Sound Opinions is a one hour weekly radio show/podcast hosted by a Siskel & Ebert of rock: Greg Kot (rock critic for the Chicago Tribune) and Jim DiRogatis (until recently, rock critic for the Chicago Sun-Times - he gave that up and now teaches at Columbia College in Chicago)(both write books, too)(I highly recommend Greg Kot's book Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music).
Sound Opinions isn't "the world's only rock n roll talk show," as they bill themselves, but they're a damn good public radio show and podcast. You can get it on iTunes or stream the mp3 from their website. And it's broadcast on public radio stations all over the States.
They do music news. Album reviews. Classic album dissections (London Calling, The Wall, Songs in the Key of Life). They "pop a quarter in the Desert Island Jukebox." They play their listeners' comments.
They play songs on various themes: sampling, whistling, disco, Father's Day, unrequited love (for Valentine's Day), the business of hip hop, the Riot Grrrl movement, synth pop. They recently did a three part overview of Bob Dylan's career.
They bring in guests for interviews and in studio performances, some of whom I know and love, some are new to me. Beach House. Grizzly Bear. K'Naan. The Dodos. The XX. Kid Sister. Peter Bjorn and John. Calexico. Neko Case. Death Cab for Cutie. Buddy Guy. Peaches. They had Rivers Cuomo from Weezer do a set with a Chicago punk band Jim and Greg chose for him, and they got to choose his set, too. And he did it. Unrehearsed!
One week's notable guest: Arcade Fire, one of the mightiest forces is rock today, who come off as incredibly down to earth in the interview and play acoustic versions of a few songs from The Suburbs.
I've disliked some albums I've bought on Jim & Greg's recommendation, and some of the music they've turned me on to has found a place in my daily life.
They do obituaries. They did news items on the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger, and what that means for the average music fan. They go to South by Southwest every year, and do a show about the music they discovered there.
They act as Rock Doctors, and prescribe music to couples who can't find common ground in their music collections. They check up a week later to see if their prescriptions took.
They love hip hop, jam bands, dance pop, metal, country rock, indie rock, R & B, blues, arena rock, punk. They love popular stuff and they love the uber-obscure just as much.
The show is free. And they're always in need of donation dollars, if you like what they do.
