rock-rot-rule

Scharpling & Wurster hosting 'Rock, Rot & Rule' 20th anniversary show in Brooklyn

One of the most famous bits on Tom Scharpling‘s The Best Show on WFMU was when Ronald Thomas Clontle (in actuality Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster) appeared on the show in 1997 to promote his music guide Rock, Rot & Rule, a book which the author called “the ultimate argument settler.” It wasn’t long before WFMU was flooded with calls over such Clontle statements as “Madness invented Ska,” “Bowie and Neil Young rot because they’ve made too many changes,” and “The Beatles only rock because they had a lot of stinkers.” You can listen to that below.

The Best Show is now an online show but Scharpling and Wurster are still doing bits, and occasionally performing live. They’ll be celebrating 20 years of “Rock, Rot & Rule” at Brooklyn’s newly opened Murmrr Theatre on October 21. Tickets for this sure-to-be extravaganza go on sale Friday, July 21 at 10 AM.

Jon Wurster will also be on tour with The Mountain Goats this fall.