This week in the After Party, Jake talks collaborations, new genres, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Public Enemy, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Which artist has best represented the world in a "folk music" way? What are your thoughts on PE's Fear of a Black Planet? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about Public Enemy's...

Public Enemy were revolutionaries – both in their message and their music. In the 1980s and 1990s, they elevated hip-hop to an art form. They did this with Chuck D's booming voice, Flavor Flav's comic levity, and the auditory assault of the Bomb Squad's production. But with that revolution came scandal. Their hype man allegedly tried to shoot his neighbor while high on crack cocaine. Their so-called "Minister of Information" was so controversial that his words alone nearly derailed the...

Marvin Gaye was born into a God-fearing home to a sweet, wholesome mother and crossdressing, philandering, pentecostal preacher father who ruled his children with an iron fist. Despite his tense upbringing, Marvin Gaye found his calling—music—and used it as his ticket out of his repressive home life. He chased away his shame and followed his muse to the top of the charts; through a sea of cocaine and sex, becoming one of the biggest and most gifted entertainers of all time before sinking into...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks actors committing fully, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Heath Ledger, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. What are your top five favorite fight scenes? What is your favorite Heath Ledger performance? Is Heath one of the best actors of the early 2000s? Do you believe Debbie Harry about encountering Ted Bundy? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To...

Heath Ledger’s preparation for and disappearance into his movie roles is legendary, and it’s what helped him play repressed cowboys, junkies, and maniacal clowns equally well. His research led him to junkies who taught him how to properly shoot up using a stolen prosthetic arm and fake blood, and to a personal diary full of cut-and-paste madness. The paparazzi, however, mocked Heath’s method, and took their public quarrel with him to duplicitous lengths. To see the full list of contributors,...

Sniffing glue, hooking for drug money, hurling rocks at the Beatles, and writing infectious sunshiny melodies about their grimy reality, the Ramones were what the world needed in 1976. As rock ‘n’ roll was getting bloated with excessive experimentation and unfortunate forays into disco, four cretins from Queens stripped it all away to two-minute three-chord anthems with hard, fast backbeats and buzzing guitars. They adopted the same surname to solidify their brotherhood, and they lived like...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks great films, this week's new DISGRACELAND episode on Kobe Bryant, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. What are your top five Tarantino films? Who are your top five NBA players? Who's your favorite athlete who's a musician on the side? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with insight into Bryant's rapping...

He was a professional killer. A warrior trained from birth. A member of the deadliest squad of assassins in The Association. But that was before he tried to go solo. And before they tried to kill him. They made one mistake though – they didn’t finish the job. Now the Black Mamba is back and he won’t stop until he’s got his hands on the ultimate prize – the assassin’s ring – and his revenge on the ex-partner and boss who double crossed him. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing...

Selena Quintanilla Pérez ushered in the Golden Age of Tejano music in Texas with a meteoric rise up the charts and into the hearts of her fans. Her fans saw her as more than just a pop star — she was family. Selena was about to take her fame and her family to the world stage when a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and jealousy would result in her untimely death at 23. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks trusting the government, the April Fool's DISGRACELAND episode on John Denver, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. If you could be any musician, who would you be? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with some insight into next week's episode on Kobe Bryant, a special "trailer" from that episode, and more...

Do you need more DISGRACELAND in your life? How about exclusive monthly scripted episodes? Exclusive weekly bonus content? An always-on chat with Jake Brennan and your fellow Disgos? Learn all about how to get all of that and more by becoming a DISGRACELAND All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(This is a bonus April Fools’ episode of Disgraceland that is satire and not true crime.) John Denver was a one of the biggest stars of the Seventies. His easy listening mainstream folk and his squeaky clean, environmentally friendly image made him a favorite in homes all across America. But was John Denver hiding a dark secret? One born of a mysterious military upbringing? A secret he would do anything to protect? A secret he took to his early grave, but that may soon see the light of day...

Snoop Dogg, (AKA Calvin Broadus) has worn many hats: inmate, pimp, Martha Stewart’s BFF. In 1994, Snoop was the biggest name in hip hop, yet his career was about to be derailed just as it was taking off due to the murder of Philip Woldemariam, a murder that Snoop was being charged with. The streets that made Snoop, the streets he came up on and that infiltrated the raps he made and the smooth style he patented, were the very same streets he could not leave behind. To see the full list of...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks the motivating factors that drive people to the guitar, the new DISGRACELAND episode on Van Halen, the new episode on Layne Stayley of Alice in Chains ONLY in the Disgraceland All Access club, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Is Eddie Van Halen the greatest rock n roll guitarist of all time? Is Van Halen the greatest band to ever rebound from the departure of their original singer? Is Van Halen's Pretty Woman the greatest example...

On the backs of one of rock ‘n roll’s greatest innovators and one of its greatest ringmasters, Van Halen made some of the greatest music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen chased the perfect sound while lead singer David Lee Roth chased the next party. They were also ruthless when it came to protecting the unique thing they had created. Nothing was allowed to stand in their way. Not bullies, bootleggers, cynical guitar manufacturers, record producers – even the members...

Iggy Pop pushed rock further than anyone before him, committing to live acts of sex, sickness, and rumored suicide on stage. From his cocaine fueled bromance with David Bowie, to his search for inspiration in the voodoo rituals of Haiti, Iggy Pop never just crossed the line between art and madness. He bled all over it, and danced on the stains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the After Party, Jake discusses the concept of coolness, this week’s DISGRACELAND episode on Steve McQueen, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Was there a cooler actor in the 60s and 70s than Steve McQueen? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with more insight into the would-be conspiracy between Steve McQueen and a certain King,...

This week in the After Party, Jake discusses the concept of coolness, this week’s DISGRACELAND episode on Steve McQueen, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Was there a cooler actor in the 60s and 70s than Steve McQueen? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with more insight into the would-be conspiracy between Steve McQueen and a certain King,...

Hustling on the streets of New York. Wagering with a U.S. president over who could sleep with more women. Knocking back beers with Elvis. Waving his gun around at the funeral of Jay Sebring, one of the victims of Charles Manson’s murderous family. The same family that had their sights now set on the King of Cool, Steve McQueen, who needed the speed of a Mustang or the power of a Magnum to keep Charlie’s crazy cult at bay. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at...

This week in the After Party, Jake discusses conspiracy theories, this week’s DISGRACELAND episode concluding the Peter Tosh story, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. Why was Peter Tosh murdered? Was it a conspiracy? What do you make of the revenge against the would-be assassins of Bob Marley? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with even more...

As a reggae revolutionary who rejected peace in the name of truth and justice, and an outspoken critic of the Jamaican government, Peter Tosh's refusal to compromise nearly cost him his life many times over. He tried to amplify his message by purchasing Jamaica's Radio One. He tried to protect himself by way of African bush doctors and medicine men. He spent years knowing there was a bullet out there with his name on it. And in 1987, when Peter Tosh was 42, that bullet found him. Murdered in...

Bob Marley is known as the peace and love reggae superstar, but the truth of who he really was is a bit more complicated. After gunmen raided his home, putting bullets into him, his wife, his manager and his guitar player, Bob survived. But the lives of his assassins—all of them—were eventually brought to violent, horrific ends. And their killers were never found. Many think the perpetrator was an angry young man from the Trenchtown ghetto, who was called, by those who feared him,...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks this week’s DISGRACELAND episode on Peter Tosh, the history of DISGRACELAND two-parters, and pulls back the curtain to discuss the research and sources that go into bringing these stories to life. Plus, who are the true badasses of the history of music and culture? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with even more insane...

Peter Tosh was a reggae subversive who used his music as a means to fight corruption, oppression, and hypocrisy. Unlike his one-time bandmate Bob Marley, Tosh didn’t fight for peace. He fought for truth–and justice. He did this with a guitar shaped like an M-16 automatic rifle. He lobbied for the legalization of marijuana, using the profits of the drug trade to get his message onto the most iconic album of his career. All of this put Peter Tosh in the crosshairs of authority, the government,...