Stereothematica

Whether you're being taken out to the ball game or pumping up the jam... or maybe even being wowed by the Skate Circle DJs in Central Park... you can't deny that sports and music go hand in hand. And this week, we're revisiting the World Cup music of today and yesteryear and doing a deep dive into the sweet sounds of roller rink tunes to get our blood pumping and give our ears a workout! 
SONGS:
Shakira: Waka Waka (This Time for Africa - Official FIFA World Cup Song) (2010)
De La Soul: A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays” (1991) 
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
The unifying power of music in sports (DLMDD)
NBA Space Jam Get ready for this (YouTube)
Wait, Why Was Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Controversial? (Rolling Stone)
New Order - World In Motion (Official Music Video)
Kraftwerk - Tour De France (2009 Remaster) (YouTube)
Special Report Kraftwerk At The Tour De France (Electronic Sound)
List of FIFA World Cup songs and anthems (Wikipedia)
Golden Sounds - Zangalewa (YouTube)
Gloryland 1994 World Cup Song (YouTube)
Anastacia - Boom, FIFA World Cup 2002 (YouTube)
World Cup Song by Shakira Stirs Controversy (PBS)
K'NAAN - Wavin’ Flag (YouTube)
Herbert Grönemeyer feat. Amadou & Mariam: Celebrate the Day (2006 FIFA Official World Cup Song)  
Saturdays’ Samples! 
Who Sampled for “A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays”
DJ Sam Redmore’s Instagram Every Sample from “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’”
Instant Funk: I Got My Mind Made Up (1978)
Mighty Ryeders: Evil Vibrations (1978)
De La Soul Sampling Stereothematica Favorite “Ma Quale Idea” in their Promo
Roller Skating!
Horrible Histories John Joseph Merlin’s Roller Skates
Father of Modern Roller Skates
United Skates Trailer (HBO, 2018)
Central Park Dance Skaters Association
PBS Short Documentary on Central Park Dance Skaters
How Black Culture Made Roller Skating Popular (LA Times Video, 2020)
An Oral History of LA’s Black Indoor Roller Skating Scene (LA Times, 2025)
The History Behind the Roller Skating Trend (JSTOR Daily, 2023)
Skate Culture and Black Women Rollin’
Rapper Nipsey Hussle Helps Beloved Mid City Roller Rink World on Wheels Get Rolling Again (LA Times)
Gene Kelly performs “I Like Myself” in It’s Always Fair Weather” (1955)
More Del La Soul
De La Soul - Live Performing Me, Myself & I at Tramps NYC 1996 (We Hate This Song)
De La Soul on Arsenio (1989)
De La Soul is Streaming (NPR, 2023)
De La Soul: Transmitting Live From Mars (1989)
The Turtles: You Showed Me (1968)
Trugoy Obituary and Tribute (NPR, 2023)
De La Soul: Tiny Desk (NPR, 2026)
De La Soul’s Maseo and Posdnuos Pen Tributes to Trugoy the Dove (Pitchfork, 2023)
Required Listening
Questlove’s Interview with Posdnuos (2026)
One Song: De La Soul’s “Buddy” (2024) 
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 stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back!

We’re taking another week off, so we’re revisiting one of our most controversial episodes: Movie Sing-Alongs. And since we’re on the topic of movie music, Christine gives an update about her magical night at the Hollywood Bowl for Music from the Films of Wes Anderson. Special thanks to the concert obsessed Nancy German for capturing the evening. In case, you missed it, here are a few highlights with many more on Nancy’s YouTube page:
Devo - Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy) - So technically this wasn’t the opening number, but it was the first one that Christine lost it over. 
Beck - Alone Again, Or
Karen O - Making Time
Jackson Brown - These Days
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Movie magic is back (again)! This time we’re talking sing-alongs! Not the big staged numbers, but those unplanned, diegetic moments when characters just start singing along to a song because they must. Whether it’s in a bar, a bus, or a car, these are the scenes that sneak up on you and stick around long after the credits roll.
VIDEOS
The Deer Hunter - Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You 
Almost Famous - Tiny Dancer
!!!THE RULES!!!! 
WHAT DOES NOT COUNT:
Lip Syncing  
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Anything A Capella
The Breakup - Move Yourself
Stepbrothers - Sweet Child Of Mine  
Vacation - Mockingbird 
Clearly Choreographed Performances
10 Things I Hate About You - Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You 
Bridesmaids - Hold On (Sorry, Christina! Staged and lip syncing from main cast)
Karaoke (Limbo)
Lost In Translation - Brass in Pocket & More Than This (And God Save the Queen)
Debatable 
C & C Singalong - Tiny Dancer
WHAT WORKS:
Broadcast News - Edition Speciale
Before Sunset - Just in Time (49 on NYT list)
Magnolia - Wise Up
Wayne’s World -  Bohemian Rhapsody (debatable)
Jerry McGuire - Free Falling
Tommy Boy - Superstar
Barbie - Closer to Fine
Harold and Kumar - Hold On
Heartbreak Kid - Medley
Átame - Resistiré  (CZP's original favorite) 
The Silence of the Lambs - American Girl  
 EXTRAS
Interview Magazine - Cameron Crowe
Vulture - The Real Penny Lane Has a Few Things Left to Say About Almost Famous
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 stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back!

We're taking a little break to do some birding, cloud spotting, and maybe even some trippin'! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this re-release of “Genre Bending" with some bonus giddiness at the top. And we'll be back on July 28, commemorating the completion of the World Cup with an episode dedicated to sports songs. 
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What happens when music refuses to stay in its lane? It gets some major Stereothematica love. 
This week we talk about the artists who blur boundaries, break molds, and bend genres in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable. These are sounds shaped by curiosity, contradiction, and a refusal to be easily defined.
Videos:
Arthur Russell: This is How We Walk on the Moon (1994)
Yellow Magic Orchestra: Simoon (1979)
Extras:
Psycho Killer feat. Arthur Russell playing cello
Wild Combination documentary
"My favorite song" by Ramesh Srivastava
“‘I Want to See All My Friends At Once’: Arthur Russell and the Queering of Gay Disco” Journal of Popular Music Studies
Live Version of Simoon
The Music That Shaped Haruomi Hosono
Crafting the Sound of the Future
Michale Jackson cover of Behind the Mask
De La Soul Sampling YMO in Big Brother Beat 
Reddit - Let’s Talk Music: YMO 
The Amazing History of YMO
YMO on Soul Train - Tighten Up cover 
Archie Bell and the Drells: Tighten Up 
YMO on Soul Train - Firecracker 
Firecracker Samples:
Afrika Bambaataa: Death Mix II
Mariah Carey: Loverboy
Jennifer Lopez (Featuring Ja Rule): I’m Real
De La Soul: Funky Towel
2 Live Crew: Mega Mixx II
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 stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back!

The future is now, or maybe a second from now. THE FUTURE is also a vibe, and we’ve got music to match it or maybe even set the stage for it. No transhumanistic fantasies here, just some transcendent tunes to cope with the downfall of humanity perpetrated by tech billionaires. 
SONGS:
Jantra: Gedima (2023)
Javelin: Estevez (2011)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Jantra on Bandcamp (Ostinato Records)
The Making of Synthesized Sudan (Short)
Trailer for the Synthesized Sudan Album
All About Jantra’s Synthesized Sudan (PAM)
Electronic Jaglara: The Cosmic Dance Music Rocking Rural Sudan (Middle East Eye)
Jantra: the Sudanese Synth Wizard Waging Raves Against War (Far Out Magazine)
Synthesized Sudan Review (KLOF)
Interview with Jantra (The Guardian)
Background on the Civil War in Sudan (Council on Foreign Relations)
Amnesty International - Emergency 2X Match for Sudan
Example of Sera Rhythm
Sudanese Electronic Music (Refuge Worldwide with Cosmos and Tabidee)
Interview with Vik Sohonie on Jazziz Podcast (Not related to Jantra’s album, but a great interview and you can learn more about Ostinato’s other records)
Synthesizing the Silk Roads / Sounds from 1980s Soviet Central Asia
Recording Special: Javelin (American Songwriter)
Canyon Candy: Javelin (Luaka Bop)
Riding Into Canyon Candy: Q&A with Javelin (Kickstarter) 
Javelin and Mike Anderson Dream Westward (Interview) 
UNSOLICITED ADVICE:
Memorize By Heart 
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 stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back!

Have you ever been on hold and all of a sudden you find yourself dancing to the sweet, sweet hold music? Or maybe a friend sends you a song saying, "Hey, I think you might like this!" And even though you don't think you will... you do? Well, welcome to the unexpected jams episode! We're going to dive into some weird places where the music is unexpected and yet still hits.
SONGS:
Tim Carleton: Opus No. 1 (1989)
Foxygen: Shuggie (2013)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
SaxBoyBilly18 on Instagram
Thundercloud Subs jingle
This American Life: Stuck In The Middle (2014)
The Most Overused Piece of On-Hold Music in History?
Tim Carlton’s Spotify page
Bud Light (Ft. Miles and Keleigh Teller) | Super Bowl 2023 LVII (57) Commercial (YouTube)
‘Everyone knows the Centrelink song’: how we learned to love – and remix – hold music
TikTok creator Lyanna Kea dances to Centrelink's call waiting track
LaLaMilan on TikTok
r/synthrecipes: Tim Carleton’s Opus No. 1 
r/obscuremedia: Tim Carleton and Darrick Deel- "Opus Number 1" (1989)
How to Dress Well: Precious Love
Puppet Regime: Trump in holding pattern -- and not mad at it
Pitchfork Review: Take the Kids off Broadway (2011/12)
Pitchfork Review: We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (2013)
Pitchfork Interview with Foxygen (2013)
Foxygen Full Set - Pitchfork Music Festival Paris (2014)
Foxygen Full Set - KEXP (2014)
A Breath of Foxygen (Interview)
Foxygen: We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (Video)
Foxygen: No Destruction
Foxygen: Avalon (2017)
Shuggie Otis: Bootie Cooler (1970)
The Rise and Fall of the ‘Hipster Music’ Era, 2000-2014: VICE’s Definitive Timeline
UNSOLICITED ADVICE:
Poets.org
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 stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back!