Earbuddies
by Mat and Tim
Latest episode
130. Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl and the Death of Songcraft
130. Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl and the Death of Songcraft
About this podcast
Music made them friends; now, it's making them podcasters. Join Mat and Tim at the intersection of music, culture, politics, and jokes.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 132 episodes
- 130. Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl and the Death of Songcraft · 43 minYou're only as hot as your last hit, baby. In this ep, Mat and Tim return from hiatus to discuss Taylor Swift's twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Is it great? Or is…
- REPLAY: Is There Anything Left To Say About The Beatles? · 1 h 5 minNote: Earbuddies will resume its regular schedule on Monday, April 21. – Get by with a little help from your buddies! In this ep, Mat and Tim finally – finally – talk about the…
- 129. A Complete Unknown: The Beginner's Guide to Tate McRae · 55 minIt's ok, we're ok! In this ep, Mat and Tim discuss – who else? – Tate McRae. Her third major label album debuted at the top of the Billboard chart, and she's being compared to a…
- 128. A Complete Unknown: The Beginner's Guide to Bob Dylan · 52 minHow does it feel?? In this ep, Mat and Tim discuss – at long last – Bob Dylan. But neither of them are Dylan Guys – instead, their discussion comes from the perspective of…
- 127. Shock n' Delight: Sabrina Carpenter's Vaudeville Pop Appeal · 57 minHave you ever tried *this* pod? In this episode, Mat and Tim share their admiration of Sabrina Carpenter – from her vaudeville-like persona to her inspired tunes. This episode…
- 126. The Primordial Power of Jock Jams · 55 minEverybody dance now! In this ep, Mat and Tim celebrate JOCK JAMS. What's so great about music for/about sports? Trust us, we get into it! SONGS PLAYED: Punch Brothers - Julep…
- REPLAY: The End of History: Music and Generative AI · 57 minNote: Earbuddies will resume its regular schedule on Monday, February 10. – We LOVE computers! But... In this ep, Mat and Tim share their feelings on the rise of generative…
- 125. Country's Cool Again: The State of the Genre in 2025 · 53 minOh my! Good lord. In this episode, Mat and Tim consider the state of country music in 2025 – what's working, what's not, and what you need to know about the genre everyone wants…
- 124. On Mastery · 55 minThat's so true! In this episode, Mat and Tim use Gracie Abrams's recent SNL performance as a jumping off point to discuss proficiency and mastery among pop music's most prominent…
- 123. Christmas Music: A Solution · 49 minMany happy returns! In this holiday episode, Mat and Tim consider why the Christmas music songbook has become so stagnant – then, after diagnosing the problems they see with the…
- 122. Wicked and the New Golden Age of Movie Musicals · 1 h 0 minYa got a podcast! With a capital P and that rhymes with E and that stands for Earbuddies. In this episode, Mat and Tim reflect on the rich history of movie musicals––from the…
- 121. Toxic Fan Culture is Getting Worse (with Grace Robins-Somerville) · 58 minOn October 29th, 2024, Pitchfork published Shaad D'Souza's lukewarm review of Halsey's new album, The Great Impersonator. The same day, Halsey took to social media and called…
- 120. Bittersweet and Strange, Finding You Can Change · 53 minWe're back! In this ep, Mat and Tim reflect on their time away from the pod – then they consider what the upcoming season of Earbuddies might look like thematically. Oh yeah…
- 119. Pop Girl Summer: Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli XCX · 42 minOr is it... Pod Buddy Summer? In this ep, Mat and Tim suspend their summer hiatus to catch up on a momentous season for pop music, spearheaded by Chappell Roan, Sabrina…
- 118. Leonard Bernstein: Speaking of Music · 32 minIn this season finale, Mat and Tim read excerpts from an article by Leonard Bernstein for The Atlantic entitled "Speaking of Music," published in December of 1957. Leonard's…
- 117. Mr. Left Turn: Jacob Collier & Musical Maximalism · 1 h 4 minThe British are coming! In this episode, Mat and Tim lead the Earbuddies Army to the battlefield. On the other side: the "21st Century Mozart," Jacob Collier. Who is he? What's…
- 116. Make-Out Tunes for the Serious Teenager · 46 minPucker up! In this ep, Mat and Tim reflect on a sub-sub-sub-genre of emo music that was, plain and simple, made for kissin'. (And for weeping over the kisses you'll no longer…
- 115. The Romance of the iPod · 30 minIn this solo ep, Tim's thinking different! He recalls the remarkable history of the iPod and the rise of the digital music era – and suggests that the golden age of music…
- 114. Why Doesn't Taylor Swift Write Hits Anymore? · 1 h 0 minYou smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Earbuddies should be a bigger podcast In this tortured ep, Mat and Tim share their preliminary thoughts about Taylor…
- 113. Rap City: How Hip-Hop Was Made Mainstream (with Alvin Jones) · 46 minIn this episode, Mat and Tim are joined by Alvin Jones, otherwise known as "The Unseen VJ" – the man who created Rap City, a long-running music video program on BET. He tells the…
