Russell Pirkle & Hannah Weyer

Getting Down & Wordy

Humorous Etymological Research Probing English Songs - A moderately researched, moderately funny chat show about popular music and language. We are a Podmoth Network podcast.

Author

Russell Pirkle & Hannah Weyer

Category

Education

Podcast website

podcasters.spotify.com

Latest episode

Jun 28, 2026

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Episodes

Migos "Bad and Boujee" & the History of Bougie 11.12.2022

We talk Migos, Takeoff's death, car words, the history of the bourgeoisie in France and communist theory, and the origin and rise of 'bougie' in African American culture through class struggles and civil rights. And we discuss Portugal's 2022 Eurovision offering "Saudade Saudade" by MARO.

Blackpink "Pink Venom" & the Color Pink 27.11.2022

We talk about the KPOP band Blackpink and the history and etymology of the color pink. And for Eurovision, we discuss Finland's The Rasmus.

Coolio "Gangsta's Paradise" & Paradise 13.11.2022

Today we talk about Coolio and his hit song "Gangsta's Paradise", and the etymology and history of paradise as a word and concept. For Eurovision, we discuss Ukraine's 2022 winning song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra.

Ghost & Metal 30.10.2022

In honor of Halloween we decided to talk about the Swedish metal band Ghost and the etymology of metal, both as a word for the substance and as a word for the music. In Eurovision, we talk about Azerbaijan's 2022 song Fade to Black by Nadir Rustamli.

Eiffel 65 "Blue" & the Color Blue 16.10.2022

We talk about the Eiffel 65 song "Blue", the etymology of the word blue and some common idioms and expressions using the word blue. And for Eurovision, this week we discuss Switzerland's 2022 song "Boys Do Cry" by Marius Bear.

Lil Uzi Vert "Glock in my Purse" & the Gender-fication of the Purse 02.10.2022

We talk about Lil Uzi Vert. Are they a Dr. Seuss character? Also the history of the purse and how it became pointlessly gendered. And from Eurovision, we discuss Tiktok phenomenon song "Snap" by Rosa Linn, and a little about the Armenian language.

Die Toten Hosen "Kein Alkohol" & Beer with Paisley from Learn German Through Music 18.09.2022

Special guest Paisely from the podcast Learn German Through Music joins us to talk about Die Toten Hosen, the etymology of beer and alcohol, and Oktoberfest. And we discuss 2022 Eurovision German entry, "Rockstar" by Malik Harris. Listen to Learn German Through Music on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JpaBUaBBb9JWk2djk533g?si=55b0eba0fa6b4a30

Rebecca Black "Friday" & The Weekend 04.09.2022

We talk about Rebecca Black's meteoric super hit song "Friday" and the history and etymology of the weekend. As for Eurovision, we discuss Sam Ryder's "Spaceman".

Beyonce "Break My Soul" & Contractions 21.08.2022

We talk about Beyonce's "Break My Soul", contractions, particularly "won't" and why it isn't "willn't". In Eurovision we talk about Moldova's "Trenuleţul" by Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers and the cedilla and the comma below in Romanian.

That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings & Nicknames and Pet Names 07.08.2022

We talk about the etymology of the words nickname and pet name, why some nicknames don't look much like the name they're shortened from (like Robert -> Bob). Honorifics. Pet names through history. And for Eurovision we talk about Give That Wolf a Banana by Subwoolfer.

Lizzo & Overstand 24.07.2022

We talk about Lizzo and her use of the word "overstand" in a statement she made apologizing for using ableist language. We look at the history and meanings of overstand and also ableist language and words you may not have realized are ableist. For Eurovision, we do Slo Mo by Chanel and discuss a few of the differences between the Spanish of Spain and the Spanish of Latin America.

Super Gremlin by Kodak Black & Gremlins 10.07.2022

We discuss the etymology of the word gremlin from its origins in fighter pilot culture to the Chris Columbus movie, which . . is it racist? I mean, besides the Asian culture racism. Are gremlins a racist caricature of African Americans? Then we talk about some other country's weirdly specific monsters. And we discuss our first Eurovision song of the 2022 contest - Romania's Llamame by Wrs, plus Ro...

Have an abortion . . songs episode 26.06.2022

We talk about pop songs about abortion and the etymology and history surrounding the word abortion. Also we play a game we're calling Kinkshame Abort Cancel. And we talk about other healthcare procedures which would make good pop songs. This episode is bound to be offensive to many. Don't @ us. Sum 41's doctor said your mom should've had an abortion, and we support that.

As It Was by Harry Styles & Verb Tense 12.06.2022

We discuss "As It Was" by Harry Styles, verb tenses, and whether a language's treatment of time, among other things, has any influence on our perception of time, which is to say, linguistic relativity. Also, instead of Eurovision, we continue to talk about the American Song Contest.

ABCDEFU by Gayle & the Alphabet 29.05.2022

We talk about "ABCDEFU" by Gayle and the alphabet - where it came from and why it's in the order it's in among other things. Instead of Eurovision, we discuss Amerovision - The American Song Contest.

Encanto Surface Pressure & Onomatopoeia 15.05.2022

We talked about "Surface Pressure" from Encanto, onomatopoeias, and Ukraine's 2021 Eurovision song "Shum" by Go_A.

Kidz Bop & Minced Oaths 01.05.2022

We talk about Minced Oaths - dang, gosh, forked up, shitake mushrooms, etc., and also Kidz Bop, and also in Eurovision we discuss Finland's 2021 offering "Dark Side" by Blind Channel.

11. Tryna See Right Through - Bruno Mars Willow Contractions and Eye Idioms 03.11.2021

We did two songs today, Skate by Bruno Mars and Tranparent Soul by Willow. And we talk about tryna and other new contractions, see right through you and other eye based idioms, and The French Eurovision song Voila.

10. The Pursuit of "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish 17.10.2021

The etymology of happiness including Jesus orgasms and hedonism. The Bulgarian language's inferrential verb tense. 

9. Feeling "Way 2 Sexy" by Drake Future and Young Thug 09.10.2021

We have fun with numbers, talking about to too and two, number puns in Chinese and Spanish, and British Bingo. Also Mata Hari by Efendi and the Azerbaijani language.

8. What's "good 4 u" by Olivia Rodrigo 29.09.2021

Today’s song is SoOoO oRiGiNaL. We discuss sarcasm, good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo, the return of rock pop punk whatever same as the old rock pop punk whatever, positive and negative face, the big five of Eurovision, and Anglo-Saxon and French pairs of English words.

7. Minding the "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion 22.09.2021

Two asexuals talk about WAP. We see wtf is up with acronyms, initialisms, backronyms, macronyms, orphaned acronyms, the USA PATRIOT act and jump on the making fun of Ben Shapiro bandwagon, with a true song of ribaldry and then say some stuff about Maneskin and pasta words.

6. Quibbling that "I am not a Woman I'm a God" by Halsey 15.09.2021

We talk about gender in language, epicenes, and argots plus "Loco Loco" by Hurricane.

5. Da "Levitating" by Dua Lipa and Dababy 02.09.2021

We talk about astronomy words, speech tempo, anime boyfriends, and useful Norwegian words with "Fallen Angel" by Tix.

4. Getting "Dad Vibes" by Limp Bizkit 24.08.2021

We talk about the comeback story of 'vibe', reduplication and 'la di da', the importance of Lithuanian and The Roop.

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