Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

The Record Of The Year Showdown comes down to this...and there's not a ton of surprises here, probably, but there IS the wall of history, the wisdom of (drunk, stoned New York City) crowds, shared musical language, the "Somebody" multiverse, and Sarah's zombie mom. So, you know: Monday. Everyone's a winner in the battle of head vs. heart as we crown a ROTY champion in our season finale. Our intro is by Whitrew Byrnston, and our outro is by the Pet Shop Boys. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 America's Damp 40, Episode 1 Episode 69 (...nice): Bryan Adams, "Summer of '69" Gotye live on KCRW Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mark's shenanigans aside, we had an easier time ranking our semifinal group than we'd expected -- but we didn't necessarily expect to go on a sentimental journey with TLC, Sarah Palin's nephew LARP Jr., cutesy Aretha, braided beards, and an open invitation to Gotye to come on/edit the podcast. But a full moon and Sarah's all-covers clip choices put us on the emotional road to our season finale. Don't worry, we will still always love you (and have not gotten killed by John Ramos) in our penultimate ROTY episode. Our intro is by Whitnaurack Bargellston, and our outro is by Deee-Lite. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 King Killer Studios The KKS Thriller Tribute Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" Linda Clifford's disco "Bridge" cover Leo Moracchioli's metal "Rolling In The Deep" "Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"This'll be cinchy! [cut to: sobbing]" We thought we'd have a more straightforward time of our quarterfinal rankings, but alas, no. We did have a Whitney-koan reader mail, a visit from Katharine Hepburn, the aural equivalent of a sped-up Bob Ross episode, and music-minister shout-outs before Julio got the stretch and carted off four more beloved songs. Grab a fine-tooth comb and join us for Episode 8 of the Record Of The Year Showdown. Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outro is by the Sundays. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 Rev. Mark Miller leaving it all on the field at Barbara Bunting's memorial (jump to 7:44) Bob Ross at 8x speed "Sugar, We're Goin' Down," '80s-style Episode 111: Bruce Willis and Don Johnson Episode 106: Turnerdome! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More like the BITTER-sweet 16, the episode that forces hosts and listeners alike to make terrible choices, as well as rank things politically, salute album-cover pets of yore, choose which Adele hills to die on, pit Henry Mancini against Leonard Nimoy, mourn the consensus "blech," and dodge the ire of John Ramos whilst deploying Emilio Estevez fist-pumps. Is today a "Beat It" day, or is Sunny coming home to Mark Ronson's name on her mailbox? Lace up those skates, boo: it's Episode 7 of the Record Of The Year Showdown. Our intro is by Andrew Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outro is by Officer Roseland. Dig Officer Roseland's chili on Bandcamp, and for more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 A curated list of "Moon River" covers at the Cover Me blog Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Round Of 32 is a plot-heavy affair: Coldplay premonitions, beautiful German cheese, learning to love advisedly off-putting pop, and songs that grab you by the nip. As the decisions get more agonizing, Aunt Doreen punches Grampy Blankenship in the face, and we discover that the ghost in the machine is -- and will continue to be -- Whitney. Get ready to scramble a goose egg; it's the second half of the ROTYS Sweet 16. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Whitn-- er, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 Shawn Colvin's Lilith Fair 40 debut A bushel o' Seal remixes from the turn of the millennium Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Round Of 32: where the choices get tougher and the cheeses get lonelier. We're writing Back To The Future/Babybel fan-fic, analyzing palimpsest layers, appreciating Bobby Darin's interpretive skills (and apologizing to Jerry Orbach), and wondering who's going to do a better job of seducing Sarah, Mrs. Robinson or Toto. What song is a red-wine drunk? Who burned off their eyelashes in seventh grade? We're looking for answers -- and half of the ROTYS Sweet 16. Our intro is by Andrew Byrne, and our outro is by Harry Styles. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 SDB meant Timothy B. Schmit and Bernie Leadon...and it turns out that solo is neither of them! Great work, no notes Sometimes When We Touch on Paramount+ Jerry Orbach on "Try To Remember" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the final section of our Record Of The Year Showdown Round Of 64! The Grammys get more of a clue, albeit seemingly by accident, here in the 21st century, and we're talking about that, plus the late Shows Of Note, editorial thrills in dinosaur/country-fiddle pairings, farts over a xylophone, our favorite generic bands, the schmaltz hinge point, songs that need their videos in order to work, and phannntommm-adjacent content. Who is this millennium's Anne Murray? Find out in the season's fourth episode! Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by the Strokes. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 Episode 25: American Anthems / Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The USA" and the Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice" Episode 161: Cee Lo Green, "F**k You" Episode 44: The 59th Grammy Awards Episode 180: Argumentative Duets, Ranked Episode 101: Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B, "Finesse" Episode 128: Brandi Carlile, "The Joke" Episode 187: Björk, "Big Time Sensuality" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're heading -- somewhat angrily! -- into the 21st century in our third Record Of The Year Showdown episode. Spanning 1991-2006 at the Grammys, our discussion also looks at early-nineties quality control lapses, celebrations of the dusty past, nestling in the Swiss-y holes of pop cheese, seventh-grade-dance melodrama, special categories for Whitneying and Mariahing, "psyyyyych!" noms, and George Santos's first Grammy. Less math than last time, but more rage as MASTAS's ROTY Showdown season turns the corner in the Round Of 64. Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by William Joel. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 "The little Collinses can get paper routes" Phil Collins, premiere Alamo-iana collector Beats Around The Bush, Ep 1: Hippie Hop Hooray Episode 70: REM's "Out Of Time," Ranked The Lilith Fair 40, Ep 2 (k.d. lang) LF40, Ep 6 (Shawn Colvin) Episode 58: Backstreet Boys, "I Want It That Way" Episode 200: Cher's Most Popular Songs, Ranked Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Record Of The Year Showdown enters the second "bracket" section with winners from 1975-1990, which means a lot of flashbacks to our America's Damp 40 season; theories about Billy Joel and Rufus Wainwright; Eagles/color-blindness test metaphors; underappreciated dad-bod pop stars; how a cult implicated Steve Winwood; and the necessity of special categories to contain nuclear waste like "We Are The World." It all culminates in a FIVE-way tie amongst cheeses standing alone -- AND outtakes! We've got wind, we've got wings, YOU'VE got an all-new episode of MASTAS. Our intro is Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is Aimee Mann and your hosts losing their damn minds. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 America's Damp 40, Episode 04 (ONJ) Episode 158: Joni Mitchell, "Help Me" "This Masquerade" on The Lost Songs Project America's Damp 40, Episode 05 (William Joel) Episode 51: Billy Joel, "Sleeping With The Television On" America's Damp 40, Episode 02 (SDB's "Baker Street" whoop is at 5:13) America's Damp 40, Episode 08 (Barbra) Episode 106: Turnerdome! "'We Are The World': A Minute-by-Minute Breakdown" at Rolling Stone Episode 242: Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car" Episode 10: John Parr, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to our Record Of The Year Showdown season! With listeners' help, we're going to find out which Grammy-winner for ROTY is the best of the 64 winners to date...or maybe just the least baffling and unconscionable. How are we doing this? It's sort of a bracket; we'll explain up top, and then we'll talk about cobwebby rocking chairs, how anyone managed to get laid during the Eisenhower presidency, rewarding artists who don't "take the pot," and songs we can't get all the way through. Grab a triple espresso for all those instrumentals: it's an all-new season of MASTAS! Our intro is Andrew Byrne, and our outro is Weird Al Yankovic. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Episode 145: Bobby Darin, "Mack The Knife" Mark's interrogation of A Summer Place for Tomato Nation Episode 98: Two "Moon River"s Episode 62: "Ode To Billie Joe" and "Harper Valley PTA" Episode 6: Jesus Christ Superstar, "I Don't Know How To Love Him" Episode 220A: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Ranked Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.