Album Nerds

Don and Dude crash into the second round of March Metal Madness where glitter, hairspray, and street‑corner hooks square up against steel‑toed stomp and Texas‑born groove. Skyscraper choruses, talkbox licks, mosh‑pit breakdowns, and arena‑ready riffs drive a bracket showdown between a late‑80s glam breakthrough and the record that dragged metal out of the Sunset Strip and into a heavier, meaner decade.
The Albums Skid Row – Skid Row (1989) Young Jersey upstarts turn the glam formula meaner and more grounded, stacking blue‑collar storytelling, towering Sebastian Bach vocals, and streetwise riffs into a sleek debut that feels more alleyway than catwalk.
Pantera – Cowboys from Hell (1990) Former glam lifers slam the door on their past and invent their future with precision riffs, machine‑tight rhythms, and swaggering grooves that reset how heavy metal could punch, swing, and strut at the same time.
Diggin’ Albums
William Crighton – Further Down the Road (2026) Australian folk‑rock storyteller stretches his baritone over spacious, atmospheric arrangements that move at a slow burn, turning journeys through the outback and inner life into something that feels mystical and lived‑in.
Richard Marx – Richard Marx (1987) Chart‑ready 80s pop rock in its purest form, all gleaming guitars, radio‑perfect hooks, and power ballads that prove craft and polish can still hit like personal confession.
Ladytron – Paradises (2026) Liverpool synth lifers lean into bright club rhythms and detailed electronics, pairing cool, detached vocals with disco‑tinted grooves that feel like dancing through neon at the end of the world.
Tommy Emmanuel – Living in the Light (2025) Fingerstyle wizardry meets song‑first warmth as Emmanuel tracks mostly live in the studio, letting ringing acoustic lines, subtle band touches, and a generous spirit turn technical fireworks into something intimate.
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“I detest the phrase ‘hair band’ or ‘hair metal.’ It’s insulting to us. We are just a rock band – too pop to be metal and too rock to be pop.” – Joe Elliott

Don and Dude kick off March Metal Madness at the molten core of metal history, where early 70s riff worship collides with turn‑of‑the‑century whiplash politics and drop‑tuned chaos. Quiet is not invited as roaring Hammond organ runs, arena‑sized choruses, jagged time shifts, and Armenian folk‑tinged melodies slam together in a bracket‑busting showdown between a founding father of heavy and a band that made nu metal feel like something stranger, smarter, and way more volatile.
The Albums
Deep Purple – Machine Head (1972) Deep Purple bottle their live attack into a lean set of riff‑driven hard rock and early metal, powered by screaming organ, precision guitar runs, and road‑forged songs about speed, smoke, and space.
System of a Down – Toxicity (2001) System of a Down fuse drop‑C chugs, political fury, Armenian melodies, and lurching song structures into a sharp, funny, and uncomfortably intense metal statement that made nu metal look small by comparison.
Diggin’ Albums
The Black Crowes – A Pound of Feathers (2026) Blues‑drenched rock lifers push their Southern swagger into heavier, more instinctive territory, chasing loose, live‑band energy and gritty riffs over quick‑cut Nashville sessions.
Def Leppard – On Through the Night (1980) Early Def Leppard catches the band in raw NWOBHM mode, all scrappy dual‑guitar attack and hungry choruses before the big‑budget 80s gloss took over.
Ora Cogan – Hard Hearted Woman (2026) Smoky, slow‑burn songs drift between haunted folk, shadowy psych, and dusty country, wrapping breakup scars and political unease in echo‑laden guitar and moody band arrangements.
The Notwist – News from Planet Zombie (2026) Long‑running German shapeshifters stitch guitars, electronics, brass, and mallet percussion into anxious, off‑kilter indie pop that stares down a chaotic world with small, stubborn flashes of hope.
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“It wasn't called ‘heavy metal’ when we invented it.” – Dave Davies

Don and Dude crash headfirst into 1989’s alternative basements and hip hop boomboxes, where quiet loud guitar nightmares share airspace with sample stacked punchline barrages and label side eye. One of us dives into a twisted surf rock carnival that helped teach the 90s how to go loud quiet loud, while the other rides a brainy, boom bap Def Jam debut packed with Beastie Boys disses, Hammer threats, and the first appearance of a future underground legend.
The Albums
Pixies – Doolittle (1989)
Pixies turn their Boston art punk chaos into a tightly wound alt rock statement, mixing sugar sweet hooks, violent surrealism, and that now classic quiet loud dynamic. "Debaser," "Monkey Gone to Heaven," and "Wave of Mutilation" spin eyeball slicing cinema, environmental dread, and surf rock murder suicide into songs that feel like pop songs and panic attacks at the same time.
3rd Bass – The Cactus Al/Bum (1989)
MC Serch, Prime Minister Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich plant a Def Jam flag with dense golden era beats and back and forth verses that blend jokes, battle bars, and real talk about New York and hip hop credibility. From "Sons of 3rd Bass" and its anti Beastie mission statement to "The Gas Face" and "Steppin to the A M," the record plays like a long, funny, aggressive brief on who gets to be taken seriously in rap.
Diggin’ Albums
Zach Bryan – With Heaven on Top (2026)
Raw, heart on sleeve Americana and country stories about love, loss, and faith, delivered over rough hewn acoustic strums and fuller band swells.
Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule (1989)
A retro soaked debut that welds late 60s and early 70s rock and soul influences into warm analog grooves and idealistic love and unity anthems.
GUM – Blue Gum Way (2026)
Australian multi instrumentalist Jay Watson drifts through jazzy psych pop vignettes, each track a little mood world of woozy synths and warped guitars.
Katherine Priddy – These Frightening Machines (2026)
Intricate modern folk songwriting about technology, anxiety, and everyday life, wrapped in fingerpicked guitar, immersive atmosphere, and literary minded lyrics.
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“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." - John Keating Dead Poets Society (1989)

Don and Dude keep the “I Love the 80s” journey rolling into 1988’s R&B bedrooms and metal bunkers, where new jack swing coalesces in cramped apartments and concept metal turns Reagan-era paranoia into a full-blown rock opera. One of us slides into a silky debut that helped sketch the blueprint for sensitive-smooth-guy R&B, while the other drops into a tightly plotted metal epic about addiction, brainwashing, and failed revolution that still hits uncomfortably close to home.
The Albums
Al B. Sure! – In Effect Mode (1988)
Al B. Sure! turns a bare-bones home setup and a newly discovered falsetto into a compact set of late-night R&B grooves. “Nite and Day,” “Off on Your Own (Girl),” and “If I’m Not Your Lover” sketch a sensitive, romantic persona over sleek drum machines and smooth keys.
Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
Queensrÿche fuse metal and political thriller storytelling in a concept album about Nikki, a drug-addicted drifter turned assassin by the manipulative Dr. X. From “Revolution Calling” through “Suite Sister Mary” to “Eyes of a Stranger,” the record plays like one continuous, cinematic descent into radicalization and regret.
Diggin’ Albums
The Sheepdogs – Keep Out of the Storm (2026)
Warm guitars, stacked harmonies, and unfussy grooves for fans of classic 70s-style rock.
Living Colour – Vivid (1988)
A sharp blend of heavy riffs, funk rhythms, and pointed social commentary anchored by “Cult of Personality.”
Pink Breath of Heaven – Color Makes a Sound (2026)
Dreamy guitars and airy vocals drift through hazy, color-soaked indie shoegaze landscapes.
Social Distortion – Born to Kill (2026)
Straight-ahead rock songs with punk grit and rootsy twang, all carried by Mike Ness’ weathered storytelling.
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“Look… me and the McDonald’s people got this little misunderstanding. See, they’re McDonald’s… I’m McDowell’s. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds.” – Cleo McDowell, played by John Amos in 1988’s Coming to America.

Don and Dude keep the “I Love the 80s” journey rolling into 1987’s country and rock lanes, where Nashville went back to basics even as rock bands turned studios into high-gloss laboratories. One of us drops the needle on a neotraditional country smash that helped reset the genre for a new generation, while the other cranks an arena-rock juggernaut whose stacked vocals and surgically polished guitars defined late 80s rock radio.
The Albums
Randy Travis – Always & Forever (1987)
Randy Travis doubles down on his rich baritone and back-to-basics storytelling on a second LP that helped cement the neotraditional country revival. Two-step shuffles and tear-stained ballads sit side by side, all framed by warm acoustic guitars, steel, and fiddle rather than synth gloss. “Too Gone Too Long” opens with an easy, bar-band groove and a quietly resolute goodbye, while “Forever and Ever, Amen” turns a simple melody and everyday images of aging into one of country’s most enduring love vows. Deep cuts like “Good Intentions” and “Tonight We’re Gonna Tear Down the Walls” dig into regret, moral slippage, and emotional distance, proving Travis could be both radio-friendly and emotionally grown-up without ever leaving the honky-tonk.
Def Leppard – Hysteria (1987)
Def Leppard spend years and a small fortune turning hard rock into studio-sculpted pop metal on a record where every chorus seems built for a stadium chant. Guitars are layered into a seamless wall of melody, vocals are stacked into huge gang-choir hooks, and Rick Allen’s hybrid drum sound hits with machine-like precision. Singles like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Animal,” and “Love Bites” make the album feel like a greatest-hits set, while deeper cuts reveal just how carefully every riff, harmony, and drum hit was placed. By the time the title track and “Hysteria” fade out, the band has turned maximalist production into its own kind of songwriting, defining what late 80s rock excess could sound like without losing the tunes.
Diggin’ Albums
U2 – Days of Ash (2026)
A surprise six-track EP finds U2 returning with taut, reflective rock that grapples with grief, injustice, and persistence in the face of loss. The band leans on atmospheric guitars, steady grooves, and Bono’s searching vocals, treating each song like a vignette for lives cut short and the resilience that follows.
U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987)
U2’s fifth album turns American deserts and city streets into a spiritual and political song cycle built on chiming guitar and big, open-hearted melodies. “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and “With or Without You” anchor a set that pushes from intimate doubt to widescreen protest.
The Charlatans – We Are Love (2025)
The long-running English indie band returns after a long studio break with a set that blends jangly guitars, warm keys, and a reflective late-career calm. Themes of memory, renewal, and, yes, love run through songs that feel both lived-in and quietly hopeful. It plays less like a reinvention and more like a confident, seasoned band stretching out with nothing left to prove.
Elvis Presley – EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026 film)
A concert documentary built from restored late-60s and 70s performance footage drops viewers into peak-era Elvis onstage. It is designed as an immersive big-screen experience, somewhere between live album, biography, and time machine.
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“They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way!” – Jimmy Malone, played by Sean Connery in 1987’s The Untouchables.