Nevermind the Music

Why can’t Mark keep the Batman films straight in his mind? This week, the light hits the gloom on Seal’s 1994 baroque pop gem “Kiss From a Rose.” Mark is fascinated by the clashes between major and minor in this song, and Nichole likens that to Jung’s shadow self that lurks in all of us.

Other music heard in this episode: Seal - “I Put a Spell on You”, Seal - “Crazy”, Seal - “Prayer for the Dying”, Push - “Lay...

When should “Crazy Mariah Carey Girl” be the first line on your resume? Music and tech executive-turned professor Bree Nguyen will tell us! On this Sidetrack, we talk with Bree about the crazy story of how one Mariah-obsessed teen was put in charge of online marketing for one of the greatest performers of all time, and turned it into a full career. Our conversation touches on wholesome fan communities, what Mariah likes to do...

Can a song be a hit when everyday people aren’t good enough to sing along? In this episode, we embarrass ourselves following along with Mariah Carey’s 1991 classic “Emotions.” Nichole goes deeper than she’s ever dreamed of about how we’re just meat puppets whose emotions are caused by a bunch of funny-sounding chemicals floating in our brains. Meanwhile, Mark is really into how Mariah goes higher than the heavens above. Also,...

What songs explain the twisted minds of our co-hosts? In this sidetrack, Mark and Nichole share the soundtracks to their own life stages. What toys was a young Mark obsessed with? Just how evil were Nichole’s middle school bullies? Tune in to feast on our exposed guts, and check us out next week for a regular episode!

Music heard in this episode: Dire Straits - “Money for Nothing”, Another Bad Creation - “Iesh...

Why did it take us so long to get to Taylor? Welcome to season 2 of Nevermind the Music! Here, we look under someone’s bed and pickup that old “Cardigan,” Taylor Swift’s vibey hit from 2020. Mark has found a dreamy rhythmic trick that Taylor and producer Aaron Dressner use to weave the music forward. Nichole looks backward, talking about different kinds of memory and how they make this a great COVID-era song and album. Also, obviou...

Has Mark finally gone too far? In this episode, we finally turn to Nirvana, with their iconic 1994 anthem “Lithium.” Mark writes a term paper on mic, putting his music theory skills to use for the forces of… good, or evil? Nichole takes things in a totally different but equally fancy direction, musing on solipsism, and how Kurt Cobain seems to have been exceptionally ego-dystonic for a rock star. Tune in to learn what the hec...

Can we nap to heavy metal? Did Evanescence save a plane full of people? Did we really miss the mark with Weezer? In this super-sized episode, we hear one last batch of listener questions for Season 1! Come back next week for the last regular episode of our first season!

Music heard in this episode: Luciano Berio - “Sinfonia: III - In ruhig fliessender Bewegung”, Evanescence - “Bring Me to Life”, Sugar Ray - “RPM”, LL Burns - “Do...

Why do we always keep coming back? Here we break down Post Malone’s 2019 summer jam “Circles.” Mark has some thoughts about how the melody feeds on itself, but Nichole would rather talk about what it would be like to “check out” and completely disengage from society. We dare you to DOOOOOO something!

Other music heard in this episode: Post Malone - “White Iverson”, Post Malone - “Rockstar”, Post Malone - “Psycho”, Post Malone - ...

Did either of us ever think we’d have an episode about psychics? For some reason, we have a fun conversation about paranormal mental abilities, what exactly we believe, and how it all connects to psychology. Come on back next week for a full episode!

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Don’t you just love a good beat switch? Here we pray to Dionne Warwick’s sneaky-fancy hit from 1967, “I Say a Little Prayer.” While Mark wants to marvel at the changing time signatures in this song, Nichole is most interested in what the song shows about the life situations of military families. Are these ideas related? Nichole certainly makes a good stab at explaining how they might be!

Other music heard in t...

What do pop stars and 19th-century opera composers have in common? Some of them are awful people! After avoiding it for months, we finally have the conversation about what it means to love music created by potentially terrible people. There’s a whole lot of Michael Jackson talk. No answers are found but a whole lot of interesting questions are raised. Tune in next week for a full episode!

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When is one note actually a bunch of notes? Here we listen closely to Green Day’s rock radio earworm “Waiting,” from 2000. Mark quite literally pulls apart some notes to figure out whether a chord is major or minor. And Nichole talks about why waiting is so hard in our modern age, and wonders if there is a better way. Also, does Nichole have perfect pitch? 

Other music heard in this episode: Green Day - “When ...

Which one of us broke the most laws for the sake of seeing a great show? In this sidetrack, we reminisce about some of our favorite concerts, some from years ago and some much more recent. Check us out next week for a full episode!

Music heard in this episode - The Flaming Lips - “She Don’t Use Jelly”, The Rise Against - “Give it All”, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - “Teach Your Children”, Gin Blossoms - “Hey Jealousy”, My Mo...

When we all fall asleep, where do we go? In this episode, we dig up Billie Eilish’s mysterious 2019 gem “Bury a Friend.” Mark shows how the song gets its creepy vibe in part by using some very simple and clever melodic tricks. Nichole talks about the monster under the bed and how nightmares can actually play a useful role in treatment. Also, why are lullabies so creepy?

Other music heard in this episode: Billi...

Hey, who ordered the nipple gong? In this sidetrack we celebrate the unusual instruments that grace us in pop music. From the hurdy-gurdy to the musical saw, underappreciated instruments, we salute you! Tune in next week for some normal instruments in a full episode!

Music heard in this episode: Kate Bush - "The Dreaming", Earth, Wind & Fire - "Evil", The Beach Boys - "I Know There'...

How do you do it? Here we meet in outer space with Incubus’ 2000 rock radio staple “Stellar.” Mark can’t get enough of how rhythmically confusing the song is, with different possible ways to count the beat. Nichole tries to figure out why that kind of thing tickles us so much, and how we change our attitudes and identity over time. Listen close and learn something about how stupid Mark was in high school…

Othe...

Who’s your favorite female trombone player? Male flautist? Here we talk about how some instruments are weirdly gendered, find out which girly instrument Mark tried to learn, and hear a bit from Nichole about the brain differences between the biological males and females. Is all this nature or nurture? See you next week for a full episode!

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Did I hear a music major alert? Grab your college degree and geek out with us about Lizzo’s 2019 soul/hip-hop hybrid “Cuz I Love You.” Mark can’t stop crying thinking about the musical foreshadowing that occurs in this song’s bombastic hook, and how that fits perfectly with its genre blending stew. Nichole brings it all together through cognitive biases, especially that pesky hindsight bias.

Other music heard ...