This is the story of how the collapse of Mercer Arts Center and a band on the hunt for a new venue led to CBGB’s and the birth of punk rock. Sometimes seemingly disconnected events in history ripple and have monumental impact. This is the story of a few such […]
“Mayonaise” started as an instrumental from The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, but it takes its name from an inside joke stemming from a mondegreen lost in translation during their 1992 tour of Japan. This is the story of one of the BEST songs in The Smashing Pumpkins’ extensive catalog. […]
Before punk rock, there was proto punk. And today we’re looking at one of the earliest proto punk bands, The Sonics out of the Pacific Northwest. We’ll explore the origins of garage rock, The Sonics’ 1965 debut album Here Are The Sonics!!!, and now the band went on to influence […]
From Grief to Greatness: this is a history of Arcade Fire’s album ‘Funeral’ and how it changed indie rock. Funeral was released in September 2004, birthed from the collective grief of the band after losing many family members. Finding joy in the sorrow, the album resonated with many across the […]
š Subscribe for More Rock History Videos: https://youtube.com/c/AndyFenstermaker/?sub_confirmation=1 š Become a Member: https://fensepost.substack.com/subscribe The Velvet Underground is one of the most influential bands in rock history, and their collaboration with pop art icon Andy Warhol has a lot to do with that. This is the BIZARRE story of how The […]
In the summer of 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon & Antarctica, and today we take a deep dive into the stories, sounds, and strange mythology behind Modest Mouseās major-label debut. From cosmic themes and broken jaw myths to existential dread and the Volkswagen controversy, this video explores how the […]
In January of 2010, indie and dream pop duo Beach House had made the jump to Sub Pop Records, releasing their third album, Teen Dream. In this video, I dig into the album history, from the group’s 2004 formation through the release of their first two albums on Carpark Records, […]
This is the story of “Float On” and how a slew of bad events led Modest Mouse to create the greatest perseverance anthem of all time. Their 2004 album “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” turns 20 in 2024, and that means it’s the perfect time to look […]
This is the story of when Janis Joplin was asked to join psychedelic rock pioneers The 13th Floor Elevators. Today, we explore this little discussed piece of music history, delving into the context behind the ask and why Joplin responded as she did. We’ll look at Janis’s first trek to […]
Before they became famous, Radiohead set out to make Pablo Honey. This is the story of their hit song Creep and how an act of sabotage and a secret recording led to the band’s international success, one of their most defining songs, and one of the greatest slacker anthems of […]
