Claim OwnershipThe Rock Star Autobiography Podcast
Subscribed: 54Played: 597
Subscribe
© 2024 The Rock Star Autobiography Podcast
Description
The Rock Star Autobiography Podcast is a bi-weekly podcast for music lovers by music's two biggest fans, Christian and Martha. Join them as they review autobiographies by the greatest and most famous musicians in history, and hear them share their candid insights into the musicians behind them.
48 Episodes
Reverse
Everyone knows that legendary Brian Wilson was the melodic architect behind those Beach Boys gems; and, yes, he copes with mental health issues. But did you know that Brian Wilson has a favorite chair in his living room where he likes to sit for hours? That he has a favorite bagel spot in Santa Monica, but to get there he has to sit through a traffic light that lasts forever, and it bothers him that it should take so long? It turns out that rock-and-roll's Willy Wonka is actually the most relatable person of them all. In this episode Martha and Christian surf the pages of I Am Brian Wilson to discover 1960s Hawthorne, vanilla cones, dysfunction, and one or two good vibrations.
Bruce Springsteen is a polarizing figure. His fans are die-hard, and they even famously refer to him as The Boss. Critics revere him, extolling him as the working man's poet. And of course, "You've just got to see him live." Other people, however, write actual lists on the internet about why they "hate" him (Reason Number 6: the earring). But you can't polarize people unless you've made it big, folks, and he did just that in the 80s when he announced that he was Born in The United States of America! That bandana! The jeans! The oiled muscles! Courtney Cox! But was the blue-collar Jersey boy born to write? Does his prose have the human touch? Find out as our hosts head through Bruce's tunnel of love and get a bad desire.
The meaning of life? Easy. But the Meaning of Mariah? That's heavy lifting. The Guinness Book of World records refers to Mariah Carey as the Songbird Supreme. She has a five-octave range and can sing into the seventh octave. Her "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the 11th best-selling single in modern music, and only The Beatles have more number one hits. She's also performed for a Libyan dictator, been arrested in her own home, barely escaped the sinister walls of Tommy Mottola's labyrinth prison, and is probably Marilyn Monroe reincarnated. Become Lambily with Martha and Christian and follow the trail to Mariah--if you get lost, just keep your eyes on the glitter.
Ingredients for the Slash cocktail: gallons of vodka, heroin, STDs, one top hat, and lots and lots of snakes. Stir, pour over ice, and then plug in your defibrillator!You know you've made it big in the world or rock and roll when you no longer need a last name: Sting, Prince, Madonna. Add to that list Slash, lead guitarist of Guns n Roses. The readers of Total Guitar voted the opening riff of "Sweet Child O'Mine" as the greatest opening riff of all time, and Guns n Roses' last tour netted 584 million in cash. But who is the man under that infamous hat? What keeps that mass of snake-like hair going? The answer is, literally, state-of-the art technology (turns out that heroin isn't actually a vitamin). Tag along with Martha and Christian as they step into Slash's sweaty leather pants, shoplift their way through L.A., sleep around town, and live in fear of Axl Rose.
Arriving like a splash of neon paint, Cyndi Lauper announced to the 80s that Girls, apparently, "Just Want to Have Fun." Sure there was the A-Team, Silver Spoons, and Knight Rider. But what's the 80s without She-Bop? Without Cyndi Lauper in a wrestling ring? Without The Goonies??? In this episode Martha and Christian learn the true colors of the woman behind that hiccup, why she partnered up with the WWF, and what kinds of herbs it takes to cook a squirrel.
Sinead O'Connor has often been reduced to that person who shaved her head, tore up the picture of the pope, and refused to play the Star Spangled Banner. It's no surprise, however, that there was more to the story, some of which she reveals in Rememberings. There's the dreary Irish upbringing, the terrible physical abuse, the job dressing up as a maid to deliver telegrams, the Rastafari gun-runners. But nothing compares to her story about Prince, and what it's like to be invited to his castle, and what it's like to really, really not want his soup. Martha and Christian learn all of this and more as they gaze into the most famous eyes in music, spellbound by her Irish tale.
Dave Grohl, dude. Dave. GROHL. Dave Grohl has been in the White House several times. He is friends with Paul McCartney. His band the Foo Fighters is very, very, very popular. You almost forget--almost--that he was a drummer for Nirvana, with someone named Kurt Cobain. How did Dave Grohl ever escape the shadow of that band? How did Dave Grohl become America's favorite rock star musician? How did Dave Grohl write a book that is now on sale in Costco? Apparently by being just the nicest guy. Martha and Christian kick off season four by sitting at the feet of America's favorite dude named Dave and listen to this "Storyteller" spin the yarns of his greatest do-or-die moments; and for Dave, they're ALL do-or-die.
Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever been picked on, for no reason? Has anyone ever hit you in the face with a sock filled with batteries? If you answer YES to any of these questions, then this episode is for YOU! Who knew that Curtis Jackson--FITTY CENT--is not only a successful rapper but a life coach of sorts? In this special end-of-the-season episode Martha and Christian get to know his conflicted teen creation Butterball, the main character of Curtis Jackson's Playground, a sweet tale of fiction about growing up, being bullied, and being that bully yourself. If nothing else, this episode will help you steal those sweet Nikes you've always wanted.
Andy Summers was in a psychedelic band called Dantalian's Chariot. He jammed with Jimi Hendrix. He was buddies with Eric Clapton. Yet it amounted to nothing but a failed marriage, guitar lessons in the valley, and a whole lot of meditating in the spirit world. But then a guy named Sting found Andy's message in a bottle, Stewart Copeland added the beat, and synchronicity was achieved. The Police! Go for a ride-along with Martha and Christian as they put on the red light for Andy Summers' One Train Later, the most literary memoir yet.
Did you know that Homer Simpson's beer of choice, Duff beer, derived its name from Michael "Duff" McKagan? It's true! But did you also know that Duff McKagan is actually more famous for a band called Guns N Roses? It's true! Yes, folks, the rumors are real! It's no illusion! Martha and Christian are heading into the jungle of Duff McKagan's "It's So Easy." THRILL as our co-hosts get intimate with Duff's appetite for self-destruction! DISCOVER that Duff wears Converse high-tops in cycling competitions!! BE AMAZED that Duff once led a band called The Fartz! MARVEL as Duff writes a college-entrance application!!! Duff's book proves that from the hot and dirty pavement of L.A his band grew those roses inch by inch with sweat, blood, and lots of strippers from The Seventh Veil. The episode that you've been asking for is finally here! (You just had to have a little Patience).
The Sex Pistols weren't just Johnny Rotten and that Sid guy, the vicious one. They also included Steve Jones, the band's guitarist, without whom the band would not have existed, and who certainly did it His Way. Doc Martens, spiked hair, Guns and Roses--and even, sad to say, Green Day--would not exist were it not for four notorious firearms of sex, of whom Steve Jones, with the biggest bullets of all, was one. From the funniest book yet, Christian and Martha learn about Steve's Dickensian childhood, his copious appetite for sex and stealing, and his opinion that being bald is definitely not Rock and Roll.
Google Art Garfunkel, and two things will appear on your screen immediately. One is the question, "Did Art Garfunkel write any songs?" (The answer, dear listeners, is No). And the second thing you'll see is that Art is worth $95,000,000.00. How is this possible? Is the answer in his memoir What Is It All But Luminous? Martha and Christian jump into Art's diary and explore his handwriting, the list of books he wants you to know he's read, and the deep thoughts of one half of the most famous folk-duo in musical history. When you're weary, and feeling down, this episode is guaranteed to ease your mind, like a footpath near a bubbling brook!
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States