Music Raygun

Paul and Kirk eulogize Eddie Van Halen and Johnny Nash. Kirk talks about an upcoming new jack swing documentary podcast miniseries (even though "Music Raygun" got there first). Hot takes about Bon Scott and whether "Thriller" or "Billie Jean" is the better song. And the guys discuss their top five Beatles covers.

Paul and Kirk talk about Prince (again), and give the "Don't at Me" business to Queensryche and a taco commercial! Plus a ranking of the best autumn songs from Dream Academy, Nick Drake, the Cure, the Beatles and more!

Is the work of composer John Barry highly detectable, or does Paul have a good ear? What did Kirk think of "808," the documentary about the 808 drum machine? And what are Kirk and Paul's top five favorite band names of all time? Curious about the answers to all of these questions? You won't be after this episode of "Music Raygun."

Paul counts down his top five songs from 1970 and Kirk counts down his top five songs from 1982, plus hot takes about Miles Davis and Metallica, and a delightful Doja Cat video.

Paul and Kirk say hot takes about The Who's "Eminence Front" and which Fine Young Cannibals hit is this goodest thing. Plus they count down their top five songs from their respective birth years, which, if you don't know when they were born, you'll have to listen to find out.

Paul and Kirk count down their top five songs other than "Don't You Forget About Me" that appear in John Hughes movies. Plus Kirk recommends new music, Uncle Marc offers his songs that smooth him out, hot takes about the Rolling Stones and Macklemore, and more!

Kirk's been listening to three albums on repeat for weeks. Don't at us about James Taylor of whether Alice in Chains is better than Stone Temple Pilots. And we each say our top five songs that smooth us out. Enjoy!

We talk about new music from Chromeo, Haim and Bob Dylan. Don't at us about Sugar Ray or ukuleles vs. banjos. And in "Top Fives," we reveal our top songs that get us hyphy. It's a jam-packed 45 minutes of "Music Raygun."

On this pandemisode, hot takes about on-their-feet pianists and Madonna's song "Boderline." And Paul and Kirk name their top five songs that must be retired, we never need to hear them again.

On the pandemisode: SWV on "Survivor," trying to name the Backstreet Boys, the most nostalgic song for Gen Xers, and Paul and Kirk's all-time top five earworms.

This week, don't at us about Mike Mills singing lead or the difference between Berlin and Missing Persons. We play "Tribute," our fun tribute bands guessing game. And for "Top Five," the topic is songs about social distancing. Listen to Paul and Kirk's "Top Five" social distancing songs on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3dPMRnm

The world's a mess, but your friends Paul and Kirk are here to help you through it. This week we discuss Prince's ouevre; Billboard's top rock songs 2010-19; the rules behind gold and platinum record status; whether or not you should hate the Black Eyed Peas; the differences between Deer Tick, Deerhoof and Deerhunter; and our top five side ones track ones. It's all topped off with another round of the never-ending music trivia quiz.

The pandemic goes on, but so does the podcast. In addition to regular segments "Don't at Me" and "Prince Tweets 2 U," a socially distanced Paul and Kirk discuss Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, "Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince" and their respective Top 5 Songs I Used to Hate but Now I Love. Plus, by popular demand, the return of Paul's dad Tony to moderate the music trivia quiz.

After some time off for social distancing, the boys are back, sort of. Paul and Kirk are recording from their respective homes to bring you an extra-long miniepisode, giving you something to do while you're social-distancing/self-isolating/self-quarantining. There's talk of the recently deceased musicians Adam Schlesinger and John Prine, reflections on Luther Vandross and the "Breakin'" film series, "Don't at Me," "Tribute" and, as a special treat, Paul's dad joins the show to facilitate the music trivia quiz. All that and slightly more on this special pandemisode of "Music Raygun." Keep washing those hands, babes.

Every 10 episodes, we throw away the "themed shows" premise of our podcast and dive into the grab bag. For the eighth installment, meet the most legendary Los Angeles punk band to never made a record; watch a "Soul Train" ripoff hosted by James Brown; hear a Prince-affiliated R&B group Kirk somehow doesn't like; remember the time when New Kids on the Block went "gangsta"; and much more. To see the videos featured in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

The Chainsmokers, Gotye and the Human League: Who ripped of whom? Which nation had the best charity supergroup charity single? Prince invites U 2 "purple church" with a party at the Glam Slam 2 follow, but U will have 2 listen 4 the password. And last but not least, the stakes raise in the ongoing music trivia quiz content.

It's time for another dance episode of "Music Raygun," so you know we brought Isabel back to the studio. This is a dance-movie-heavy episode featuring clips of films from the 1940s, '60s, '80s, '90s and 2010s; plus music videos from Tuxedo and Chill Rob G (NOT Snap!); choreo by Tricia Miranda and Lia Kim; and a little bit of "Flirty Dancing" is just the cherry on top of this dance sundae. To see the videos featured in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

Our friend Isabel Nelson came by to give us her opinion about noodly white-boy singer-songwriters while Kirk pits Danity Kane against the Pussycat Dolls and Paul has a hunch about the Police's audience. In "Trading Card Corner," enjoy an exploration of the cards of Elvis' life. And an expo mission trivia quiz goes 2-1-0, but you'll have to listen to find out who scores what.

As another season of "Music Raygun" comes to an end, we're wrapping things up with one of our regular "B-sides" episodes. Every six months, we revisit that season's episode topics and choose one more video for each of the topics. And those are the B-sides. This one features bonus clips from "Heavy Metal Parking Lot," "Asylum Records," "Your Grandmother Should Know," "Florida," "Music Videos 1989-91," "Drums," "Stevie Wonder," "Music Movies," "Best New Music 2019," "Cover Songs" and "Godley and Creme." To see the videos featured in this episode, visit musicraygun.com/playlists.

A correction, hot takes about double albums and Mariah Carey, the debut of a new (sort of) game, and Paul fights fiercely to keep Kirk from winning a fourth-in-a-row round of the music trivia quiz.