In this best-of episode, Kyle and Louie are joined by three special guests: songwriter Eli Bolin ( John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch ), Weezer expert Jason Boxer ( Weezerpedia ), and The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Gretchen Unico to discuss some great Power Pop gems: The Cars' self titled 1978 debut , Weezer's 1996 sophmore outing Pinkerton and Harry Nilsson's 1971 masterpiece Nilsson Schmilsson ! Also, be sure to check out our podcast recommendation: The Lyric Boys!...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 51
In this best-of episode Louie and Kyle take a look back at some of their favorite tunes and albums from Jamaica: a place where the music is always cool, engaging and very often wonderfully informative. The boys deep dive into the soundtrack for The Harder They Come , Burning Spear's 1975 release Marcus Garvey and the career of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Please check out our podcast recommendation for this week: Quarter Rest with Joe Diaco !...
Nov 04, 2020•42 min•Ep. 50
Kyle and Louie make some small talk over Scritti Politti's infectious, shimmering, danceable 1984 album Cupid & Psyche 85 ! On the surface, these tunes are some of the catchiest pop you've ever heard, but you actually need a PHD in literature to get all the lyrics. Join your favorite 20th century music geek buddies as they traverse the brilliant world of Scritti Politti's mastermind lyricist Green Gartside. -- Show notes: This was such a fun one to bring it on home! We've had an amazing seas...
Sep 29, 2020•52 min
In this best of episode, Louie & Kyle dive into some classic songs that make them want to dance, and get into the history of Chicago House, 80's New York No-Wave and some classic Disco in the process. -- Show notes: Here are the songs we chatted about. They all come highly recommended with the highest Kick the Jukebox seal of approval: Material, Nona Hendryx - Bustin' Out Marshall Jefferson - The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body) The Joubert Singers - Stand on the Word Also, here's the lin...
Sep 22, 2020•21 min
Improviser, musician and beautiful British man Peter Smith leads Louie and Kyle on a deep dive into Marillion , the hugely successful British prog-rock band who over their 40 year career have gotten no respect from the radio or the press, but have legions upon legions of devoted fans that have allowed them to become their own cottage industry. In this episode we delve into their definitive 1995 release Afraid of Sunlight . This is a case where despite the fact Marillion are considered terminally...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 47
Blondie's Plastic Letters wasn't fully appreciated when it was released in February 1978 and it's often eclipsed by its follow up Parallel Lines . It's a shame, because Plastic Letters contains some of Blondie's most melodic, sophisticated and rockin' work. Join hosts Kyle Gordon and Louie Pearlman as they discuss Plastic Letters ' dirty New York rocker roots that show through the band's platinum blonde sheen. -- Show notes: If you liked Plastic Letters , we recommend The Paragons' 1967 release ...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 46
Kyle and Louie are joined by BC The Beatles ' co-host and Rhino Records' Allison Boron to talk about one of her favorite records, Sam Cooke's One Night Stand! Live at the Harlem Square Club . Deemed too raucous when recorded, this disc sat on the shelves for over 20 years after Sam's death before being released and heralded a total soul and rock n roll classic. They also get into how to find musical common ground with your partner and how true crime videos can be the key to a good night's sleep!...
Sep 01, 2020•58 min•Ep. 45
Kyle 'N Louie are waxin and milkin' all y'all square heads as they discuss 1989's Paul's Boutique, which was a game changing album for The Beastie Boys, The Dust Brothers and the golden age of Hip Hop. Plus Kyle discusses what music is best to listen to when reading about "the troubles" in Ireland and Louie has been obsessed with a real nightmare of a music website. -- Episode Notes: We had some great reccos in this episode. Check out the NYT review of Say Nothing , the book currently in Kyle's ...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Before Vince Guaraldi made his mark in pop culture with his iconic music for Peanuts, he released Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, which includes his wonderfully warm hit, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," his haunting cover of "Moon River" and more. This episode marks Louie and Kyle's first foray into the world of Jazz, and they are joined by their old pal, Jason Boxer! The trio discusses Jason running for his local school board, songs that may or may not secretly be psy ops and why Vince's music...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Louie N Kyle take a trip to the world of the deeply psychedelic sixties band Love. Love lived communally in a Griffith Park castle, they horded guns and drugs and, most importantly, they weren't fucking around. Learn how they made one of the best albums of all time against insurmountable odds.
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 1 min
The world wasn't quite ready for McCartney II when Paul released it in 1980. It's cold and electronic sound is divisive among the hardcore fans. But for the very reasons that McCartney II was a tough sell when it was first released, it's influenced so many musical genres and artists. In this episode, Kyle and Louie analyze what happens when a Beatle goes New Wave.
Jul 20, 2020•59 min
We're joined by Liam Carroll, writer for The Spool, Rebeat Magazine, Newscult and founder of B-Movie review site Analog Scum to discuss his gateway album for his favorite band: 1995's Electr-O-Pura by Yo La Tengo. Liam gets into how Yo La Tengo embodies a bucolic New Jersey that is rarely written about, and why they've endured when so many other cool-kid indie bands haven't.
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min
When Sly and the Family Stone sang "Stand!" on their 1969 classic LP, it was a command to get up, fight for your rights and dance. In this episode, we deep-dive into what we can learn from Sly Stone's wholly unique blend of funk, soul, rock and late-sixties socially conscious psychedelia.
Jun 30, 2020•57 min
We're joined by special guest Mike Joseph (Billboard Magazine's 2020 Pride List of Industry Shaping LGBTQ Executives, Detoxicity Podcast ) to talk about Public Enemy's explosive 1990 LP "Fear of a Black Planet," a battle-cry of a classic hip-hop album that marks a moment in time for the Black Power movement while deftly predicting its future.
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 15 min
The Cars' 1978 self titled debut was a huge hit for the power-pop/new wave outfit, with four charting singles that we still remember fondly today. We're joined by rock historian/WRUW Cleveland DJ Gretchen Unico to discuss what makes The Cars just what we needed.
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 10 min
When Burning Spear released Marcus Garvey in 1975, it took the world of Reggae, Roots and Dread by storm. Join hosts Kyle Gordon and Louie Pearlman as they explore what made this album so important historically and musically, and what it can help us understand about the current moment.
Jun 08, 2020•50 min
In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve decided to postpone the airing of our episode this week in order to use our space on the internet to amplify black voices and causes. We’ll be back next week but in the meantime, here are some ways you can support: Donate to Campaign Zero at https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ Look up your local bail fund and contribute at the National Bail Fund Network, which can be found at https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/ Join a Black Lives Matter pr...
Jun 02, 2020•39 sec
Kyle 'N Louie deep-dive into what might be their most contentious album yet: 1979's "Get the Knack." What are the Knack? Great, tight Power Pop? Puerile and sexist? A little bit of column A and a little bit of B? Take a listen to find out!
May 25, 2020•1 hr 1 min
If you need a dreamlike, beautiful, genre-defying escape of a record while staying home, do we have an album for you: John Martyn's 1977 release One World. In this episode, Kyle and Louie take you though the genius guitarist's processes and his collaborations with producer Chris Blackwell and keyboardist Steve Winwood that make this release one of Island Records' most unique of the late seventies.
May 18, 2020•1 hr 4 min
The world's a mess and Kick the Jukebox is back! Kyle 'n Louie tell the story of why X's 1980 album "Los Angeles" is a celebrated gem of a west coast LA punk album, and one of Louie's personal faves. Also, Kyle turns around on The Cars, and Louie chats about why we need Little Richard more than ever.
May 11, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Kyle and Louie get into that age old question, what is Emo, and are Death Cab Emo, or Indie, or what??? The debate rages on, but what is clear is how beautiful and smart the songwriting is on this 2003 indie-rock classic. Transatlanticism is one of Kyle's faves so get ready for a lot of heartfelt praise and wistful sighs on this latest KTJB.
May 04, 2020•1 hr 11 min
It's easy to forget that Cyndi Lauper's chart-topping success in the early Eighties was definitely not a given. In this episode of Kick the Jukebox, Kyle and Louie look into how the team behind her solo debut, 1983's "She's So Unusual," polished some unknown songs by lesser-known artists and gave them that much needed Cyndi Lauper charm. The result is a timeless album that's a blast to revisit today: a pop-celebration of outsiders and weirdos everywhere.
Apr 27, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Let the wave of mutilation wash over you as we deep-dive into The Pixies' 1989 LP Doolittle! This album paved the way for Alternative Music as we know it today, and Kyle 'N Louie have an engaging discussion about the power of being a band's band, and how sometimes being slow-burn successful is so much better than just flaming out.
Apr 21, 2020•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, Kyle and Louie are joined by special guest, singer-songwriter, Jo Kroger to pay tribute to the much missed Adam Schlesinger and his power pop tour de force, 2003's Fountains of Wayne album Welcome Interstate Managers.
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Not only do we get a very important update on Kyle and Louie's facial hair during this episode, but we also get to into why Oingo Boingo's 1985 album is an underrated New Wave classic.
Apr 06, 2020•54 min
It's a quiet storm indeed as Kyle and Louie deep-dive into one of Kyle's faves, Sade's 1984 lush and beautiful Diamond Life! This album is truly a balm for any difficult situation!
Mar 30, 2020•50 min
Let’s hear it One More Time for this classic Kick The Jukebox radio show! You can feel Kyle N Louie’s Digital Love for Daft Punk’s masterpiece of an album: Discovery! Plus, Kurt Cobain makes a surprise appearance, your beautiful boys delve into the history of House Music and a real banger of a disco/gospel song.
Jul 29, 2019•52 min
What is a musical guilty pleasure? What makes us feel bad for liking certain kinds of music? How does taste get formed and how does it stick with us? Kyle and Louie get into it when discussing the underrated 1997 Danish dance classic, Aqua’s Aquarium. Also, they touch on tracks by those commies Pet Shop Boys and somewhat forgotten teen soul sensation Stacy Lattisaw!
Jul 24, 2019•45 min
Kyle ‘n Louie get into it when it comes to The Carpenters’ 1970 classic, Close to You! This gorgeous record was considered “too square” for a lot of music loves of the time, but guess what, it’s totally great! Also, learn the stories behind the weirdness that is JD and the Straight Shot and Junkshop Glam-Canuck kings Sweeny Todd. This episode will leave ya with bubblegum on your knees!
Jul 10, 2019•55 min
Louie is joined by special guest, composer and lyricist Eli Bolin (Documentary Now’s Co-Op, Found! The Musical, Sesame Street, Story Pirates) to talk about one of their favorite albums and guys, Harry Nilsson and his 1971 masterpiece, Nilsson Schmilsson! Also, Louie brings in some X-Ray Spex and Eli shares his love for Annie Haslam!
Jun 25, 2019•53 min
