Before Instagram Stories, there were daily photo updates. Before brand partnerships, there were featured user programs. Before influencers, there was scene royalty.

From Harry Potter's gothic halls to Phoebe Bridgers' whispered confessions, this episode unpacks Academic Goth, a movement that gives students permission to treat knowledge like art, studying like spell research, and homework like main-character moments. 

Join host Leslie Simon to examine the indie music soundtracks that make homework feel cinematic, the BookTok obsession with "The Secret History," and why physical books have become a rebellion against the world going digital.

Let’s uncover why students choose vintage leather journals over laptops, how candlelit study sessions become sacred rituals, and what this movement reveals about modern educational promises versus reality.

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This week, let’s explore the fascinating phenomenon of musical photocopying through My Chemical Romance's explosive influence on the scene. Following MCR's breakthrough with their 2004 album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, three distinct generations of bands emerged, each more distanced from the authentic vision that made Gerard Way & Co. so compelling.

From Aiden's Halloween-store aesthetic and Thirty Seconds to Mars' celebrity shortcut to Black Veil Brides' socially optimized rebellion and Falling in Reverse's manufactured controversy, I examine how authentic artistic vision becomes increasingly diluted through waves of imitation. 

What happens when bands copy the look without understanding the genuine experience behind it? 

How does theatrical darkness rooted in literature and personal struggle transform into pure marketing spectacle? 

And what can we learn from bands that successfully evolved beyond their copied beginnings versus those that remained forever stuck in someone else's creative shadow?

Listen now and discover the fascinating lifecycle of influence, imitation, and the ultimate price of musical photocopying.

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Ever notice how some artists drop one earth-shattering album, then vanish into legend?

Host Leslie Simon explores music's most tantalizing mystery: the single-album phenomenon that rewrote the rules forever. From the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks igniting punk's revolution to Jeff Buckley's Grace redefining vulnerability, Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill transforming hip-hop's emotional scope, and Postal Service's Give Up spawning countless digital imitators—witness how four debut masterpieces shattered boundaries and achieved instant immortality.

Why do these singular statements hit harder than entire discographies? What makes a debut so powerful that it becomes untouchable?

Stream now and discover how four wildly different artists achieved musical immortality with just one perfect shot.

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Remember frantically switching radio stations when your friends got in the car so they wouldn't catch you blasting “Mr. Jones”? 

Host Leslie Simon kicks off a new season of Desperate For Attention by unveiling our collective musical hypocrisy. From Third Eye Blind's 'Semi-Charmed' secrets to Avril's sk8er-girl revolution, let’s trace how these once-mocked Y2K artists transitioned from peak-cringe to playlist essential. 

Discover the perfect storm of nostalgia, cultural shifts, and genuine talent that transformed these bands from guilty pleasures into respected icons. Stream now and finally admit what your iPod knew all along.

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How come Phantom Planet didn’t go supersonic after "California" and The O.C.? What happened to Fountains of Wayne after "Stacy's Mom"? Why didn't The Sounds become international superstars, even when Dave Grohl couldn't stop gushing about them? 

Chris and Leslie examine some of the greatest almost famous Millennial rock bands, with plenty of behind-the-scenes intel from their days at Alternative Press, Billboard, and backstage watching Jason Schwartzman endure bad Rushmore dad jokes. 

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So, you’ve got a million-dollar idea for a book and, after writing a killer proposal, you snag a literary agent that finds a publisher to release your tome into the world. Now what?

Chris and Leslie talk about each of their experiences writing — and editing! — a manuscript, deciding on illustrations and photography, marketing and promoting the finished product, and making the eventual book release a must-read event. 

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From sticky notes to bidding wars, Chris and Leslie go behind the scenes of the publishing industry and explain how they got their books published. Find out what it’s REALLY like to write a book proposal, get a literary agent, pitch to publishing houses, and sign on the dotted line of that coveted contract.

And if you’re just interested in our adventures interviewing emo bands, there’s plenty of that, too! 

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With Music’s Biggest Night behind us, Chris and Leslie discuss the impact of Beyoncé FINALLY winning Best Album of the Year, Kendrick Lamar sweeping half the Big 4 categories with his revenge anthem, and Chappell Roan offering the Academy some savage critical feedback with her Best New Artist acceptance speech. 

The winners! The losers! The fashun!

This year, the 2025 GRAMMY Awards attempted to right some past wrongs, but we’re not fully convinced the efforts represent true progress versus flashy performance.

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It’s award season, and hosts Chris Payne and Leslie Simon delve into Timothée Chalamet’s play for Oscar voters’ hearts on SNL, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan’s chances of sweeping the big GRAMMY categories, Doechii's shot at Best New Artist, and one very bold Super Bowl prediction. 

The millennials they are, Chris and Leslie at least deserve some participation trophies for naming a bunch of Robbie Williams songs and sitting through all ten hours of The Brutalist. 

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