All Our Pretty Songs

This week, we discussed Spice Girls. We had a wide-ranging discussion that hit on Spice World, the concept of the blank slate, Pink Floyd's The Wall, feminist history, AI, Riot grrrl, Ars poeticas, "Girls to the front," The Electric Slide, math, horniness, wanting, sound poetry, sex vs. dancing, having sex with your friends, and, of course, above all else, friendship.

Our theme song is by Golden West Service, featuring Shreddie Vedder.

For this special episode we brought back our esteemed guest, Korn historian and DJ Alanna "That's So" Raben. She led us in a discussion that touched on Beavis and Butthead, TRL, TikTok, sex positivity, sports, product placement, sequined jumpsuits, freaks, Coffee Coolattas, communicating with God, the "Zach Morris cell phone aesthetic," found language, nursery rhymes, horror, and, ultimately, the rejection of language.

Our theme song is by Golden West Service, featuring Shreddie Vedder.

This time on AOPS, we discussed The Offspring in a wide-ranging conversation that touched on sincerity, unemployment, medical doctors, William Carlos Williams, fiscal conservatism, and—of course—self esteem vs. confidence.

Our theme song is by Golden West Service, featuring Shreddie Vedder.

For this episode, we discussed two 90s classics: "Closer," by Nine Inch Nails and "Closer to Fine," by the Indigo Girls. We touched on topics like God, the id, the ego, Rasputin, cafeteria cookies, "a port in a storm," Hélène Cixous, parabolas, and college.

Our theme song is by Golden West Service, featuring Shreddie Vedder.

On this episode, we discussed the work of Whitney Houston, who is the best. Our conversation touched on: bad breakup behavior, Taylor Swift, song lyrics vs. poems, the most powerful "and" in music, direct address, seeking advice, mom-as-inner voice, dancing as a stand-in for sex, children, memory, and songs of innocence, songs of experience.

Our theme song, as always, is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.

Marisa's book, ⁠Diary⁠.

This week, we discussed the work of Sarah McLachlan, touching on Second-wave feminist naming conventions, "The Second Coming," The Rules, "Building a Mystery" poems, angel investors, shaving, the Garden of Eden, Andrea Dworkin, Christmas songs, Rock star on the road songs, Lifetime movies, and, of course, the ASPCA.

Our theme song, as always, is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.

Marisa's book, Diary.

For this episode we discussed Oasis, a band one of us described as "Two brothers and some other people." We also touched on landslides in popular music, synesthesia, trolls, The Beatles, rhyme scheme, ghosts, "parents just don't understand," made up words, hearsay, and movies in which people get buried alive.

Our theme song is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.

We've reached 1995 in our ongoing exploration of the top 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 for each year of the 90s, and this time the choices were REALLY impossible. Listen for our excellent discussion of some incredible songs, plus: crises of faith, freaks, "freak flags," school dances, personalized silk pajama sets, skin hunger, Fantasia, rollerblading, and a little something we like to call the "Advent Calendar of Loneliness."

Our theme song, as always, is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.

This week, we discussed the original soundtrack for the absolutely essential 90s film, The Crow (Alex Proyas, 1994). We also had a fight about Rage Against the Machine and discussed 90s haircuts, being born, fast forwarding, Edgar Allen Poe, the difference between "can't" and "won't," and the concept of revenge.

Our theme song, as always, is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.

This week, we discussed The Breeders in a wide-ranging discussion touching on wishing wells, "going up Troy's bucket," quotidian landmarks, sleepovers vs. slumber parties, Thor, Melville & Hawthorne, onomatopoeia, and the male privilege of jumping in a pool and yelling, "CANNONBALL!!!"

Our theme song is by Golden West Service featuring Shreddie Vedder.