Over/underrated: a music podcast with Fran and Babs

Joined by Adam Corner - a writer and researcher specialising in climate change communication and culture/climate collaborations - we talk about two bands linked by the flimsiest of themes! Metallica are much-loved rock gods, but none of us quite get the hype - will Adam's considered playlist change any of our minds? Adam and Fran also reminisce about Grandaddy, which Babs was sceptical about as th...

Joined by comedian, spoken word artist and sculptor Clare Ferguson-Walker, we are tackling a very sacred cow as our overrated pick - does Bruce Springsteen deserve all the accolades?  Clare also introduces Fran and Babs to the soulful Frazey Ford, an original member of The Be Good Tanyas. We recommend watching her music videos as well as listening to her songs - especially Done . Check out Cl...

We've wrapped up the year once again, picking our 10 favourite tracks from 2021 and discussing our musical highlights and lowlights - look out also for Fran's excellent suggestion for Brandon Flowers' next solo single... You can find the playlist for this episode on Spotify - it includes all songs from our playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode. Download,...

Fran & Babs discuss whether Ramones are only about "1-2-3-4" and t-shirts - or is there more to them than meets the eye?  Babs is also delighted to promote one of her favourite bands - The Stranglers - whose output is far more broad and experimental than most people realise, even if they are aware of Golden Brown, Peaches and No More Heroes... You can find the playlist for this episode on...

Joined by comedian Adam Larter, we're discussing two very different bands who came up in New York at the turn of the millennium. Adam thinks The Strokes have little substance beyond becoming the template for hipsterdom, but can he convince fans Fran and Babs otherwise?  Adam picked The Hold Steady as his underrated act because of the great lyrics and the "heart and soul" they pour into their...

Fran & Babs recently realised they're seemingly different types of Radiohead fans - Fran thinks The Bends showcases them at their strongest, while Babs - controversially? - says Hail to the Thief is the best Radiohead record. In this Album Showdown Special™, they've picked their five fave songs from each album and, as ever, try and convince each other they're right. Will they agree on anything...

Joined by DJ and podcaster Tara Court, we're reminiscing about the 90's again! First up it's the The Verve a.k.a. releasers of the 18th best-selling album in UK chart history with Urban Hymns. Their music seems to have stalked Tara a bit too much over the years - but do they deserve the overrated label? While most people only know their biggest hit Wide Open Space, Tara and Fran are huge Mansun fa...

We are BACK - and taking on a pop behemoth in the first episode of season three! Babs has a bit of a vendetta against her dad's favourite band ABBA - sure, they're influential but do they deserve ALL the hype? Meanwhile, Fran wants to raise awareness of the indie band kent - who sing mostly in Swedish - to the English-speaking world, and beyond... You can find the playlist for this episode on Spot...

Fran & Babs were delighted to be joined by music producer/mixer/engineer/arranger extraordinaire Ben Hampson for a special episode focused on bands from the region he's based in, Sussex.  Ben picked five songs from five top Sussex bands - most of whom he has worked with - in one of the most solid playlists ever created for the podcast. Along the way, we also chat about a range of topics i...

It's the final episode of the season and we're joined from New Zealand by Chris Webb, host of the film podcast Still Any Good? , who brings two different alternative bands from Glasgow for discussion. Despite not being a huge Primal Scream fan, Chris listened to ALL THEIR ALBUMS IN A ROW (!) and came with his five favourite songs to try and convince himself, Fran & Babs they're better than he...

Joined by Ryan Schaff, host of The Broken Record Player podcast , we took such a deep dive into grunge that we broke up the episode into two parts. In this second episode, Ryan takes us on a ten-track tour of "fierce feminist pioneers" L7. We talk about how sexism definitely contributed to their underratedness and how many bands they still influenced along the way. While Fran is not so keen on all...

Joined by Ryan Schaff, host of The Broken Record Player podcast , we took such a deep dive into grunge that we broke up the episode into two parts. In this first section, we ponder one of grunge's biggest successes, Pearl Jam. Ryan is a big fan - who has never seen them live - and he's here to convince Babs & Fran - who are not big Pearl Jam fans despite both of them having seen them live - to...

Part II of our neighbourhood chats! Fran & Babs are both very keen to discuss local music talent in their areas and today we're discussing musicians from Belgium... Babs has lived in Brussels for eight years and been a fan of Belgian music since her teens. She has made a ten-track playlist showcasing some of her fave artists from Flanders, Wallonia AND the capital...and highly recommends watch...

It's another special episode! Fran & Babs are both very keen to discuss local music talent in their areas, so this is Part I of II of our neighbourhood chats... Fran hails from Bournemouth and has made a ten-track playlist showcasing musicians from "Wessex" a.k.a. Dorset & Hampshire. Some are well-known (PJ Harvey, Klaxons) others definitely more underrated (Ed Dowie, Betika)....and who do...

We're back travelling across the UK to (Greater) Manchester with special guest Matt Latham from the Pickadisc podcast . We discuss whether Courteeners successfully manage to escape the " landfill indie " label - despite having some great lyrics? Also, Matt introduces Fran & Babs to (We Are) Performance, who make "catchy, '80s inspired pop with a dance-rock bent" - something which, on pape...

Joined by Sophie Davies from the It's an S Pod Thing! podcast - which analyses S Club 7's various TV shows - we ponder whether the band's music holds up and hear about how the placing of some their songs in the TV show negatively impacted Sophie's opinion about them!  Unfairly labelled "Flopstars" Liberty X, runners-up of the 2001 TV show Popstars, are also in contention this week - as it tur...

We're visiting the "City of a Thousand Trades" via Abu Dhabi, with special guest Tim Colledge - a personal trainer, fitness business owner and podcaster - who feels Ocean Colour Scene have more to offer than just their Britpop greatest hits. Fran, Babs & Tim also discuss whether The Streets offer more than just pure noughties nostalgia... Tim hosts the Coffee with Coaches podcast, where he dis...

After analysing Eurovision 1958-2019 in the previous episodes, Fran & Babs listen to all 39 songs from this year's competition and pick their top five best and worst tunes. Will some picks appear in opposing lists? Are the songs we make up on the spot better than some in this year's competition? Listen to find out.... Josh Weller is trying to understand every singer in 2021 here . And...

We're back discussing Paulo Mendes-Jorge's selection of the most unfairly ranked songs in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, a tall order - and we end on perhaps our most poignant note to date, discussing the wider symbolism of the competition and European politics...but don't worry, it's still funny. Fran managed to find the interview where Jonathan Ross strong-armed Radiohead into agree...

Veteran Eurovision fan, podcast newbie - and Babs' dad - Paulo Mendes-Jorge takes us on a tour through the best and worst of the world's longest-running annual international televised music competition....and there's a surprising amount of naughty chat?!  Although he only picked five overrated and underrated songs respectively, we had such a fun time chatting that this episode is going to be...

Our first bonus episode! Why? Basically, not long after we recorded our California episode, our underrated pick Grouplove released a new album...so we decided to take the time to analyse it track by track in depth...while going off on some tangents along the way - who is wearing make-up and who isn't in this episode? And do you agree #albumsarecool? We've added the extra songs discussed here to ou...

We are BACK for Season 2! In sunny California, Babs has curated a particularly ecletic QOTSA playlist, while Fran introduces genre-blenders and exciting live act Grouplove. Babs' Chasing Time playlist of break-up bangers is over on Spotify . And to get a taste of what Grouplove are like live, check them out on YouTube . You can also find the playlist for this episode on Spotify - it includes all s...

For the last episode of season one, Fran and Babs are joined by a special guest, the multi-talented Matt Hoss: comedian, podcaster, Twitcher, author and lover of HAIR METAL!  Matt became enamoured with hair metal - or is it glam rock? - as a teenager, and still holds a torch for the genre. In this episode, he tries to convince us Skid Row should definitely be more famous (even though they're...

We've CONTINUED our discussion, picking twenty more overrated and underrated tracks by boy bands and girl bands...but this time, we have a special guest accompanying us! Dan Bull from the Track by Track podcast joins Fran and Babs and while the trio are in agreement for a lot of the overrated picks, the deep cuts lead to a few more disagreements...  You can find the playlist for this episode...

Yep, we've tweaked the format again 😁 this week we're discussing twenty overrated and underrated tracks by boy bands and girl bands from across the years...find out which boy band Babs gushed about for so long Fran had to cut 'about 20 mins' out and which notorious girl band's cover of The Smiths is Fran and Babs agree is 'not as bad as you would think....'? You can find the playlist for this epi...