Category: Podcast

This is Just Some Songs – This American Life

In a change from my usual programming, here is a podcast episode about music (and the power of the mixtape).

To paraphrase the narrator:

I don’t want to sound too grand, but there is a power of mixtapes when you put them together a certain way– the power of music, even. Or at least the power that we believe it has. That it can confess devotion on our behalf, even in the form of an exploded puzzle. Even the most casual mixtape– or playlist these days– that you make for a friend, you’re saying, this is what I like. Or a lot of times, this is what I’m feeling right now. In a way, you’re saying, this is who I am.

Songs gathered together like that are a kind of parlance, a language. The words are someone else’s, but they’re also our own. So that’s what’s coming up on today’s episode, kind of a mixtape of its own, because we have a crush on you, and because the particular songs in this show tell you a surprising amount about the people listening to them. We can’t wait to play them for you.

Apple podcasts link

Google podcasts link

Website link

Together – DJ Falcon & Thomas Bangalter

The opening sample begs the question;

A time has come to make a decision. Are we in this thing alone, or are we in it together?

And the rest of the track leaves the answer in no doubt.

This is the kind of track that stares straight into your eyes, grins and tells you it loves you. It grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you about until you giggle. It’ll dance down the street by your side. Yes, I needed this.

Bonus podcast: Together was Erol Alkan’s peak time pick, at his fictional last ever gig. That is the premise of Tiga’s podcast Tiga Presents: First/Last Party On Earth – he interviews big-name DJs about their craft, and what they would play during their last ever set. Think Desert Island Discs for DJs. Worth a listen.

Song Exploder

Something a little different for you to dive into today. Song Exploder is a podcast that gets artists to open up about a track they have made. It goes deep on why and how they made it. It will honestly add a whole new layer of appreciation to some of your top tracks and artists.

At the time of writing there are 194 episodes, each at about 20 minutes in length, so plenty to choose from. Scroll through to find your favourites, including: Phantogram, Fleetwood Mac, Tame Impala, Robyn, Bon Iver, Little Gradgon, Gorrilaz, Bonobo, DJ Shadow, Mobb Deep, and whole load of others. The best I’ve listened to so far was Caribou, explaining both the message behind Home, and the techniques he employed in the production.

You can subscribe via your favourite Podcast provider here. Shout out to Ollie Lyth for the recommendation.