Stereothematica

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!

They're not all creepy! And sometimes they actually make a great song greater, or a bad song better. Biases aside, in this episode we celebrate the contributions of children to music history. 
SONGS:
Joubert Singers: Stand on the Word (1982)
Human Skab: Screamin' Demon (1986)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
PS 22 Chorus’s YouTube page
The Tangled History of the Joubert Singers’ “Stand on the Word” (Aaron Gonsher for Red Bull Music Academy)
Tony Humphries Remix of Stand on the Word
Industry Season 2 Has the Best Soundtrack of the Year (GQ)
David Byrne’s Desert Island Discs (BBC) - Even David Byrne refers to Larry Levan's remix
Dimitri from Paris Remix of Stand on the Word (2016)
L’Imperatrice Cover of Stand of the Word (2018)
Keedz Version of Stand on the Word (2008 - Used for the opening of Le Grand Journal) 
Larry Levan Set at Paradise Garage (1979)
Discogs - Somebody Prayed for This
Best of Tony Humphries at Zanzibar (1988)
The Divine Sounds of Gospel Disco (Bandcamp)
Stand on the Word (Official Video, Elias)
Paradise Garage, A Gay Club That Forever Changed Nightlife (NYT)
Soundtrack of My Life: Elijah Wood (NME)
The Human Skab: A Documentary Film
Tape Findings: Human Skab
Family Vineyard Records: Human Skab
The Independent Critic: Human Skab
Murderland book
Extra: Tape Findings: Kids Making Music
UNSOLICITED ADVICE:
Legs Up the Wall (Yoga With Adriene)
Impact of Yoga-based Interventions on Cognitive and Autonomic Functions in Major Depressive Disorder Population (JFMPC)
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!

What started as another theme turned into a real life pity party when Christine and Christina recorded in person for the first time EVER. And we had a rich conversation about one of music's most self-pitying artists—Harry Nilsson. We hope you join our pity party this week and learn more about Nilsson's legend status and stick around for some truly despicable imitations.
SONGS:
Harry Nilsson: I Said Goodbye to Me (1968) 
Harry Nilsson: Gotta Get Up (1971)
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:
Christina’s “Music to Cry To” Spotify playlist
Movies
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD | Official Trailer
Practical Magic - 'Midnight Margaritas'
He Needs Me  (Popeye)
He Needs Me  (Scene from Punch Drunk Love)
How About You (The Fisher King)
Miss Butter’s Lament (Frances Ha)
Midnight Cowboy (Everybody’s Talkin’)
Goodfellas (Jump Into the Fire)
Nilsson Sings the Closing Credits of Skidoo
Misc.
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? (Full Documentary) | Amplified (YouTube)
Harry Nilsson’s 10 Best Songs (according to Farout Magazine)
"Russian Doll": The Story behing the song that's probably stuck in your head right now (IndieWire)
The Trouble with Harry Nilsson (Frieze) 
The "Russian Doll" Soundtrack Feels Like Trying to Take Control in a Chaotic New York (Pitchfork)
Pitchfork’s 9.4 Review of Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson: The Point (1971 - Ringo Starr Narration)
Harry Nilsson: You’re Breaking My Heart (1972)
Harry Nilsson: Si No Estas Tu (Without You - Self Cover) 
Harry Nilsson: I’d Rather Be Dead (1972)
Fuck You, Harry Nilsson - Funeral Singalong Started by George Harrison
Russian Doll Season 1 Playlist
Russian Doll Season 2 Playlist 
The Tragic Story of How Mama Cass and Keith Moon Died in the Same Apartment
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!