Nevermind the Music

How long can the pop stars survive? In this episode, we debut our first ever NTM draft game! Welcoming back two all-star guests, Bree Thomas (“Mariah Carey Girl” from episode 60) and Chris Fafalios (from Punchline, One Hit Thunder, and episode 76), we each battle to build a team of former child musi...

Here in season 3, we’re starting a new feature! Once per month, we’ll be turning back the clock and showcasing an episode from our back catalog! This month, we callback to one of our favorites from Season 1! Wait, was “Undone” really the most popular early Weezer song? In this epic episode we unrave...

Are the voices in your head auto-tuned? We start season 3 off with bang with Brtiney Spears’ 2007 electro-pop hit “Piece of Me.” Mark takes us through how the melodic outlines of this track’s robotic backing vocals help shape the song’s pacing. Nichole comes in hot with some fancy terms, looking at ...

What words do we overuse? What happens if Taylor Swift were to write lyrics to our theme music? The circle of what exactly? In this final Sidetrack of Season 2, we celebrate the end of an era by quizzing each other! Who’s coming out on top? We wrap by asking each other some earnest questions about o...

If I would, could you? This week, our hosts do another over-the-top deep dive to close Season 2, this time focusing on the dreary 1992 grunge epic “Would?” by Alice in Chains. Nichole takes us through the stages of the transtheoretical model of change, looking through the lens of recovery from addic...

Who doesn’t love a sick distorted bass line? Maybe Nichole… This week we get all worked up with Muse’s 2001 hard rock classic “Hysteria.” Nichole takes us through whether hysteria is a real thing or just some made up science of the patriarchy, then introduces some real modern disorders that relate t...

106 - Sidetrack - Season 2 Mailbag 4 Are Alanis Morissette and Lauryn Hill two sides of the same coin? This week, we have one more chance to open the mailbag for Season 2! This batch of inquires hits on such controversial topics as Nichole’s accent, whether we should talk about musicals, mono-cultur...

Were you one of those people who loved group projects back in school? If so, you must be the social loafer! This week we synergize with The Eagles’ 1976 country-rock gem “New Kid in Town.” Nichole talks about creative collaboration in a conversation that ranges widely, from interpersonal conflict to...

Wait, does it need to be either rock or opera to be a rock opera? As Season 2’s final guest, we welcome podcast luminary John Lorehound for a fun conversation about concept albums. Mark’s ready to go with a custom categorization scheme, Nichole comes armed with the required Hozier and Taylor Swift m...

Is it true that what is meant to be will be? This week, the hosts nod their heads to Lauryn Hill’s 1998 anthem of empowerment “Everything is Everything.” Nichole explains how this song is a great representation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy’s Hexaflex model and… that’s a lot of fancy words, y...