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In this episode we look at The Ringer's 60 songs that explain the 90s.

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Hey Pod lovers. I’m your host Marie and If you’re joining us for the first time: Welcome! The Mastercast is a podcast recommendation show that brings you a brand new non-spoiler binge-worthy review every week of the best podcasts in a short and sweet 2-3 minute summary on everything you could want to know, from the number of hosts to on average how long you can expect each episode to be. New episodes come out every Monday. You can find the week’s other reviews on the show’s social on Instagram @themastercast and Twitter @mastercastpods. If you like what you hear and want to help out this independent show you can find me on Buy me a coffee by searching The Mastercast. I’d really appreciate it. This week’s review is on

60 songs that explain the 90s

This gem from The Ringer and hosted by music critic Rob Harvilla is a laugh-out-loud and witty look at songs that defined the 1990s. In every episode, a song is chosen and then covered in its entirety including things such as artist details, the state of society, and even some anecdotes from Harvilla himself about personal experiences he had with the songs and their artists when the songs came out. It also looks at the evolution of music overall, the bigger picture. Another big segment of the show is the last portion where a guest brings a new perspective. Some past guests have included singer-songwriter Amanda Shires and The New York Times’ Caryn Ganz, to name a few. Harvilla is a cultural expert crossing topics and making analogies that you wouldn’t have thought but everyone gets. His casual rhythm and brutal honesty about his biases are a huge reason the podcast is likely to make my list of top ten for 2023. Another is that it is both for those who fondly recall this decade as a time they live through and those who are only discovering the impact of its films, music, and other culture. Even if you grew up with this music, all the history and context gives you so much more to appreciate. There are some unusual characteristics the show has. For one there’s no clean or clear intro with music or a statement about what show you’re listening to. I think it adds to the casual conversation feel the pod has. There are also brief plays of the songs discussed in short clips which seem to line up with a misconception that music played in short bursts legally under the fair use laws. It seems like a pretty glaring error for The Ringer to make so maybe they have a special licensing that allows them to play short clips? I won’t rule it out but most podcasts you hear do it are just willing to risk a Cease and Desist notice. Either way, I love that the music is included and often a single episode takes me two hours to listen to because I stop to listen to every song mentioned. So far the show has an average star of 4.6 with 206 Ratings. Generally, episodes come out weekly but one hasn’t been released since FEB 22, 2023. Lucky for us the show has surpassed the number of episodes its title suggests. Currently, it sits at 91 but is rumored to be continuing to 120 after the show’s massive success. Each are about an hour and twenty minutes long on average. My favorites have been “Firestarter”—The Prodigy, “Killing In The Name''—Rage Against The Machine, and Outkast—“Rosa Parks”. Obviously, the show has an incredible range of genres covered but when doing any sort of music history-style project I don’t think it's possible to satisfy everyone. I’m sure anyone who listens will be begging to know why so-and-so wasn’t covered. There isn’t a pod where the episodes have to be listened to in order. You can skip episodes you don’t find interesting although I challenge you to give them a try. Maybe you’ll find an appreciation for the song you didn’t know you had. I’m going to include some links temporarily in the show notes that you should check out including the show’s website which has programming notes and transcript excerpts for each episode. There’s also a companion playlist of all the songs mentioned on Spotify. It also seems a private party has made one on Youtube Music. I think it’s pretty clear how cool I think this show is by the page-long review but please check it out. Let’s collectively keep our fingers crossed for a “90 songs that explain the aughts.”

Similar pods include: Questlove Supreme, History of the 90s, and Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums.

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