Make It Stop: A Bad Music Podcast

The Metallica Report is coming! Keep up with all things Metallica by going straight to the source for your news. This weekly report is hosted by Steffan Chirazi, long-time rock scribe and editor of the band’s online mag, So What!, and Renée Richardson, a well-known Bay Area radio personality who now oversees the band’s foundation, All Within My Hands.   Steffan and Renée will keep you in the loop each week with updates, features, and interviews. They’ll also get YOUR questions answered by those in the know. It’s your quick, weekly fix covering our most relevant topics of the day. The first report drops this Wednesday July 26! http://metallica.lnk.to/TheMetallicaReport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you got our latest podcast project? It's time for even MORE of that Van you love to hate, because we're deep diving into round 2 of this miserable musical end of life crisis. Joining us this round is comedian and "famous coward" Mark Gallagher, known for his hilarious character work and his deep, deep appreciation of ornery out of touch white rock stars with God complexes and a chip on their shoulder the size of their ex-wife. Maybe not the second part. Either way, this disc is less wife-hatred and more life-hatred, specifically towards mask-wearers, public health officials, and the proverbial "they" who "own the media". Whoever could he be referring to? Hope you enjoy this blustering, bloviating batshit fuckery, 'cause we sure as hell didn't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome Back, Stoppies! We're officially rounding the corner on a whole 100 episodes and 5 seasons of musical masochism, so thank you for your patience in advance for what will likely be a much more relaxed release schedule this time around. As punishment for our tardiness we kick off the "fun" by attempting to tackle cantankerous Celtic crooner Van Morrison's Latest Record Project Volume 1. An album that finds the short statured human neck lamenting the endless persecution he has suffered and continues to suffer at the callous hands of his ex-wife as well as the deep state. For Van the only thing worse than paying alimony and child support is having to wear a mask while you do it, and make no mistake he will let you know exactly how he feels about it, over babby's first 12 bar blues, for about 6 minutes at a time, about 28 times in a row. Your fave, returning guest Brandon Vallee, gets roped in to try to parse which of the two boogeymen Van is railing against on any given track, and now we're worried he'll n

Alright stoppies, it's the moment you've all been waiting for - a knock down, drag out deathmatch between two deeply embarrassing teenage genres of the late 90s: Nu Metal vs. 3rd Wave Ska. Nu Metal Mike vs. Perpetual Ska Kid Heather battle it out with fan of both genres and very funny comedian Ethan Marsh reffing to make sure there's no wallet chain yanking or funny trombone stuff going on, keeping it a good clean fight. Representing Nu Metal is of course the legendary Florida miscreants Limp Bizkit who know their way around a sick riff, heavy bassline and a catchy sgriggedy scratchy DJ Lethal breakdown on 1999's Significant Other. Challengers and fellow Floridians Less than Jake take on the nu metal megastars with 1998's Hello Rockview, a stalwart of the ska-punk pantheon and catchy and fun in their own right, if a little repetitive as they make sure every song calls out how lame and boring Florida is (we agree). Which embarassing genre will reign supreme as the least worst? Find out on our EPIC SEASON 4 FIN

MMM MMMM MMMM...nah. The world was briefly captivated in the early 90s by Brad Roberts' low, smoldering baritone and his band of eccentric Canadian rockers the Crash Test Dummies. The one hit hit hard, but after a string of sloppy follow ups, the Dummies were in the doldrums by the time 1999's Give Yourself A Hand rolled around. To switch things up they decided to have Roberts sing in a falsetto and let keyboardist Ellen Reid play lead on a few songs for some reason - though those tracks provide the only bright spots in an otherwise chaotically awful album. No wonder their label dropped them after sharting out miserable musical monstrosities like "I Want Your Goo". Getting into the goo with us is none other than legendary Boston Rock Goddess Mistress Carrie of the Mistress Carrie Podcast and formerly of 107.3 WAAF (rest in peace), who does her best to honor the artistic intent while also eviscerating their bleating boring bullshit. It's a heck of an episode folks, and it's MMM MMM bad. Enjoy! Make It Stop and

We're killing our Idols this week as we surf the circuits of cyber hell with none other than Billy Idol, who in 1993 was an aging "punk" desperately clinging to relevance while soaked in a haze of club drugs and heroin. But the drug called The Internet became the most addictive of all as he lazily skimmed Neuromancer and decided he was the ultimate authority on the emergent cyberpunk culture, to the point of audaciously making it the title of his album. Orchestra hits, sexy spoken word, sitars and self indulgent interludes abound on this 20 track digital disaster, though we have a blast surfing through the cybersludge with guest Manny Raposo who helps us contextualize this virtual insanity. Does it work? Not in the slightest, but it's also a hell of a fun ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're reaching, and retching this week as we take a deep dive into Jack White's version of a musical midlife crisis, 2018's Boarding House Reach. Vocoder, hot topic spoken word poetry and RAPPING all make an appearance on this bloated collection of song stems, incoherent rambles, and riffless meandering sonic slogs that sound like the last gasps of a former musical genius. Most damning of all is the fact that more than half the songs aren't even songs at all - a far cry from the tight, furtive garage rock of Mr. White's heyday. It's sure to disappoint you as much as it did us, so reach around and hold on tight. It's bound to be a bumpy ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All bad things must come to an end, and so we must say goodbye to this year's M-M-M-M-MARCH BADNESS. But before we can finally rid ourselves of this curse, a winner must be crowned. It's a true Cinderella Story this year, as the 6 seed Twenty One Pilots defied all odds, making it all the way to the finals to take on the 1 seed Chainsmokers. It's Blurryface vs Memories... Do Not Open, two albums considered by many to be the worst that the 2010s have to offer. Lethargic broDM, modern reggae rippity-rapping, all the worst aspects of millennial music is on display in this breathtaking finale. Mike and Heather are joined by friend of the pod, man about town, and unflappable sports expert Garvey Salomon. The debate is lively, the music is dreadful, but there can only be one winner! Whose tunes will shoot for the moon? Whose compositions will win the competition? Whose album will determine the outcome? FIND OUT TODAY ON THE M-M-M-M-MARCH BADNESS FINALE! Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad

It's a bad, bad world Stoppies, and tonight's gonna be a long night as we go head to head with some of the most godawful garbage we've ever had to haul on this dumb, tragic show. Longtime besties and very funny friends Brian and Julez hold our hands as we wade through the muck of the legendarily insufferable Will.i.am whose dumb dumb drivel about girls' Donques nearly drives us off a cliff, but will it be enough to surmount the self-satisfied, homeschooled Christian theater kid sad sack jazz-rap of 21 Pilots? It's a race to the bottom once again, and at least we're enjoying the ride. All aboard, stoppies! This one's worth the trip. Part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things are heating up as March Badness moves into the S-S-SEMI FINALS. Rippity rappity reggaety rockity 311 adds dubstep and Imagine Dragons-style indie to their bloated repertoir on 2019's Voyager, and that album goes head to head with the massively maligned one seed Chainsmokers' dashed off and cast aside nothing-album Sick Boy (2018). It is a HEATED battle this week, Stoppies, as we are joined by our dear friends Maggie and Ashleigh from the Rock Candy Podcast. Don't miss the spectacle, the passion, the joy of victory, the agony of defeat, the grinding misery of having to listen to all these awful albums for the entire month of March. We hate our lives! M-M-M-MARCH BADNESSSSSSSSSS. This show is a part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Make it Stop we continue to hone in on a central thesis of bad music - that no matter the genre, no matter the age or era, all bad music begins to flow together into the same swirling cesspool of shit. Nowhere is this more apparent than in tonight's episode of March Badness pitting whiny wine mom fantasy husband Pat Monahan and his band Train against nu-indie-rap-emo-Christian-rock disasters Twenty One Pilots. There exists a synchronicity of sanctimonious and deeply inane drivel so intense that there are several points in which the tracks blend seamlessly into one another, one ukelele riff at a time, synthetic hand clap in hand clap. Joining us on this doomed journey is returning guest and Boston comedian Nick Ortolani, who almost fully cracks as we deep dive into the shallow crevices of these cursed albums. It's a race to the bottom as we duke it out song by song to see which terrible white men are the least worst, and you'll be tearing your hair out till the very end. This is not a Drive By, stoppies. We

It's that time yet again, Stoppies. M-M-M-MARCH B-B-B-BADNESSSSSSSS. Our annual tournament to determine the worst of the worst is back, and it's time for six elite-level awful musical acts to duke it out for the trophy (we should have a trophy, huh). The first match of the Preliminary Round pits Western Mass's own constipated sad dads Staind against the funkiest white boys from Nebraska, 311. As they go blow for blow we are joined by dear friend and Worcester legend Shane Hall AKA Messiah Carey, who brings fantastic insight, making the Staind-to-Honkyball connection we never knew we needed. Who will emerge victorious? Whose tunes will reign inferior? Find out on Make It Stop's World of Sports Presents: March Badness: Part Deux! Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They were the only band that mattered, but by 1985 they were in tatters. The Clash's swan song Cut The Crap is infamous in the music world, regarded by some as the worst album ever made. Having split with co-frontman and primary songwriter Mick Jones, Joe Strummer soldiered on with a few savvy studio musicians and his egomaniacal manager Bernard Rhodes. Together they set out to prove that they didn't need no Mick Jones and they could do it all themselves. Laden with studio trickery, drum machines, and 40 layers of identical sounding buzzsaw Les Pauls, the album is truly a chore to listen to, an all-time misfire from one of the greats. Mike and Heather are joined by Brandon, Meagan and Jack from Time and Place, because we knew they loved The Clash and we wanted to traumatize them. Fingerpop! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1994 three meth addled young punks from Oakland released an album that changed the musical landscape for decades, building the bridge that shepherded California pop punk from the fringes to the mainstream. 26 years and 10 albums later as, presumably, meth addled old punks, they released an album that changed nothing but the minds of longtime fans holding out one last hope for a return to form, shepherding soulless hockey anthems from the pro tools interface to the rink to the graveyard. Green Day’s Father of All Motherfuckers was an easy pick for our worst of 2020 list, and as lifelong Green Day apologists we figured it warranted a deep dive. We’re joined by friend of the show and ska trumpeter Ben Stein. The album clocks in at a paltry 26 minutes, but it packs enough nostalgia-shattering trauma over that span to make basket cases of us all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Black History Month, which means it's the perfect time for another round of Eviscerating White Nonsense with returning white rapper roundup participant VQ of BLOWW and Boston comedian Izzy Da Rosa. The object of our ire this time is of course the ultimate Great White Embarassment Vanilla Ice and his 1992 follow up to his megahit debut album, the incredibly misinformed and extremely poorly executed "Mind Blowin". Featuring profoundly sad attempts to flex his 'gangsta rap' chops, references to smoking bales of 'hootie mac', and painfully corny sex tomes that dry up our collective vaginas quicker than old roller rink pizza under a heat lamp, this is a truly awful album. However modern day attempts to contextualize the infamous Ice invite us to consider - was Robert Matthew Van Winkle really all that bad, after all? Spoiler alert: yes, yes he was. Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things get spicy on this week's Make It Stop as Heather and Mike are joined by veritable hardcore legend Kira Roessler (Black Flag, Dos, Awkward) and local up-and-coming musician Sophia Belle (Home Despot) to discuss The Stooges' 35-years-in-the-making fourth album The Weirdness (2007). As Heather, Mike and Sophia do their best to malign Iggy Pop and his history-making and genre-defining band for their iffy production choices, cringe lyrics and uninspiring arrangements, Kira takes them all to task, vehemently defending the band and making us all ask important questions such as: Does our criticism has any value? Why do we have to be such assholes? Is our own music really any better than this? And why exactly do we have such a problem with lyrics about dicks turning into trees? You won't want to miss this one, Stoppies. Part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 is coming to an end, may it rot and burn in hell, and as expected an unimaginably awful year brought us a slew of unimaginably awful albums. Mike and Heather can barely keep it together as they lament the slow death of culture and the creeping Post Malone-ification of all music. Everything sucks and it's going to suck forever. Genres become meaningless as all music melts into one big endless lo fi hip hop beat to study to Youtube stream. Personal taste becomes homogenized across the board by algorithms. It's a hellscape all around, and now we bring you the 10 worst songs from the 10 worst albums bestowed up on us by this cursed year. Some real heavy hitters here. Stoppie discretion is advised. Part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stoppies, we know you know what Christmas is all about - materialist accumulation, wealth hoarding, Judeo-Christian values, heteronormative baking rituals, duck sex, beards. Thank the Christian God that we found an album that perfectly embodies that spirit. This Holiday Season we're talking about Duck Dynasty's 2013 Christmas Cash-in album Duck The Halls, and we're diving right in while our little webbed feet waddle in the air. Heather's music deprived husband Alex and Mike's heathen life partner Liv join in so we can flex our strong family values. It's just what you always wanted to find under the tree - a painful retread of the 2013 Tea Party-style culture wars and an exploration of how Duck Dynasty paved the way for Trump's takeover of the right. O Come All Ye Faithful. Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're riding the honky tonk high speed rail all the way to the bank this week with the be-flannelled, bud' chuggin' y'all boys of Florida Georgia Line and their 2019 bro-country daggum opus "Can't Say I Ain't Country". Actual Country Gal Jeanne "Susie Newsie" Mansfield of BLOWW regales us with badass backwoods tales of burning couches and shooting flaming arrows in rural Missouri while jammin' to the sweet sounds of country music on the terrestrial radio. We learn that country livin' actually sounds pretty daggum fun while being swept away by the extremely goofy country concoctions of Florida and Georgia, and give them way too much credit for being pro-gun control and getting a hysterectomy. Don't worry, there's plenty of godawful trash like country-RnB, country rap, and other horrible hybrids that make this worthy of being Stopped, even though it's a pretty doggone good time. Hop in the Tesla-pickup hybrid and giddy up, because this one's a helluva ride! Part of the Pantheon Podcasts network. To support Jon

Due to KOVID-19, Heather and Mike won't be getting uncomfortably drunk around their families this Thanksgiving, so instead they've decided to get uncomfortably drunk together over Zoom. To make it a family affair they're joined by Alex Dunn (Mike's Brother), and Brian Melanson (Heather's Pretend Dad). It's time for a tWiSteD Turkey Day 'cause we're feasting on a veritable KORNUKOPIA. The Blackout Power Hour is back. Over 60 songs, over 60 sips, it's enough KoRn to bind up your system for days on end. This episode starts off the rails and plummets off a cliff as we all rapidly become too drunk to podcast. We're sorry about this one. Happy Thanksgiving! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices