Rock in Retrospect – Details, episodes & analysis

Albert Tsibu, who runs the @InductAaliyah campaign on various social media platforms, joins Nick to discuss his all-time favorite artist: the one and only Aaliyah. We have an in-depth conversation about the late singer's career and legacy. We discuss various topics such as Aaliyah's music videos, her status as a fashion icon, and our favorite songs from her catalog. We also talk about Aaliyah's recent induction into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame last year and her potential induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (filled with dream inductors and set lists). To paraphrase Albert's favorite social media hashtag, he gave all the things and much more with his beautiful tribute to Aaliyah.

Please sign Albert's Change.Org petition to help get Aaliyah inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Music writer and critic Tom Lane (check out his Music Blog) returns to talk about Nelson George's documentary Thriller 40 (2023). The film focuses on the creation and legacy of Michael Jackson's iconic 1982 album. We have an informal discussion of the best and most memorable moments in the film, provide insight into the album's production history, celebrate the many talented individuals who contributed to Thriller's success and we conclude with a ranking of every song on the album. It's a great tribute to one of the most acclaimed and best-selling albums of all time.

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Tom Lane, Michelle Bourg and Mark Lempke give their initial thoughts on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2024 inductees.

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Wes Gabrielsen returns  to discuss the career and legacy of iconic singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. Topics discussed include Frampton's  collaborations with legendary artists, his magnum opus Frampton Comes Alive! and our experiences seeing him perform live in recent years. We conclude with a discussion of Frampton's current nomination for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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The Douche Caravan returns with Jon Lamoreaux (The Hustle), Patrick Dupuis (The EETF Podcast) and Michael Bagford coming on to discuss Anton Corbijn's documentary Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis (2022). The film tells the story of Hipgnosis who designed some of the most iconic album covers in rock and roll history. They worked legendary artists including Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, AC/DC and so many others.

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Darren Hines and Peter Waters return to discuss the nominees in the music categories at this year's Academy Awards. We analyze all ten scores and songs, give our personal rankings, our predictions on who will win and cap it off with great works that were snubbed.

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Music journalist David Schnelwar returns to discuss the career and legacy of Lenny Kravitz. Topics discussed include Kravitz's musical influences, notable collaborations, his ability to stay relevant for 35+ years and our favorite songs from his iconic career. We also discuss Kravitz's recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination and why he deserves induction this year. 

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Liza Lentini of SPIN returns to talk about the life and career of the late great Sinead O'Connor. We talk about Sinead's talents as a singer and songwriter, her activism, our favorite songs from her catalog and her recent nomination for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Nothing Compares talking 2 Liza about Sinead!

Please check out Liza's pieces about Sinead O'Connor: a 2020 interview with the iconic artist, a 2022 piece on why she deserves induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and SPIN's cover story selecting O'Connor as their Artist of the Year in 2023. 

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Tom Lane, David Schnelwar, Michelle Bourg and Greg Peurach return to discuss the nominees on this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot. Also...who won the previous episode's draft? Listen to find out!

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For our first episode of 2024, let's start with a draft....more precisely a Rock Hall Nominees Draft! Tom Lane, Mark Lempke, David Schnelwar, Michelle Bourg and Greg Peurach return to discuss who they believe will be nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Performers category in 2024. To spice things up, we're gonna predict the ballot in a draft-style format! Over the course of 5 rounds, we each select 5 artists and make the case on why they should appear on the ballot. There's a lot of strategic decisions involved but this is a fun, engaging conversation on the direction we think the Rock Hall is heading next year. 

Get your pencils sharpened, fill out those scorecards and see if you agree (or disagree) with our picks! 

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