Rokk Talk Ep. 16: The Song Remains The Same

After a long Dave Matthews-induced hiatus, Rokk Talk is back! On this episode John and Colin talk about Led Zep– er, Greta Van Fleet. Which by extension devolves into a conversation about Led Zeppelin, “new” classic rock, self-awareness, and forging your own sound (or failing to). You’d think a band with so little originality wouldn’t provide enough fodder for an hour-long podcast. But much like the rest of the internet, we couldn’t resist spending a decent amount of time breaking down whether this band sounds too much like their very obvious influences. Continue reading →

C.A.T.: Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine (1992)

Is Rage Against The Machine any good? This is a question I’ve often asked myself ever since listening to them as a mid-‘oos high schooler. The answer then seemed to be “yes”, though it may have been partly because they were a fun band to groove along to when I was first learning to play drums. However, they seemed much less good during the late ’00s/early ’10s of my college years, which may have been due to my budding indie rock snobbery. Meanwhile, they’ve sounded pretty darn good to my ears the last two years. Which is to say, how good this band sounds may all be correlated to the political climate of the time. Continue reading →

Born Again

A Star Is Born (1954) / A Star Is Born (2018)

If this was a more well-researched piece, I would’ve gone to the trouble of seeing both the 1937 and 1976 versions of A Star Is Born, but I only have so much time. Also, from what I’ve gathered, the 1954 version is the most acclaimed version of this classic Hollywood folk tale. Well, perhaps except for the Bradley Cooper-directed version that’s currently in theaters, which seems to already be an Oscar frontrunner. I’m not sure that this latest version bests the version starring Judy Garland and James Mason, but I think it does manage to tap into why this is such a durable story, and why it has been applied to such different eras of Hollywood filmmaking. Continue reading →