Music at Work

Music at Work

By Alicia and GrahamMusicMusic Commentary
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Music at Work episodes

  • Episode 17: End of Beginning

    Surprise! We’re back with a very special episode that may be our last one.

    Things are changing in our world as both Alicia and Graham are about to start new jobs. While we’re going to continue talking about music, we’re not sure what the future of the show looks like, so we had to record one more episode.

    We’ve decided to go out by talking about new music to prove how young and cool we are. We’ll check out some of the most popular hits from the last couple of years and offer our Elder Millennial takes on what the kids are listening to.

    Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

    Songs in this episode:

    • "Lithonia” - Childish Gambino
    • “The Door” - Teddy Swims
    • “So Sweet I Could Die” - Lucia and the Best Boys
    • “Nothing Matters” - The Last Dinner Party
    • “Saturn” - SZA
    • “Too Sweet” - Hozier
    • “Soup” - Remi Wolf
    • “Imagination” - Foster the People
    • “Shut Up My Mom’s Calling” - Hotel Ugly
    • “Blame Brett” - The Beaches
    • "Lunch" - Billie Eilish
    • "Birds of a Feather" - Billie Eilish
    • "Sexy to Someone" - Clairo
    • "Wonder" - Shawn Mendes
    • "My Kink is Karma" - Chappell Roan
    • "Here's the Thing" - Fontaines D.C.
    • "End of Beginning" - Djo
    • "Sundress" - A$AP Rocky
      • 1 hr 15 min
    • Episode 16: One and Done

      It’s the season finale of Music at Work! This week we’re talking one-hit wonders.

      How can an artist conjure up a massive global hit but never again crack that code? It’s one of music’s greatest mysteries. We’ll listen to some of our favourite hits from artists who were never able to recreate the magic and ask why creativity is so fickle.

      We’ll also reflect on some favourite moments of our first season and give a taste of what is to come in Season 2.

      Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

      Songs in this episode:

      • "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People
      • "Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
      • "She Drives Me Crazy" - Fine Young Cannibals
      • "Flagpole Sitta" - Harvey Danger
      • "The Safety Dance" - Men Without Hats
      • "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
      • "Hit Em Up Style" - Blu Cantrell
        • 40 min
      • Episode 15: Summer, Summer, Summertime

        The days are long, the sun is shining, and we’re checking out the songs of the summer.

        We’ll chat about what make a great summer song, listen to some classic tracks from the past 30 years, and see if Graham can survive a trip to the 2020s.

        Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

        Songs discussed this week:

        • "Espresso" - Sabrina Carpenter
        • "Houdini" - Dua Lipa
        • "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk
        • "HOT TO GO!" - Chappell Roan
        • "Shake It Off (Taylor's Version)" - Taylor Swift
        • "Crazy in Love" - Beyoncé (feat. Jay-Z)
        • "Summertime" - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
        • "Hot in Herre" - Nelly
        • "Kill Bill" - SZA
        • "As It Was" - Harry Styles
        • "If I Can't Have You" - Shawn Mendes
          • 51 min
        • Episode 14: Sad Horny Radiohead

          The knives are out, the jigsaw is falling into place, and we’re taking a trip through 20 years of Graham’s favourite band of all time.

          We’ll sample some amazing tracks from each Radiohead era, debate the existence of the sadness/horniness axis, and welcome our very first sponsor to the show.

          Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

          Songs in this episode:

          • "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
          • "Exit Music (for a Film)"
          • "Polyethylene (Parts 1 and 2)"
          • "Jigsaw Falling into Place"
          • "Just"
          • "Talk Show Host"
          • "Optimistic"
          • "Knives Out"
          • "2 + 2 = 5"
          • "There There"
          • "Present Tense"
          • "Reckoner"
            • 51 min
          • Episode 13: Try a Little Sondheim

            This week, we’re heading into the woods to explore the wonderful world of Stephen Sondheim. 

            Alicia has picked highlights from her favourite Sondheim shows to share with musical theatre newbie Graham. We’ll listen to selections from “Sweeney Todd”, “Company”, “Into the Woods”, “West Side Story” and “A Little Night Music” to appreciate the genius of this singular musical icon.

            Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

            Songs in this episode:

            From Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

            • "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"
            • "The Contest"
            • "A Little Priest"
            • "Johanna"

              • From Into the Woods

              • "On the Steps of the Palace"
              • "Moments in the Woods"
              • "Finale/Children Will Listen (Pt. 1)"

                • From Company

                • "Being Alive"
                • "Marry Me a Little"
                • "Sorry-Grateful"

                  • From West Side Story

                  • "America"
                  • "Somewhere"
                  • "Tonight"

                    • From A Little Night Music

                    • "You Must Meet My Wife"
                      • 57 min
                    • Episode 12: Motown Quibbles

                      We’re back and we’re talking Motown! These timeless songs are stylish, fun, and impeccably crafted. We’ll share our favourites as we explore some of the greatest pop music of all time.

                      Along the way, we’ll learn a word of unlimited Scrabble power, write a hot new club banger, drop our favourite catchphrase, and deliver an oral history of the California Raisins.

                      Listen to this week’s songs on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).


                      Songs in this episode:

                      • “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” - Jimmy Ruffin
                      • “(You) Got What I Need” - Freddie Scott
                      • “You Can’t Hurry Love” - The Supremes
                      • “Hard to Handle” - Otis Redding
                      • “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” - Stevie Wonder
                      • “Beggin’” - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
                      • “For Once in My Life” - Stevie Wonder
                      • “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” - The Four Tops
                      • “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” - Marvin Gaye
                      • “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” - The Shirelles
                      • “Dancing in the Street” - Martha and the Vandellas
                      • “Somewhere” - The Supremes
                      • “I Want You Back” - The Jackson 5
                      • “Reach Out for Me” - Dionne Warwick
                        • 1 hr 6 min
                      • Episode 11: OK Boomer

                        Happy Fathers’ Day! We’re celebrating our dads by throwing it back to the glory days of classic rock.

                        This week, Alicia is going to listen to 15 timeless Dad Rock songs from the late 60s/early 70s and share her first impressions. We’ll break down our favourites and chat about what makes this music great.

                        Listen along on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

                        Songs in this episode:

                        • "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
                        • "Elenore" - The Turtles
                        • "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles
                        • "Share the Land" - The Guess Who
                        • "I Saw the Light" - Todd Rundgren
                        • "The Caves of Altamira" - Steely Dan
                        • "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" - Iron Butterfly
                        • "Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin
                        • "Lola" - The Kinks
                        • "School" - Supertramp
                        • "Time" - Pink Floyd
                        • "Let it Ride" - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
                          • 53 min
                        • Episode 10: Music Makes the Movie

                          We’re going to the movies! Music is the secret ingredient that ties a movie together, and we’re going to share some of our favourite Hollywood scores.

                          We’ll explain why timpani are like sensitive jocks, Graham will shamefully admit his ignorance of 80s pop culture, and we’ll drop some scorching hot takes about the best movie songs of all time. 

                          Listen along on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast)!

                          Songs in this episode:

                          • "Fargo" (from Fargo) - Carter Burwell
                          • "Time" (from Inception) - Hans Zimmer
                          • "Finale" (from The Empire Strikes Back) - John Williams
                          • "Morning Passages" (from The Hours) - Philip Glass
                          • "Bloody Christmas" (from L.A. Confidential) - Jerry Goldsmith
                          • "End Credits" (from Beetlejuice) - Danny Elfman
                          • "Parade of the Charioteers" (from Ben Hur) - Miklos Rosza
                          • "Mom Returns and Finale" (from Home Alone) - John Williams
                          • "The Landing" (from First Man) - Justin Hurwitz
                          • "Forrest Gump Suite" (from Forrest Gump) - Alan Silvestri
                          • "That Thing You Do" (from That Thing You Do) - Adam Schlesinger
                            • 1 hr 4 min
                          • Episode 9: Vocal Jazz Odyssey

                            This week, we're going on a journey through some of the greatest singers and songs of all time. We'll share our vocal jazz favourites and discuss what we love about this timeless music.

                            As usual, we'll slander Frank Sinatra and throw it back to the 90s, including a fun story of how jazz music led us to cross paths as teenagers.

                            Listen along on our Spotify playlist and follow us on Instagram (@music_at_work_podcast).

                            Songs in this episode:

                            • "Love for Sale" - Ella Fitzgerald / The Manhattan Transfer
                            • "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" - Ella Fitzgerald
                            • "I Could Write a Book" - Dinah Washington
                            • "But Not for Me" - Ella Fitzgerald
                            • "The Very Thought of You" - Nat King Cole
                            • "As Time Goes By" - Dooley Wilson
                            • "I'm a Fool to Want You" - Billie Holiday
                            • "I've Heard That Song Before" - Helen Forrest
                            • "I Put a Spell on You" - Nina Simone
                            • "Someone to Watch Over Me" - Sarah Vaughn
                            • "Summertime" - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
                            • "The Shadow of Your Smile" - Ella Fitzgerald
                            • "Stars Fell on Alabama" - Billie Holiday
                            • "Anything Goes" - Ella Fitzgerald
                            • "Puttin' on the Ritz" - Ella Fitzgerald
                              • 1 hr 6 min
                            • Episode 8: Me Indies

                              We’re turning the clock back to 2003 to dive into indie rock: under-the-radar, Pitchfork-approved music from the farthest corners of the internet.

                              We’ll debate what “indie” really means, and Graham will regale Alicia with the elitist musical opinions of his youth. 

                              Listen along on our Spotify playlist, which is updated every Thursday with the songs we’ll be discussing.

                              Songs in this episode: 

                              • "The Rat" - The Walkmen (11:05)
                              • "Juxtapozed with U" - Super Furry Animals (16:15)
                              • "What Do You Want Me to Say?" - Dismemberment Plan (22:10)
                              • "False Alarm" - Sloan (27:25)
                              • "The Way We Get By" - Spoon (32:10)
                              • "Hopeless" - The Wrens (33:55)
                              • "Gone for Good" - The Shins (35:10)
                              • "To Hell With Good Intentions" - Mclusky (38:45)
                              • "Another Morning Stoner" - ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (40:50)
                              • "Race for the Prize" - The Flaming Lips (42:15)
                                • 51 min

                              About Music at Work

                              From the publisher's feed

                              We work together and we love music. We also love talking about music and we realized our opinions are too interesting to be contained by the walls of our office. So we’ve decided to shout them across the internet on this new podcast.