Song Exploder - Janelle Monáe – So Afraid

This summer, in June 2023, Janelle Monáe put out her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. Listening to it made me want to revisit her Song Exploder episode, from 2018. One thing on Song Exploder that I personally love is when we get to hear an artist’s raw voice memo, from the moment when they’re first coming up with a song idea. This episode has one of my all-time favorites.

Janelle Monáe is an award-winning musician and actress who released her first record in 2007. She’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, and she starred in the Oscar films Moonlight and Hidden Figures. In April 2018, she released her third album, Dirty Computer, which includes this song, “So Afraid.” In this episode, Janelle Monáe takes “So Afraid” apart, to explain how she built it, step by step—beginning with a trip to the dentist.

For more, visit songexploder.net/janelle-monae.

Take This Pod and Shove It - Poetry, Horns, and Emo: Reviewing Zach Bryan’s New Album, with Ali O’Neil

This weekend Zach Bryan released his highly anticipated self-titled album, which might be the hottest country album since...well, the last Zach Bryan album. On today's episode Danny and Tyler are joined by comedian Ali O'Neil (Worthless Clowns Podcast) to discuss what works, what doesn't work, and what's totally new on Bryan's poetic, and proudly self-produced new LP.

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Take This Pod and Shove It - 61: “I Don’t Care” by Justin Townes Earle, w/ Max Fine

This week we're joined by comedian Max Fine (In the Minivan Podcast) to discuss the incredible songwriting and impeccable aesthetics of the late great Justin Townes Earle. Narrowing down which song from Earle's diverse catalog to add to our ongoing playlist was tough, but we settled on one of his earliest songs, the bouncy, minimalist country ditty "I Don't Care" from his debut EP Yuma. We also discuss Justin's famous father Steve Earle, his relationship with Jason Isbell, and how we all did on various standardized tests.

For just 5$ a month you can help keep the lights on and get access to bonus episodes! Consider supporting us on Patreon HERE!

Follow the link below to keep up with which songs are being added to our Ultimate Country Playlist on Spotify, now including "I Don't Care" by Justin Townes Earle:
https://tinyurl.com/takethispodplaylist
And on TIDAL!
https://t.co/MHEvOz2DOA

New to JTE? Here are some more recs from Max, Danny, and Tyler:

  • Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About me Now
  • There Go A Fool
  • If I Was The Devil
  • Champagne Corolla
  • Can’t Hardly Wait
  • Aint Got No Money
  • Working for the MTA
  • Lone Pine Hill

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Instagram: @TakeThisPodandShoveIt
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Want to create your own great podcast? Why not start today! We use BuzzSprout for hosting and have loved it. So we suggest you give them a try as well! Buzzsprout gets your show listed in every major podcast platform, and makes understanding your podcast data a breeze.
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Song Exploder - Siddhartha Khosla – Only Murders in the Building (Main Title Theme)

The "Skip Intro" button first got introduced to us through Netflix in 2017, and, I know, a lot of people use it – including me. But, if I can get into old-man, back-in-my-day mode for a second, I have so much fondness for the opening theme music for so many shows. It’s a chance to set the mood for everything that you’re about to see. One of the intros that I never skip is the animated opening title sequence for Only Murders in the Building, which is a Hulu show that debuted in August 2021, and now is in its third season. It was created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, and it stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. The three of them play neighbors who live in the same building in New York, and they’re all obsessed with the same true crime podcast. And then when someone in their building gets murdered, they decide to start their own true crime podcast, and try and solve the mystery of who the killer is.

For this episode, I talked to the show’s composer, Siddhartha Khosla, about the show’s theme music. Coming up, you’ll hear a voice memo that Siddhartha recorded before he’d even heard about the show, which then led to a demo that you’ll hear, and eventually, the final theme.

For more, visit songexploder.net/only-murders-in-the-building.

Take This Pod and Shove It - The Best Covers of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”

Take This Pod and Shove It is listener supported. Visit our Patreon to support the show!

Bob Dylan has always been a fan of country music, and even though he only intentionally wrote and recorded country music a few times in his career, his impact on the genre is massive and goes back to his earliest days as a young folk prodigy. This week Danny and Tyler take a look at one particular Dylan song that has been covered by country artists so many times it is basically a country standard: "Don't Think Twice It's All Right."

Listen to hear us rank our favorite covers of the classic tune; and to hear the controversial backstory behind the song's writing credits.

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A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs - Episode 167: “The Weight” by The Band

Episode one hundred and sixty-seven of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Weight” by the Band, the Basement Tapes, and the continuing controversy over Dylan going electric. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode available, on “S.F. Sorrow is Born” by the Pretty Things.

Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

Also, a one-time request here — Shawn Taylor, who runs the Facebook group for the podcast and is an old and dear friend of mine, has stage-three lung cancer. I will be hugely grateful to anyone who donates to the GoFundMe for her treatment.

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Take This Pod and Shove It - A Country Tribute to Sinead O’Connor

[CW: Child abuse.] Sadly, we recently lost the talented and radical Sinead O'Connor. On today's episode we pay tribute to O'Connor's iconic music and acts of protest—plus we share times when O'Connor covered country music and was embraced by the country music community. Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and more all have a part to play in this episode.

Also, we pay our respects to the hilarious and influential Paul Reubens, who we learned passed away right before recording.

Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, we hope you'll check out our Patreon. Get bonus episodes, discount codes, and more for as little as $5 a month.

Check out our Patreon!
Check out our new merch store!
Instagram: @TakeThisPodandShoveIt
For everything else click HERE!

Want to create your own great podcast? Why not start today! We use BuzzSprout for hosting and have loved it. So we suggest you give them a try as well! Buzzsprout gets your show listed in every major podcast platform, and makes understanding your podcast data a breeze.
Follow this link to let Buzzsprout know we sent you—you'll get a $20 credit if you sign up for a paid plan, and it helps support our show.



Take This Pod and Shove It - Bad Music Sucks (Patreon Preview)

Starting at $5 you can get access to the full-length version of this bonus episode, plus our entire catalog of bonus episodes! Visit our Patreon for access and to support the show!

On this episode we have some wholesome fun roasting some musical acts we love, and some musical acts we...don't necessarily love. But we hope you have fun listening, even if one of your favs winds up in the crosshairs.

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Want to create your own great podcast? Why not start today! We use BuzzSprout for hosting and have loved it. So we suggest you give them a try as well! Buzzsprout gets your show listed in every major podcast platform, and makes understanding your podcast data a breeze.
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Song Exploder - Local Natives – Dark Days

It can be hard to be in a band, or really, in any kind of group where there’s creative collaboration, and you’re supposed to act like it's a democracy. Because what do you do with an idea that you love, if nobody else believes in it? That question is a big part of this episode with Local Natives.

Local Natives is a band from Southern California. Their first album came out in 2009, but the three vocalists and songwriters in the band, Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, and Ryan Hahn – they’ve been playing together since they were in high school. The lineup also includes Matthew Frazier on drums and Nik Ewing on bass. They’ve put out five albums, including their most recent, Time Will Wait For No One, which came out in July 2023.

But for this episode, I talked to Taylor, Kelcey, and Ryan about an older song of theirs: “Dark Days,” which came out in 2016. It’s their biggest song to date; it has over 100 million streams, and it's been certified gold.  It’s a duet with Swedish singer Nina Persson, from The Cardigans. In  2020, they put out a new version of the song, featuring Amelia Meath from the band Sylvan Esso.

I talked to the guys here in the studio, and to Amelia Meath remotely. And together, they told me the seven-year story of how “Dark Days,” was first made and then eventually remade.

For more, visit songexploder.net/local-natives.

Take This Pod and Shove It - Catch-up & Mustard 666: Return of Slingerblade

For as low as $5 a month you can get bonus episodes and other perks, simply by supporting us on Patreon HERE!

We've hit 60 songs on our Official Playlist so it's time for another Catchup & Mustard with your favorite hosts, Tyler Snodgrass and Danny Maupin! We play "Country Trivial Pursuit" using some country music trading cards Danny found in a pawn shop, and play IS IT COUNTRY?? This week we deliberate about The Proclaimers, My Morning Jacket, Les Claypool, and some guy from Ringo Starr's band.

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Instagram: @TakeThisPodandShoveIt
For everything else click HERE!

Want to create your own great podcast? Why not start today! We use BuzzSprout for hosting and have loved it. So we suggest you give them a try as well! Buzzsprout gets your show listed in every major podcast platform, and makes understanding your podcast data a breeze.
Follow this link to let Buzzsprout know we sent you—you'll get a $20 credit if you sign up for a paid plan, and it helps support our show.