Program Notes

After kicking off a long-form deep dive into Moby, it felt important to pause before diving back in. Episode 1334 serves as that intentional interlude — a switch set designed to reset the ears and give the larger narrative room to breathe. This week drops into the strange, elastic world of Primus, exploring the records and creative instincts that made them impossible to categorize and impossible to ignore.

Episode 1333 begins a massive, multi-part exploration of Moby’s catalog, tracing his early years from underground rave culture and ambient experimentation through the confrontational turn of Animal Rights. This first chapter lays the groundwork for a new direction for Rolling with Scissors, embracing true long-form deep dives throughout 2026.

Bob Weir’s death marks more than the loss of a musician—it marks the narrowing of a circle that began in the chaos of the 1960s. From the Acid Tests to American Beauty and Europe ’72, Episode 1332 honors the music, the movement, and the people who built something that can never be recreated.

This week on Rolling with Scissors, we hit rewind and dive deep into Nirvana’s catalog. From the raw chaos of Bleach to the cultural shockwave of Nevermind, the strange brilliance of Incesticide, and the confrontation of In Utero, Episode 1331 revisits music that’s more than 30 years old but still hits like it mattered yesterday. A full three-hour retro rewind with no shortcuts and no skipping.

This week’s episode of Rolling with Scissors is dedicated to Perry Bamonte, whose passing at age 65 was reported on December 26. From his early days working behind the scenes to his fifteen-year run as a core member of The Cure, Bamonte helped shape some of the band’s most expansive and emotionally complex music. Episode 1330 traces his contributions through Wish, Wild Mood Swings, and Bloodflowers, honoring a musician whose work often lived in the spaces between the spotlight and the song.

I was going to do a Christmas show, but after digging through the library, I realized we’ve all heard enough of the same holiday songs by now. So instead of forcing three hours of carols, this episode takes a different route—diving deep into jazz that lives outside the usual names. Episode 1329 rides the jazz train with a focused exploration of guitarist Steve Khan, offering something richer, calmer, and far more rewarding for the season.

This week’s episode started with one plan and quickly turned into something else entirely. What began as an idea about early pop music evolved into a night of sharp comedy, smart songwriting, and progressive rock, moving from Flight of the Conchords into Flying Colors. Episode 1328 is about contrast, intention, and trusting where the music wants to go.

Tonight we dive into Get in the Van, Henry Rollins’ brutally honest account of life inside Black Flag—years of broken vans, hostile crowds, and raw, unforgettable punk history. We’ll also round out the show with Rollins’ spoken-word firepower, and yes, I know I didn’t talk during last week’s Zappa tribute. Letting Frank wish WORT a happy 50th felt right. Big changes are coming to Rolling with Scissors… but tonight, the van is already rolling.

This week on Rolling with Scissors, we celebrate 50 years of WORT by letting Frank Zappa off the leash for a full three hours. It’s been too long. We spotlight key corners of his studio and live output between 1969 and 1979, where jazz fusion brains melt purposefully into rock skeletons, satire lives next to razor-tight musicianship, and the guitar is both the punchline and the proof. Frank Zappa was a composer who happened to lead bands that could actually execute his blueprints, and a guitarist who never treated rock as a border or a limit. Tonight, we let the albums speak — loud, sequential, and gloriously incomplete. Each era chosen for impact. Each track allowed to sprawl. The final piece will be faded out, drifting into the classical block that follows. Happy birthday, WORT. Welcome back, Frank.

In Episode 1325 we continue our look at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees with full-album dives into Bad Company, The White Stripes, and Salt-N-Pepa. Chubby Checker will get his own deep dive soon, but for now we’re exploring classic rock grit, early-2000s garage fire, and ’90s hip-hop power from three very different artists who helped shape their corners of music history.