Play Record Podcast

When does a cover song make you hear the original for the first time?

This week, we’re talking about covers that don’t just recreate a song — they take it somewhere completely different.

*Content note:* We briefly discuss themes of domestic violence and murder while talking about Eminem’s “’97 Bonnie & Clyde” and Tori Amos’s reinterpretation.

Beyoncé turns Dolly Parton’s &ldqu...

Can music connect you to a culture you grew up with — or one you didn't?🎶 Playlist here: https://playrecordpodcast.sdz.sh/hispanic-heritage-month

Here are the artists we discuss in this episode:

- Juan Gabriel

- Morrissey

- The Smiths

- Alice Bag / The Bags

- Julio Iglesias

- Ricky Martin

- Rage Against the Machine / Zack de la Rocha

- Shakira

- Bad Bunny

- Ceshia Ubau

- Los Lobos

- Ritchie Valens

- CECI CECI

- Violeta Parra

- Víctor Jara

- ...

Tom Waits has new music. And somehow, his collaboration with Massive Attack feels both completely unexpected and like it was always supposed to happen.

On this edition of What’s on the Turntable, Tyler takes us through “Boots on the Ground” and “The Fly,” the new two-song release from Tom Waits and Massive Attack. We talk about why Massive Attack's dark, ominous sound fits so naturally around Waits, why...

🎙️ What Songs Are in Your Emotional First Aid Kit?

What song do you reach for when you're having a bad day and coffee just isn't doing the trick anymore?

🎙️Listen to the playlist here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ydoJqA76BdJVfQR6ouD0d?si=KEioUII7SrCZIt3pdHl2hw&utm_source=copy-link&pi=g6SE_RPFRDuVO

Inspired by the idea of creating an “emotional first aid kit,” from the NY Times article, "The Best Advice I've...

What song do you wish you could go back in time and give to your 16-year-old self?

🟢 Listen to the Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6yfsIeyiKMZP9HUOQXzube?si=8c39fed4dc5e45a8

This week, we're building a playlist for the teenagers we used to be: songs we somehow missed when we were young, along with newer music we think our teenage selves needed to hear.

We talk about discovering The Replacements years too late...

🎙️ Are We Too Old to Discover New Music?

There was a time when discovering new music meant mixtapes from friends, trusted radio DJs, flipping through Spin or Rolling Stone, or taking a chance on an entire album because you liked one song. Now we have Spotify algorithms, Shazam, YouTube, social media, and a seemingly endless supply of music at our fingertips.

But does having access to more music actually mean we're discovering more o...

Tori Amos has been making music for more than three decades. So why do we still compare every new Tori Amos record to Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, and Boys for Pele?

For this edition of What’s on the Turntable, Jess brings Tori Amos’s new album In Times of Dragons, a record about power, patriarchy, aging, change, and finding a way forward in a world that can feel increasingly threatening.

We talk about the story b...

Have you ever heard a song you've loved for years...only to realize it means something completely different now?

In this episode of Play Record, we're talking about the songs that changed because we changed. Some took on new meaning after growing older. Others hit harder because of life experiences, relationships, parenthood, or simply paying closer attention to the lyrics.

From Cat Stevens and David Bowie to Rod Stewart, Pulp, Again...

🎙️ The Best Road Trips Aren't Really About the Destination

What makes the perfect road trip playlist, and who gets control of the music?

In this episode of Play Record, Jess and Tyler look back at the music that soundtracked their most memorable drives, from Tyler’s late-night trips across the desert between Southern California and Las Vegas to the scenic coastal drives they later took together through Monterey and along Highw...

🎙️ *Did 90s Music Turn Us Into Slackers?*

Were 90s teenagers really slackers, or did the music just make it seem that way?

In this episode of Play Record, we explore how the music of the '90s shaped our generation. From grunge and ska to songs that made us feel rebellious, misunderstood, or nostalgic before we even knew what nostalgia was, we ask whether the soundtrack of our teenage years influenced how we saw ourselves and how the...

We were wrong about these songs, and we're not afraid to admit it.

In this episode of Play Record, we take up the question of what creates the cringe factor in certain songs, and what leads us to eventually say, "Actually, this is pretty great."

Tyler gets a little fired up about music snobbery and makes some recommendations about feral cats, and Jessica confronts her past self's interest in Limp Bizkit.

We also discuss one of our fa...

What makes the perfect nighttime pool party mix?

In this episode of Play Record, we dive into the songs we put on the ultimate after-dark pool playlist. Not the loud, chaotic daytime pool party soundtrack, but the songs that hit just right when the sun goes down and the pool lights come on.

We share some of our favorite picks, debate what belongs on a nighttime pool mix, and explore the difference between songs that make you want t...

What makes the perfect unrequited love mixtape? Listen to our Unrequited Love Mixtape here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HT...

In this episode of Play Record, we dive into the songs that belong on a mix for someone who may never know how you felt, the difference between heartbreaking songs and songs that simply remind you of a person, debate what makes the cut on an unrequited love mix, and share some of our own picks.

Along the...