Welcome to the Weird Al vs. Everybody season of MASTAS! We're looking at a couple dozen Weird Al Yankovic songs and the originals that inspired him, and choosing a winner in each match-up -- starting with Coolio homage "Amish Paradise"! Before we get into self-serious videos for movies we think might be fake, cultural appropriation of pre-tech societies, and how Stevie Wonder feels about our swearing, we've got an important announcement about voting and future in-person events...but then we're back to discussing whether Weird Al-chemy turns "Gangsta's" into gold. Listen now, English!

Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne; the WAvE theme-let is a mash-up of Oingo Boingo, Elvis Costello, Black Box, and Michael Buffer; and our outro is by The Primitives. For more information/to become a patron of the show and hear all episodes this season, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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The competition is over, but the discussion of comeback songs isn't -- and today's is about comebacks in the answer/clapback sense. Seven "answer" songs come under the MASTAScope, as well as the frequency with which Neil Young is told to shut it, Bavaria's unexpected move to Ireland, the Judy Cycle opera we need to see, and pop songs that have become microplastics in their ubiquity. Vaseline those teeth and have a listen.

Our outro for today's episode is by Neil Young. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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It's time to declare a winner -- the definitive pop-music comeback song -- but the road to the final result is a twisty one. "Believe" and "Walk This Way" each crystallize the concept of the comeback, but in different ways, so to help us choose, we're watching videos, discussing the synecdoche of Cher, rummaging through a bin of PhD-thesis topics, and resisting arithmetic. Is the outcome predictable, or precedent-setting? AutoTune a drum roll and listen!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is by the Strokes. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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The semifinal round is, while somewhat predictable, still full of ups and downs, including Spelling Bee's interest in our works and days, the way Adam Lambert takes and gives meaning, how far is far enough for a song we actively dislike, Latin-phrase drag names, scary puppets, and reader comments! Sorry about the sweaty-Reagan reference; distract yourself with our penultimate DCIAC episode.

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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We're down to eight great comeback songs; which ones will join the Do Call It A Comeback season's Final Four? We're quoting Wayne's World, we're putting things in plaid place out of eight, we're remembering upsetting Beatles gifts, we're adding salt to temp tracks, and we're wondering why it so often seemed like nobody cared about Laura Branigan's reputation. Transmitting live-to-tape from the floor of the Utah legislature while on a date with Bonnie Raitt, it's Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is by Squeeze. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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The Sweet 16 is here, along with the return to numbered rankings...and the unkindest cuts of all, plus another Auto-Tune justice conversation, myriad matrices, Tracy Chapman's post-nineties Flintstones car, 92.5% of Cher's butt, unpleasant flashbacks to the sophomore dance, and the long wait for a muffin basket from Nick Rhodes. Quick, before another UHF quote-fight breaks out -- walk THIS way to hear our latest episode!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up; our interstitial music is by Beck, and our outro is by Joni Mitchell. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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We're taking a quick break before the emotional press of the Sweet 16 to talk about a handful of "off-label" comebacks: award-winners, kids' songs, comebacks only we noticed, and more. We wonder whether it's possible to have been too big to truly come all the way back; we contemplate a truly catastrophic remix of self-loathing; and we bemoan sad computers, unfortunate spiritual-title phrasing, and Jackwagon Wenner. Got some snitty advice for dead people? Us too! Get on board!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is the Stone Roses. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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Mark's spreadsheet of history has spoken: we're choosing the rest of the Do Call It A Comeback season's Sweet 16 this week! From the top of the pallet of improbable late-'80s comeback songs, we're surveying the joyful geeky dance of Robin Gibb, the 20 percent of our income we owe to Duran Duran, the most tiresomely groovy Ben & Jerry's flavors, Canadian spellings, and what's playing when we're drinking a Crystal Light at the hotel spa. What would The $1.98 Video Show have looked like? Find out in our latest episode!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is The Connells. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

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The Round Of 32 is underway! After a brief chat about our head-vs.-heart processes in this round, we descend into the valley of the shadow of twos: struggling to come up with the word "metamorphosis," confronting the history of Auto-Tune, measuring levels of exposure to Britpop, and planning a community-college class on interpretive dance. Everybody's got their Limburger, we also learn -- what's yours? Grab a thesaurus and your most exhausting album title and have a listen.

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is Everything But The Girl. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

The last 15 songs have entered the comeback fray, along with Nickelodeon dominance, stinky vocals in classic songs, what Clive Davis is drinking while he waits for artists at a crossroads, perfect blends of horniness and intelligence, and what happens when you drop John Belushi's Joe Cocker imitation in a vat of AI. Should Bob Dylan live in a saguaro in Joshua Tree and other questions for the ages, as we wrap up the first round of our definitive-comeback season!

Our intro is an LL Byrne J mash-up, and our outro is Sarah Vaughan. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES