Yikes. Big yikes.

Let it be known that we tried to make something out of June for these here monthly reviews, but it was tough. For once, all three of us had a super-mid month, with very few great newly-charting singles or albums to speak of. Not much more to say about it... at least not for us. But perhaps YOU have something to say! Maybe? Possibly?

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Next week: a new thing! Musical Confessions. We're going to confess music... whatever that means. Look, we haven't ironed it out completely yet, but trust me when I say that it will be one of THE episodes of this show, which is already one of THE podcasts that you can listen to.

And no matter what other (and demonstrably better) podcasts you listen to, always remember to Keep. Kicking. Ass.

OMG! Over here, over here! It's another FKA Rewind, where we take an episode that we already posted and repost it for all of you non-Spotify folk! It's a chance for you to experience new (to you) content without having to move away from your pod provider of choice. And let's just call it what it is: we basically get a week off.
So without further ado's or adon't's, here is what we wrote when this episode initially posted, in March of 2024:

Ah, the Billboard rerank. See, there's a chart at the end of the year, right? Well, see, there's a chart every week... I mean, there are several charts every week, and some of them are also charts that are put out every year, and the yearly charts are separate from the... let me start over.
So back in 1913, the first edition of the "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among The Popular Songs" chart was released, giving readers the very best in sheet music of the time. We've come a long way from that. Now, we have a year-end Billboard chart, telling us the best songs of every year, as voted by you. Yes you. All of you.
Actually, I don't know who votes, or how it's decided. I don't know much of anything. All I know is that the year-end charts are ALWAYS wrong, and they need a-fixin', and we a-fix 'em. We reorder the songs to a more digestible sequence, and we tell y'all about it, and y'all tell us that we're wrong and dumb, and we nod. See? Easy.
"How do you tell us?", I hear you opine. Well lemme hit you with these ol' chestnuts:
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: June reviews. Okay? Okay.
And no matter what is okay to you, I hope you always remember to Keep. Kicking. Ass.

Ass-Kickers, meet Sir Elton Hercules John. Sir Elton, Ass-Kickers.
Now that we're properly introduced, let's get to the music! And there is a TON of it.
You see, this is one of our One Song episodes, where we pick the best song of an artist's entire catalog. Thing is, this particular catalog is 31 FREAKING ALBUMS long. That's [counts on fingers] A LOT OF ALBUMS. But, faithful listeners, we don't shy away from a challenge here at Interrobang Media HQ. In fact, we run head-first into challenges, because we're dumb as hell and we don't know any better.
And for once, we were all the better for taking that approach, as this was one hell of a ride. From 1969's debut, Empty Sky, to 2021's Regimental Sgt. Zippo, and everything in between... we went through them all. (Fun Fact: Regimental Sgt. Zippo is actually the newest AND the oldest Elton John album in the discography! You'll have to listen to the ep to find out why, or just look it up, we can't stop you.)
As always, we need to know how YOU felt about our picks. Did we get it right? Did we overlook any great jams? Let us know in all the usual ways:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fairlykickass
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fairlykickass
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@fairlykickass
Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: no idea! We're looking at the Vault, and we're gonna pull something out... your guess is as good as mine.
You know what else is as good as mine? It made no sense, and I don't care. Just... Keep. Kicking. Ass. Whatever.

Ass-Kickers! We're back with a brand-new-old episode.
You see, back in December of last year, we did our first Top 5 Redraft. "What's that?", you all say on cue because I mailed each and every one of you cue cards before writing this, and let's not talk about the shipping costs, okay?
Anydangway, we took our Top 5 Songs to Ring in the New Year ep, originally posted in 2021, and put a fresh coat of paint on it. We took all the songs - both top 5's and honorable mentions - on all three of our lists, threw 'em in a pool, and selected from them to create a new list. Each of us picked in a round, just like they do it in your sportsball of choice.
The catch? Each song could only be selected once. No overlaps, no sharing. Someone grab a song from your list? Sorry about your luck.
This time around, it's our Top 5 TV Show Themes ep from 2023 getting the Redraft treatment. Will we go with some tried and true choices from our first lists? Will we go off the beaten path to try and snipe one another? Is this a blatant reuse of old content because we couldn't be arsed to think of a new episode topic?
I... well, you see... what about social media? Let's maybe do that like right now!! Hahaha yeah everything is great!!!
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: legend status is maybe something we throw around a bit too much, but this cat practically wrote the book on the topic. We talk about all his work. It's fun.
You know what else is legendary? Well lemme tell ya: it's legendary whenever you Keep. Kicking. Ass.

Ass-Kickers! Welcome to the Rush episode for the Song of the Summer.
Ass-Kickers! Welcome to the Vibes episode for the Song of the Summer.
[cue that one gif from Road to El Dorado where Miguel and Tulio are all "Both! Both-both... both."]
Yep, we smashed the two episode types together. It's basically a Rush with more discussion... or is it a Vibes with more rankings? I mean, what even IS a "podcast" anyway? This is getting weird, as per usual. I'll just say that this episode is exactly what it's supposed to be, replete with the typical mediocrity that you've come to expect from us.
...or is it? Do you expect more? Heaven help you if you expect more.
Either way, chime in and let us know if this episode met your expectations, and what we could have done better to win you over as a fan ("get off of my podcast provider of choice" is a valid answer here).
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/
Next Week: A normal, garden-variety Top 5 for you. No surprises. Nope. None. Just normal, everyday things.
Which is fitting, because by now I know that all of you Keep. Kicking. Ass. on the daily. So... yeah keep doing that bye.

Ass-Kickers! Thanks to technical difficulties, you get a reprieve.
Specifically, a reprieve from the same tired old May Reviews bit... you know the one, we're 5/12ths through the year so let's talk about 5/12ths of this, 5/12ths of that. Fun the first year? Sure! Fun the fifth year? Nah.
I (Zack, clearly) had this year's iteration 90% written - I just needed to update a few more things, slap the socials on, and out the door it went. The problem with that plan is that I have no earthly idea where I put the draft at. It's not in any of the three or so places where I would normally put half-baked text documents. It's not even autosaved as a draft anywhere.
In short, it's gonzo.
So instead, a normal thing! I'm sure all of you are torn up about it. It's monthly reviews for May, with all the usual stuff: albums and newly-charting singles in the top 40 of the Billboard and the American Top 40 charts. We talk about a 37-track album. Good times are had by all, or something like that.
But, as always, we want to hear from you! Whether you listened to 5/12ths of the episode (that would put you at the 31:08.333 mark, if you were curious) or the whole thing, we'd love to find out what albums and singles YOU have been listening to lately. So let us know, k? k.
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fairlykickass
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: we take two regular FKA concepts and shove them together. It's not as weird as you think it might be, or even as we thought it might be. It was good. Trust me.
And since I want you to trust me, let me say that I will trust you, specifically to Keep. Kicking. Ass.

Ass-Kickers! There was a bit of news on the music front today. (Wednesday 5/28/2025, a date that was absolutely not backdated to account for an episode that was posted late, couldn't be us, nope.) Specifically, the record for the most RIAA Diamond Certifications by one artist was set. For reference, here's the qualification, according to Wikipedia:
500,000 units: Gold album1,000,000 units: Platinum album2,000,000+ (in increments of 1,000,000 thereafter) units: Multi-Platinum album10,000,000 units: Diamond album
The article goes on to state that a "unit" is either a physical/digital album sale; a download of ten tracks from the album; or a total of 1500 on-demand audio or video streams of tracks from the album.
By these measures, there has been only one artist to ever earn ten of these Diamond classifications... and that artist, believe it or not, is Drake. (I know, we're kinda shocked too.) But ultimately it's not the RIAA's clasification that matters; rather, it's up to what us three podcast jerks decide.
Thus: a One Song, which is actually a REWIND episode that was originally posted in June of 2023. We said the following at the time:
"Whether you refer to him as Drizzy, Champagne Papi, the 6 God, Francisco Mandarin, October's Very Own (that's what OVO stands for?? I'll be damned), Mr OVOXO, Young Sweet Jones, Mr. Damn He Aint' Coppin That Is He?, The Reason Why You Always Getting Faded, The Only 23 Year Old Wine Connoisseur (not anymore you 36-year-old crustbucket), '91 Dan Marino, or simply, Aubrey… he's certainly made his mark on the industry in a huge way. And he's also made his mark on this here episode of the Fairly KickAss podcast."

Since this was recorded, some less-than-savory things have come out about Drake, which have certainly soured us - and many others! - a bit from where we once were. But it was still a good episode, with good conversation, and we still wanted to share it, without nary a minor update in post to speak of.
So please check it out, and let us know what you think!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: remember to drive two miles an hour throughout the entire season, so everybody sees you. Unless you don't want to be perceived, at which point maybe sit back and unwind instead. Either way, you got options in the summer, and we'll talk about some of them.
And while we recognize that you might have options in all seasons for podcast listening, we still have to request - no matter you listen to us or not - that you Keep. Kicking. Ass.

More like "LATE-pril", amirite?
I'm rite, of course.
It's like May Something-or-Other-th. We get it. Sometimes things get weird! For example: the Eurovision Song Contest preview ep taking up residence before the reviews... as well as a couple other odds-and-ends. Thus: late reviews.
But! Better late than never, as they say in "the biz". Industry term.
Usual thing: new albums. Charting reviews. In and out in like an hour. Easy listen.
As always, let us know if we got it right!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
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Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/
Next week: we're headed to the Vault! For what, you may ask? We're not gonna tell you yet, because we want you to be surprised, and not because we haven't decided on the ep yet, that would be ridiculous.
Not at all ridiculous? You Keeping. Kicking. Assing.

Ass-Kickers! We're taking a trip across the pond.
It's time once again for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. For the uninitiated, the ESC is a yearly contest, by which many European countries (and Australia and part of Asia... it's a thing) bring their best musical acts (which may or may not be from that country... it's a thing) to compete for the title of the Eurovision Song Contest champion. For the already-initiated, douze points for you! (as you guessed already, it's yet another thing.)
We give you a brief rundown of how this whole dealio works, and we also preview the countries - and songs - making up 2025's field. This is one to hear, and see, for yourself though. Use this episode as a sort of "what to watch for" primer, but immerse yourself in the pomp and the circumstance otherwise. The best way to experience the ESC, especially for newer folk, is to just jump in feet-first.
Check it out live, streaming on Peacock, on Saturday at 3:00 PM ET. If you want some extra credit, take a gander at the second semi-final, on Thursday at 3:00 PM ET - also on Peacock. The first semi-final has already come and gone, but you can check it out - along with a plethora of other ESC content - on their YouTube page, at https://www.youtube.com/@EurovisionSongContest.
And you can check US out at the following areas:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fairlykickass.bsky.social
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fairlykickass
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fairlykickass
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@fairlykickass
Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: April Reviews! Yes, May's almost over. Yes, shut up.
Actually, I take it back: don't shut up. Instead, channel that energy toward Continuing. to Kick. Ass.

Kickers of Ass! I'd like to reintroduce all of you to the year 2009. The biggest news in the music industry was the passing of one Michael Jackson, and sitting here nearly 16 years later, it doesn't feel like it's been that long. On the other side of the spectrum, sometimes-singer and mostly-actor Patrick Swayze also passed away in 2009, which feels like it was way longer ago.
I don't at all mean to minimize how impactful both of these legends were... in fact, just the opposite! With the passing of figures of such prominence, you would think that we would have a better barometer of when they passed - and yet, without fail, we all tend to overshoot or undershoot the mark all so often. Which is just the way it goes, right?
Well I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to go that way. Because we present to you a podcast episode filled with music that seems exactly as old as it is.
Listen to this episode first, where we re-order the Billboard Year-End chart for 2009. Go and listen to all the songs on the list afterward, and you'll think "yep, that one seems 15 years old... and that one... and that one too!" It'll be great fun for all involved.
You know what else is great fun for all involved? Social media, that's what! And I'm definitely not saying that through gritted teeth, because that would be ridiculous! Awkward chuckle!
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Instagram: https://instagram.com/fairlykickass
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Threads: https://www.threads.net/@fairlykickass
Website (for Ride-Along Playlists): https://fairlykickass.com/

Next week: It's that time of year when we talk about that big ol' music shebang from across the pond. This year's edition is shaping up to be a hootenanny.
You know what else is a... I know, I know, it doesn't always work, and this is one of those times. But you should still Keep. Kicking. Ass. all the same.