Prisoners of Rock and Roll

Bruce Springsteen is famous for writing songs about characters in the trenches of everyday life, trying to make a place for themselves and make sense of it all. His concerts are legendary nearly religious experiences that routinely last over three hours. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we talk about how The Boss went from a working-class kid at the Jersey Shore to one of the biggest rock and roll stars in the world with Born in the USA...

Hair metal was one big rock and roll circus that burst onto the scene and ruled the airwaves, concert venues, and MTV in the 1980s. They embraced the idea that rock and roll is about having a good time and they took it to cartoonish levels of excess. Join us as we raise our cigarette lighters in salute to our top six hair bands of all time. Cue the song by Europe -- it’s the hairband countdown! Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has released the list of nominees for the class of 2021, and it’s one of the most diverse groups of artists to ever be up for induction, including 7 first time nominees, 9 people of color, and 7 women. The artists are from heavy metal, punk, R&B, hip hop, new wave, rock, afrobeat, and singer-songwriters...

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re talking about U2, the most successful band to ever come out of Ireland. Over the course of their 45-year career, they’ve stayed relevant by consistently evolving their sound and reinventing themselves. On today’s episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re going to talk about their legendary career then get up close and personal with the Joshua Tree, their smash hit and one of the best selling albums of all time...

We discuss the Big Four of thrash metal: Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer.

The Rat Pack was a group of entertainers that made movies, recorded music, performed on stage, drank booze and chased broads -- usually all in the same day and all while wearing a suit. In this episode, we take a look at America’s first supergroup of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. We talk about their legendary shows at the Sands and the influence they had on everything they touched...

We look at famous shock rockers like KISS, Gwar, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie, as well as a handful of other artists and their outrageous antics.

We discuss the Monterey International Pop Music Festival and the amazing performances by Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and more.

We talk about the golden era of MTV, the best music videos of all time, and the other shows on the network.

We put together a list of the greatest bar songs of all time. Grab a cold one and turn up the radio!