What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

BONG. In this bonus episode The Big Mates discuss the newly released album Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers - out today! They give their first impressions on the album and the individual tracks, compare it to previous works, and try and figure out some of the themes and subjects the band explore.  Purchase or Stream Critical Thinking now - and come and let us know what you think... Join...

The Big Mates discuss commercial pressure, word sandwiches, revenge fantasies, and Accelerate by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's fourteenth studio album, released in 2008. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opini...

The Big Mates discuss modern rock music, digital promotion, tiny umbrellas, and Accelerate by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's fourteenth studio album, released in 2008. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions,...

The Big Mates discuss introductions, bullies, beef, and Live at the Olympia , a live album by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by deviating from the timeline and exploring the document of the band's "public rehearsals" in Dublin in 2007. They talk about what R.E.M. did after Around the Sun , the time they spent apart,...

The Big Mates provide fun and cool audio commentary for R.E.M. Live , the live video release by R.E.M. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live album and film as originally presented on CD and DVD and also dig into how it was made, how R.E.M. performed the songs from Around the Sun , and explore the whole 2005 World Tour . Dig out those official DVDs to watch along... Or don't - the episode wo...

The Big Mates discuss death threats, protest songs, milk toast, and Around the Sun by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's thirteenth studio album, released in 2004. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and th...

The Big Mates discuss Coldplay, Maroon 5, Robbie Williams, and Around the Sun by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's thirteenth studio album, released in 2004. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts...

The Big Mates present one of their Patreon shows on the main feed... The Ultimate Playlist . Join us as we continue to explore a broader range of music from many genres and numerous artists, with each month focusing on 8 songs centred around a different theme. Each host picks 2 songs, and 2 songs come from our subscribers! The theme is picked randomly from a pool of subscriber suggestions, but for...

The Big Mates present one of their Patreon shows on the main feed... The Ultimate Playlist . Join us as we explore a broader range of music from many genres and numerous artists, with each month focusing on 8 songs centred around a different theme. Each host picks 2 songs, and 2 songs come from our subscribers! The theme is picked randomly from a pool of subscriber suggestions, but for these episo...

The Big Mates get festive once again. Join us for another Christmas of mostly the same stuff as the previous ones. Are you ready for Christmas? Are you feeling Christmassy? What are your favourite Christmas songs? Plus, we explore some of the festive offerings from R.E.M. from across their whole career! It's all here, and it's all the same! Some games, some memories, and some mentions of...

Adam and Steve are joined by April Richardson for a far-reaching, fun chat about teenage obsession, problematic artists, magazine wallpaper, stadium bands, reformations, the American south, Brighton, performing comedy, cultural webs, and R.E.M. Our next episode is out on Monday December 16th! Find more of April here: https://www.patreon.com/aprilrichardson Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https:...

The Big Mates provide sparkling and artistic audio commentary for Perfect Square , the live video release by R.E.M. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the film as originally presented on DVD and also dig into how it was made, how R.E.M. have progressed as a live band, and explore the whole 2003 World Tour . Dig out those official DVDs to watch along... Or don't - the episode works fine either way...

The Big Mates discuss writing home, adolescence, compilations and Reveal by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's twelfth studio album, released in 2001. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from t...

The Big Mates discuss blood collection, hot weather, Frutiger Aero, and Reveal by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's twelfth studio album, released in 2001. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts fr...

The Big Mates provide large and damp audio commentary for R.E.M. at  Glastonbury Festival 1999 . Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the band's first headline performance at the legendary festival, as broadcast on the BBC. They also dive into 1999 World Tour. Head here to watch along: https://youtu.be/DurDZkK58VE?si=uo6cKiROHH1kBJVy Or don't - the episode works fine either way! Our next episo...

Adam chats with Peter Ames Carlin to discuss music biographies, legendary musicians, and his new book, The Name Of This Band Is R.E.M. . Peter is an acclaimed author and biographer, known for his deep dives into the lives of music legends like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Brian Wilson. His books are celebrated for their meticulous research, insightful storytelling, and the way they captu...

The Big Mates discuss night shifts, Batman, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and Up by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's televenth studio album, released in 1998. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and...

The Big Mates discuss retrofuturism, The Amazing Spider-man, rude dealers, and Up by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by continuing their analysis of the band's eleventh studio album, released in 1998. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoug...

The Big Mates discuss TikTok podcasts, Clip art, automatic writing, and Up  by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their analysis of the band's eleventh studio album, released in 1998. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from...

Join us as we introduce our new show, The WIM Album Club , available exclusively on our Patreon. Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and subscribe now at the £5 "Bigger Mates" Tier or higher to get access to this brand new monthly podcast! Every month we're going to explore a new album, randomly selected from a pool of classics, popular albums, albums the hosts have submitted, and al...

The Big Mates discuss microbiomes, Bandcamp, quick looks, and INTIMISM by Nicky Wire . Adam, Steve, and Lucas return to the subject of their first season in order to catch up on the extra-curricular activities of Nicky Wire , the bassist and chief lyric writer of Manic Street Preachers . They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the albums, and offer up analysis, o...

The Big Mates take a brief pause to discuss ratings, rankings, audience demands, and the career of R.E.M. from 1988 - 1996 . Adam, Steve, and Lucas talk about their feelings so far on the band, having now covered the five records that encompass the first half of their career at Warner Bros. They place each album previously covered into the context of this era, they return to each album with more e...

Adam and Steve chat with Ethan Kaplan to discuss the founding of Murmurs.com, collaborating with the band, and the nature of online fandom. They talk to Ethan about his musical journey to R.E.M. , the nascent days of internet fandom, and how a chance meeting with Michael Stipe led to the creation of the primary R.E.M. fansite. Ethan talks about how that fansite led to him becoming a collaborator a...

The Big Mates combat audio issues to provide serene and chaotic audio commentary for New Adventures in Hi-Fi - Stereophonic on Film by R.E.M. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the electronic press kit, as produced in 1996 and also answer questions sent in by the listeners! Head to this link to watch along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD3Br2GZnpY&ab Or don't - the episode works fine eithe...

The Big Mates discuss heart, fatigue, goodbyes, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi  by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by concluding their analysis of the band's tenth studio album, released in 1996. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from...