to the second half of our big chapter telling the big story of a big year in Rock. If you haven’t done so already, we highly recommend you listen to Episode 18 before you delve into this one! We tell the ...
Episode 18: 1969 Part I
November 18, 2019 19:58 - 1 hourWe’re putting down a marker with this episode, and the follow-up: the highest highs and the lowest lows of the entire Rock Era occurred in 1969. It’s a year so big, we had to cut it in two, in order to serve it up properly. We start in January, with The Beatles on The Roof, a 42-minute outdoor concert that definitely warmed up the neighborhood of Mayfair, London, England. Then we catch up with their friends and rivals, The Rolling Stones. The Stones broke out HUGE in 68 and 69, the beginni...
Episode 17: Bookends
April 15, 2019 16:07 - 1 hourChapter 17 of Rock N Roll Archaeology is bookended by a couple of Simon & Garfunkel albums: “Bookends” from the spring of 1968; and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from January of 1970. Our story takes place mostly in New York City: a city big enough to spawn two very different, very talented--and very influential--artists: Paul Simon and Lou Reed. We skip work on a cold January afternoon to catch a movie: Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate.” It’s a generation milestone of a film, and Simon & Garfunk...
Episode 16: East of Eden
October 25, 2018 18:37 - 1 hourWe start our tale of Paradise Lost in Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, in the fall of 1967. Hippie, the Devoted Son of Mass Media, is dead, and the San Francisco Diggers are conducting the funeral. From the funky streets of the Haight we head east a couple miles to the Fillmore West, and meet a complicated man, concert promoter Bill Graham. It was during these early years in San Francisco that Bill created the rock concert experience. Then a brief trip to Texas, where Janis Joplin cleans up...
Episode 15: Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Five Summers in Los Angeles
March 06, 2018 20:55 - 1 hourAn impressionistic look at the interplay of Rock N Roll and Culture in Los Angeles during the latter half of the 1960s. There are familiar elements: storytelling, critical discussion and commentary, and lots of Rock N Roll attitude. But this one is different from most of our previous RNRAP offerings.
Episode 15: Slouching Towards Bethlehem
March 06, 2018 20:55 - 1 hourAn impressionistic look at the interplay of Rock N Roll and Culture in Los Angeles during the latter half of the 1960s. There are familiar elements: storytelling, critical discussion and commentary, and lots of Rock N Roll attitude. But this one is different from most of our previous RNRAP offerings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 14: I'd Love to Turn You On
July 07, 2017 20:21 - 1 hourWe open in Manila, in the Republic of the Philippines, July 3rd, 1966. The second stop of the Far East leg of the Beatles’ 1966 tour starts out weird and ominous, and gets worse from there. By the time the tour sputters to a halt—late August in San Francisco—the boys are almighty sick of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 13: Hard to Handle
April 25, 2017 12:30 - 1 hourWe open at Waldo Point Marina in Sausalito, California, just north of San Francisco. Otis Redding takes a break from the road on Bill Graham’s houseboat, and comes up with a signature song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 12: Machine Gun
January 07, 2017 00:28 - 1 hourJimi Hendrix's astonishing, supernatural talent was forged in poverty and neglect as he grew up in Seattle. We talk about that, and about the night Elvis came to town. After a short stint in the Army comes to a humiliating end, Jimi takes it on the road and spends the next four years paying his dues as a sideman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 11: I Can't Explain
October 11, 2016 17:24 - 1 hourWe start by taking a clear-eyed look at the infamous seaside “Riots” in the resort town of Clacton, United Kingdom and several other towns in the summer of 1964. The British press were WAY over the top in their depiction of these events, but they did document the first schism, the first big division in Rock music and culture: the traditionalist Rockers versus the Modernists, or “Mods.” Oh yeah, a couple bands like The Who and Kinks make an appearance... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Episode 10: Roll Away The Stones
August 12, 2016 01:09 - 1 hourEpisode Ten opens up with Christian narrating at the site of the Bricklayer’s Arms Public House, in Soho, West London, where Brian Jones met with two younger men, school chums, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, in the fall of 1963. You might know them as The Rolling Stones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 9: The Medium, The Message, The Music
May 05, 2016 23:18 - 1 hourWelcome back Diggers to Episode Nine: The Medium, The Message, The Music. This show will contain familiar elements — storytelling, commentary, and musicology — but it is also a bit of a departure. It takes place mostly in the mid-sixties, but we’re not following a timeline or building a story: it’s more of a mosaic, a think-piece. We think the influence of psychedelic drugs — especially LSD — on rock music is critically important and very much overlooked. It’s a vital part of the overall stor...
Episode 8: Meet The Beatles Part 2
March 08, 2016 17:47 - 1 hourThe show opens December 27th, 1961, at the Cavern Club where Pete Best calls in sick, and the boys bring in Richard Starkey - Ringo Starr to the world - to sit in on drums, his first paid gig with the Beatles. It clicks musically; the band really swings with Ringo on drums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 7: Meet The Beatles Part 1
February 23, 2016 22:01 - 58 minutesArrival: we begin the show on February 7th, 1964, in the first-class cabin aboard Pan American Airlines Flight 101 from London to New York City. It’s a raucous, party atmosphere, but John Lennon, for a moment anyway, feels alone in a crowd. A door opens, pandemonium ensues, and a new era arrives. Some housekeeping, and we move on to the Soho District, West London, and lay some foundation for today’s story—and for future discussions. Then we pull back a bit, and look at some of the political...
Episode 6: Soul Sisters
January 27, 2016 05:53 - 58 minutesWe open in Manhattan, in the main room, the big studio at Columbia Records. It’s Fall of 1963. A big-time, high-stakes recording session for Aretha Franklin is about to get underway. Aretha is an astonishing, one-in-a-billion talent, but it’s just not clicking for her at Columbia. We spend a little time exploring why it isn’t clicking, and then we talk a little about the feminist perspective, and why we think it is called for. And we move on from Manhattan, to South Grand Avenue in Detroit; t...
Episode 5: The Ballad of Bob and J.R.
December 30, 2015 01:45 - 1 hourA quick prologue: we stop by the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, where they opened up a very cool exhibit in March of 2015. Then we move on to Newport, Rhode Island, where Pete Seeger is about to introduce Johnny Cash, an established country star playing for the first time to a folk festival audience. After a rough beginning, the show goes very well. Afterwards, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan—mutual fans—meet for the first time and begin a lifelong friendship. We then spend some time gett...
Episode 4: The Change of the Guard
December 09, 2015 00:34 - 1 hourThe Sixties are about to begin and we’re feeling the change of the guard. We briefly recap the first Golden Age of Rock N Roll: 1956 to 1959. A lot happened, and fast. Too fast to last. We skid perilously into a new decade. As we open the sixties, all the big players are offstage, and a lot of folks are saying Rock N Roll is dead. We open in a police station in St. Louis, and Chuck Berry is in big trouble with the law. We detail Chuck’s legal fight to its conclusion in early ’63. We also catc...
Episode 3: The Day the Music Died
November 18, 2015 00:17 - 55 minutesWe describe Rock N Roll as an “enfant terrible,” then an unruly toddler, then a hyperactive kid. When Buddy Holly breaks out in late 1957, we see Rock N Roll has stepped out into the world as a confident young adult. Our story begins on a snowy two-lane highway in rural Iowa, on February 2nd, 1959: the fateful last day of the Winter Dance Party tour. The shows are going well, but the tour is a real grind. Cold, tired, and fed up, Buddy Holly decides to charter a small plane after the show tha...
Episode 2: Elvis and the Rise of Television
November 10, 2015 19:07 - 52 minutesArchaeology is the study of human activity in the past, looking at lots of different things from lots of different angles. We take that approach with Rock N Roll. We recap episode one, and open in Memphis, 1954. Sun Records owner Sam Phillips has found his elusive crossover sound—and the artist who can deliver it. Elvis breaks out; in just a few months he’s on the cusp of national stardom. We get to know Sam Phillips better; we find he shares affinity and common ground with his young star. Sa...
Episode 1: The Precursors
October 26, 2015 17:49 - 1 hourWelcome to Rock N Roll Archaeology! This is a reboot of Episode One: The Precursors, originally released October 15, 2015. We updated and improved it some, and re-released it on November 4, 2020. We begin in Times Square, late summer of 1945. The war is over. First up, the Baby Boom and a newly-discovered demographic, the white American teenager. This new cohort is huge, with unprecedented economic clout. Young, restless and affluent, and they want to get beyond the timid, conformist popul...