RJ & Ian review two holiday hip-hop songs. While the genre hasn’t got a lot of love on the show so far (Busta Rhymes’ collaboration with Bieber notwithstanding), we have a lot of good things to say about these two – one an endlessly endearing Christmas classic, the other a surprising Hanukkah romp. You can read the NPR article we reference, “Light a Fire for Hanukkah Music”, here: http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2010/12/02/131699442/matisyahu-light-a-fire-for-chanukah-music
You know the tune: the one in which we tell children they are being watched while they sleep. You probably also know the beloved Bruce Springsteen version of it. But which version do we think The Boss might have been inspired by? Listen in to learn about Springsteen’s cover, its antecedents, the Elf on the Shelf conspiracy, and much more.
How do we follow an episode of two fun, charming, wonderful songs by legendary musicians? By reviewing and ranking two weird, dull, mystifying songs by legendary musicians, of course! RJ and Ian try to decipher the how and why of Tom Petty’s “Christmas All Over Again” and struggle to understand anything at all about Bob Dylan’s “Must Be Santa”. Many thanks to our friend Andy for requesting “Must Be Santa”! You can check out Andy’s work at wahwriter.wordpress.com, or follow him on twitter @ DeputyMasterWAH! For links to all the stuff we talked about in this episode, check our tumblr: harkpodcast.tumblr.com!
In honor of the uniquely Canadian upcoming holiday, Victoria Day, RJ & Ian review and rank two holiday songs fit for a queen. And thank God, they’re the best songs we’ve heard in weeks! These two under-appreciated Christmas tunes by truly legendary artists have us in high spirits – won’t you join us? The admission is free!
Of the vast multitude of things one could choose to write a holiday song about, a surprising (i.e. non-zero) number are about women cheating on their significant others with jolly old Saint Nick. We tackle two songs on this theme – one a charming but baffling classic, and the other a somewhat explicit song about Santadultery from the short-lived swing craze of the 1990s. It is… really something. Uh, this kind of started out as a Mother’s Day episode? We’re sorry.
In this episode, we review and rank the B-Sides to the classic tracks that we explored last week! Will they be hidden gems or dusty duds? Was Bobby Helms actually a parody artist? Are Christmas Librarians a thing? Brenda Lee, will you come on our podcast?
Jingle horse, jingle horse, jingle horse rock. Jingle horse chime in jingle horse time. Join RJ and Ian as they ponder the definition of rock, the powerful voice of young Brenda Lee, and of course, the nature of Jingle Horse.
Ian and RJ get back to their list of requests in this episode and review two idiosyncratic Christmas songs by masters of the keys, “Star of Wonder” by Tori Amos and “December Will Be Magic Again” by Kate Bush. While trying to interpret these haunting seasonal tunes, the conversation turns to vampires, ghosts, sexism in the music industry, and RJ’s personal Tori Amos Moment. Thanks so much to Sarah for requesting “Star of Wonder”! You can check out Sarah’s creations on soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/jatfa) and youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/excepttheweasels)!
Our list of the best and worst holiday music is rapidly expanding, but mostly from the middle. In this episode, we aim high… and low. Two artistic collaborations covering the semi-classic “Little Drummer Boy” provide a roller coaster of quality that bring RJ and Ian to edge of euphoria and despair. Also, Justin Bieber raps about Jesus.
Listen! Hark! Sh’ma! HARK is back, and HARKier than ever! We’re celebrating Easter and Passover with two religious holiday songs, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Mi Y’malel”.