My other website is a pizza blog.
April 2026
Date Added: 4/1/26
Song: That Thing You Do!
Artist: The Wonders
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "If we’re going nostalgia, the boomers are the absolute greatest at packaging and selling it. “Alright” reminded me of the completely fictional band “The Wonders” from the movie “That thing you do” with their hit song of the same name. The movie didn’t do great commercially but got a ton of awards, presumably from the people for whom it was total nostalgia-bait. The song charted despite just being a movie track. I assume it’s basically the Kpop “Golden” of the 90s. Cool side fact, the song was actually written by one of my favorite artists, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne."
Date Added: 4/2/26
Song: Sugarhigh
Artist: Coyote Shivers
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Dan, I remember watching this when it came out. And now I’m having weird meta-nostalgia to revisit a movie made for nostalgia. From here my brain went to Sugarhigh by Coyote Shivers. Although he’s not a fictional musician, his most well known song, Sugarhigh, is performed in the fictional universe and finale of Empire Records, another movie featuring Liv Tyler and bottled generational nostalgia."
Date Added: 4/3/26
Song: Aside
Artist: The Weakerthans
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK this one is nostolgic for me cause we were listening to it a lot (and playing it together) around the time claire and I started dating. Plus its got similar 4 chord structure, tempo, and backbeat snare. Letsgoooo"
Date Added: 4/4/26
Song: Wildflowers
Artist: Tom Petty
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Oh man, we're on another nostalgia wave! Aside is such a great song and I feel like it really encourages oneself to grow but I don't feel much nostalgia with the Weakerthans (Claire introduced me to them just last year!). Someone who really, really hits the nostalgia for me, though, is Tom Petty. When I was a kid, my dad would only listen to two bands: Metallica and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Not to get too deep in the wounds but my dad was not a good dad and I don't think I ever got a word of encouragement from him. Tom, though? It's in second person but he wrote Wildflowers to encourage himself, which I couldn't help but adopt."
Date Added: 4/5/26
Song: In This Boat
Artist: She Makes War,
Chris T-T
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Ok, im jumping off of the lyrics on this one with Tom Petty opening with "you belong in a boat out at sea. Sail away, kill off the hours" and man, i always love a good boat song. The imagery just always hits me so much. So I'm going to present "She Makes War" with "In this Boat". This is one of those super indie artists who just is killing it with such a vibe and always feels like she has such a strong artistic voice (metaphorically). Obviously a much more electric guitar sound than the Tom Petty song but it still feels right to me. The last 1/3 rd of this song is just [chef’s kiss] ‘you are the anchor, I am the wave’"
Date Added: 4/6/26
Song: With Arms Outstetched
Artist: Rilo Kiley
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Dang, what a voice on that girl - fun listen, her range is incredible. So it's definitely not an exact match, but her vocals (albeit more-soprano and with greater range) remind me of Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley. Temptation is to pick A Better Son/Daughter because I love it, but I feel like that's overplayed so my choice for today is With Arms Outstretched. It doesn't build the way She Makes War's song does, but it's enough for a Monday."
Date Added: 4/7/26
Song: The Distance
Artist: Fever Dolls
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "It could be the female vocalist and lyrics about short time, or it could be the weird name matchup. Rilo Kiley reminds me of Renn Mulloy who is from what I think are maybe the most underrated band I've heard in the last 10 years, The Fever Dolls. For whatever reason they only released 10 or so songs, almost entirely as singles - but I like every single one. They're a weird indie band with awesome lyrics, lots of fun hooks, and a really solid vibe. Also they were from Berlington, VT before Noah Kahan put Vermont on the radar. Anyway, pick any song you like, they're all good, but I'm going with ‘The Distance’"
Date Added: 4/8/26
Song: Stop Talking
Artist: Motion City Soundtrack
DJ: John
Commentary: "I really like The Distance - I’m excited to dig into The Fever Dolls. The first thing they reminded me of is a band I listened to a lot in the mid 2000s - Motion City Soundtrack. I guess I’d classify them both as pop punk adjacent indie rock music. And the melodic synth throughout is what sealed it for me. Rather than share a classic Motion City Soundtrack song, I’m choosing to share a newer song of theirs from 2024. While their classic albums from the 2000s are great, they still occasionally put out some fun tracks on their new albums as well, so I wanted to showcase one of those here."
Date Added: 4/9/26
Song: Mary
Artist: Survive Said The Prophet
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Oh geez, there are so many songs in my musical wheelhouse about unrequited/fleeting love but MCS's is pretty fast and energetic, which really narrows it down. I pretty quickly thought of something in the same era (2020's) but in a little bit of a different genre: Mary by Survive Said the Prophet. Side note: I tend to have a pretty wide geographical taste in music but it still catches me off guard when a band sings in 3 very different languages, which this song (just barely) does."
Date Added: 4/10/26
Song: Como Te Vas
Artist: Trails and Ways
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Ron, I’d never heard Survive Said the Prophet before and really like their dense sound and galloping pace. They give Senses Fail or Coheed and Cambria vibes. But I’m actually going to go for a tonal shift instead. With the trilingual aspect of Mary, you got me thinking about a band I haven’t thought of in a while - the self-described “bossa nova dream pop” band Trails and Ways from Berkeley. We actually saw them play in Oakland a while back! Their aptly named 2013 EP “Trilingual” has songs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. And while I couldn’t find an actual trilingual song off the album, I leave you with Como Te Vas to dream pop you to sleep tonight."
Date Added: 4/11/26
Song: Danny Nedelko
Artist: IDLES
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I appreciate the multicultural element the last couple songs have added to Hear Me Out. I don’t speak no langages, but I’ll celebrate multiculturalism by contributing Brexit-era punk rockers, IDLES, to the playlist. In ‘Danny Nedelko’, they list a few prominent immigrants that have contributed to the UK’s multicultural greatness - Freddie Mercury, Malala, and Mo Farah. They also pay homage to unnamed immigrants - a Nigerian mother of three and a Polish butcher. As for Danny Nedelko himself, he is frontman of Heavy Lungs, a Ukrainian immigrant, and friend of IDLES. The song is off of 2018’s ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance.’ In my opinion, it is perhaps the best-named album of the era."
Date Added: 4/12/26
Song: Prayer Of The Refugee
Artist: Rise Against
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "If I close my eyes while listening to that IDLES track, I feel like I'm sweating and jumping up and down in the hundred degree heat at an early-2000s Warped Tour stage in the Mile High parking lot during a politically charged election year. For me, the memory that evokes is watching Rise Against on one of the main stages in exactly that context, so Prayer of The Refugee by them is my pick for today."
Date Added: 4/13/26
Song: God Knows
Artist: Beatsteaks
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Rise Against takes me back to the Punk-O-Rama mixes by epitaph records which was one of the big ways how, in the era before streaming, I found new punk bands. One of my favorite songs off any Punk-O-Rama ever was God Knows by the German punk band The Beatsteaks. I love the repetitive guitar riff and the energy of the song. Great for sweaty jumping. Enjoy!"
Date Added: 4/14/26
Song: After Destruction
Artist: Descartes A Kant
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Oh shit ok this is a tough one for me as i really dont listen to punk unless its with claire and it feels pretty disingenuous for me to pick something that ive heard her listen to. I did a lot of looking thru my previous plays and I thought this had a bit of a connection i could make: I give you Descarte A Kant: After Destruction. I'm mostly latching on to the energy and distorted guitars here as the thru line. I love this whole album too because I really feel like it's speaking to how we try and exist in the world today. Also, DAK, much like Beatsteaks, is not US based band. So thats another connection... right?"
Date Added: 4/15/26
Song: Dropkick the Punks
Artist: The Faint
DJ: John
Commentary: "What stuck out to me from DAK was the distorted baseline and electro-synth sounds. For me, that triggers one band above others: Omaha’s own The Faint. This track is off their 2004 album Wet From Birth and perhaps best captures a more minimal version of their post punk, new wave sound (some of their other tracks are way more synth heavy). I know this track won’t be for everyone. The Faint, and especially this song, are an acquired taste."
Date Added: 4/16/26
Song: Sleepy Head
Artist: the pillows
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Did someone say distorted bassline?? I really like Dropkick the Punks and putting the bassline upfront and center immediately made me think of another song from the same era: Sleepy Head by the pillows. This song is less grunge-y but still has a lot of the same energy, which I really enjoy. The lyrics, though, are not even close to related lol"
Date Added: 4/17/26
Song: Killjoy
Artist: Rob Sonic feat. Aesop Rock
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Upon more listening, it's maybe not as similar as I thought but hell if it isn't in the spirit of the thing because the first few notes of Sleepy Head set my brain on fire like a spark on gasoline."
Date Added: 4/18/26
Song: Bats
Artist: The Uncluded
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Is Aesop Rock a West Coast or East Coast rapper? He spent the bulk of his career in New York, but more recently was based out of San Francisco, and now Portland. I don't mind claiming him as the Pacific Northwest's own. So, on that note, let's do a PNW supergroup. The Uncluded is a duo featuring, yes, Portland's Aesop Rock, and Olympia/Seattle's Anti-Folk hero, Kimya Dawson, formerly of Moldy Peaches. Bats!"
Date Added: 4/19/26
Song: Unknown Legends
Artist: Shovels & Rope, Shakey Graves
DJ: John
Commentary: "BATS! I think that song is about watching the bats flying out from the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, and using that as a metaphor of death and healing. I’m going to leave the PNW and follow Austin, Texas and collaboration as a theme, and share a song from Charleston-based Shovels and Rope featuring Austin-based Shakey Graves, covering Canadian Neil Young’s song Unknown Legend."
Date Added: 4/20/26
Song: Be Mine
Artist: Alabama Shakes
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright, I’m sticking with Americana/roots rock/southern rock. But at the risk of giving you all CTE, I’m keeping things shaky by following Shakey Graves with Alabama Shakes. Shaking it up, you might say. And incidentally, we’re going to see them in Raleigh this weekend! Anyway, Be Mine off the 2012 album Boys & Girls is my favorite song by them. And lest you think I’m not living up to “Noisy” in my word cloud, one of my favorite parts is the build at the end when she abruptly switches up to the highest register."
Date Added: 4/21/26
Song: Elderberry Wine
Artist: Wednesday
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Y'all motherfuckers want some slide guitar? This is one that showed up on my 2025 Wrapped. You know that Bo Burnham song satirizing Stadium Country and how it's just rural-coded language without any deeper meaning? Wednesday does that, but with contemporary living. Lyrics like:
'Angel hum of an electric car reverses toward me', and 'Roll one up, say it's mostly CBD'
Anybody here from 2026? Here's Asheville, North Carolina's own with 'Elderberry Wine'."
Date Added: 4/22/26
Song: Spitfire
Artist: Sierra Hull
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK so here is a lovely Sierra Hull song called Spitfire which is an ode to her grandmother and a very lovely tribute. Hull, if you dont know, is a young virtuosic mandolin player (tho in this song shes on guitar) and has played with all the greats of bluegrass. There really is a lot of amazing music right now in contemporary bluegrass and Hull represents the epitome of it IMO, but there is SO much in this genre to dig into and I highly recommend you do so! Obvious connections to the previous song are: slide guitar, female vocals, accoustig guitar strumming , and nice harmonies."
Date Added: 4/23/26
Song: On Ice
Artist: Chris Thile
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "ok, if we're doing mandolins, I'd be totally irresponsible not to throw Chris Thile in the mix. His mandolin skills are unreal. I think the first "major" band he was in was Nickel Creek, then he went solo, then he was in Punch Brothers. I've seen him in concert several times, most recently with Punch Brothers and it's in my top 3 concerts of all time. The concentration of talent and creativity in that group is mind blowing. Anyway, Deceiver was the first solo album of his I really got into and it's one of those albums where I'll throw it in and listen to the whole thing and every song is great. "On Ice" is one of my favorites, featuring some wild mandolin action so we'll go with that."
Date Added: 4/24/26
Song: The Lighthouse’s Tale
Artist: Nickel Creek
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I don't think I can pick anything except The Lighthouse's Tale by Nickel Creek. Chris Thile has such a distinct sound on the mandolin that any songs I could think of always had him playing, so I gave in and picked the most impactful one for me. Dan introduced me to Nickel Creek back in college and I remember shrugging them off because their music was so religion-coded. Eventually, I (sort of) grew up and could really see and appreciate their talent for musicality and storytelling. This song still pops up randomly on my playlist and can still evoke a lot of emotion in me."
Date Added: 4/25/26
Song: 23
Artist: Noah Kahan
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Love the Chris Thile throwbacks, thanks a lot for the rabbit hole rehash, guys. Timing-wise, having these picks bubble up right on the heels of the new Noah Kahan album drop -- a famous mandolin...iast, as well -- well, it just makes me go for the low-hanging fruit.
I'm only a listen-and-a-half into the new Noah record and while my final opinions still aren't fully-formed, I'm really enjoying the song "23" so that's my pick for today."
Date Added: 4/26/26
Song: Adios
Artist: Rammstein
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I've never heard of Noah Kahan before but I dig his sound (his voice is a lot like Post Malone's). Lyrically, though, 23 is a really sad song. Watching someone you care about go through addiction is tough and I can think of a few other songs with varying perspectives. Adios by Rammstein is going to be my pick for the day because it thematically and emotionally matches but I like the contrast in energy.
I did joke with Claire yesterday that I was going to go for the biggest genre switch between picks; I swear this is a real pick and not "haha look at me""
Date Added: 4/27/26
Song: Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
Artist: The Dandy Warhols
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Ron, I hate to leave your abrupt genre change out there on an island of its own, but pretty much any metal trend will dead-end when it hits me. Sorry, I just don't know that much metal. I had to translate Rammstein's lyrics into English to be sure, and just as Ron promised, this is a song about intravenous drug use. Hooray! So that's the theme I ran with, and I'm picking a song that I hope most of you remember, but have forgotten that you remember.
The Dandy Warhols are probably most famous for their 2000 hit, "Bohemian Like You", but 3 years earlier they released a single, "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth". It's the superior song in my mind. It did the rounds on MTV, and perhaps embodies 1990s ironic detachment better than any song I know. They take a serious theme like heroin addiction, and boil it down to a fashion statement. After all, this was the era of heroin-chic supermodels. "I never thought you'd be a junkie, because heroin is so passé".
More than anything, I remember the music video. I really need you all to revisit this with fresh eyes. The bright colors, the choreography, the DANCING SYRINGES! And right there in the middle of it, are The Dandys looking cooler than fuck with that same ironic detachment I mentioned earlier.
One final note, in an effort to seed Liz's pick tomorrow: stoic synthpop girl"
Date Added: 4/28/26
Song: Ballad of an Onion Sprout
Artist: The Burning Of Rome
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Well how could i miss an opportunity to post my epitome of the stoic synth girl in the local San Diego band "The Burning of Rome" with "Ballad of an Onion Sprout" The first time I saw them it was such an incredible show. The energy was OFF THE CHARTS. The guitarist spent half the time in the audience rocking out. At one point the singer is standing up on top of his keyboard/piano screaming into the microphone which he falls off of, fully off the stage, landing on his back and never misses a beat. He took a microphone with him that our Stoic Synth Girl was using and she just calmly reaches over, grabbing the guitarists microphone to continue singing like this was just the most normal day ever. Great show. Great band. I always thought maybe they'd make it big."
Date Added: 4/29/26
Song: Aerodynamic
Artist: Daft Punk
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "ok so unlike Ronald, I actually loved Ballad of an Onion Sprout. It's crazy sounding without being discordant. Experimental without being noise. I don't know, I'm just into it alright? Back off!!!! Anyway it's weird enough that my brain focused in on the tolling bells and it made me think of Aerodynamic by Daft Punk. This album just absolutely defined senior year high school track meets. I listened to it a ton, then all summer, and it was the soundtrack to my journey to a new life far far away in exotic Colorado. I remember listening to it on headphones as I walked through DIA. I actually think it would be a killer album even without the nostalgia, but the nostalgia definitely doesn't hurt."
Date Added: 4/30/26
Song: Don’t Wait Up
Artist: Midnight Generation
DJ: John
Commentary: "I really appreciated Dan’s backstory for his song, and I wish I had a good story to go with this one as well, but that story is just, “this band reminded me of Daft Punk” when I found them last year. They’re called Midnight Generation and they’re from Mexico. It’s a delightful mix of electro pop, disco, and funk. It’s a bit of a slow start, but by 1:10 or so, you should be groovin’ so stick it out."
March 2026
Date Added: 3/1/26
Song: Mo Money Mo Problems
Artist: Notorious B.I.G., Mase
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Great share from Jeff, haven't listened to De La Soul in a minute. Eye Know's got an upbeat cheerful vibe, and while the depth of my hip-hop bench isn't the strongest it got me humming Kelly Price's hook from Mo Money Mo Problems by Biggy and Mase in '97. Annoyingly, Puffy's involved on the track but I always thought of it as B.I.G.'s jam, so it's my pick to start off March radness."
Date Added: 3/2/26
Song: Anxiety
Artist: Doechii
DJ: John
Commentary: "Doechii is probably my favorite hiphop artist I’ve found post pandemic. So sticking with the genre, I’m sharing a Doechii tune today which is the least Doechii-like, but also samples a song from about 15 years earlier just like Mo Money Mo Problems did with Diana Ross. I like how she’s taken a song that everyone knows but breathed new life into it and, in my opinion, improved on the original. Enjoy!"
Date Added: 3/3/26
Song: overwhelmed
Artist: Royal & the Serpent
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Ok my rap collection isn’t so well developed. Songs about anxiety on the other hand, that I can do. I think the pandemic was really good for people who wanted music about anxiety."
Date Added: 3/4/26
Song: Crush
Artist: Tessa Violet
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Dan's pick of a female lead song with a sparse instrumental track about anxiety reminded me of this female lead song with a sparse instrumental track about anxiety (although, this anxiety is about love aww)"
Date Added: 3/5/26
Song: Call Me
Artist: Blondie
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Ok I didnt have an "initial" reaction to Crush that was like "I know what song!" but there were several things that stood out: the staccato vocal delivery part is a unique rhythm. The "crush crush" repeated lyric, and the phone ringing in the background. As I kind of went thru each of these to see if i could find a connection the phone ringing hit and i was like OH SHIT BLONDIE! Now, this song doesnt feature any phone noises, but it is about calling. On the line. Any time, day or night. Plus female vocals and all around bop was a good enough connection for me."
Date Added: 3/6/26
Song: Spiderwebs
Artist: No Doubt
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Alright the early 80s punk-ish female lead singing about calling someone on the phone led me to the early 90s punk-ish female lead singing about leaving a message on an answering machine. Remember answering machines?"
Date Added: 3/7/26
Song: Ocean Man
Artist: Ween
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I have a good thematic follow-up for Spiderwebs that I'll post as a Second Choice, but I'm reluctant to establish our second ska wave in as many months. So here's Ween's 'Ocean Man' off of 1997's 'The Mollusk'. Let's say the connection is warm, summery, 90s Power Pop. And as a fun aside, 'The Mollusk' inspired the creation of Spongebob Squarepants."
Date Added: 3/8/26
Song: Changing of the Seasons
Artist: Two Door Cinema Club
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "Ok so Ocean Man is in my Spotify library but I’ve never been able to categorize it well. It just falls under “weird”, which makes finding a follow up track kind of tricky. I ended up going with Changing of the Seasons by Two Door Cinema Club. It’s got a little bit more of a mainstream sound and came out like 15 years later but has a cadence and feel that puts the two in line for me. Plus I really like the brutal honesty of the lyrics in the chorus."
Date Added: 3/9/26
Song: Seasons (Waiting on You)
Artist: Future Islands
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Okay, so the song I really wanted to do to follow Dan’s was by Cruiserweight, a local Denver band that John, Claire, and I listened to a lot in high school. The first song off their album kicks right off with this intense, raw, gut punch “I DON’T LOVE YOU….” But alas, their songs aren’t streaming anywhere. So then I thought about working with the band name Two Door Cinema Club and going with any of the other clubs of the same era: Bombay Bicycle Club, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tokyo Police Club. But they were a little too lyrically and thematically distant. So finally the song that made the most sense to me to follow Changing of the Seasons was Seasons (Waiting on You) off the 2014 album Singles by Future Islands. The parallels are pretty clear, but it’s about falling out of love with someone in cycle with the seasons. “The winter will wash what’s left, of the taste.”"
Date Added: 3/10/26
Song: The Gold
Artist: Manchester Orchestra
DJ: John
Commentary: "I’m going to drop the seasons metaphor but stick with the falling out of love theme, and move it over to a relationship as a hollowed out gold mine metaphor, and how the mine (and the gold) has changed miner, from the perspective of his wife. This one isn’t quite as emphatic of a beginning as “I DONT LOVE YOUUUI!” from The Cruiserweight, but opts for a bit softer opening of, “i don’t think I love you anymore”. Still a pretty clear message and words that the person on the other end of that conversation is no doubt devastated by. Sing along if you know the words!"
Date Added: 3/11/26
Song: Shark Smile
Artist: Big Thief
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I'm working on the theme of melancholy in relationships. The past few have been about ending relationships, but this one's about getting into a relationship that you know is bad for you. Plus there's a call out to a Midwestern locale. In 'The Gold' it was Eastern Illinois. Here it's South Des Moines. Something I appreciate about Adrianne Lenker's lyricism in this song is how the simple, 'Baby, take me,' adopts a new meaning by the final chorus."
Date Added: 3/12/26
Song: American Teenager
Artist: Ethel Cain
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "Alright, guitar intro, queer singer, straight forward beat, sad... gotta go Ethel Cain for a follow up to Big Thief"
Date Added: 3/13/26
Song: Leave a Trace
Artist: CHVRCHES
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Really cool song, hadn't listened to Ethel Cain before. Her voice has sort of a ghostly/ethereal quality that reminds me of the Scottish chick that sings for CHVRCHES. Ethel/Hayden paints a cute little picture of (expository) hopelessness of the completely fucked-over modern youth of America -- I know, I thought it too: if only we could save them from exploding. A fitting response to that call is CHVRCHES's Leave A Trace, which basically sounds like an upbeat and defiant middle finger to their tormentors."
Date Added: 3/14/26
Song: Doomed
Artist: Maphra
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "Leave a Trace reminds me of a song called Doomed by Bring Me The Horizon in that it's a song that is about someone standing strong against adversary with a real ‘fuck you’ attitude. Bring Me The Horizon takes it another step further by going down with the ship. I love Bring Me The Horizon's original but I'm going to be choosing a cover of their song by Maphra, who is an insane vocalist and really, really elevates the song to something with a lot of fight in it."
Date Added: 3/15/26
Song: London Calling
Artist: The Clash
DJ: John
Commentary: "Okay so for today I wanted to take Doomed and go in a doomsday direction. There were so many options I considered, many from the Cold War era focusing on nuclear annihilation/end of civilization. I considered David Bowie’s Five Years, but I think I’m only allowed one Bowie song every six months. I also considered 99 Luftbalons by Nena and Melt With You by Modern English. Ultimately I settled on a song I know you all know, but I don’t think you’ll mind hearing again - I know I won’t. It’s The Clash with London Calling. It came out in 1979 amongst turmoil at home and abroad as the British Empire crashed out, with nerves running high about nuclear war. I want to see it in a positive light though, as here we are almost 50 years later and nuclear fears are (mostly) behind us."
Date Added: 3/16/26
Song: London Bridge
Artist: Fergie
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "I wish I had a deeper connection here but I'm going to stay true to myself and pick the first song that came to mind when listening to London Calling. She might be a bit problematic and there are certainly problematic lyrics in the song, but here is London Bridge by Fergie"
Date Added: 3/17/26
Song: Norf Side
Artist: Jill Scott feat. Tierra Whack
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I’ll run with the theme of female-fronted hip hop. I already posted this once on #second-choices-and-missed-opportunities , but I think it deserves an official spot on the playlist. It’s one of my 2026 favorites."
Date Added: 3/18/26
Song: Bullshit
Artist: The Palmer Squares feat. ProbCause
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "The easy one today was the Fugees because it was the first thing that came to mind, but I'll just throw that in the second choices bucket because I'd rather put a song in that people might not have heard. Like Norf Side, the lyrics are self-aggrandizing, go into the drugs they do, etc. They're a bit more aggressive, but they throw out references like every other phrase which makes it fun to try and keep up with it all."
Date Added: 3/19/26
Song: Angry At The World
Artist: The Kyteman Orchestra
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "OK this is going to seem like a bit of left field, but I promise you i havea connection. SO Kyteman Orchestra out of The Netherlands, was lead by musician (and synth genius) Colin Benders who is a flugal horn player. The reason I thought of KytemanOrchestra was because of a line from Bullshit about the flugal horn, which stood out to me as its kind of a weirder/less known instrument. And this song in particular has a big rap section in the middle. Thematically its got similar "its all bullshit" vibes. Kyteman Orch. did a lot of blending genres and tons of musicians of all types and just was a genre fuck of delight. Hope y'all love them as much as I do."
Date Added: 3/20/26
Song: Uprising
Artist: Muse
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "What a fun cacophony of sounds to free-associate with today. Definitely a new artist for me, and a real joy to listen to. Though I suspect there are more nuanced takes available, I just can't shake the feeling that the hook from Angry At The World follows a similar melody and tempo to Uprising by Muse. So with that in mind, I'm abusing my temporary DJ powers and declaring 3/20 to be Basic Bitch Friday. Thanks for being my... Muses dgakdkhajhagdjskdhausj I'm so sorry."
Date Added: 3/21/26
Song: Ghost of York
Artist: As Tall As Lions
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Brian for your Muse selection. There are many great Muse songs and I was tempted to just pick another one. Like Starlight or Madness, which are some of my favorites. But to keep the playlist evolving, I’ll showcase Ghost of York, my favorite song by the Muse-like band As Tall As Lions off their 2006 self-titled album. One of many things I appreciate about this song is the parallel construction of the first and second verses: 1) “Tell me that you could hear it, three taps under the floorboard, don’t say I’m losing it, maybe you’re deaf.” 2) “Tell me that you could see it, a ghost whose skin was porcelain, don’t say I’m losing it, maybe you’re blind.” I also love how the bridge builds to this intense wall of sound and then there’s a sudden satisfying drop. Man, I love this song."
Date Added: 3/22/26
Song: Morning Bell
Artist: Radiohead
DJ: Liz
Commentary: "I really liked As tall as lions and parts of it really reminded me of radiohead. Plus "ghost of york"??? TOM YORK?!!! it was meant to be! I picked one of my favourite radiohead songs but its also SUPER facinating to me because they released two versions of it: one in 4/4 and ne in 5/4, this being the latter and a rhythm I've shamelessly ripped off for my own music. I'll post the 4/4 version in second choices so you can compare, because this lays out a way to make any 4/4 song into 5/4 by just extending the first 2 beats to be 150%. So you get a sort of "long long short short" beat pattern and i freaking love it."
Date Added: 3/23/26
Song: 7/4 (Shoreline)
Artist: Broken Social Scene
DJ: Jeff
Commentary: "Thanks Liz! It was a fun exercise to count this out and then compare it to the 4/4 version. While we’re playing around with time signatures, I’m revisiting a band I’ve posted here before, but I’ve always appreciated the flow of 7/4 (Shoreline) by Broken Social Scene, which is in, well 7/4. It was nice of them to just give us the answer right there in the title so I didn’t have to clap it out. Also you may recognize the lead female vocalist as Leslie Feist who was part of this collective for a bit!"
Date Added: 3/24/26
Song: The First Circle
Artist: Pat Metheny
DJ: Ron
Commentary: "As we're going down the fun time signature path, I'm immediately reminded of my favorite jazz song: The First Circle by Pat Metheny. 12/8 + 10/8 with a few 3/4 and 4/4 bars thrown in there. Pat Metheny's work is... eccentric. I'm honestly not a fan of most of his stuff because it leans more new age-y... but The First Circle is amazing. Even though it's 9 minutes long, I find myself putting everything else on hold for the song and get goosebumps at the end."
Date Added: 3/25/26
Song: No Thugs In Our House
Artist: XTC
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "Sorry for the hard pivot, but I'm well outside of my wheelhouse when it comes to unusual time signatures and Jazz Fusion. It looks like the studio version of 'The First Circle' was released in 1984. I'm really reaching here, but let's go with another 80s song. XTC is a band that I think most American-born Millennials won't know as well as some of their other New Wave contemporaries. In my mind, they're comparable to the Art Punk of Talking Heads, Egg Punk of DEVO, and general Post-Punk Englishness of Madness and The Cure. To try and tie them somewhat closer to Pat Metheny, their music is eclectic and playful - melodic, quirky, and energetic - lush and dense. This is 'No Thugs In Our House' off of 1982's 'English Settlement'. I appreciate the lyrics critiquing England's upper class."
Date Added: 3/26/26
Song: Bella Ciao
Artist: Chumbawamba
DJ: John
Commentary: "Thanks for sharing XTC Claire - that was a new one for me and reminded me a bit of the aquabats as well as the others you mentioned. But rather than share an aquabats song, I’m going to riff on the theme of fascism. No Thugs in Our House seems to be about parents turning a blind eye to their son becoming a nazi. So I’m sharing the classic anti nazi song from Italy - Bella Ciao. There are hundreds of versions to choose from - most are in Italian - but for this playlist I’ve selected the one from Chumbawamba - yes that Chumbawamba. They’ve redone it in English and they sing it acapella which sounds quite nice."
Date Added: 3/27/26
Song: Honey I’m Good
Artist: Kurt Hugo Schneider, Sam Tsui
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "That's fascinating about Chumbawamba -- horizons are being broadened out here, folks. Although my pockets are weirdly empty with regard to additional musics about Nazis, I love me a good a capella cover and will cheerfully steer the ship in that direction. An internet goofball I discovered doing pop music parodies back in my Starcraft days is Kurt Hugo Schneider ("Banelings" in case you're a fellow Zergthusiast), who has continued along over the years and done quite a few a capella covers with his various collaborators. I find his spin on Honey I'm Good to be a catchy good time. Again, no mention of Nazis, and for that I am very sorry."
Date Added: 3/28/26
Song: 85
Artist: Andy Grammer
DJ: Dan
Commentary: "So obviously Brian’s song being an Andy Grammer cover got me on that mode. That guy’s pop music follows the young will smith theory of rap music - you don’t gotta cuss to sell records. His music is just all really fun and optimistic and generally leaves me feeling better than when I started without overwhelming with syrupy themes. So here’s some more Andy Grammer. It’s a good one about trying to stay in the moment and loving what you’ve got. I really like the bass/beat that leads into the chorus"
Date Added: 3/29/26
Song: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Artist: Paul Simon
DJ: John
Commentary: "Andy Grammer is new to me. I like the drums, and the melody is really strong. It’s definitely got good singalong potential! In true free association style, the first song that came to me was Paul Simon’s ‘Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes’. Written and recorded during his time in South Africa, it incorporates Zulu singers and song elements (the humming elements of ‘85’ are what initially reminded me of this song). It also plays on the theme of wealth, as the song is about a romance between an extremely wealthy woman and a poor man."
Date Added: 3/30/26
Song: Common People
Artist: Pulp
DJ: Brian
Commentary: "Nice, now I'm on a Paul Simon bender. I thought about this one for a bit, and for me the most striking element from Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes is the improbable love story of the poor boy somehow transcending class divide and wooing the bedazzled-footwear rich girl. Though Paul's story feels more wholesome and happily-ever-after, it instantly reminds me of Pulp's Common People, which is my pick for today. The male protagonist here spends the whole song basically trying to objection handle her clearly inexplicable feelings for him with the cold water of the horrors of relative poverty. And yet, she persists."
Date Added: 3/31/26
Song: Alright
Artist: Supergrass
DJ: Claire
Commentary: "I have to go with mid-90s Britpop soundtrack mainstay, “Alright” by Supergrass. It’s pure nostalgia bottled for consumption."