HARKpodcast

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!

This week on HARK, it's Canadian Thanksgiving, and while we're always thankful for all of our listeners, we're feeling particularly thankful for the ones who live north of the U.S. border. To celebrate, we cover two songs suggested by a long-time Canadian listener making his first request. "Jacob Marley's Chain" by Aimee Mann is interesting, if only vaguely Christmas-related, and "Jack Gets Up" by...

As we did last week, we're adding two more Hanukkah songs to our list - but this time we're contemplating some more solemn selections. "Light the Lamp" by Emily Kurn is a folk tribute to family connections, while "Chanukah Prayer" by Carole King offers tradition mixed with atmospheric jazz. The ranking music this week is "Eight Candles (A Song for Hanukkah)" by Dave Koz.

Shanah Tovah! The High Holy Days are here, and as per tradition, we're adding some Hanukkah tunes to our list. We appreciate the sophisticated indie-rock elements of "I Won't Be Home for Chanukah" by TeamMate, such as the claps, and the beep-boops - and while "(When is) Hanukkah This Year" by Mêlée may have a catchy hook, it asks more questions than it answers.

In honor of the upcoming Autumnal Equinox, we listen to two songs of exactly equal length! "A New Year" by Stars has a hopeless sort of hope, while "Sunshine" by Sia perhaps overshoots on the optimism. And also Santa's elves are involved somehow? A note: our pre-song banter contains some bummers this week!

This week on HARK, we tackle two requests for which the requester provided very little context. The resulting episode includes discussions about mass incarceration and toothpaste jingles. "Everybody Deserves a Merry Christmas" by Ronnie Fauss is a type of twangy jailhouse rock, and "I'd Like You for Christmas" by Julie London has old-timey musical theatre vibes. You can guess which one prompted wh...

September is here and you know what that means: somewhere in Canada, cartons are being filled with eggnog. Soon these cartons will make their way to grocery stores, and the eggnog within, to RJ's tummy. But for now, we quench our nog-thirst with two songs about this holiday treat. Unfortunately, "Give the Gift of Egg Nog" by Samantha Bee (featuring a full Do-They-Know-It's-Christmas-style chorus o...

Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined. This week's episode sees our stressed-out hosts taking comfort in the company of some old friends from Free Country, USA. "Santam'n is a Blade Man" by Homestar Runner and "The Decemberween Thnikkaman" by Strong Bad are both vestiges of the internet of our youth, and also, y'know, vaguely related to winter holidays. Some corrections: Strong Bad's Cool Game For...

With a Home Alone reboot apparently on the way and Macaulay Culkin's birthday falling this week, we're feeling nostalgic - and so we're celebrating this classic torture-porn Christmas franchise with two requests from the soundtrack of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York! "All Alone On Christmas" by Darlene Love is a memorable jam that features assistance from the E Street Band, while "Somewhere in My M...

This week, we tackle some requests for songs belonging to that most 1980s of genres: Hair Metal. And yet, the two songs we're covering were recorded in this millennium. Could it be that the artists who performed them did so less than 100 percent seriously? It's kind of hard to tell, which is kind of the charm of both "O Come All Ye Faithful" by Twisted Sister and "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bel...

This week, in honor of International Cat Day, we're covering songs for our two cats: Kurt and Heidi. "Snow Falls on the Patio" by Heidi Happy is a sweet, strange, slightly spooky song that matches our sweet, strange, slightly spooky new daughter. And "Santa Claus is Back in Town" as performed by Kurt Russell in the Netflix original holiday production "The Christmas Chronicles" is full of bombast a...

As July draws to a close and the hottest days of summer (so far) hit the northern hemisphere, we return to that perennial source of bottom-of-the-list material: songs about spending the holidays in a warm place. But this year, there's a twist: The songs we listened to are actually good, it turns out! First, we enjoy the silly "(I'm Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica" by Tom Lehrer. Then, we discov...

Ian has aged yet again which means it's BIRTHDAY BOY'S CHOICE TIME!!! For his selections, Ian has gone with two songs that some may say barely belong on our list - but perhaps do belong on a mix CD curated by a moody teen. "A Long December" by Counting Crows has been a long time coming, and "The First Song" by Band of Horses provides a fitting complement from a decade later.

There are a lot of national food days in July, you guys. This week, we're celebrating National Hot Dog Day with some Christmas songs about pigs. "The Boar's Head Carol" by Magpie Lane is pretty much exactly what the title says it is, while "Noche Buena" by Celeste Legaspi has a slightly more roundabout connection to our episode theme. Both of these songs are referenced in the Bon Appétit article w...

This week on HARK, we're celebrating nature's neatest root vegetable, the potato! Since National French Fry Day falls on July 13th, we listen to two songs featuring another fried favorite. "Pass the Latkes" by Kid Kosher seems to be a sincere hip-hop ode to this Hanukkah treat, while "No Latkes" by OHT Crew is a more tongue-in-cheek creation about a relationship in turmoil over a lack of potato pa...

We're back! And while we may have missed Canada Day on July 1st, we've got some requests to help us fill our CanCon requirements. Ontario's comedy trio The Arrogant Worms provide two holiday tracks for us to dissect - "Christmastime" and "Vincent the Christmas Virus". Thank you to Michael (probably) for the requests!

We're adding the 449th and 450th songs to our list, and that means it's MILESTONE TIME, BABY! Ian tries to find the greatest holiday song of all time and submits a familiar tune by a legendary artist that contains surprises and multitudes. RJ looks for the worst holiday song of all time and lands on a parody of "Let It Snow"   that manages to both be both vulgar and prudish - and it ain't exactly...

It's Father's Day this week, and here on HARK we're listening to some songs from those Classic Christmas Dads! In character as beloved and put-upon pop Bob Cratchit, Kermit the Frog performs the poetic "One More Sleep Til Christmas" from the Muppet Christmas Carol. Then Marian Call sings from the point of view of a less gentle holiday movie dad in "Christmas in L.A. (Yippee Ki Yay)". Thank you to...