HARKpodcast

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'...

We're still in Japan, celebrating our anniversary, and this episode is all about love! I mean, and holiday music, because that's the show. Two winter love songs help us mark the occasion - "Love In December" by Club 8 and "Warm In December" by Julie London. This week's ranking music is "Sea Urchins" by Yo La Tengo.

Greetings from Japan! We recorded this episode early because we're currently on our long-anticipated vacation in Tokyo, and we picked songs to suit the occasion. We journey from Canada to Japan with "Last Christmas (English/Japanese Version)" by Gunnarolla featuring Micaela Braithwaite and then just have a real nice time - you know, it's just nice - with "Sweet Christmas" by Shonen Knife. This wee...

Knock knock! In this week's episode, we celebrate the ancient tradition of wassailing with two listener requests - "Here We Come A-Wassailing" as performed by Kate Rusby and "The Wassailing Song" as performed by Blur. This episode's ranking music is "Here We Come A-Caroling" as performed by the Sesame Street gang. Thank you to Liam for these requests!

This week, we tackle a pair of punk-adjacent requests from listener Kevin. "Feliz Navi-nada" by El Vez is, despite the title, a joyful reimagining of the Jose Feliciano original, and "X'mas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is an extremely sad and also surprisingly nostalgic experience. The ranking music this week is "The Impression That I Get" by the aforemention...

IT'S RJ'S BIRTHDAY AND THEY'LL ALL-CAPS IF THEY WANT TO That's right, it's Birthday Boi's Choice once again, and RJ has selected two songs that we've discussed before... but only behind a paywall. John Legend's 2018 original "Bring Me Love" is a strong contender for a new Christmas radio standard, and Sia's 2017 album closer "Underneath the Christmas Lights" is an ethereal experience to savor. DO...

RJ and Ian are back, and just in time for Halloween! This week, in our annual spooky episode, we tackle our first Halloween winter song (and also revisit the world of Homestar Runner) with "Decomposing Pumpkins" by Brainkrieg. Then, we discuss "It's Halloween (A Christmas Song)" by Randy Brooks, as well as the troubling revelation that the man responsible for bringing "Grandma Got Run Over by a Re...

By request, we're covering two songs that feel like experiments. "Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year" by Rosie Thomas feels like a blend of Christmas music conventions tweaked and polished into uncanny twee perfection, while "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Rhan Wilson is a shambling nine-minute-forty-five-second abomination. Thank you to Travis for these requests!