Professor of Rock

So what happens when Weird Al, the world's most famous musical comedian—a guy who's made a career out of roasting rock’s biggest acts—completely snubs you? Or give us a short clip of what a full-blown parody might’ve been like, but never turned it into a full song. Today, we're talking missed opportunities… and hidden gems by the king of musical comedy and covering career-defining hits that were begging to be mocked… the biggest bands and artists who somehow escaped the ultimate honor in music: getting sonically skewered by the prince of parody. Most of these bands got a little taste of what a parody of their song could’ve been, but they never got the full monty. And many were huge missed opportunities, including Axl Rose, who was brilliantly mocked on multiple occasions… but just not when it counted most, as well as another rock frontman who really wanted to be skewered but Al declined. There’s also the hilarious send-up of Alanis Morissette's Ironic music video, where he rides shotgun and spazzes out right alongside her... but skipped the song parody. And then there’s a funny parody making fun of Metallica, who were fighting Napster. Many claimed it was Al, and the song started going viral, but was it the real deal? We find out next on PROFESSOR OF ROCK.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up a famously cerebral band that many think is one of the greatest ever, but they only had one radio hit, and guess what, they HATE IT. They Loathe It. Refuse to perform it, you’ve heard the cliché many times, but there’s a rub with this one. It's a song that spoke to a generation but was never intended to. The Band wrote it as a joke. The guitarist thought it sucked, so he played the most outrageously over-the-top dumb guitar solo ever to sabotage it, and it totally backfired. It made the song a classic. It was written about the lead singer’s awkward, drunken plea to a girl who thought he was a creep because he was stalking her. It was a confession made to this girl he was obsessed with… He crashed and burned, but the song rocketed up the charts, and even though it was a creepy joke, it was both cathartic and the epitome of self-deprecation. Let’s do it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I shared a video a few months back about the legendary rockstar who walked out of my interview to go eat a burrito. Well, today I have that uncut rollercoaster interview. And as we were prepping it this week, it was funny because the first thing he told me before we even started talking was that I could ask him anything. Well it’s probably the most entertaining interview I’ve ever done because He shares some incredible stories behind some of the greatest songs of all time because He was in 2 different supergroups The Byrds and Crosby Stills and Nash and a vital part of the music of the 60s and 70s but then he turns on me and tells me what for and walks out of the interview only to return about 45 minutes later… I think he was hangry, but no matter, this is a must-see interview, a train wreck that somehow has a cool ending. We get the stories of some of the greatest songs of the 60s and 70s, including Eight Miles High, Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn! and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Teach your Children, and Ohio here’s my interview with David Crosby Warts, profanity, cuss out and all! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… a riveting leap back to the ‘80s to celebrate 10 phenomenal songs that don’t get the credit they deserve from some of the greatest female voices ever, including some insane stories behind them. including a Natalie Merchant who was touring a London museum, was suddenly struck by a tingling, then numbness, and searing pain. She would have emergency surgery to save her life and spinal cord. In the surgery, they had to remove 3 bones from her spine & shift her vocal cords to the side. When she awoke, she could no longer sing… There’s also the eerie vocal by Bjork and a strange song that sounded like a Train Wreck, but its peculiarity made its singer a revelation. And then there’s the pivotal day when Sade would give a career-defining performance, and at the time, she was destitute and improvising a life inside an abandoned fire station. Where the building’s utilities failed—the toilet froze, nearly running a career before it began. Plus, the highest note achieved on a hit song in history by Sheena Easton, and it’s not annoying. The stories of the 80s hits by Warlock and Doro which became a one hit wonder, Heart featuring Ann Wilson with a duet Surrender to Me, the Sugarcubes Birthday, Piano in the Dark by Brenda Russell and Magic by Olivia Newton John and Rooms in Fire by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac,See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes the biggest songs never got their due on the charts. Today we're counting down the Top 10 tracks from 1979 that should have been massive hits but somehow never cracked the Top 40 even though they defined a generation, shaped rock history, and became undeniable classics—And as per usual, we’ve got some crazy stories… like Police frontman Sting who got so drunk in a Munich hotel room that the world was spinning around him—but in the middle of his drunken stupor he came up with one of the most cosmic tracks of the decade, Walking on the Moon. There's also a guitar legend Mark Knopfler who wrote the song Lady Writer about a brilliant woman on TV and used her to absolutely destroy his ex-girlfriend with some seriously savage lyrics. And we'll reveal the infamous lyric from Neil Young that would haunt him forever after it appeared in one of music's most tragic suicide notes. Plus, the top 2 songs on this countdown are 2 of the most played songs in rock history, with about 8 billion streams and listens Pink Floyd Comfortably Numb and AC/DC Highway To Hell, but were never hits. One was almost an instrumental and one is arguably the greatest riff ever. Plus the story of All of My Love from Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant's tribute to his fallen son. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.