HARKpodcast

We're half-way through the year and we're marking it the old-fashioned way - by discussing two songs of absolutely divergent quality! By request, we listen to the heavenly "Angels Blush" by Basia, and then drag ourselves to hell with "Honorable Congratulations" by the McGuire Sisters. Our ranking music in this episode is "Coco Jamboo (Christmas Version)" by Mr. President. Thank you to Jim for thes...

This week, we're finally covering our oldest request on record - a song whose original (but non-thematic) pair was discussed on the show way back in February 2019. It's "Run Rudolph Run" as performed by Lemmy, Billy Gibbons, and Dave Grohl for the We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year compilation album. And what better way to welcome "Run Rudolph Run" to the list than to also cover t...

I mean, what else were we going to do for this episode? 311 didn't leave us a LOT of options, so we had to go with "Mele Kalikimaka" performed by Nick Hexum. Then, for reasons , we listened to The Offspring's cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". This episode's ranking music is "Amber" by 311! Of course!

Inspired by the upcoming World Goth Day, we find a dark jewel in "Things Fall Apart" by Cristina. And then we kinda wander away from World Goth Day, with Ian instead leading RJ down a seemingly circuitous but actually quite straightforward route to arrive at "Christmas Time in the Motor City" by Was (Not Was). This week's ranking music is "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses!

We said we were going to do it, and we did it. It's an Arbor Day episode. But, you know, minus the dang trees. Maybe it's a belated Earth Day episode? Anyway, we discuss "The Holly and the Ivy" by Los Campesinos! and "Christmas Cactus" by Juliana Hatfield, and argue about the merits of medieval Jesus metaphors and extremely literal plant care tips. The ranking music in this episode is "Palmcorder...

Easter and Passover are all well and good, but this week we're celebrating the more traditional HARK holiday: 4/20, baby. We take another look at Snoop Dogg Presents Christmas in the Dogghouse and discover "Christmas in the Hood" by Daz Dillinger featuring Deacon and "Xmas Trees" by Kurupt. Weed on earth and good weed to men, y'all. Our ranking music in this episode is "When Was Jesus Born" by Lil...

There's a diversity of springtime holidays on the horizon, and we're covering some songs about holiday inclusivity (and lack thereof)! By request, we take a listen to "The Christians and the Pagans", a 1990s Christmas/Solstice classic by Dar Williams, followed by "The War on Christmas", a YouTube-era satire by Hot Dad. Our ranking music in this episode is "The Ocean" by Dar Williams featuring John...

It started out with "Don't Shoot Me Santa". How did it end up like this? It was only "I Feel It In My Bones"; it was only "Dirt Sledding". Thank you to Phil the Killers Boy for these requests! Our ranking music in this episode is "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers.

This week we're looking at a request from many moons ago and revisiting one of RJ's favorite topics - muppets! Or at least, Jim Henson Company critters. "There's a Promise" from the Fraggle Rock holiday special and "Legend of the Winter Berry" from Bear in the Big Blue House  both give us those warm, fuzzy feelings. This episode's ranking song is "Goodbye Song" from Bear in the Big Blue House. Tha...

In celebration of - or, well, tangetially related to - Presidents' Day, we've got two Christmas songs from musical groups with appropriate names! The Presidents of the United States of America offer us "Christmas Piglet", while Mr. President re-gifts their mid-90s eurodance hit in "Coco Jamboo (Christmas Version)". Our ranking music in this episode is "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United Stat...

Valentine's Day is approaching - the horniest holiday of the year! Well, maybe the second horniest. Ehhhh, at least top five. Anyway, we're talking about two horny winter holiday songs: "Holiday Freak Shit" by Mila J and "I've Got Some Presents for Santa" by Sarah Taylor & Bill Mumy! This week's ranking music is "Fish Heads" by Barnes & Barnes. There's a lot of curveballs in this one, folks.

In honor or Burns Night, we're discussing some holiday music by Scottish artists! First up, we're delighted to find a potential 21st century Christmas classic in "Santa Will Find You" by Phil Cunningham's Christmas Songbook Band. Then we enjoy the nostalgia for incredibly recent times induced by "New Year's Resolution" by Camera Obscura! RJ says "New Year Resolutions" instead of "New Year's Resolu...

A new year has begun, but we're starting with a throwback - we address our oldest remaining requests from back in the tumblr days of the podcast! "Christmas Eve Eve" by Paul and Storm extolls the virtues of a liminal-space-esque not-holiday with cheerful charm, while "Calling on Mary" by Aimee Mann offers mystery, melancholy, metaphor maybe, and surely other words beginning with m. The ranking mus...

We made it to our last episode of 2021 (and a big round number of episodes/songs) and to celebrate, we're trying to unseat the top and bottom songs on our list! As per tradition, RJ & Ian surprise each other with their picks - and by coincidence, both have picked new versions of songs that we've covered on the show before! Will these improved/impoverished updates be enough to enter the list as one...

Howdy, Herald Angels! This week on HARK: two underdogs in the canon of classic Christmas music. "(Everybody's Waiting For) The Man With The Bag" by Kay Starr is cheerful nonsense that teaches us some fun facts about music history. Then we hear another banger off of an album that has already landed in our top 100 songs once before: "The Merriest" by June Christy. Our ranking music this week is "Sev...

As we rapidly accelerate towards the winter holiday season, we've got a Hanukkah song and a Christmas song that go together like music and lyrics! Uh, you know, fine.  "Hot Rod Hanukkah" by Meshugga Beach Party is a lukewarm track off of an otherwise great surf rock album, while "Christmas Nights in Blue" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in carolization. Our...

It's RJ's birthday week! And we didn't forget about birthday boy's choice this year! To celebrate, RJ lets Ian choose one of the songs (just like he did for them on his birthday in Episode 289), and he opts to finally add "Frosty the Snowman" (the original version by Gene Autry) to the list after all these years. For their choice, RJ selects the much more modern "Merry Merry" by The Bird and The B...

It's time for our annual Halloween episode, with no less than twenty-two ghouls! Listen, I made up that number of ghouls. I'm not sure how many ghouls we have. We listened to "13 Nights of Halloween" by Elvira, who rules, even if her novelty song is a bit too "spooky sounds for Halloween ambiance cassette tape". We also listened to "Aurora Borealis" by Lemon Demon, an unsettling but upbeat track t...

While we bide our time between the first and second phases of Eggnog Watch 2021, we're covering a request that's been languishing for years! And it offers plenty more blasts from the past - "Donde Esta Santa Claus" by Augie Rios is a 1958 novelty hit, and uh, you know how those are. Thankfully, "Player's Ball" by Outkast is a refreshing (so fresh) palate cleanser (so clean). Thank you to Dave for...

This week: listener requests! First, we unpack the time capsule of the mid-sixties that is "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel, and then interrupt that program to do some PSAs about the dangers of ornament consumption as we discuss "Tinsel in the Tea Leaves" by Kathy Lowe. The ranking music this week is "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. Thank you to Eben for these requests! The re...

Do you remember? That's right, it's almost September the 21st , and to celebrate, we've got two Christmas songs by Earth, Wind, and Fire! The first is "December" by Earth, Wind, and Fire, and if you're wondering - yes, that's it, what you're imagining, it's that exactly! Then we discuss "Holidays" by Meghan Trainor featuring Earth, Wind, and Fire - and manage to say a lot about a song that wasn't...

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, we endeavor to add more Hanukkah music to our long list of winter holiday songs! Join us as we travel back in time, revisiting early childhood memories and discussing two nostalgia-inducing tunes, "Dreidel Rap '89" by Abraham and "The Rockin' Dreidel Song" by Sha Na Na. Also: Ian debuts his new catchphrase! Here's the Chicago Reader article about Dreidel Rap '89 ! T...

The Gold Cup Parade (???) is approaching, which means (???), but anyway, we're doing a jingle horse episode. Maybe Dan Brown ghost-wrote this one because we go deep down some meaningless rabbit holes - beginning with "New Jingle Horse", a revisit to the oeuvre of the Geeta Brothers Duet Group, and ending with cracking the case of "Jingle Horse" by Jerry Riggins (et al).

It's a real Choose Your Own Theme-venture this week. Summer? Sure, it's hot out, so we cooled off with two versions of wintery classic "Winter Wonderland". Olympics? Yeah, let's get back into the Very Special Christmas catalogue that benefits the Special Olympics, regardless of the fact that those games aren't happening until next year. Jason Mraz's last name means "frost" in Czech and Annie Lenox...

It's Ian's birthday this week, so you know what that means - he's selflessly gifting half of his Birthday Boy's Choice to RJ!! What a sweetie. Ian and RJ exchange the gift of music - or in the case of "All I Want For Christmas" by Lil Jon featuring The Kool-Aid Man, the gift of post-ironic brand partnerships. Then we cleanse our palates with the new wave taste of "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christma...