Stereothematica

Can you remember what you were listening to in 2016? It was a different world, an end of an era, a sad time, in fact, a shit year, some might say–we say it pretty unequivocally. But the music we listened to provided an escape, relief, and sometimes just a pleasant enough distraction. Join us on this (brief) trip down memory lane!
SONGS:
Julia Jacklin: Pool Party (2016)
Gal Costa: ​​Vou Recomeçar (1969)

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Pitchfork The 100 Best Songs of 2016
Solange: Cranes in the Sky
What Are The Filming Locations of Solange's Latest Album?
Pitchfork’s Ryan Schreiber shaped Internet music journalism and now leaves it behind (2019)
NPR Obituary for Gal Costa (2022)
Interview with Gal Costa (2020)

Send us a text!
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!

As we established back in March of last year, all protest songs are love songs! If you're confused, check out the episode. And if you're intrigued, join us for this week's sweeping statement: Resistance is NOT futile. The world might seem like it's imploding. You might be mad as hell (we are). So join us, and the resistance. We need you. 

SONGS:
Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam (Live at Carnegie Hall, 1964)
Le Tigre: Hot Topic (1999) 
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Nina Simone’s LIVE Performance of Mississippi Goddam at the Antibes Jazz Festival (1965) 
The Story Behind Nina Simone’s Protest Song Mississippi Goddam
The Story Behind the Anthem
Rev Left Radio Podcast - Nina Simone: The Revolutionary High Priestess of Soul (2019)
Riot Grrrl United Feminism and Punk. Here’s an Essential Listening Guide (NYT)
“Hot Topic”: The Complete Annotated Lyrics
When Racism And Sexism Are No Longer Fashionable, How Much Will Your Art Collection Be Worth?
Send us a text!
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!

"Nepo babies." Pejorative term or celebration of creative lineage? We don't care, as long as the outcome is good! And the outcome from our nepo baby musicians is, indeed, good. Whether your parents are indie folk legends or you're part of Hollywood royalty.... it doesn't really matter to us. Keep making the hits!  

SONGS:
Going to a Town: Rufus Wainwright (2007) 
Coconut Records (Jason Schwartzman): Any Fun (2009)

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Billie Eilish's Mom Maggie Baird Claps Back at "Nepo Baby" Label
Louden Wainwright III - Dead Skunk (1972)
Folk Singer Kate McGarrigle Dies At 63 
Rufus Wainwright interview in the Sunday Times
Between My Legs: Rufus Wainwright's Phantom Nod
Going to a Town Wikipedia page
Bored to Death Opening Credits (HBO)
Phantom Planet: California (2001)
Jason Schwartzman on The Treat with Elvis Mitchell (KCRW- 2025)
Send us a text!
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!

One of the things we love most about music is its power to transport. It can carry us somewhere locational, philosophical, psychological, even quantal (as we explored more overtly in our Time Machine episode). A single song can shift the room, unlock memories, or reveal a door we didn’t even know was there. Music is the vessel that cracks open our hearts and minds, taking us on a long and winding road to anywhere.
SONGS:
Tinariwen: Amassakoul 'N' 'Ténéré (2004)
The Balfa Brothers: Le Danse de Mardi Gras (1967)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Tinariwen Webpage 
Electric Blues Desert Refugees by Nate Seltenrich (Pop Matters)
Rebel Blues in the Sahara: A Desert Guitar Primer by Joe Tangari (Pitchfork)
Songs of Exile and Resistance by Andy Morgan (Al Jazeera)
A Review of Psychological and Neuroscientific Research on Musical Groove (Science Direct)
Justin Adams:Fantastical Deaths and Spectacular Rebirths by Farhad Mirza (Guernica)
Tinariwen: Chet Boghassa (another fave)
Tinariwen: Sastanàqqàm (another fave)
Rebellion and Fragmentation in Northern Mali
Rebel Music: The Tuareg Uprising in 12 Songs by Tinariwen by Rollo Romig  
History of Cajun Mardi Gras
What is Courir de Mardi Gras? The Cajun Country celebration is rooted in Medieval France
Festival Acadiens Official Website
History of Cajun Music
'La Danse de Mardi Gras' Song Lyrics and Meaning
PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS:
I Said No Gifts
Off Menu

Send us a text!
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!

Brr. Did someone just open a window? Or did I catch a crazy vibe from this funky ass song? Ok enough silliness. This week we deep dive into the songs that give us the literal chills. You know, the type of song that makes the hairs on your arm stand up. A song that makes you sit up a little straighter... makes you "lock in" as the youth say. And no, we DIDN'T just explore this theme with "Visceral." That's different. We insist. 

SONGS:
Herbie Hancock: Watermelon Man (1973)
Rosalía: Berghain (2025)
RESOURCE AND REFERENCES:
Watermelon Man - 1962 version
Hindewhu flute performance
The Ethan Hein Blog - Watermelon Man
Herbie Hancock on Watermelon Man
Watermelon Sacrifice at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Pygmy POP. A Genealogy of Schizophonic Mimesis
Rosalia Explains Lux: 13 Languages! Heartbreak! Betrayal! Björk! (& ‘Euphoria’) - Popcast
What Do Rosalia’s Lyrics Actually Mean By Michelle Santiago Cortes
Rosalía's Berghain is a thunderous goth-pop hit -- but is it opera? By Laura Snapes (The Guardian)
Rosalia’s Lux is Operatic, but is it Opera? By Joshua Barone (NYT)
Another article by Snapes wherein Rosalía is quoted as being “hot for God” (The Guardian)
Decoding the Language and Saints of Rosalías Lux (The Glottal Stop)
Lux: An exploration of divine femininity NOT centered around ability to reproduce (Reddit)
Spirituality and song: What Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ says about sainthood by Hannah Rich (Theos)
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Winter)
Send us a text!
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!