Stereothematica

What's the heartbeat of a city? It might be the song that makes you feel like you're living within its very chambers. Join us on the journey through the pulsing heart of NYC and Los Angeles on this week's episode! 
SONGS:
Donna Summer: I Feel Love (1977)
Sparks: Tryouts for the Human Race (1979)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
BBC Soul Music: I Feel Love
Song from the Future: The Story of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder’s “I Feel Love” (Pitchfork)
How Donna Summer's I Feel Love changed pop (The Guardian)
Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby (YouTube)
Pete Bellotte got everything in synth (DJ History)
Giorgio Moroder – his 20 greatest songs, ranked! (The Guardian)
Daft Punk - Giorgio by Moroder (Official Audio)
The Enduring Legacy of Donna Summer for Gay Men (My Fabulous Disease) 
Letter Shows Donna Summer Defending Herself Against Alleged Anti-Gay Comments (ABC) 
Giorgio Moroder Brings Back the Days of Disco at ‘I Feel Love’ Immersive Event (Billboard)
Tryouts for the Human Race (Official Video, 1979)
Sparks Brother Documentary (2021) 
Sparks: No. 1 Song in Heaven (Featuring Jimmy Somerville) (Plagiarism, 1997)
Sparks: No. 1 in Heaven 9.4 Review (Pitchfork)
Sparks Spectacular / 21 Albums in 21 Nights (2008)
Sparks: I Am a Bookworm 
Sparks Creates New Bookworm Theme (2010)
Sparks on Bookworm (KCRW, 2009)
Bronski Beat & Marc Almond Cover/Medley: I Feel Love/Love to Love You/Johnny Remember Me (1984)
Sparks: Heaven Sent (Electronic Sound, 2019)
Moroder Week Day 1: Sparks - Tryouts for the Human Race (Post-Punk Monk, 2020) 
How many artists did David Bowie refer to as the “Future of Music” (Reddit)
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October 5 is Global James Bond Day! What better way to celebrate than with pickle juice martinis (the antithesis of 007) and a deep dive with our editor and self proclaimed Bond Enthusiast, Tamas Harangi, to talk about the franchise and the iconic songs that help make it relevant to this day. Please share your favorites with us!  
SONGS:
Duran Duran: A View to a Kill (1985)
Nancy Sinatra: You Only Live Twice (1967)
Gladys Knight: License to Kill (1989)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
A View to a Kill - Opening Credits Sequence (1985)
Zorin Blimp Scene from A View to a Kill 
Zorin Spars with May Day - A View to A Kill
Coming to Terms with James Bond’s Flawed Past—as a fan and a critic (NPR, 2021)
Dr. No Theme Song (Norman and Barry, 1962) 
Shirley Bassey & Tom Jones Rockprofile -  "I am the voice of Bond, darling!" 
Björk: You Only Live Twice (1997)
Björk: Bachelorette (1997)
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NTS Supporter Radio: Dancing 
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!

Do you listen to music everyday? Do you like it when a song mentions every day of the week? We do! At least some songs. Let's see if we can catch every single day in our song picks! 
SONGS:
Cherrelle feat. Alexander O'Neal - "Saturday Love" (1985)
The Clash: Police On My Back (1980)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
Lady Madonna - The Beatles 
Sublime's "What I Got" Inspired By This Beatles Song
7 Days - Craig David
R&B Songstress Cherrelle on Singing Sweetly About Cheating on Your Lover (SF Weekly)
Never on a Sunday - The Chordettes
Lawrence Welk - SNL
Never on Sunday (IMDB)
Jimmy Jam on how Alexander O’Neal Fumbled the Bag… (YouTube)
Alexander O’Neal holds no grudges against Prince
Who Sampled: Saturday Love
SATURDAY LOVE SAMPLES
The Equals: Police On My Back (1967)
Eddy Grant: Electric Avenue (1982)
Eddy Grant: I Don’t Wanna Dance (1982)
Eddy Grant: Romancing the Stone (1984)
Eddy Grant: Gimme Hope Jo’Anna (Nelson Mandela Concert, 1988)
Qué diá de la semana ha inspirado más hits? (Univision, 2016)
One Song Podcast London Calling w/Fred Armisen (2025)
Eddy Grant on Music is My Life Podcast (Berklee, 2020)
Police on My Back and the Postcolonial Experience (Stratton, 2026)
The Story of Subculture: The Rude Boy & Rude Girl (Underground, 2021)
Rude Boy Style Can’t Fail (NYT, 2015)
The Clash: Music That Matters (Fletcher, 2012)
“You Don’t Bring Flowers From There To Here” – Eddy Grant Speaks To EP About New Venture United DJs, Life, Music, and Politics (Pop Essentials, 2018)
Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys: The Story of the Pioneering Interracial Rockband The Equals (Pitchfork, 2016)
Trump Loses Electric Avenue Song Legal Fight (BBC, 2024)
Other “Police On My Back” Covers discussed:
Amparanoia: La Semana (1997)
Asian Dub Foundation and Zebda: Police On My Back (2003) 
Lethal Bizzle: Police On My Back (2007)
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!

This week, we share songs we really like... that is, until the singing starts.  And brace yourself for a twist! 
SONGS:
Yes: Heart of the Sunrise (1971)
The Boomtown Rats: I Don’t Like Mondays (1979)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Say Less Meaning (The Idioms)
The Band: Stage Fright (1970)
At the Movies - Deep Cuts Lost & Found Podcast
Buffalo 66 - Heart of the Sunrise Scene (1998)
Yes - Fragile - Classic Music Review (Altrockchick.com, 2026)
Heart of the Sunrise (Songfacts)
Yes World Discography - Fragile 
First Listen - Heart of the Sunrise
Yes World - Fragile
Yes Fragile Documentary (Rael's Prog Rock Documentaries)
The Story Behind Yes’ Remake of Simon & Garfunkel's America (American Songwriter)
LCD Soundsystem: Tired (Live - ending with Heart of the Sunrise, 2011)
Lizzo: Boys (Live - starting with Heart of the Sunrise, 2022)
Other Yes Favorites
Survival (Yesterdays, 1969)
Time and a Word (Time and a Word, 1970) - One of Rush’s Geddy Lee’s all-time faves.
Then (Time and a Word, 1970 - at 2:30, hearing the origins of “Heart of the Sunrise”)
A Venture (The Yes Album, 1971)
Roundabout (Fragile, 1971)
America (Written by Paul Simon, 1968) (Close to the Edge, 1972) - Possible recitation: Angine de Poitrine's Mata Zyklek
And You and I (Close to the Edge, 1972) - Possible recitation: Pescado Rabioso's Cantata de Puentes Amarillos -  even the album’s green cover is similar
Least Favorite
Yes: Owner of Lonely Heart (1983 - Only Yes song to reach #1 on Billboard Hot 100)
 
The Boomtown Rats (Punk 77)
Teds and Punks (Punk 77)
Teddy Boys (Wikipedia)
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (YouTube)
Cleveland Elementary School shooting (Wikipedia)
‘I Don’t Like Mondays’: The harrowing story behind the 1979 smash hit and Bob Geldof’s big regret (Far Out Magazine)

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!

Sometimes the sounds of your hometown can move you to tears... and sometimes they can make you want to move your body... and if you're moving away from your hometown, you just might want to get sentimental and gush about what makes your hometown sound unique. Join us as we dive into the sounds of Houston, Texas, and Huntington Beach, California, this week! 
SONGS:
DJ DMD [feat. Lil' Keke & Fat Pat] - 25 Lighters
The Vandals: Don’t Stop Me Now (2004)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
10 Essential Screwed Up Click Albums
How Swishahouse became Houston rap's North Star
25 Lighters - Genius 
The Historical Legacy of the Hip-Hop Line '25 Lighters On My Dresser'
Backseat Freestyle · Kendrick Lamar
ZZ Top - I Gotsta Get Paid
DJ Screw lays down the June 27th Freestyle
DJ Screw: A Life in Slow Revolution by Lance Scott Walker
Christina’s swang n bang playlist on Spotify
Top 25 Greatest Orange County Bands of All Time (OC Weekly, 2012)
No Doubt: Trapped in a Box (1992)
The Vandals: Urban Struggle (1982)
The Vandals: Legend of Pat Brown (1982)
From Punk to the Paranormal - A Backseat Story with Joe Escalante (2025)
Poorman’s 15 Minutes of Fame: Joe Escalante (2025)
Joe Escalante Interviews the Sugar Cubes (Bjork and Siggi) (KDOC, 1992)
The Vandals on Request Video “Devo is the best band in the universe.” (KDOC, 1991)
Request Video (KDOC)
In the 80s “Request Video” was Essential TV for SoCal Music Nerds (LA Taco, 2021) 
Tour of Punk Rock Museum with Warren Fitzgerald  in Las Vegas (2023)
LLS Profile of Joe Escalante 
Live Fast Diabetes by Warren Fitzgerald
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!