Covers vs. Originals

Our intrepid Music Defender crew rallies around a brand-new concept from Kalli – defending originals versus cover songs (or vice versa). Michael, Joe, Kalli, and special guests Ari and Mat make their cases on this epic double episode. Calling on the Defendherd to debate, laugh, & learn!

Arriving right in the midst of grunge's peak, a hip hop explosion, and edgy alternative rock like Weezer and GBV, the smooth and unoffensive South Carolina group Hootie and the Blowfish were perfectly positioned to become a cultural punching bag. When the unassuming group notched one of the top-selling albums of all time, the criticism only louder and harsher into a deafening roar. In this Mini Defender episode, onetime Hootie hater Joe re-evaluates his opinion.

These two legendary bands came out of the gate at the same time as part of a British Invasion that still resonates today, 60 years later. They both sold countless millions of albums, but took decidedly different paths over the subsequent decades: one to the Village Green and the other to Exile. Guest defender Ari Vais joins the show to make the case that it is The Kinks – not the Rolling Stones – who are in fact the world's greatest rock and roll band.

In this episode of Music Defender, Joe tries to explain what's great about a non-rocking, slickly produced, soft-Eighties, Keith Moon-less Who. Good luck, say Michael and Kalli, while co-host Max is still studying the American Dream in Germany.

To their fans, Greta Van Fleet are brilliantly carrying the mantle of '70s arena rock into a new era. To their detractors, of which there are many and they are passionate, they are the embodiment of everything wrong in music today. Derivative to a fault and built for algorithms. In this episode, Joe makes the case for their Van Awesomeness.

The Stone Roses were one of the biggest bands in British pop music history, but their second (and final) release "Second Coming" was widely regarded as a massive disappointment. Michael makes the case that it was, in fact, the second coming of awesomeness.

They are one of the biggest groups ever, with hit songs spanning 20-plus years, a Super Bowl appearance, scads of film and TV credits, and armfuls of Grammys. And yet, there is no doubt that people just love to hate Coldplay. Kalli sets out to bring some much needed love for the artistry of Chris Martin and Co.

We're debuting a new spin on the tried and true Music Defender formula – the "Mini Defender." All you love about Music Defender in 10 minutes or less. For this one, Joe makes the case for the forgotten 1985 supergroup The Firm. Were they super ... or superbly bland and cynically corporate?

Of all the Rolling Stones' albums, perhaps none is more disliked or apt to be forgotten than 1986's "Dirty Work." Joe tries to make the case for this neon-clad LP and its crisp Steve Lillywhite production.

The Beach Boys are known for their sunny surf hits, stadium-filling live shows, the groundbreaking album "Pet Sounds," and the many trials and tribulations of genius bandleader Brian Wilson. What they are not known for is the synth-driven 1977 LP "The Beach Boys Love You." On this episode of Music Defender, Michael sets out to change that.