

Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs
Mark Blankenship & Sarah D Bunting
Mark Blankenship and Sarah D. Bunting are journalists, friends, and music fans who love talking about pop music of all stripes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 30, 2026 • 49min
The Dolly 64 E06: Round Of 32
The second half of our Dolly 64 Round Of 32 is still confronting the question of which Dolly Parton narrative voice is the most typical and/or dominant. It's also confronting hashtag coot songs, clarified Miracle Whip, the fine gradations of Tennessee mountain-home ownership, and identifying as kuntree without defensiveness. How many aprons does feminism wear? Listen and find out!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Episode 18: Led Zeppelin/Dread Zeppelin/Dolly Parton, "Stairway To Heaven"
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Mar 23, 2026 • 58min
The Dolly 64 E05: Round Of 32
"What a way to make a living," indeed -- the Dolly 64 Round Of 32 raises a lot of tough questions. Which Dolly are we talking about when we ask which song is the Dolliest? Which tracks unite the coffee shop, or go in a college syllabus? We've really got some feelings about pitiless Southern stories, meeting the old-coot brief, the importance of conveying tumescence in pop music, overrated crayons, and Barry Gibb's avant-garde prepositions, so listen now!
Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
America's Damp 40, Episode 04: The Roaring 20
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Mar 16, 2026 • 1h 2min
The Dolly 64 E04: Round Of 64
We're wrapping up the Dolly 64 opening round this week with songs that work better in theory than in practice, the difference between "not for me" and "not good," countrymaxxing without slagging "coastal elites," and Vrbo text art in song form. Is it weird that this is the section in which a Dolly Parton song finally bats a thousand points-wise? Maybe...but not really. Whatever you came in here looking like, listen now!
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Christine Ebersole sings "Single Women" on SNL
The Dolly 64 E03: Round Of 64
Beats Around The Bush, Episode 04: May The JVC Force Be With You
Episode 91: 2018 Oscars Best Song Nominees, Ranked (With Joe Reid!)
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Mar 9, 2026 • 1h 18min
The Dolly 64 E03: Round Of 64
The Dolly 64 season has reached perhaps the strongest bracket section in our third ep, with the joyful chaos of mis-alphabetizing, growers and showers in the holler, songs about things men don't want to hear, and multiple hauntings by Little Andy and the narrator of "The Bridge." Find out which Dolly Parton track got ranked "Richard Bachman," how to take control of a cover, and much more in our latest episode!
Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Extra Hot Great 316
The Dolly 64 E01: Round Of 64
"Encores! Shows Why Big River Isn't Coming Back Anytime Soon"
The Famous Ghost Monologues, No. 1: Resurrection Mary
"Miriam"
Episode 195: Dolly Parton's Underrated Hits
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Mar 2, 2026 • 59min
The Dolly 64 E02: Round Of 64
The Dolly 64 season continues with our second set of first-round contenders, including overplayed classics, underrated '80s gems, toothless platitudes, tempo no-man's lands, brand ambassadors to the Lord, and things Dolly Parton does well that might not make the first paragraph of her musicianship wiki. Here WE come again, and we hope you'll have a listen!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
The Crime Seen podcast
"How Willie Nelson Sees America"
Episode 195: Dolly Parton's Underrated Hits
Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 2: 1975-1990
Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 3: 1991-2006
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Feb 23, 2026 • 1h
The Dolly 64 E01: Round Of 64
Welcome to our Dolly 64 season -- in which we use a highly scientific*, legally binding* March Madness-style bracket to determine the most quintessential Dolly Parton track of all time! In our first episode, we make Final Four predictions, scheme in the style of Tammany Hall, wonder why Mark's parents aren't president, distinguish between country and kuntree, and honor the "old coot at the edge of town" Partonian subgenre. Daddy, come and get an all-new episode of MASTAS!
*...no
Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Dolly the sheep
March MASTAS: Britpop Edition
The "5 to 9" Squarespace ad
The "Sad Ass Songs" episode of Dolly Parton's America
Episode 62: "Ode To Billie Joe" And "Harper Valley PTA"
Episode 133: Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, "Islands In The Stream"
Just a couple of what Wikipedia diplomatically calls Chuck Berry's "controversies"
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Dec 22, 2025 • 1h 13min
Madonna's Studio Albums, Ranked Episode 2 (1998-2019)
It's Part 2 of our ranking of Madonna's studio albums! When did Madonna stop dictating the culture and start chasing it? When should listeners write to their Congressional reps over our heatmaps, and when are heatmap "yellows" actually "reds" but they're too boring to skip? We're not sure we can answer these questions...but we're pretty sure we know when it's time for the endeavor of rapping to cease. Get psyched or eff off: it's an all-new MASTAS episode.
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Madonna's Studio Album's Ranked, Episode 01
Madonna A to Z
The rumored 2026 Madonna project
Episode 107: Bond-Movie Songs, Ranked
Episode 3: Madonna, "Get Together"
Episode 211: Madonna, "Everybody" and "Medellín"
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Dec 15, 2025 • 1h 26min
Madonna's Studio Albums, Ranked Episode 1 (1983-1994)
Welcome to Part 1 of our ranking of all 15 of Madonna's studio albums! The Material Girl's woeful underrepresentation on our podcast continues, as we start with the eponymous Madonna and continue through Bedtime Stories. Along the way, we explain the ranking and heatmapping processes we used, and discuss MTV imprinting, the "dust bunnies" of otherwise-solid albums, how The Immaculate Collection shifted our perceptions of Madonna's '80s output, and that time the Good Lord Himself gave Mark permission to buy a record at WalMart. Limber up those skip-button fingers and join us!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Madonna A to Z
MB's review of The Man Nobody Killed at Best Evidence
Episode 36: Madonna's Immaculate Collection, Ranked
Lost Madonna Hits
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Sep 29, 2025 • 1h 22min
Billy Joel's "The Stranger," Ranked (with Dan Rogge!)
Dan Rogge is back (-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack) to help us discuss and rank William's 1979 breakthrough release, "The Stranger" -- complete with derogatory Lost In Translation references, mediocre parental reviews of jukebox musicals, coherent statements on alienation, Mrs. Dash sponcon, the sound of the Fortunoff elevator, and why Mark needed a looseleaf notebook at the gym. Grab some stale boardwalk popcorn, Virginia, because it's on!
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Billy Joel's "Glass Houses," Ranked (with Dan Rogge!)
Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 2: 1975-1990
America's Damp 40, Episode 05: 25 For Fighting
Extra Hot Great 571: Bringing Honesty To Billy Joel: And So It Goes
"Every Billy Joel Song, Ranked" at Vulture
The Middle Aged Dad Band covers "Vienna"
Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 1: "Amish Paradise"
Episode 109: Def Leppard, "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
"Only The Good Die Young (Alternate Version)"
Nathan Rabin explains the failure/fiasco spectrum
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May 26, 2025 • 1h 23min
Billy Joel's "Glass Houses," Ranked (with Dan Rogge!)
Don't ask us why* we decided to hurl a rock at William Joel's 1980 release, "Glass Houses" -- but we're ranking that album with the help of Ambassador To Long Island Pop Culture Dan Rogge. Along the way, we met a shark named Leyna, contemplated essential Billy-ness and Blondie cosplay, added to the list of songs Mark can't retain, and went behind the scenes of an ill-advised French mash note. Grab a "Monsieur Massapequa" tee and get your karaoke picks in; it's time for another MASTAS ranker!
*it was not the terrible news about the tour cancellation; we'd recorded well before that -- and we hope he's better soon!
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. Visit us on Patreon for more!
SHOW NOTES
Episode 111: Bruce Willis And Don Johnson (with special guests Dan and Tracie!)
MASTAS Presents: Money Can't Buy You Podcast 01, "Money Can't Buy You Class"
America's Damp 40, Episode 00: An Introduction
Episode 51: Billy Joel, "Sleeping With The Television On"
Billy Joel live in Uniondale
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