What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

Adam Scott Glasspool, Steve Murphy, Lucas Way
  • 4.6 (67)
  • MUSIC COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A podcast that dives deep into discographies - one artist per season. Hosts Adam, Steve, and Lucas go album by album, track by track, exploring how context shapes our experience of music, why fans become obsessed, and what music really is. With three hosts coming from wildly different levels of musical knowledge, expect sharp analysis, wild tangents, hot takes, and more information about the artists (and the hosts) than you ever asked for. Previous seasons featured Manic Street Preachers, Muse, Billie Eilish, Radiohead, Lauryn Hill, R.E.M., and Arctic Monkeys.

  1. 1D AGO

    Life's Too Good

    The Big Mates discuss speaking, growling, fasting, and Life's Too Good by The Sugarcubes.  Adam, Steve, and Lucas properly begin their deep-dive exploration of Björk by talking about her upbringing, her musical background, the influences she found whilst discovering music, and how she started off her career. They discuss the early days of her creative output, the many projects she engaged with in Iceland, and how she found her artistic voice. They then talk about The Sugarcubes and offer analysis, interpretation, and opinion on their first album, Life's Too Good. It's an exciting first step in this career-long deep-dive from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into music and analysis, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between! How did Björk get started? Is it benevolence or malevolence? When were The Beatles music? Find out on this episode of What Is Music? Our next episode is out next week, Monday June 1st, and we'll continue to tell the story of The Sugarcubes with their second album; Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show

    1h 43m

  2. MAY 18

    Season 8 Introduction: Do You All Is Full Of Love Us?

    Introducing Season 8 of the What Is Music? podcast, which is called "Do You All Is Full Of Love Us?: A Critical Analysis of the History, Cultural Impact, and Music of Björk". Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their deep-dive exploration of Björk by talking about their experiences with her music, their journeys with her over time, and what they know about her. They also talk about what they value in music and the roles it plays in their lives before exploring where Björk is from, the genres she operates in, and what made her stand out from her contemporaries. The season to come will be an album-by-album, track-by-track exploration of Björk's varied and storied career, the context around each release, behind-the-scenes stories of each recording session, a look at the legacy of the albums she has released, and a review of all of it, complete with scores, rankings, and lists! It promises to be exhaustive, informative, and fun as we approach the Björk discography from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between! What do we already know about Björk? What are we most excited to talk about? What's making us nervous? Find out on this episode of What Is Music? The season continues next week, Monday May 25th, and we'll look at the early days of Björk and her first album with The Sugarcubes! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show

    1h 15m

  3. MAY 11

    We Went to See Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) in 3D at the Cinema

    The Big Mates discuss the cats, burgers, popcorn, and the new Billie Eilish film. Adam, Steve, and Lucas met in person for the first time in decades to go and see Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D). They discuss the film, its focus, its direction, the performance, and its use of 3D! Our next episode is out next Monday, May 18th, and will see us begin a brand new season!  Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show

    42 min

  4. MAY 4

    Who Is Music?: The Reckoning

    The Big Mates look to the future of the podcast by kicking off a tournament to decide the artist covered in a future season of What Is Music? Adam, Steve, and Lucas reveal the participants for the forthcoming competition and set the first round of matches. These head-to-heads will take place daily, starting on Tuesday May 5th.  The matches will be voted on by you, our listeners, and will take place exclusively on our Patreon - but you only need a Free Membership to participate. Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod to sign up! The matches kick off at 6pm (UK time) each day, and voting will be open until 5pm (UK time) the following day. The semi-finals and the Grand Final will take place at a later date.  Who have the Big Mates picked? Who have the listeners picked? Who is music? Find out on this episode of What Is Music? To vote - head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and sign up for a Free Membership, or a paid membership if you prefer! All paid memberships come with access to our subscriber-only Discord server where you can discuss the matches and their results with other listeners and Adam, Steve, and Lucas! Support the show

    1h 2m
  5. Album Club: U2 - The Joshua Tree

    APR 27

    Album Club: U2 - The Joshua Tree

    Now on our main feed, we present to you The WIM Album Club, with an episode we released on our Patreon earlier this year. The episode is a classic WIM deep-dive into the album The Joshua Tree by U2 and features all of the usual discussion, analysis, commentary, history, insight, and tangents you've come to expect from the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to our Patreon to hear more episodes on a range of different artists, in different genres, from different countries and eras. Going to https://www.patreon.com/whatismusicpod and subscribing at the Bigger Mates tier or higher will get you instant access to all of the Album Club episodes we've released so far. That's just £5 a month! It also gives you the opportunity to submit your own choice of albums for possible future episodes, and means you can get involved in the discussion!   Our next episode is out next Monday, May 4th and features details on how you can help us shape a forthcoming season of the podcast! Support the show

    4h 9m

  6. APR 20

    Arctic Monkeys Final Thoughts

    The Big Mates discuss and conclude their thoughts on Arctic Monkeys and their career.  They bring a year-long journey to a close, with thoughts on the sound, story, and attitude of the band, a recap of each of their albums and moods, and a look at their impact and legacy.  Thank you all for joining us! Our next episode is out next Monday! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show

    3h 45m

  7. APR 13

    Arctic Monkeys Music Videos

    The Big Mates watch all of Arctic Monkeys' music videos in one sitting.  You can watch along with us here: www.bilibili.com/video/BV1AiQWBqEkR/ Or you can just listen without watching anything - that works too! Or you could make your own playlist - scroll down to see which videos we covered! Our next episode will see us wrap-up and offer final thoughts on the whole 7-album, 22-year career of Arctic Monkeys and is out on Monday April 20th! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon! Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion! Support our show when starting your own podcast! By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379 Check out our merch! https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com Donate to our podcast! https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/ The videos we watch in this episode are: Fake Tales of San Francisco I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor When the Sun Goes Down The View From the Afternoon Leave Before the Lights Come On Brianstorm Fluorescent Adolescent Teddy Picker The Age of the Understatement Standing Next to Me My Mistakes Were Made For You Crying Lightning Cornerstone My Propeller Brick By Brick Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala Suck It and See Evil Twin Black Treacle You and I R U Mine? Do I Wanna Know? Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? One For the Road Arabella Snap Out of It Bad Habits Everything You’ve Come to Expect Aviation Miracle Aligner Is This What You Wanted Les Cactus This Is Your Life Four Out of Five Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino There’s Better Be a Mirrorball Body Paint I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am Sculptures of Anything Goes Support the show

    2h 40m
  8. INTRODUCING: Welcome to Twin Peaks

    APR 8

    INTRODUCING: Welcome to Twin Peaks

    Welcome to Welcome to Twin Peaks: A Twin Peaks Podcast for Beginners. Join Adam and Steve as they put on their investigation trenchcoats, pour a hot steaming cup of coffee, and dive into the world of Twin Peaks. In this first episode they introduce the podcast, the season to come, and their relationship with Twin Peaks and David Lynch. They discuss their knowledge of the show, including its place in culture at the time it was released and now, the vibe of the show, and whether or not the coffee is “damn good” or “damn fine.” They look at the episodes to come, which Adam has seen many times before and Steve has never seen in his life! The second episode of this brand new podcast venture is out right now! We discuss the Pilot of Twin Peaks and begin digging into the mystery. Head to https://welcometotwinpeaks.buzzsprout.com and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! In the meantime… Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcometotwinpeaksuk Visit our website: https://welcometotwinpeaks.buzzsprout.com/  Support the show

    45 min
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Trailer

4.6
out of 5
67 Ratings

About

A podcast that dives deep into discographies - one artist per season. Hosts Adam, Steve, and Lucas go album by album, track by track, exploring how context shapes our experience of music, why fans become obsessed, and what music really is. With three hosts coming from wildly different levels of musical knowledge, expect sharp analysis, wild tangents, hot takes, and more information about the artists (and the hosts) than you ever asked for. Previous seasons featured Manic Street Preachers, Muse, Billie Eilish, Radiohead, Lauryn Hill, R.E.M., and Arctic Monkeys.

Information

  • Creator
    Adam Scott Glasspool, Steve Murphy, Lucas Way
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    335
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music
  • Show Website
    What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

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