In 1993 Lenny Kravitz was a star to some, and a point of confusion to many more. But none of that kept him from creating his future-forward masterpiece that plays as hot today as it did twenty-five years ago.

Timothy Anne Burnside (NMAAHC) and Marcus K. Dowling (Medium) join Kevin in the basement to dig into this timeless LP, and get to the heart of why Kravitz was - and probably still is - misunderstood as an artist, the legacy of his music, and how making art that comes directly from the heart and soul is always gonna win. Always, every time. 

Before they were the mega-hit makers of the 80's, Daryl Hall & John Oates were just a couple of doods in love with soul and R&B on a mission to share it with the world. On their 1973 masterpiece Abandoned Luncheonette, their second album for Atlantic records, the duo were coming of off an underperforming debut (Whole Oates) and were desperately searching for their identity.

SPOILER ALERT: They found it. 

Sarah Godfrey and Marcus K. Dowling join Kevin in the basement to talk about an unmitigated classic that almost got lost in time...like we do. 

With Control, Janet Jackson became a household name, but it wasn't until her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 that she ascended to the status of music legend. 

Buttressed by pop hits and jam-packed with hooks set loose from some future utopia, Nation was a not-so-subtle exploration of racism, sexism, love, and social responsibility that sought to elevate our humanity by any means necessary. More importantly, it's an album who's messages sadly may be MORE relevant almost thirty years later.

Join Kevin, Marcus K. Dowling, and Timothy Anne Burnside (National Museum of African American History and Culture) as they consider this landmark achievement in music.

On August 15, 2017, Marcus K. Dowling convened the second in a series of panels entitled "Go-Go as DC History," a DC Public Library Go-Go Archive series intended to study the history of the Nation's Capitol through go-go, it's underground-to-mainstream beloved percussive and soulful sonic export. Dowling is joined on the panel by a mix of journalists and musicians with significant awareness of the history not just of the city, but of how the five iconic songs chosen for conversation in context with DC's history, are relevant.

The songs chosen to be discussed in the conversation are listed below, and cover a socio-culturally transformational era in Washington. They are as follows:

Chuck Brown - Run Joe
Junkyard Band - Sardines
Northeast Groovers - The Water
DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat
Backyard Band - Hello

For more information on the DC Public Library's Go-Go Archive visit https://www.dclibrary.org/chuckbrown.

For the first edition of the "Go-Go As DC History Panel, visit http://www.chunkyglasses.com/content/episode-261-go-go-as-dc-history-wmarcus-k-dowling-part-

David Bowie was from Mars. Prince was from another universe. But Tom Petty? Tom Petty was one of us. And now he's gone.

It's a bittersweet episode of ChunkyGlasses: The Podcast as we eulogize one of the greatest storytellers of the modern era by celebrating Wildflowers, Tom Petty's career-defining "solo" album that isn't just one of the best of his career, but one of the best LP's of all-time.

Between the domestic terrorist attack in Las Vegas that claimed the lives of over fifty people and injured some 500 more and the passing of music legend Tom Petty, it's been a pretty rough week. Kevin has some thoughts about both. 

Michael McDonald is a legend and a virtual Zelig of the music industry. He has sung and played on your favorite hits, your favorite band's favorite hits, and delivered a few of em all on his own. Now he's back with Wide Open, his first collection of songs in nine years, and Kevin along with friends Marcus K. Dowling (Decades, DC Radio) and Casey Rae (author, 'The Priest They Called Him: William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll') are heading down to the basement to give it a listen.

PLUS! Washington, DC's The North Country is back with a new album, In Defense Of Cosmic Altruism, and we've got our favorite track for you to shove in your earholes!