

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

Sep 30, 2024 • 42min
Pop Goes The Actor 4: '80s Movie Gents
This week's crop of actor-musician hyphenates got their thespian starts in films of the 1980s: Corey Feldman, Keanu Reeves (Dogstar), Kevin Bacon (the Bacon Brothers), and Kiefer Sutherland. Copyright-compliant Gin Blossoms tracks and workout-cooldown music prompted thoughts about perfectly good outdoor-restaurant entertainment, the artistic practice that capitalism tries to stifle, and whether pretty boys want to be told they're smart (and vice versa). Strange things are afoot at the Circle MASTAS, so grab one of Kiefer's hats and have a listen.
Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne; special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
Harsh but fair, Discogs commenter TwoOneFive
"Comeback King" by Corey Feldman
'90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 04: Romeo + Juliet
River's Edge
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sep 23, 2024 • 48min
Pop Goes The Actor 3: Comedians
Do you love to laugh? Then fall down the ha-ha hole that is Pop Goes The Actor's third episode! This week, we're looking at comedians who tested the pop waters, including a Blues Brother, Eddie Murphy, Tracey Ullman, and Jack Black. Acting range, the cult of mid-'70s SNL, finding unexpected IQ points in a song you've heard a dozen times, and which instrument is the creme fraiche of blues tracks -- and much more. Someone here is from Jersey, so order your minimum two drinks and listen!
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli; special thanks to Amanda, and to Terri. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
The "limberjack dolls" SDB was trying to think of the name for
Daphne Merkin goes deep for the Times on "jolie-laide" (gift link)
The Dragnet rap, a staple of morning drive-time radio at that time
This Had Oscar Buzz on Bernie
Our Weird Al vs. Everybody season
"Whatzupwitu"'s Wikipedia page
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sep 16, 2024 • 40min
Pop Goes The Actor 2: Ladies of the Small Screen
Oh yes it's ladies' night on the second episode of Pop Goes The Actor...but IS the feeling right? Sometimes! We wend our way through copyright-compliant bugle boys of Company Wonder Woman, the adorkable Zooey Deschanel, Shelley Fabares's evident terror, Marla Gibbs's appealing blood-thinner ad, and a track from Cybill Shepherd that puts the "no" back in "bossa nova." Throw that sax in a dumpster and join us for legitimate fun vs. snarky fun, the sexual politics of Camelot-era pop, and the timeline where Rosemary Clooney is good.
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne, and special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
Pop Goes The Actor 1: '70s Sitcoms
Extra Extra Hot Great on Fallout
More on the Relatives
Colleen Stan, aka "the girl in the box"
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sep 9, 2024 • 51min
Pop Goes The Actor 1: '70s Sitcoms
Pop Goes The Actor: a mini-season about thespians who tried (and sometimes succeeded at!) being pop musicians. In our premiere episode, we're talking about Jeff Conaway (Taxi), Donny Most (Happy Days), Esther Rolle (Good Times), Ted Knight (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs (Welcome Back, Kotter) -- as well as smorgasbords of grunting, when a stew has all the right ingredients and yet no taste, how long vaudeville literacy persisted, perceptions of the primetime monoculture, and all the places pop songs think we should be boinking. Grab a Tab and rotary-dial into our latest ep!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne, and special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
Episode 27: Patrick Swayze feat. Wendy Fraser, "She's Like The Wind"
Episode 111: Bruce Willis And Don Johnson (with special guests Dan and Tracie!)
Beats Around The Bush Single: The Hip-Hop-to-Acting Pipeline
Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 7: Footnotes and Odd Lots
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jul 22, 2024 • 56min
'90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 04: Romeo + Juliet
1996's Romeo + Juliet seemed like a slam-dunk ending to our soundtrack mini-season...but we have regrets! Epcot industrial music, lazy versions of Shakespeare, the psychotic hormonal jangling of youth, Scandinavian cultural crimes, and the returns of Teddy Ruxpin AND No Middle Ground with Paul Quinn accompany our struggling to remember the Wallflowers, and to decide whether it's possible for a song to be disgusting. Sidle up to an aquarium and have a listen!
Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas!
SHOW NOTES
Where to watch Romeo + Juliet (though we don't advise it)
The short, sad life of Quindon Tarver
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jul 15, 2024 • 1h 23min
'90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 03: Forrest Gump
This episode is, we suppose, like a box of chocolates, because technically you don't know what you're going to get, but we can tell you we're talking about the ubiquitous Forrest Gump soundtrack. Remembering top-loader VCRs, #justiceforJenn, powering through overplay, how long sixties soul acts gave themselves to get drawers on the floor, and songs Muppets sing at you. What does it sound like when the Beach Boys sing a New Yorker article about pirates? Find out with our latest episode!
Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne; interstitial music by Classics IV. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas!
SHOW NOTES
Where to watch Forrest Gump
Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 1: 1959-1974
John Fogerty not about certain pols' use of "Fortunate Son"
Episode 45: Gladys Knight And The Pips, "Midnight Train To Georgia"
Episode 195: Dolly Parton's Underrated Hits
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jul 8, 2024 • 1h 11min
'90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 02: Pulp Fiction
The '90s Soundtrack Flashback season is bustin' surfboards with Pulp Fiction, 1994's omnipresent Quentin Tarantino joint. After talking about how the movie itself holds up (spoiler: really well!), we move on to fights with the Ventures, QT's trademark alternate timelines, how epic moments are inevitably punctuated by frump, at-the-bank audio wallpaper, and Peanuts-apron guy's moment of glory. C'est la vie, say the rankings, so have a listen!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne; for more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
Where to watch Pulp Fiction
SDB's review of Lonely Hearts at Best Evidence
SDB's piece for Slant Magazine on "Void movies"
The teen-idol bracket
Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 4: The Last 15
Episode 43: The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, Ranked
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jul 1, 2024 • 1h 8min
'90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 01: Singles
Welcome to our '90s Soundtrack Flashback mini-season! We're ranking the soundtrack albums from four legendary 1990s movies, starting with grunge-adjacent rom-com Singles. We waded into the great plaid middle of this disc to talk about the insouciance of Cameron Crowe stories, when it's okay for grunge gods to laugh, the conversation between this genre and punk (and Zep), and "hard rock for the school bus." Grab a Crystal Pepsi and a flannel buttondown and join us!
Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne; interstitial music by Alice In Chains. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
Where to watch Singles
This one didn't make the Poppy-Fields Couch of Fame...but Almost Famous did
Episode 239: The Replacements, "Alex Chilton" (with Taylor Cole)
"The hell are cross tops?"
MB and SDB talk Mark Yarm
Mark Yarm talks Hozier for the New York Times
N...ot the Melrose soundtrack MB meant
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 22, 2024 • 23min
Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 23: "Word Crimes"
"Blurred Lines," the sound of the summer of 2013, is compared (unfavorably) with a cold sore in today's episode, which pits Robin Thicke, TI, and Pharrell against Weird Al's screed against bad grammar and usage errors. Despairing of Shazam, continuing to die on the hill of "irregardless," and the tyranny of younger siblings over the #oldladywalk playlist...we're working through all of it, AND figuring out who's going to "win" the season. It would be a Class-Y felony to miss it, so listen now.
Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by Aimee Mann. For more information/to become a patron of the show and hear all episodes of this season, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
"What...is this thing?" Start at the beginning!
ThickeCorp's "Blurred Lines" video
Weird Al's "Word Crimes" video
More on the copyright/royalties battle
Whose side are you on, NPR??
Slate breaks down all the aforementioned crimes
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 15, 2024 • 29min
Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 21: "Smells Like Nirvana"
Thirty years after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and their music still feel very close. Does that have anything to do with Weird Al's equally "defining" parody, a track that let Al "sell out" again after the disastrous UHF experience...with a band at the bleeding edge of the sell-out conversation? The shroud of tragedy, the performance of self, rebellious chaos, and ballerina tutus: better get to the gym, y'all! It's an all-new MASTAS.
Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Hole. For more information/to become a patron of the show and hear all episodes of this season, visit patreon.com/mastas.
SHOW NOTES
"What...is this thing?" Start at the beginning!
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video
Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana," which...will probably look familiar
WAvE Episode 20: "The Saga Begins"
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


