Losing My Opinion

Guest overload this week! Not only does Matt Farley - the most prolific songwriter of all time - join the pod for some good ol' musical nerdery this week, but friendo Nathaniel Safren (Safren) is back as well! Thomas kicks off the discussion with an dive into The Most Disrespectful Album Ever, then Farley picks things up with a celebration of beautiful straightforwardness in songwriting. https://m...

Matt arrives with a very specific mission - find a genuinely good song about sports to jam out to, even if you're off the field. Thomas discusses one of the great musical duos Hall & Oates, and shows off some of their more obscure, unusual numbers... https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.facebook.com/losingmyopinion...

Yay Tom Rainey's back! The boys start off on a goofy note, with Thomas presenting classic rock tunes "reimagined" with the sound palette of Super Mario 64. It'll make sense when you hear it... Tom then presents a series of all-time classic theme songs from TV shows, attempting to break down what makes the best the BEST. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://t...

Matt does his best to get Thomas into the songwriting legend that is John Prine - but Thomas keeps saying "preen"... Thomas then explores the legacy of Elliott Smith, a truly "Beatles-esque" artist, though they wonder just how universally appreciated his music can truly be. https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.face...

Acclaimed Canadian songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Krgovich joins the pod to let Thomas and Matt in on a shocking secret - he's never actively listened to the Beatles! That's right, he could hardly name you any Fab Four tunes. Thus, the LMO crew each present two personal favorites to gauge Nick's honest reaction. https://nicholaskrgovich.bandcamp.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ ht...

On another LMO minisode, titular Daddy Matt tries not to doze off while Thomas shares some peculiar favorites from his collection of tunes for falling asleep. This isn't your grandmother's ambient music... https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.facebook.com/losingmyopinion/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingmyopi...

Happy Christmas and Merry Hannukah! On this special episode of LMO, Matt scrounges through the pop music canon for a decent Hannukah-themed tune that's not Eight Crazy Nights - he finds it, eventually... Thomas has the opposite problem. With a seemingly infinite supply of Christmas music at his disposal, he curates a special selection of songs to celebrate the longstanding (and often lucrative) mu...

Matt remembers his college dorm days with a collection of mid-00's indie pop favorites, downloaded from Limewire and burned onto busted CDs - "Matt's Mixes", if you will. Thomas then attempts - seemingly in vain - to get this known Mikey McD hater over to the right side of the tracks, and truly appreciate those husky soulful pipes. https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitte...

Matt confesses his deep admiration of Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells A Story", doing his best to forget all about the Great American Songbook schlock in the process. Thomas then tells a story of three different acclaimed record producers - who all tried their hand at the singer-songwriter thing themselves... https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.c...

The boys are particularly unprepared this week, so what better to fill the time than a deep-dive into two of the biggest-selling (and reviled) rock bands of the 2000's? It's time for a good ol' Battle of the Bands!   https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.facebook.com/losingmyopinion/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@...

Matt starts off strong with a presentation on Al Green - *master* of doing cover songs. As if being an all-time great soul singer-songwriter wasn't enough... Thomas then gets confrontational as he attempts to get Matt - known Aja-hater - onboard with Steely Dan's dark weird funky triumph "Gaucho". https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopin...

Matt comes in hot with a strong argument for why The Lovin' Spoonful deserve more love from the latest generation of music snobs/hipsters. Thomas then showcases his favorite band of the 1980s (so sorry, Talking Heads and XTC...) - mostly confounding everyone in the process. https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.face...

LMO "badboy" Nate Safren is back this week! Thomas kicks things off with an in-depth segment on the most successful band of the 21st century (for realsies), and all the contempt, confusion, and reluctant admiration they inspire. Nate then discusses the singular legacy of Matt Farley - writer of over 23,000 songs and Master of the Algorithm. Wild surprises ensue. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ h...

Matt presents his curated selection of the best top 40 power-pop that 1999 had to offer - the perfect compliment to nu-metal, its kindred spirit. Thomas then finally gets to dedicate a segment to Haruomi Hosono, one of the all-time great influential Japanese pop artists - and a man who sold his soul to the synthesizer... https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://...

The boys both have Halloween on the brain this week, as Matt (aka 'Spooky' Thin Lear) kicks things off with some good ol' horror folk courtesy of The Wicker Man soundtrack - no, not the Nic Cage version... Thomas (aka 'Spooky' Niagara Moon) then tries to one-up him with a look into the musical work of legendary director John Carpenter, including those three awesome "Lost Themes" albums... https://...

The first 'minisode' of the podcast. Only one topic for today because, well... ya know. Thin Lear (Matt) had a lot goin' on this week, so Thomas gently invites him into a discussion on hold music - and shares a couple of songs he believes would make for the Best Hold Music in the country. Nay, the world!   https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/los...

Matt shows off some of the many schmaltzy, dated 60's pop love tunes he shamefully enjoys - guilty pleasures galore. Thomas then discusses one of his all-time fave artists Bjork, and attempts to find the Perfect Bjork Song for Matt. https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.facebook.com/losingmyopinion/ Tiktok: https://...

Our 2nd guest! Matt's old chum and comedy writer Tom Rainey (Vulture, Funny or Die) comes on for this very special occasion. Thomas kicks things off with an exposé on the Bad Boys of 80's Japanese pop, sharing tunes from Yutaka Ozaki, The Blue Hearts, and Yasuyuki Okamura. Tom then takes the reins with a loving ode to 90's wrestler theme music, and the underrated genius behind it all - Jim Johnsto...

Matt enlists Thomas to help evaluate the workout playlist at his local gym on several criteria, with decidedly mixed results. Thomas then gets out the hazmat suits as they wade into the toxic wasteland that is Ted Nugent (aka Uncle Ted), and struggle to assess the songs on their own merits.   https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion I...

Of course there's no such thing, but Matt shares his personal favorite from David's discography. Thomas largely agrees, and then presents his "Trilogy of Power Trios" - and no, neither Nirvana, Cream, nor Jimi Hendrix made the cut. https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losingmyopinion IG: https://www.facebook.com/losingmyopinion/ Tiktok: https://w...

Our first guest! Matt brings on his oooold bandmate and chum Nathaniel Safren to join in the fun. Thomas opens the show with an in-depth examination into the Patron Saint of Long Island - the Piano Man himself. Lots of conflicted feelings... Nathaniel then talks about the legacy of the "skit track" in hip-hop albums, and almost gets the podcast canceled. Good job, buddy.   https://www.niagaramoonm...

Matt shares a beloved compilation of classic soul tracks (his favorite genre, of course) called "Take Me To The River". Things then take a wild turn as Thomas unleashes what he claims to be the most self-indulgent album ever, and somehow also gets Poseidon Ishikawa into the mix... See Thin Lear at the Mercury Lounge on Sep 15th: https://mercuryeastpresents.com/event/jesse-malin/   https://www.thin...

Matt makes Thomas physically nauseous with a selection of nu-metal tracks from his youth, supposedly the cream of the genre's crop. Thomas then saves the day by digging into the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, Richard O'Brien, and Tim Curry - imagining an alternate musical timeline that never was... https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ https://www.thinlear.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/losi...

Matt unleashes his over-the-top enthusiasm for the very over-the-top "prog-adjacent" Electric Light Orchestra - particularly their album Eldorado. Thomas then sets off on a journey to discover the reason why many superb early 90's UK bands couldn't quite make their dent into the US market. It's a bizarre phenomenon known as the "Jangle-pop Bermuda Triangle"... https://www.thinlear.com/ https://www...

Matt shares one of his favorite 90's alternative albums that he believes should get to sit on the shelf with all the big boys like Nirvana or Soundgarden. Thomas then reveals some bizarre songs that are actually very near and dear to his heart. Are they guilty pleasures? That's for Judge Matt to decide, in the very first installment of "Guilty or Not Guilty?" https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ http...