I'm getting old and have been listening to music for a long time now, realistically 25 years since I got my Walkman CD player, jamming to the Beatles' 1 collection and my Smash Mouth CD. But some albums sound different now than they did back then, and usually for the better. So here's a short list of albums I love that, thanks to remastering and better technology, sound even better today than they did when they first came out. Unfortunately, a lot of remastered albums become victims of the loudness war, so it's worth calling out the ones that actually got it right.

I've been sitting on this one for a while. Here is a two-parter, because there are really two Rock and Roll Halls of Fame in my head: the museum in Cleveland and the organization behind it. Part 1 is about the building. Part 2 is about the people running the show. Buckle up.

I've got family in Cleveland, so growing up I was up there a lot. I hit the Rock Hall for the first time right as I was discovering classic rock as a kid, which could not have been better timing. I remember walking in and just thinking, I'm in the presence of greatness! This building downtown, right on the lake, and it's a shrine to all this music I was just falling in love with. At that age, it was everything.

The Hip Dad Open Returns!

After a three-year break, we’re bringing it back on August 2nd with 16 players battling it out in our biggest tournament yet. We are playing Mario Golf for the Switch and will be streaming the entire event with commentary, hanging out, talking trash, and watching every shot unfold. The first one since 2022. We are back with some of the steepest competition to date. 16 competitors will battle it out live on Hip Dad Radio! Watch live on Twitch or Hipdadradio.com.

Golden Years is a show where we step back in time, pick a specific year, and highlight all the songs from that year. Starting this Sunday, June 14th, you can listen to me talk about tracks from 1971 from 8am to 12pm on the live player on the Hip Dad website. And there should be a new one every Sunday morning.

Rock and rollercoasters go together like popcorn and the movies. When Disney's Hollywood Studios debuted Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith in 1999, it was a genius move—a one-of-a-kind thrill ride powered by a legendary rock band and a zero-to-60 MPH launch. But after over 25 years with the same headliner, Disney took a bold swing: rebranding the coaster from Aerosmith to the Muppets' Electric Mayhem.

Legendary Chicago rock band from the late 2010s make their return for an eight-night run at Thalia Hall.

There’s a wave of artists right now that feel rooted in the past but still fresh, and these three have been on my radar lately. Different sounds, different lanes, but all doing something interesting.