Our First-Name Basis season is underway! Our mission: to identify the most iconic song associated with a first name. But how? It starts right here, as we look at the first 10 in our FNB Top 40 and decide which songs/names move on to the next round. Along the way, we make predictions, remember Just One Of The Guys and American Crime Story, stand too close to you with Chardonnay breath, re-scan upstate towns to fit into country songs, and pay tribute to the car trips and roller rinks of our youths. Come on, Eileens: it's an all-new MASTAS season!

Our intro is [deep breath] Elliott Smith, Ben Folds, Andrew Byrne, Laura Barger, AND Jack Baldelli, and our outro is De La Soul. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

The Record Of The Year Showdown comes down to this...and there's not a ton of surprises here, probably, but there IS the wall of history, the wisdom of (drunk, stoned New York City) crowds, shared musical language, the "Somebody" multiverse, and Sarah's zombie mom. So, you know: Monday. Everyone's a winner in the battle of head vs. heart as we crown a ROTY champion in our season finale.

Our intro is by Whitrew Byrnston, and our outro is by the Pet Shop Boys. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

Mark's shenanigans aside, we had an easier time ranking our semifinal group than we'd expected -- but we didn't necessarily expect to go on a sentimental journey with TLC, Sarah Palin's nephew LARP Jr., cutesy Aretha, braided beards, and an open invitation to Gotye to come on/edit the podcast. But a full moon and Sarah's all-covers clip choices put us on the emotional road to our season finale. Don't worry, we will still always love you (and have not gotten killed by John Ramos) in our penultimate ROTY episode.

Our intro is by Whitnaurack Bargellston, and our outro is by Deee-Lite. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

"This'll be cinchy! [cut to: sobbing]" We thought we'd have a more straightforward time of our quarterfinal rankings, but alas, no. We did have a Whitney-koan reader mail, a visit from Katharine Hepburn, the aural equivalent of a sped-up Bob Ross episode, and music-minister shout-outs before Julio got the stretch and carted off four more beloved songs. Grab a fine-tooth comb and join us for Episode 8 of the Record Of The Year Showdown.

Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outro is by the Sundays. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

More like the BITTER-sweet 16, the episode that forces hosts and listeners alike to make terrible choices, as well as rank things politically, salute album-cover pets of yore, choose which Adele hills to die on, pit Henry Mancini against Leonard Nimoy, mourn the consensus "blech," and dodge the ire of John Ramos whilst deploying Emilio Estevez fist-pumps. Is today a "Beat It" day, or is Sunny coming home to Mark Ronson's name on her mailbox? Lace up those skates, boo: it's Episode 7 of the Record Of The Year Showdown.

Our intro is by Andrew Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outro is by Officer Roseland. Dig Officer Roseland's chili on Bandcamp, and for more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

The Round Of 32 is a plot-heavy affair: Coldplay premonitions, beautiful German cheese, learning to love advisedly off-putting pop, and songs that grab you by the nip. As the decisions get more agonizing, Aunt Doreen punches Grampy Blankenship in the face, and we discover that the ghost in the machine is -- and will continue to be -- Whitney. Get ready to scramble a goose egg; it's the second half of the ROTYS Sweet 16.

Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Whitn-- er, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

The Round Of 32: where the choices get tougher and the cheeses get lonelier. We're writing Back To The Future/Babybel fan-fic, analyzing palimpsest layers, appreciating Bobby Darin's interpretive skills (and apologizing to Jerry Orbach), and wondering who's going to do a better job of seducing Sarah, Mrs. Robinson or Toto. What song is a red-wine drunk? Who burned off their eyelashes in seventh grade? We're looking for answers -- and half of the ROTYS Sweet 16.

Our intro is by Andrew Byrne, and our outro is by Harry Styles. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

It's the final section of our Record Of The Year Showdown Round Of 64! The Grammys get more of a clue, albeit seemingly by accident, here in the 21st century, and we're talking about that, plus the late Shows Of Note, editorial thrills in dinosaur/country-fiddle pairings, farts over a xylophone, our favorite generic bands, the schmaltz hinge point, songs that need their videos in order to work, and phannntommm-adjacent content. Who is this millennium's Anne Murray? Find out in the season's fourth episode!

Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by the Strokes. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

We're heading -- somewhat angrily! -- into the 21st century in our third Record Of The Year Showdown episode. Spanning 1991-2006 at the Grammys, our discussion also looks at early-nineties quality control lapses, celebrations of the dusty past, nestling in the Swiss-y holes of pop cheese, seventh-grade-dance melodrama, special categories for Whitneying and Mariahing, "psyyyyych!" noms, and George Santos's first Grammy. Less math than last time, but more rage as MASTAS's ROTY Showdown season turns the corner in the Round Of 64.

Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by William Joel. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

The Record Of The Year Showdown enters the second "bracket" section with winners from 1975-1990, which means a lot of flashbacks to our America's Damp 40 season; theories about Billy Joel and Rufus Wainwright; Eagles/color-blindness test metaphors; underappreciated dad-bod pop stars; how a cult implicated Steve Winwood; and the necessity of special categories to contain nuclear waste like "We Are The World." It all culminates in a FIVE-way tie amongst cheeses standing alone -- AND outtakes! We've got wind, we've got wings, YOU'VE got an all-new episode of MASTAS.

Our intro is Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is Aimee Mann and your hosts losing their damn minds. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES