Don’t you just love a good beat switch? Here we pray to Dionne Warwick’s sneaky-fancy hit from 1967, “I Say a Little Prayer.” While Mark wants to marvel at the changing time signatures in this song, Nichole is most interested in what the song shows about the life situations of military families. Are these ideas related? Nichole certainly makes a good stab at explaining how they might be!

Other music heard in this episode: Aretha Franklin - “I Say a Little Prayer”, Lou Johnson “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me”, Dionne Warwick - “That’s What Friends are For”, Tennessee Ernie Ford - “Sixteen Tons”, Diana King - “I Say a Little Prayer”, Outkast - “Hey Ya!”, The Bee Gees - “Jive Talkin’”, Hozier - “Take Me to Church”, Blondie - “Heart of Glass”, Little Richard - “Tutti Frutti”, Pat Boone - “Tutti Frutti”

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What do pop stars and 19th-century opera composers have in common? Some of them are awful people! After avoiding it for months, we finally have the conversation about what it means to love music created by potentially terrible people. There’s a whole lot of Michael Jackson talk. No answers are found but a whole lot of interesting questions are raised. Tune in next week for a full episode!

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When is one note actually a bunch of notes? Here we listen closely to Green Day’s rock radio earworm “Waiting,” from 2000. Mark quite literally pulls apart some notes to figure out whether a chord is major or minor. And Nichole talks about why waiting is so hard in our modern age, and wonders if there is a better way. Also, does Nichole have perfect pitch? 

Other music heard in this episode: Green Day - “When I Come Around”, Green Day - “Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life)”, Green Day - “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, Green Day - “J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)”, Green Day - “Scattered”, Green Day - “Whatsername”, The Kinks - “You Really Got Me”, Puddle of Mudd - “Blurry”, Huun-Huur-Tu - “Aa-Shuu Dekei-oo”, Sarah Hopkins - “Past Life Melodies”

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Which one of us broke the most laws for the sake of seeing a great show? In this sidetrack, we reminisce about some of our favorite concerts, some from years ago and some much more recent. Check us out next week for a full episode!

Music heard in this episode - The Flaming Lips - “She Don’t Use Jelly”, The Rise Against - “Give it All”, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - “Teach Your Children”, Gin Blossoms - “Hey Jealousy”, My Morning Jacket - “One Big Holiday”, Steve Reich - “Music for 18 Musicians”, Fiona Apple - “Criminal”, Nickel Creek - “Rest of My Life”, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic - “You Don’t Love Me Anymore”

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When we all fall asleep, where do we go? In this episode, we dig up Billie Eilish’s mysterious 2019 gem “Bury a Friend.” Mark shows how the song gets its creepy vibe in part by using some very simple and clever melodic tricks. Nichole talks about the monster under the bed and how nightmares can actually play a useful role in treatment. Also, why are lullabies so creepy?

Other music heard in this episode: Billie Eilish - “Ocean Eyes”, Ariana Grande - “Problem”, System of a Down - “Hypnotize”, Justin Timberlake - “Mirrors”, Meghan Trainor - “All About That Bass”

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Hey, who ordered the nipple gong? In this sidetrack we celebrate the unusual instruments that grace us in pop music. From the hurdy-gurdy to the musical saw, underappreciated instruments, we salute you! Tune in next week for some normal instruments in a full episode!

Music heard in this episode: Kate Bush - "The Dreaming", Earth, Wind & Fire - "Evil", The Beach Boys - "I Know There's an Answer", Depeche Mode - "Everything Counts", The Troggs - "Wild Thing", Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Give it Away", Neutral Milk Hotel - "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", Buddy Holly - "Everyday", Korn - "Shoots and Ladders", The Rolling Stones - "Lady Jane", Donovan - "Hurdy-Gurdy Man", Metallica - "Low Man's Lyric", Soundgarden - "Spoonman", Incubus - "Aqueous Transmission"

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How do you do it? Here we meet in outer space with Incubus’ 2000 rock radio staple “Stellar.” Mark can’t get enough of how rhythmically confusing the song is, with different possible ways to count the beat. Nichole tries to figure out why that kind of thing tickles us so much, and how we change our attitudes and identity over time. Listen close and learn something about how stupid Mark was in high school…

Other music heard in this episode: Incubus - "Drive", Incubus - "New Skin," Incubus - "Pardon Me," Incubus - "Redefine", Mike Einziger - "Wake Me Up", Wynonie Harris - "Good Rockin' Tonight", Queen - "We Will Rock You", The Beach Boys - "Slip on Through", 311 - "Loco", Chris Thile - "On Ice", Coldplay - “Clocks”

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Who’s your favorite female trombone player? Male flautist? Here we talk about how some instruments are weirdly gendered, find out which girly instrument Mark tried to learn, and hear a bit from Nichole about the brain differences between the biological males and females. Is all this nature or nurture? See you next week for a full episode!

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Did I hear a music major alert? Grab your college degree and geek out with us about Lizzo’s 2019 soul/hip-hop hybrid “Cuz I Love You.” Mark can’t stop crying thinking about the musical foreshadowing that occurs in this song’s bombastic hook, and how that fits perfectly with its genre blending stew. Nichole brings it all together through cognitive biases, especially that pesky hindsight bias.

Other music heard in this episode: X Ambassadors - "Renegade", The Flamingos - "I Only Have Eyes For You", The Specials - "Ghost Town", The Beatles - "Help!", Styx - "Renegade"

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What do artists owe the audience? In this sidetrack, we talk about when fans only want to hear an artist’s old material, even when they keep making new great music. The hosts share some artists they think haven’t received enough attention of late, and ponder what it means to be a “real fan.” Lastly, when is it OK to be “that guy” at a concert?

Music heard in this episode: Fiona Apple - “Criminal”, Fiona Apple - “Shameika”, Nickel Creek - “The Lighthouse’s Tale”, Nickel Creek - “Holding Pattern”, The Beach Boys - “‘Til I Die”

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