What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

The Big Mates discuss liner notes, The Velvet Underground, being nice, and Dead Letter Office  by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by exploring the collection of b-sides they released in 1987. They talk about where each track came from, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differ...

The Big Mates provide exciting and tangential audio commentary for a selection of R.E.M. clips ranging from 1982 to 1986 . Confronted with very little  good footage of the Pageantry tour, Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss a range of clips, from news reports, live performances, interviews, and promos from across the band's career so far! There's also some grainy footage of their 1986 tour! H...

The Big Mates discuss Godzilla, a car crash, The Lion King, and Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by finishing up their track-by-track analysis of the band's fourth studio album, released in 1986. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opi...

The Big Mates discuss bedtime routines, contact lenses, gravity, and Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis of the band's fourth studio album, released in 1986. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, op...

The Big Mates discuss BIG NEWS, Band of Brothers, animals, and Lifes Rich Pageant 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 fourth studio album, released in 1986. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts...

The Big Mates provide lively and intellectual audio commentary for R.E.M. Live on Rockpalast in 1985. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of other, completely unrelated things) as broadcast on German TV.  They also dig into their thoughts surrounding R.E.M. this far into the season. A must! Head to YouTube to watch along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11GYpY1KEc...

The Big Mates discuss the U.S. civil war, Foo Fighters, aliens, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's third studio album, released in 1985. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up anal...

The Big Mates discuss Blink-182, Nick Drake, One Direction, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's third studio album, released in 1985. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis...

Adam sits down with music producer, songwriter, and artist Don Dixon to discuss his work as part of the producing team for Murmur and Reckoning by R.E.M. . They talk about how Don became a music producer, how he met Mitch Easter, and how he started working with R.E.M.. They look at the differences between the two albums, as well as the challenges they faced whilst making them.  They also touch on...

BONG. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY NEWS BROADCAST. The Big Mates  discuss the newly released album Wall of Eyes by Radiohead spin-off band, The Smile . They give their first impressions and pick some standout tracks. Join the conversation on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive...

The Big Mates provide insightful and inspiring audio commentary for R.E.M. Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, in June 1984. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of other, completely unrelated things) as broadcast on MTV.  It was filmed as part of a series on rock influences - this one focusing on folk rock. It features special guest appearances and R.E.M. previe...

The Big Mates discuss time travel, big diving, line dancing, and Reckoning by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by continuing and concluding their track-by-track analysis on the band's second album, released in 1984. They talk about R.E.M. going "full country," recording songs as in-jokes, and provide some more thrillin...

The Big Mates discuss foot injuries, binaural recording, the joy of knowing Jesus, and Reckoning by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's second album, released in 1984. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis,...

The Big Mates get festive. Join us for another Christmas of mostly the same stuff as the previous ones. Are you ready for Christmas? What's your favourite Christmas? What are your favourite Christmas songs? Is Die Hard having a Christmas movies? It's all here, and it's all the same! Some games, a round of guess the intro, and some mentions of the holiday season! We'll be having...

The Big Mates discuss head shapes, nostalgia, the sequel to Gladiator, and Murmur by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas conclude their track-by-track analysis on R.E.M.'s debut album, released in 1983. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply int...

The Big Mates discuss niche British TV theme tunes, inherent emotion, time signatures, and Murmur by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their track-by-track analysis on R.E.M.'s debut album, released in 1983. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from...

The Big Mates discuss small waveforms, portmanteaus, Muse, and Murmur by R.E.M . Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-track analysis on the band's debut album, released in 1983. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from...

The Big Mates provide casual and tangential audio commentary for R.E.M. Live at the Raleigh Underground 1982. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of other, completely unrelated things) as broadcast on TV. Shot on just two cameras and only recently remastered, the show offers an interesting glimpse into the early days of the band, performing here before they'd...

The Big Mates discuss the history of rock music, torn posters, pressing mistakes, and the early days of R.E.M. . Adam, Steve, and Lucas start at the beginning, talking about the individual members of R.E.M., how they grew up, and then follow them through the early days of music making in Athens, Georgie. They touch on the musical landscape of the time, the legacy of rock music, and chart the band&...

The Big Mates introduce Season 6 of the What Is Music? podcast. It's called " R.(w)E.M.joying This? : A Critical Analysis of the History, Cultural Impact, and Music of R.E.M. " Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their deep-dive exploration of R.E.M. by talking about their experiences with the band's music, and how much they already know. They then tackle some R.E.M. FAQs, discuss the...

The Big Mates discuss the O2, boybands, reality television, and catch-up with Billie Eilish . Adam, Steve, and Lucas jump back into the career of Billie Eilish to find out what she's been up to since they finished Season 3, Should Eilishen? They discuss songs written for a Pixar film, the 2 track EP Guitar Songs , her contribution to the soundtrack for Barbie , and also touch on her Happier T...

The Big Mates discuss queues to nowhere, calamari, tickets prices, and go to see Muse live at the O2. Adam, Steve, and Lucas travel to London in order to experience a live show by Muse at the O2 arena. They discuss their expectations, Muse's live prowess, and both their initial and considered reactions to the performance.  What do they play? Can Lucas put up with standing? Can Adam put up wit...

The Big Mates discuss socialising with the fellowship, Uatu the Watcher, lists, and their final thoughts on Lauryn Hill . Adam, Steve, and Lucas look back on the last 9 weeks of musical examination, place the career of Lauryn Hill into context, and discuss their feelings and opinions on her music. They take in critical reception, cultural impact, and sum up each album of the her discography. They...

The Big Mates offer incredibly relevant, illuminating, and trascendantly necessary audio commentary for a selection of music videos from across the career of Lauryn Hill . You can watch along with us here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhXxCEX31R9gHE7gDkQzZdmmEFotUx5qC&si=mc-w7_AzqBwk8rUI Our next episode is out on Monday October 16th and will see us wrap up the Lauryn Hill season and giv...

The Big Mates present one of their Patreon shows, on the main feed for the first time... 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,...