Stereothematica

From spacey synth odysseys to hypnotic flamenco boogie jams, these songs turn extended length into a vibe, not a chore…unless that chore is hauswerk. 

Videos:

Autobahn: Kraftwerk (1974) 

Capablanca & T. Keeler: No Hay Ritmo (2011) 

Please note: the vocals on "No Hay Ritmo" are hard to hear in our recording. If you'd like to listen to the parts referenced, please go to 1:31-1:41 and 8:34-8:35.  

Extras: 

Interview with Devo's Gerald Casale  

Bandcamp No Hay Ritmo

Ana Menjibar 

Ana Menjibar - Soleá

Isabel Marant - Fall 2024 Collection

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

This week, we are burning up with desire to share the songs from our childhood that made us feel sinful, shameful, or just plain wrong for listening them. From religious baggage to misunderstood lyrics, we explore the complicated relationship between early music obsessions and the guilt they stirred. 

Videos:

Madonna: Burning Up (1983)

Romeo Void: Never Say Never (1982) 

Extras: 

Madonna: Get into the Groove (1985) 

Breathless Trailer

Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)

Lou Reed: Walk on the Wild Side (1972)

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

This week we might actually get canceled... because we're diving into the discussion of those artists we used to love, but we can no longer, in good conscience, count them among our favorites. We're sure you can think of a problematic artist without too much effort. But the tricky part is, can you separate art from artist? 

Videos:

The Smiths: The Boy With the Thorn in His Side (1986)

Michael Jackson: Burn this Disco Out (1979)

Extras:

Jack Whatley’s Far Out Magazine article about Morrissey

Wesley Morris piece in the NYT 

Reckoning With the Real Michael Jackson

M.J. Still Processing

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

This week, we’re facing the music—literally. It’s all about those songs we can’t help but like, even though they make us wince, cringe, or yell “NOOOO” at the lyrics. Join us as we tiptoe through the landmines of musical problematica, and try not to get canceled.

Videos:

Joe Dassin: L’ete Indien (1975)

Jimmy Soul: If You Wanna Be Happy (1962) 

Extras: 

Kovács Kati: Indián Nyár (1977)

Joe Dassin: Et Si Tu N’existais Pas (1975) 

Ugly Woman Roaring Lion (1934)

Dr. Nelson Winston’s take on the song (2022)

Bo Diddly “Say Man” (1959)

Mermaids trailer (1990)

Bonus:

Get Up and Dance Collaborative Playlist

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

In this episode, we slow things down with a theme we need right now: soothing. From the dreamy melancholia of John Maus to the tender, ambient layers of Branden Eder, we explore songs that bring calm through the chaos. Tune in for stories of mystery, memory, and music that hold space for stillness.

Videos:

John Maus: Hey Moon (2011) 

Brendan Eder Ensemble: Isn’t it True (2023)

Extras: 

The Guardian’s Best Albums of 2023, So Far  

Therapy on BandCamp 

Cape Cod Cottage

Portlandia: Relaxing at the Wellness Center 

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

Moving your body from the bar to the dance floor is easier said than done, sometimes. But these songs do it for us all the time. 

In this week's episode we get down, and up, and all around, from the complicated nature of dancing to the gimmicks that make it silly.  

“You can dance, for inspiration / Come on, I'm waiting…” (Madonna)

Videos:

Raffaella Carrà: Rumore (Song: 1974/Video: 1979)

General Public: Tenderness (1984) 

Extras: 

One Song’s Groove is in the Heart Episode (Please listen!)

Rumore En Español (1975)

Rumore, Pepto Bismol Version

Raffaella Carrà on David Letterman (1986)

Christine's Other Get Up and Dancers:

Deee-Lite: Groove is in the Heart (1990)

The Doors: Peace Frog (1970)

Raul de Souza: Sweet Lucy (1977)

Terry Hunter: Sweet Music (1999)

Dimitri from Paris: Sweet Music (2000)

Christina's Other Get Up and Dancers:

Deee-Lite: Groove is in the Heart (1990)

Simian Mobile Disco: I Got This Down (2007)

David Bowie: Sorrow (1973)

Linus & Lucy - Vince Guaraldi Trio

Bonus:

And by popular demand, we created a collaborative "Get Up and Dance" playlist on Spotify. 

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

In this episode of Stereothematica, Christina and Christine get into the fascinating world of unusual instruments in everyday band lineups. Now, what counts as “unusual” can vary depending on where you’re from, who you are, and what you like, but whatever your story, it’s always exciting to hear musicians expand their sound with something unexpected.

Videos:

The Octopus Project: I Saw The Bright Shinies (2007)

The Beatles: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (1967) 

Extras: 

Teen Age Message (first theremin concert for extraterrestrials) 

Butterfly in the Sky (documentary promo video)

I Saw The Bright Shinies (LIVE)

Austin Psych Fest 

John Cage's 4’ 33 performed by Berlin Philharmonic and Musical Instrument Museum

A brief history of the harmonium

A longer history of the harmonium

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

This week on Stereothematica, we’re diving into the songs we first heard on mixtapes. Whether it was from a carefully curated cassette from a friend, a crush, or a burned CD passed around in high school, we get into the emotional data transfer of mixtapes, and why some songs just stick—even if the relationships didn’t.

Videos:

Devo: Beautiful World (1981) 

The Slits: Typical Girls (1979)

Extras:

Devo performing “That’s Good” on Square Pegs (Correction: Christine mistakenly called it “Good Thing” in the episode)

The Slits: I Heard it Through the Grapevine (1979)

1999 Target commercial 

Portlandia Mixologist Clip

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

Being caught off guard by a song is a certain sort of pleasure (and possibly pain). Maybe you notice something in the lyrics you've never heard before, or maybe you fall in love with a song from a band you thought you had figured out. Whether you realize you were wrong—or just surprised, discombobulated, maybe even terrified—the unpredictability of music, and more importantly, your reaction to it, is what today's episode is all about.

Videos:

Flo & Eddie: Keep It Warm (1976)  

Café Tacvba: Ixtepec (1994)

Extras:

Tower documentary 

10 Greatest Latin Rock Albums of All Time

NYT called Re the White Album of rock en español

CZP’s Favorites from Re: 

El Aparato

Esa Noche

El Metro

24 Horas 

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back! 

Is there anything more exhilarating  than hearing a song in a movie for the first time and immediately falling in love with it? Your emotions add to the scene–you become a character, reacting to the music, it changes your life, and your perception of the film.  

This week, Christina and Christine get into a couple songs unearthed from the silver screen. Join them as they explore these musical treasures and share the stories behind their cinematic crushes.

Videos:

Kiosk: Yarom Bia (2008)

Siouxsie and the Banshees: Hong Kong Garden (1978)

Extras:

Kiosk: Charkesh e Pooch (2008)

Ana Lily Amirpour in conversation with roger Corman at the Hammer Museum (2015) 

Muboraksho Mirzoshoyev: Ay Yoram Biyo (1988)

Iran’s Dylan on Lute, with Songs of Sly Protest (NYT, 2007)

Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at [email protected]! We will write back!