The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced the 2025 class, and for once, a good chunk of the lineup actually makes sense. Here’s the full list: Outkast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, and Warren Zevon.
Next week we’ll take on Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Salt-N-Pepa, and The White Stripes…but tonight’s show is laser-focused on the three artists who made the biggest impact on me personally — and on the world.
And we’re starting with the one that absolutely blew my mind open the first time I heard it:
Outkast – ATLiens: The Album That Bent Reality
Let me be crystal clear: ATLiens didn’t just influence me. It hit me like a meteor.
Hip-hop in the mid-’90s was already evolving fast, but Outkast didn’t evolve — they left Earth. The first time I heard ATLiens, it felt like someone flipped my brain upside-down, shook it around, and said, “Pay attention—music is about to get bigger than the boxes you’re used to.”
This album carved out an entirely new lane.
Space-funk. Southern-gothic hip-hop. Psychedelia. Warm analog grooves. Alien transmissions. The beats were dusty and futuristic at the same time, and André 3000 and Big Boi sounded like they were transmitting from another dimension.
From “Elevators (Me & You)” to “Wheelz of Steel” to “13th Floor/Growing Old,” this record doesn’t just play — it expands. It reshapes the room you’re in.
Tonight, we play ATLiens almost in full, because if you don’t understand this album, you don’t understand why Outkast absolutely belongs in the Rock Hall. Their innovation alone earns them the right to stand next to the biggest names in music history.
We’ll finish their section with selections from Stankonia, because if ATLiens was the rocket ship, Stankonia was the sonic crash landing that proved Outkast weren’t visitors — they owned their new planet.
Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger and the Voice That Could Tear Down Buildings
Soundgarden’s induction is overdue.
Chris Cornell didn’t sing — he erupted.
Badmotorfinger is one of the most important heavy records of the ’90s, full stop. It’s dense, mechanical, spiritual, and punishing. “Rusty Cage,” “Outshined,” “Jesus Christ Pose” — these tracks aren’t just songs; they’re seismic events.
Tonight we’re going front to back through the entire record because this is one of those albums you don’t skip around. You experience it.
Cyndi Lauper – Pop Genius, Punk Heart
Cyndi Lauper’s induction is one of the smartest moves the Hall has made in years.
She wasn’t just a pop star — she was a cultural shift.
Fearless, weird, emotional, and razor-sharp.
“Time After Time,” “True Colors,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Money Changes Everything” — these aren’t just hits, they’re part of the American songbook.
Tonight we’re running through her Greatest Hits collection because it’s a reminder of just how deep her catalog goes and why she deserves her place in the Hall.
About the Hall of Fame Itself…
And yes — we’re going to talk about the Hall of Fame too.
Because every year they induct people who absolutely belong…and then people who absolutely don’t. (They inducted Dolly Parton the same year Dolly said she didn’t belong there.)
But the three artists we’re focusing on tonight?
They’re the real deal.
They shaped genres, culture, and generations.
Next Week
We’ll be looking at:
• Bad Company
• Chubby Checker
• Salt-N-Pepa
• The White Stripes
All completely different. All massively influential.
But tonight belongs to Outkast, Soundgarden, and Cyndi Lauper.
This is Episode 1324 — let’s go.
Hour 1
Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label
Outkast – You May Die (Intro) – 01:04 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac) – 02:42 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – ATLiens – 03:50 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Wheelz Of Steel – 04:03 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Jazzy Belle – 04:11 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Elevators (Me & You) – 04:25 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Ova Da Wudz – 03:47 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Babylon – 04:24 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Wailin’ – 01:58 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Mainstream – 05:18 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Decatur Psalm – 03:58 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Millennium – 03:09 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – E.T. (Extraterrestrial) – 03:06 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – 13th Floor/Growing Old – 06:51 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996
Outkast – Elevators (ONP 86 Mix) – 04:36 – ATLiens – La Face – 1996 [fade out]
Hour 2
Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label
OutKast – Intro – 01:09 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Gasoline Dreams (ft. Khujo Goodie) – 03:34 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – I’m Cool (Interlude) – 00:42 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Kim & Cookie (Interlude) – 01:12 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – I’ll Call Before I Come (ft. Gangsta Boo & Eco) – 04:18 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – We Luv Deez Hoez (ft. Big Gipp & Backbone) – 04:10 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Humble Mumble – 04:50 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Drinkin’ Again (Interlude) – 00:24 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – ? – 01:28 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Red Velvet – 03:52 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Slum Beautiful (ft. Cee-Lo) – 04:07 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000
OutKast – Stankonia (Stanklove) – 06:51 – Stankonia – LaFace Records – 2000 [fade out]
Hour 3
Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label
Soundgarden – Rusty Cage – 04:26 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Outshined – 05:10 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Jesus Christ Pose – 05:51 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Face Pollution – 02:23 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Somewhere – 04:20 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Searching With My Good Eye Closed – 06:31 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Room A Thousand Years Wide – 04:06 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Mind Riot – 04:49 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Drawing Flies – 02:26 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Holy Water – 05:07 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – New Damage – 05:39 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Soundgarden – Slaves and Bulldozers – 06:55 – Badmotorfinger – A&M Records – 1991
Cyndi Lauper – Come On Home – 04:37 – Greatest Hits – Sony – 1994 [fade out]
Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rwsradio.com.
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