65 episodes
The B-Sides The B-Sides
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- Music
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4.9 • 55 Ratings
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The B-Sides is a podcast for progressives who love pop music. Subscribe today wherever you listen to get biweekly musings from hosts Becky, Hannah, and Mimi on pop’s place in our world, and the music you should put in your ears to fuel your reckoning with the trashfires all around us.
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56. A Mailbag for the Road
We're back one last time with a bittersweet symphony to close out season 3 of the B-Sides.
In this mailbag episode, we're answering a flurry of questions, reading listeners' (almost exclusively Taylor Swift-related) comments, and ending with a favorite quote about how music sneaks up on us — and changes us.
Doing this podcast for the past four years in community with you all has changed us for the better. We love you and we thank you. 3
To stay with us beyond the podcast feed, make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here.
And our episode archive isn't going anywhere, so find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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55. Almost Famous: Nepo Siblings & the Pop World
On today's episode we talk about nepo-siblings. Who are they? And what creates a power imbalance?
Nepo-siblings are a rare breed. Being a nepo-sibling pair relies on talent from both siblings – what level of talent separates each sibling we’ll get into in today's ep. It also relies on a hustle from the “lesser” famous sibling – putting themselves on reality shows, trapping themselves in an elevator, and lip syncing on SNL. Join us for a discussion on three sets of siblings (Ariana/Frankie, Beyonce/Solange, & Jessica/Ashlee).
Links mentioned:
Frankie and Ariana Grande's "Seasons of Love"
Interview between Beyoncé and Solange
Plastic Off the Sofa/Cranes in the Sky Mashup
Our guest spot on the "And Introducing" podcast covering Jessica Simpson's Autobiography
Our episode about Avril Lavigne
Ashlee and Jessica Simpson sing "Little Drummer Boy"
Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review!
Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here.
Consider joining us on Patreon! You’ll receive one bonus episode a month and behind-the-scenes content.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-b-sides/message
And find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Buy B-Sides merch on TeePublic here.
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54. It's the Climb: Why Artists' Inflection Points Matter
There are moments in pop culture where an artist makes a choice - and there’s no turning back.
Those moments, those inflection points, remind us that nothing is inevitable or predetermined, and we are all a part of history.
Join us to unpack 4 inflection points in detail and name a buncha others.
Here are some links we mentioned:
Our episode about The Chicks
Hannah’s 2018 newsletter about Miley Cyrus
“Mariah Carey’s Glitter Era deserved better”
Our episodes where we unpacked Glitter a bit more, “Artflop and Glitter Bomb” and “What’s in a Feud”
Video of Michelle Williams falling and Beyonce and Kelly not caring
Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review!
Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here.
You can now leave us a voicemail! Click here to record a voicemail for us.
Consider joining us on Patreon! You’ll receive one bonus episode a month and behind-the-scenes content.
And find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Buy B-Sides merch on TeePublic here.
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53. Avril Lavigne: An Investigative Report
So sorry, but: Why'd she have to go and make things so complicated?
Avril is such a rare artist. She made a splash right away with Let Go, which had a rebellious yet old soul sort of vibe to it. And her early eras and albums are still so special to so many of us. She changed the moment, she was the moment, and, in some ways, she always will be. She opened doors almost immediately into 2000s alt rock and pop punk sub-genres in what used to be a far more monocultural world.
And yet, she hasn't evolved much herself as an artist over the last two decades. Instead, she regressed in some ways — at least from what we can see and hear and understand. The chaotically cool poetry in motion of Avril's Let Go and Under My Skin eras — the lyrics, sound, music videos, live performances, and core of who we thought she was — dwindled into something else later on. Her trajectory as an artist brings up all sorts of questions.
Questions about what artists can mean to us at a formative age; the validity of our expectations of them, consciously or not, as we all grow up; ageism, misogyny, the idea of a sellout and a label’s role in that; what makes a good gateway artist; what makes a good post-9/11 cultural void artist; what makes a conspiracy theory take off; can someone ever be cool again after marrying and divorcing the lead singer of Nickelback, even if she married and divorced the lead singer of Sum 41 first; and more. Join us as we pull on some of these threads...
Article and TV citations:
CNN — Avril Lavigne: Teen rocker of 2002
Nylon — How Avril Lavigne's Let Go Broke the Mold for '00s Teens
People — Avril Lavigne Recalls Making 2002's 'Let Go' as a Teenager: 'I Didn't Even Know What Hollywood Was'
Vanity Fair — “I’ve Always Had This Vibe”: Avril Lavigne on 20 Years Since Let Go
MTV — Total Request Live interview, August 2002
Thank you for subscribing, and consider leaving a review!
Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on Discord here.
You can now leave us a voicemail! Click here to record a voicemail for us.
Join us on Patreon! You’ll receive one bonus episode a month and behind-the-scenes content.
And find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Buy B-Sides merch on TeePublic here.
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52. New Year, New Artists We're Excited About
Now for something a little different: on today's podcast Mimi, Hannah and Becky take listeners through a few artists they're excited about. Getting yourself, or others, to listen to new artists can sometimes be a challenge. Our brains are literally hardwired to replay stuff we like and know. So let us do the hard work introduce you to some new artists including Renee Rapp, Omar Apollo, and Ethel Cain. Press play, sit back, and enjoy.
Listen to a playlist featuring all the artists on today's pod (shuffle or don't!)!
Thank you for subscribing, and consider leaving a review!
Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here.
You can now leave us a voicemail! Click here to record a voicemail for us.
Join us on Patreon! You’ll receive one bonus episode a month and behind-the-scenes content.
And find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Buy B-Sides merch on TeePublic here.
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51. Surveying the Super Bowl Halftime Show
First thing's first: Go birds; E-A-G-L-E-S; and Fly, Eagles, Fly.
Whew, okay. Here we find ourselves again at the intersection of music and sports. We're getting into the NFL's dreadful politics, we're gabbing about the iconic Super Bowl halftime shows of yore, we're speculating not-so-wildly about Rihanna's upcoming performance, and so much more.
Here in the show notes, we're also correcting the record: Lady Gaga *caught* the football at the end of her 2017 halftime show. Good for her. And if you're wondering why this note is here, listen on!
Thank you for subscribing, and consider leaving a review!
Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here.
You can now leave us a voicemail! Click here to record a voicemail for us.
Join us on Patreon! You’ll receive one bonus episode a month and behind-the-scenes content.
And find us everywhere you find your podcasts! Including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Buy B-Sides merch on TeePublic here.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-b-sides/message
Customer Reviews
Edutainment in its purest form
I love the B-sides for soo many reasons. I love having a forum about pop music. I love that it feels like I’m just chatting with friends. I love that it challenges me to think about how music is reflecting the good/bad/ugly of our culture. Such a fun and thoughtful listening experience!
bad audio quality, weird takes
This show was recommended by a podcast critic I follow so I gave it a try. I can’t recommend it for two reasons. I am not usually a stickler for sound quality, but I guess my standards are higher for podcasts about music because it really bothered me in this one. The audio quality is poor, silences haven’t been edited out, and there weren’t any clips in the episode I tried. In a music podcast! The huge silences made me think my podcast app had actually broken. It’s painful to listen to.
I could overlook it if the content was stellar, but the show also has some incredibly bizarre takes. Like, they imply that Taylor Swift is a predator or something because she occasionally writes about the sexualization of young people, especially in the entertainment industry? and say she must stop? when it’s just a thing that is relevant to Swift’s life and career? Fair if you just dislike a lyric, but to make insinuations about a pattern is beyond. It’s such a strange take that I wonder if this supposed “progressive”‘podcast is some sort of op…or if the hosts lack critical thinking so profoundly that they have been taken in by the right wing ops that push puritanical ideology through fan culture. Either way, I won’t be listening to or recommending this show.
One of my favorite podcasts!
The B-Sides have quickly become one of my favorite casts of 2019. They embrace pop music as more than "guilty pleasure" music, and talk frankly and honestly about how it impacts our lives. They also foster a really great online community on Facebook and Instagram!