Music Raygun

It's another of our Music Raygun minis, the in-between episodes you can get only if you subscribe to the podcast (or find us on SoundCloud). But you're reading this, so you figured that out already. Good for you, sailor!

We went back to the bag for Music Raygun No. 30. The grab bag, that is. We’ve got a real rando-crando mix of artists, songs and videos for you in this episode, including Bad Manners, BadBadNotGood, Beefheart, Blossom (Dearie, that is) and other names that don’t start with the letter B. We also traveled through time to watch some ‘60s TV shows. And we figured out why the Little River Band's is the music you hear when you die. So go ahead and grab our bag. (Sorry.) To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

We're back for another miniepisode as Kirk tries to redeem himself following a crushing defeat in the previous trivia game. Also, starting right now, you'll find the "Don't @ Me" segment living here in our miniepisodes. Exciting, right? And listeners want to know: Why does Paul keep calling Kirk "Krag"? The answer to that question and 12 others in this heart-pounding miniepisode of Music Raygun.

When last we looked at hip-hop through the years, they were 1988-89. This time, they’re 1992-93. Kirk was finishing college. Paul was in elementary school. But they both have vivid memories of listening to hip-hop at the time. Gangsta rap got attention for the right and wrong reasons. Meanwhile, the Native Tongues sound carried on in A Tribe Called Quest and newcomers like Digable Planets. So here’s a heavy dose of nostalgia for the early ‘90s. We miss you, Golden Age of Hip-Hop. W.R.O.Y. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

It's the first "Music Raygun" miniepisode! Since day one, we've warmed up for recording each episode of the show by first playing a quick round of Trivial Pursuit: RPM Edition, a game of music trivia published in 1985. It took us this long to figure out we may as well record these contests and release them as miniepisodes on off weeks. Enjoy.

How can two Joes Bag o’ Doughnuts like us hope to reckon with the fact of a living deity like Madonna? By admitting from the start that we only scratch the surface of the surface of this episode’s topic. But we’ll track the lion’s share of Madonna’s career from when she first popped in 1983 to her album “Music” in 2000. And we pick a few of the mind-melting number of iconic moments she packed into the 17 years in between. It’s Madonna Ciccone on “Music Raygun.” To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

We’re kicking off Year Two of this podcast by returning to the theme of our first episode. Sort of. That episode was about Prince. This episode is about Prince’s hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kirk has more Prince-associated artists to talk about. Paul looks at the big alt/punk bands that came from the Twin Cities in the ‘80s, plus some classic Minneapolis artists. It’s another episode of us being on different sides of the same coin. All that, plus we introduce a brand new segment to the show! To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

We’re wrapping up the first year of our podcast with a second helping of Music Raygun B-sides. That means looking back to past episode themes for bonus clips that we left out (or didn’t know about) the first time around. There’s a clip each from our episodes about the Jackson dynasty, Halloween, dance, Charlene deGuzman, the holidays, "Bad," Los Angeles and funk. Plus two from even older episodes. But you’ll just have to listen to find out which ones. Catch you on the flip side. Get it? To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Music Raygun is finally focusing on the funk. Typical to their tastes, Paul leans toward the early funk years of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, while Kirk prefers the vibe of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. There are some favorites and some lesser-known acts. And the mix shows you how funk has influenced other musical genres, from rock to R&B to hip-hop and beyond, since its invention. That’s the kind of funk that we like. And then you make the ugly face. That’s funky. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Kirk and Paul already paid tribute to their respective hometowns of Cleveland and Providence, so now it’s time to acknowledge their shared current home: Los Angeles. All the clips in this episode feature bands from LA. But Kirk and Paul skew hard to their different favored genres. Kirk brings rap, R&B and funk to the table. Paul prefers garage rock, punk and power pop. And Angelyne makes an appearance, naturally. It’s a schizophrenic good time. Just like Los Angeles itself! We love/hate you, Butt Town. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Happy New Year, raygunners! In celebration of 2018’s dawn, this episode is something a little different. Kirk and Paul watch just one video. Well, two videos. It’s one music video, plus a short “making of” segment about it. And it’s Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” the Martin Scorsese-directed long-form music video that turned 30 a few months ago. “Bad” is 18 minutes of MJ at his most extra, at least up until that point. It’s equal parts genuinely cool and deeply corny. So there’s a lot to talk about. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, wonderful solstice and cool Yule to everyone. We know a lot of people say they hate Christmas music, and to them we ask: Are you listening to the right Christmas music? We hope you’ll find something to like in our holiday playlist, which includes Grace Jones, The Ramones, Kurtis Blow, Kaela Kimura and more. There’s also a holiday treat from the worst boy band of all time. And Paul and Kirk reflect on a year without George Michael in the world. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

For the first time on “Music Raygun,” our guest is the topic. Charlene deGuzman is a musician, dancer, comedian, writer and advice columnist. She and Paul look back at her time as a member of Stomp, as Hannah Montana’s drummer, as the creator of a YouTube video that’s been seen more than 51 million times, and as maker of many more wonderful things. Her upcoming film is “Unlovable,” which she wrote with Sarah Adina Smith and Mark Duplass, and stars in with John Hawkes and Melissa Leo. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

For the second time on “Music Raygun,” our topic for this episode is no topic at all. It’s our first sequel episode as we bring you another grab bag of videos. We’re looking at an assortment of our favorite clips that more or less defy categorization. That means Elvis, Chakha Khan, Captain Beefheart and Anita O’Day all in one podcast. And that’s just to name a few of the wild artists we visit in this episode. Wesley Snipes is in there somewhere too. It’s a pod-boy bouillabaisse. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

We’re joined by special guest Isabel Nelson, a friend of the show and, like Kirk, a trained dancer. That’s why the focus of this episode is dance. Isabel and Kirk are here to speak intelligently about the art form, with thoughtful comments rooted in their education and experience. Paul’s here too, to say his dumb opinions based on nothing. We’re talking about Gene Kelly, Bob Fosse, Boogaloo Shrimp and many others. It’s an especially visual episode, so be sure to check out the featured playlist for yourself. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

It’s the most frightening episode of the show yet. Kirk and Paul are celebrating Halloween with the very spookiest and ookiest music clips they could find on YouTube. Some of them are Halloween-themed videos. One’s just something that terrified Kirk for no explainable reason when he was a kid. There’s also another visit with the great Bev and Bob. Listen to this eerie episode to get you in that Halloween mood, but don’t be surprised if by the end of it your hair has turned bone white! To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Michael Jackson was so huge in the 1980s that his success affected everyone in the music industry, not excluding the other Jacksons, i.e., Michael’s siblings. Everyone was so desperate for a piece of what Michael had that anyone related to him got a record deal. That’s what this episode is about: what Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy, Rebbie, La Toya and even Janet were doing at the height of their brother’s fame. Some of it’s bad, some of it’s weird, and some of it’s surprisingly great. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

We’ve done a “grab bag” episode in the past where we said the theme was no theme. It was kind of random videos that didn’t fit any topic. We’re doing another assortment show this time, but it’s sort of the opposite, because instead of no theme, it’s all the themes. We’re going back to themes we’ve done in the first 15 episodes of the show, and picking new videos that didn’t quite make the cut for whatever reason the first time around. Call them Music Raygun B-sides. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Kirk had his time to shine with the disco episode, but this one is all Paul’s doing. It’s finally time to talk about punk. Cretins hop, Pistols curse, and GG Allin does, well, the things that GG Allin did before he passed on. Knowing that Kirk doesn’t actually like punk music, Paul made sure to load this episode up with interesting archival material, including a fantastic old interview with John Holmstrom and Legs McNeil, and a look at that infamous “battle of the bands” episode of “CHiPs.” To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

What do we like? We like the cars that go boom, or at least the girls who sing about them. We also like Biz Markie, BDP, Heavy D, and Public E, so we're taking a look at a very specific time period in rap history: 1988 and 1989. Kirk was in college, getting drunk at parties and dancing to Salt-N-Pepa records. Paul was practically a toddler, and never got to watch "The Arsenio Hall Show," because it was on past his bedtime. So they have different perspectives. To see the videos we watch in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.