Stereothematica

We’re not making any friends with this episode. But hopefully we don’t lose any either. 
We’re just being honest…and mildly obnoxious. Please listen until the end (unless you’re a Swiftie!).
SONGS:
Tom Waits: All the World is Green (2002) 
Beyonce: 7/11 (2014)
EXTRAS:
Live Circus Live at Jacksonville (2008)
Tom Waits Library  
Tom Waits - IMDb
Cinematic Appearances of Tom Waits and His Music
Tom Waits Glitter and Doom Press Conference (2008)
Tom Waits: Grapefruit Moon (1973)
Night on Earth Soundtrack (1991) 
Interview with Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (1981)
Tom Waits: Way Down in the Hole (1987)
The Wire: Season 1 Opening Credits - Way Down in the Hole (The Blind Boys of Alabama)
The Wire: Season 2 Opening Credits - Way Down in the Hole (Tom Waits)
The Wire: Season 3 Opening Credits - Way Down in the Hole (The Neville Brothers)
The Wire: Season 4 Opening Credits - Way Down in the Hole (DoMaJe)
The Wire: Season 5 Opening Credits -  Way Down in the Hole (Steve Earle)
Story behind David Simon Choosing Way Down in the Hole for The Wire
Destiny's Child - Say My Name (1999)
Beyonce's 2018 Coachella performance
The Politics Behind Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella Performance
Cultural impact of Beyoncé Wikipedia 
Solange Has Built a Creative Empire. Now She’s Bringing Her Work Home
Solange's speech during Eldorado Ballroom performance in Houston, TX, in June 2025
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 [email protected]! We will write back!

Ever think there might be an invisible thread holding things together that you cannot see, but perhaps... you can feel? This week's theme centers on the question, "Are these songs related somehow?" And the resounding answer: "No."
SONGS
Pino D'angio: Ma quale Idea (1980) 
Brian Eno: Baby’s on Fire (1973)
EXTRAS
Will Smith - Gettin' Jiggy Wit It
Sister Sledge: He’s the Greatest Dancer
The Bar-Kays: Sang and Dance
How Italo disco is taking over Berlin (again)
Ma Quale Idea - bassline by Stefano Cerri- OR IS IT?
bnkr44, Pino D'Angiò - MA CHE IDEA
Roxy Music: Re-make/Re-model (1972)
Roxy Music: Do the Strand (1973)
Roxy Music: Love is the Drug (1975)
Baby’s on Fire Review by Joe Hoeffner
Guardian Interview with Brian Eno
Fripp & Eno: No Pussyfooting (1972) 
King Crimson: The Court of the Crimson King (1969)
Brian Eno on AI, Art and What Makes Us Human (2025)
Brian Eno: Music for Airports (1978)
12 Musical Works You Didn’t Know Eno Produced
Eno Meets David Byrne
David Byrne: T-Shirt (2025)
Oblique Strategies
And of course, Eno's "Baby's On Fire" has no relation to Die Antwoord's, a track we discussed in our Scary Songs episode. 
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 [email protected]! We will write back!

Happy New Year! We are kicking off 2026 with a deadly fall and a sliced off ear! That's right, movie magic music is back, and this time we’re talking about the most haunting use of a song in a movie. Brace yourself for spoilers! 
SONGS
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band: P.I.M.P. (2008)
Stealers Wheel: Stuck in the Middle with You (1972)
EXTRAS
P.I.M.P. Scene from Anatomy of a Fall 
Stuck in the Middle With You Scene from Reservoir Dogs
50 Cent: P.I.M.P. (2003)
Anatomy of a Song: A Reading of P.I.M.P. in Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall (Dr. Gemma Blackwood)
Pitchfork Review of 55 
Rolling Stone: Quentin Tarantino on Five Key Soundtrack Picks, From “Reservoir Dogs” to “Inglourious Basterds"
Hip to be Square Scene in American Psycho
Instrumental Song that Could Have Been a Radio Hit (where today's podcast theme idea was formed)
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 [email protected]! We will write back!

The year is (almost) over! And we are delighted. So what better time to share our most-loved and most-listened to bands with our dutiful, beautiful listeners? If the year-end "best of" lists overwhelm you, we hope you'll enjoy a mini-deep dive into two bands we kept coming back to all year long. And truly, we cannot wait to discover more new (and old) music with you in 2026! Thanks for listening all year long! 
VIDEOS
Devo: Uncontrollable Urge (1978)
Being Dead: Van Goes (2024)
EXTRAS
Rolling Stone: ICE Ads Are All Over Your Favorite Streaming Services
Being Dead article in Texas Monthly
Being Dead: Big Bovine music video
Being Dead KEXP In-Studio Performance
Bowie Introduces Devo at Max’s Kansas City (1977)
Human Highway (1982)
Devo: Freedom of Choice (1980)
Devo: Girl U Want (1980)
Devo Performing I Can’t Get No Satisfaction on SNL (1979)
Devo Performing Uncontrollable Urge Live on Fridays (1980)
Devo Performing Nutra Theme/Jerkin Back and Forth Live on Fridays (1981)
Devo Performing Uncontrollable Urge at Hollywood Bowl (Oct. 18, 2025)
Guardian Interview with Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale  (2022)
Mark Mothersbaug on KCRW with his Minimoog (2016)
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 [email protected]! We will write back!

It's winter, minus the tinsel! And the only red noses here are Christina's and Christine's on account of their rosacea.
One pick retreats inward, finding comfort in solitude and stubborn self-protection; the other stares at the cold and dreams of somewhere sunnier. Two very different ways of surviving a winter’s day--and you might just be surprised by who picks what. 
VIDEOS 
Simon & Garfunkel: I am a Rock (1966)
The Mamas and the Papas: California Dreamin’ (1965 - Ed Sullivan Performance, 1967)
We're not all bah humbug! We admit it, there are a few xmas songs we actually like:
The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping 
The Kinks: Father Christmas 
David Bowie & Bing Crosby: Little Drummer Boy
Sufjan Steven: Songs for Christmas
José Feliciano: Feliz Navidad
Lhasa de Sela: Los Peces 
EXTRAS
Barry McGuirre: California Dreamin’ (1965)
California Dreamin’ Scene from Chungking Express (1994)
LA Times Article about California Dreamin’ (2008) 
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 [email protected]! We will write back!