Rock-n-Roll Autopsy

The boys (minus one) welcome wise music swami and prolific author extraordinaire, Martin Popoff into the lab to discuss his latest book, KISS '76: Twelve Months That Defined the Hottest Band in the Land.

The boys slap on fake mustaches, chase down a fuzzy bassline, and use the scientific method to conduct an autopsy on the corpse of Beastie Boys’ snarling rap-rock classic, Sabotage. News items and digressions include renewed forensic analysis suggesting the death of Kurt Cobain may have been a homicide.

The boys trash trash TV, rage against afternoon soaps, and use the scientific method to conduct an autopsy on the corpse of Public Enemy’s rap-metal riot, She Watch Channel Zero?!. News items and digressions include Flavor Flav trading giant clocks for gold medals as hype man for women’s sports and host of a Las Vegas celebration honoring the United States women’s national ice hockey team’s championship run.

The boys flap their arms at hardcore’s art-school evolution, stage-dive into post-genre euphoria, and use the scientific method to conduct an autopsy on the corpse of Turnstile’s ecstatic modern anthem, “Birds.” News items and digressions include the debut of Rock 101, where single-coils and humbuckers are dissected with the precision of bedroom tone scientists who own entirely too many guitar pedals.

The boys grab a slice of rock mythology, decode eight-and-a-half minutes of cultural bewilderment, and use the scientific method to conduct an autopsy on the corpse of Don McLean’s 1971 folk-rock campfire epic, “American Pie.” News items and digressions include a look back at the tragic deaths of the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, and Ritchie Valens.