Sound Opinions music podcast
BB pal Jess Hemerly says:
Sound OpinionsA friend recently turned me on to a great podcast put out by Chicago Public Radio called Sound Opinions, hosted by two Chicago music critics, Jim DeRogatis (Chicago Sun-Times) and Greg Kot (Chicago Tribune). The show has been on Chicago Public Radio since 2005, and all of the episodes are available on the site. These guys LOVE music. They have such insane knowledge of music and musicians that they not only make amazing connections across genres and eras, but they also have on many occasions pointed out amazing parts of songs I've never noticed but have heard 20,000 times. To wit: I never realized how truly amazing Ernie Isley's guitar solo is in Isley Brothers' "Who's That Lady?" or that "Sympathy for the Devil" is inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita. But they are also not such huge snobs that they're unwilling to admit that it's very difficult to distinguish between Parliament and Funkadelic.
They make me want to move to Chicago and befriend them (I mean that in a completely non-creepy way).
the latest
latest episodes
I've been listening to these guys for a couple years, it's broadcast in the Twin Cities on 89.3 The Current. Originally Sat. mornings, now Sunday nights. I just recently discovered the podcast as well - and Jess is right - these guys *love* music.
Great show.
Check their website for the list of radio stations they're on as well.
This is by far one of my favorite public radio offerings. Not only is the radio pogram great, but the articles these guys write for the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times are equally fantastic.
Greg Kot: http://www.gregkot.com
Jim DeRogatis: http://www.jimdero.com/
Ah, yes. Welcome to the beauty that is these two guys on WBEZ. Their show is sufficiently interactive, as well. During a live broadcast the topic of which was psychedelic soul, I called in to point out that they neglected mention of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. About ten minutes later, they played the length of my recorded message with that band's most popular hit, "Express Yourself." That was cool and, I hope, contributed to the discussion.
For the film critic equivalent (in terms of depth and passion, not popularity... yet), I highly recommend Adam and Matty of "Filmspotting," a podcast turned WBEZ program.
Huzzah!
i remember when their ratings scale was "buy it, TAPE it, trash it"!
And the SoundOps boys newspaper blogs are here:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/
and here:
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/
-- MrJM
It's a great show. I've been listening to them since they had a show on WXRT, the local adult rock station.
They're the Siskel and Ebert of rock.
Um, it's not very difficult to distinguish parliament and funkadelic.
For once, I'm ahead of Boing Boing. I've been listening to the Sound Opinions podcast for years. No longer the only rock and roll talk show, but it is the best.
Ack! Our Chicago secret has been revealed!
Oh well. Enjoy, world.
Ahhh... but would they know that "Dirty Deeds" by AC/DC (somewhat neglected track in the states) was inspired by a Beany and Cecil cartoon?
re: Their "buy it, burn it, trash it" ratings
What does "burn it" mean?
just yesterday my friend and i read our first greg kot review, the one for the new green day, and have been mocking it ENDLESSLY. it's absurd that this shows up on boingboing the next day.
it's like greg kot doesn't actually listen to music
" Perhaps the only thing more unlikely than releasing a rock opera in 2009 is that it’s a rock opera written and recorded by Green Day. But such is the case with “21st Century Breakdown"
ahahaha
" nothing less than a three-part rock opera that traces the story of two characters, Christian and Gloria, the yin and yang of singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong’s personality. Christian is a rabble-rouser with his finger hovering on the self-destruct button. Gloria is an idealist with hopes of remaking the world."
hahahahahahaha
"he hasn’t quite mastered the art of the telling detail the way someone like the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn has."
hahahahahahahahahahahahah
"One thing hasn’t changed. The music rocks, only now the snotty, faux-British accent has been replaced by a full-throated cry that owes as much to classic rock as it does to basement punk. Tre Cool has always been the band’s secret weapon,"
halksfnglskafnglsknrg
@Gulo Gulo
Are you laughing at his writing or his assessment? I don't always agree with reviewers, but are you a published writer? Are a respected journalist? Reading your comment makes me think you're 15 years old. Am I right?
As for Sound Opinions...I love that it's getting more and more coverage. Hopefully WFYI in Indianapolis will pick it up soon.
JayTKay
I believe "burn it" is the updated "tape it". As in, "yeah I'd want it, but I wouldn't pay for it".
Gotta agree with VonneGut here, what is the issue with the writing? Maybe its a bit wanky.. but he is reviewing a rock opera.
Greg Kot is a great music journalist. He writes very well. His reviews are way better than the cheeky sarcastic ones over at pitchfork any day.
I've had dinner with Kot and he isn't that cool. He recently wrote a review of a Britney Spears concert.. really heady 'big time rock critic' material, lemme tell ya.. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin. Check out Mike Watt's radio show - http://twfps.com/
And now you can hear Sound Ops in the Bay Area on 91.7 KALW-FM SF -- Sundays at 2 pm.
It's not difficult to distinguish between Parliament and Funkadelic IF you know their entire catalog by heart already. If you don't then yes, any given Parliament LP released at the same time as a Funkadelic LP will sound like the same band (because, well. . . it IS the same band more-or-less).
It's really quite simple, kids:
Parliament has horns, Funkadelic does not.
his writing and assessment are both hilarious. he's just completely incompetent as a music critic in such a charming way. like the very first sentence is completely bonkers, green day's top selling album was ALSO considered a rock opera by every wanker with a journalism degree and a column in spin. as far as writing skills go he's about as bad as pitchfork but his opinions are a lot less irritating because his are just charmingly naïve, not painfully arrogant. mostly he's just pretty hilarious all-around.
did you really just imply that you need to be a published author or music critic to mock one?
and i'm seventeen! that's way older
Clearly since I can't always tell the diff between Parliament and Funkadelic after a few bars means I've been retarded my entire life. Shit.