HARKpodcast

We're back after a short autumn recess, and we've got a lot to say, apparently. You know what else is back after a brief delay? The CMT Music Awards. In celebration(?), we're listening to Christmas songs by some of this year's nominees: "What Time Is It?" by LoCash (or maybe LOCASH), and "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" by Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton. This week's ranking music is " Heave...

In honor of the High Holy Days, we're covering two Hanukkah songs this week! Both of our selections come from the album Hanukkah+ -  a fresh, hip compilation from 2019 featuring some of our long-time favorite bands and artists. Or, well... one of our long-time favorite bands (Yo La Tengo with "Eight Candles") and also an artist that we definitely don't not like but who even can tell (Adam Green wi...

This week, for reasons, we're listening to some songs about sex and butts: "All I Want for XXXmas" by Slayyyter feat. Ayesha Erotica and "Christmas Butt" by Puss N' Boots. FYI, we really earn that explicit tag on this one! And also, for an episode that's mostly about sexual Christmas music, there's a weird bummer section in the middle? Hey, thanks for listening. This week's ranking music is, in fa...

This week on HARK: two requests from 19X7, possibly requested in 20X7! We are digging into some old, old requests and wind up listening to two songs that feel very representative of their respective decades. "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)" by Roxette feels so 80s for a song that didn't reach its peak until the 80s were (arguably) over, while "Christmas" by Blues Travell...

It's World Elephant Day, and for unrelated reasons, we're covering some listener requests! We're transported to the 00's by "Christmas for Two" by Sixpence None the Richer, while it takes a moment for us to find our footing in "O Holy Night" as performed by Charlie Rich. Our ranking music this week is "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer. Thank you to Matt and Maya for these requests!

For this week's HARK, we return to a request that we split up earlier in the year. Listener Tim requested Yogi Yorgesson and paired it with "Reindeer" by Swedish band The Knife, for a tenuous Sweden theme. This week, we're honoring the spirit of that request by pairing "Reindeer" with a song by another Swedish artist: "Correspondence: Silent Night" by Annika Norlin. This week's ranking music is "i...

It's that time of year again! Time for BIRTHDAY BOY'S CHOICE! As per tradition, Ian is given license to choose whatever songs he wants to listen to this week, and also as per tradition, he chooses some weird bullshit. Revisit some earworms from his youth with us: "Tennessee Christmas" as performed by Lee Greenwood and "Our Love Is Like a Holiday" by Michael Bolton. Our ranking music this episode i...

This episode of HARK is here just in time for Canada Day (in our time zone, anyway), and we're listening to some Canadian content by request! "First Christmas" by Stan Rogers is up first, and we find ourselves unprepared. But we quickly get back into our groove by dissing Michael Bublé's rendition of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". Our ranking music this week is "Exiles Among You" by The Weak...

The solstice fast approaches, and we're marking it with two seasonal songs! Er, sort of. The real theme of this episode is "Not Winter Wonderland" - "Winter Wonder Land" by Animal Collective is just a boldly named original, while "Summer Wonderland" by Ronan Keating is a southern hemisphere re-write of the classic. Our ranking music this week is "White Wine In the Sun" by Tim Minchin. Here are the...

This week, we cover a listener request that may be a ploy to get us to talk about musical theatre again - just in time for the Tony Awards (if, you know, those were happening)! "Holly Jolly Christmas" as performed by Idina Menzel is a pretty good rendition of a pretty bland Christmas song, while "Silver Bells" as performed by Kristin Chenoweth offers an unexpected new flavor. Thank you Philip (and...

In this episode, we're talking about two holiday songs themed around the color red! ...sort of! ...for Pentecost, I guess! "Wrapped In Red" by Kelly Clarkson gives us an excuse to talk about Love Actually, again , so it's hard to fault it for that. Whereas "Red-Suited Superman" by Rod Stewart gives us an excuse to talk about Rod Stewart, for the very first time! The ranking music in this episode i...

It's time once again for some listener requests! In this episode we dig into two tracks from Christian alt-rock label Tooth & Nail's Happy Christmas compilation series. First, we interpret the meaning of the mumbled chorus of Starflyer 59's "A Holiday Song" and then make a pro/con list on Lost Dogs' robot-heavy rendition of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)". Thank you to Jay for these...

This episode may come out a few days  after April 20th, but good news! It's still April 2020, so it's 4/20 for another week and a half! Stay safe, smoke responsibly, and enjoy our takes on these two reefer-fueled holiday tunes - "Do You Wanna Hit My Vape Pen?" by MC Flow and "Twas the Night" by Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. This week's ranking music is "Pot in the Latkes" by MC Flow.

In honor of Easter and Passover, we're covering Christmas and Hanukkah songs that are on the more traditional, religious side. "Joy to the World" performed by Nat King Cole bring nostalgic joy, while "Mi Yimalel Too!" by Julie Silver may sound like a sequel, but is more akin to a retelling. Our ranking music this week is "Chad Gadya" performed by Jack Black.

April Fools' Day is on the horizon - not that anyone should be celebrating it, in this of all years. For what may be the worst of holidays, we listen to two jokes of songs - some old-fashioned parody songs, by listener request. "The 12 Gifts of Christmas" by Allan Sherman may be a so-so version of an overdone song, but it does deliver one very welcome holiday music innovation. "I Yust Go Nuts at C...

While Ian works to finish editing our long-delayed roundup of holiday albums released in 2019 for our Patreon patrons, we thought we'd share some extra content here in our main feed for those of you looking for listening material during these days of self-isolation. Please enjoy this artifact of a simpler time: Our 2017 Patreon album roundup. Stay safe everyone, and happy holidays!

Can you believe we've covered 500 songs, and only one by Old Blue Eyes? In honor of St. Joseph's Day, we're covering two songs by an Italian-American icon. First is the slightly spooky "The Christmas Waltz" by Frank Sinatra, followed by "The 12 Days of Christmas" by the Sinatra family, which reimagines the interminable classic as a list of extremely generic Dad Gift ideas. Maybe dad likes... jelly...

In honour of International Women's Day on March 8, in this episode we're covering requests for songs about the much-neglected first lady of Christmas, Mrs. Claus. First, we revisit the Mrs. Santa Claus musical with a sweet duet titled "The Best Christmas Of All". Then we discuss the implications of Mrs. Claus gettin' some from a side piece in "Dear Mrs. Claus" by the Barr Brothers. Thank you to Jo...

This week on HARK, we're celebrating two holidays with just one set of requests. Notable interesting person Richard submitted a decidedly non-standard version of "Baby It's Cold Outside," performed by Jimmy Pardo and Scott Aukerman, which we're covering for ... Valentine's Day(?). He also submitted "3 Generations" by Hawksley Workman, which definitely fits a Family Day theme. Thanks again, Richard...

This week's HARK is a veritable feast for the ears, though some parts of it likely go down more easily than others. We start with "Sick Christmas" by (DJ) The Prophet, a bottom-shooter apologetically requested by Alan. Then, we pair it with a high quality jam of our own choosing: "Sleigh Ride" by Astrocolor, which also serves as this week's ranking music. Thanks again to Alan for the request!

For our first episode recorded in 2020, we're covering two songs from 2019! Get your HOT TAKES here! "Like It's Christmas" by the Jonas Brothers is nothing and "Christmas Tree Farm" by Taylor Swift is something, but not much. Thanks to Dave for these requests! This week's ranking music is also "Christmas Tree Farm" by Taylor Swift, but just the good part.

It's 2020 and we're looking back 20 years at some quintessentially 2000 holiday songs!"Xtina's Xmas" by Christina Aguilera and "My Only Wish (This Year)" by Britney Spears both feature superstar performers and some strange formatting choices in their titles, but which one will fare better on our list? And which one is, you know, an actual song?

Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a very merry milestone episode! RJ tries to top our festive list with a holiday classic that almost wasn't a Christmas song, while Ian shoots for the bottom of the list by getting back to basics. We end this episode with an announcement about the future of HARK! The ranking music this week is "What Christmas Means to Me" by Stevie Wonder.

The holiday equinox of 2019 is upon us, beginning with the first night of Hanukkah on December 22nd. To celebrate, we're listening to two high-quality Hanukkah songs. "Chanukah Time" by Josh and the Jamtones is a fun song that captures a child-like excitement about the holiday, while "This Chanukiah" by Daniel Cainer takes a more heartfelt, reflective approach. This week's ranking music is "Christ...

RJ and Ian are back from Tokyo and celebrating their jet-lag with songs from decades that have never been featured on the show before. First, 1898's "Sleigh Ride Party/Jingle Bells" by the Edison Male Quartet becomes the oldest song we've every talked about on the show by several decades, while also proving that there is no such thing as a "standard" version of Jingle Bells. Then, 1904's "Old Jim'...