Mixomusicology

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

The BoyToy: Carly Rae Jepsen, Madonna, Endlaf

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:00:00 -0400

Welcome back to Mixomusicology! Season 2 is upon us, and we brought out some heavy hitters for our return.

First up, we catch up post-break and Jana monologues about her blissful moment of revelation at a Hilary Duff concert. Not having everything figured out is a feature of living, not a bug. Also the quote "there are only adults in the room if there are children present" rings really true. The best we can do is not take things too seriously, while we take them very seriously. We take listening to music and talking about it over a cocktail...very seriously. Onward.

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This week's drink:

THE BOYTOY

Named after a lyric from Madonna’s “Danceteria.”

1oz tequila
2oz prosecco
.5oz Campari
.5oz lime juice
2 scoops watermelon sorbet

Mix all ingredients, reserving 1oz Prosecco, in a chilled measuring glass. Pour into a chilled rocks glass. Top with 1oz reserved Prosecco.

Sgroppino! It’s one of the oldest cocktails. It dates back to Venice in the 1500s, so a certified classic, like Madonna. Ice back then was a bit of a status symbol, which, this song is such a name dropper that it felt like it paired up well. I wanted to use nontraditional ingredients, so I swapped out the vodka in a traditional sgroppino for a tequila. The very original recipe was likely grappa-laced lemon ice.

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We jump into this episode with a full on Popmergency...when Carly Rae Jepsen announces a new project, we are SAT. We have nothing but praise for her 2015 album Emotion (highly recommend). "On Wires" is the first single from her 24-track double album coming this fall. We love the tension built by the plunky piano stabs in the intro and verse...not your usual CRJ turn and this bodes well for the new project. Then, the drop - a soaring release of the chorus with the repetitive, reverby vocals comes in and we feel euphoric. Alex hears some of AWOLNATION's "Sail" in here. The production features more live instrumentation than other CRJ projects...live drums, a talky distorted electric guitar part.

Alex's bold statement: "Carly Rae is the Mary Oliver of pop songwriters." Denigrated by male critics, known for one big work, underrated as a whole in every way.

Jana: '"Call Me Maybe" is Carly Rae's "let the soft animal of your body love what it loves."' Fin.

Madge is back! Next up is "Danceteria" from Madonna's epic new Confessions Part II. The whole album is pure Madonna-in-a-club euphoria, but this one is a bittersweet look back on the famous Lower East Side club in NYC where Madonna got her start in the 80's. She name drops everyone from Debi Mazar to Keith Haring to the door person. (Here's some footage from Danceteria for a deeper dive). We love the throwbacks in the song itself, where the production shifts to mimic the songs referenced. Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" being a main one alluded to, with Madonna's "doo de doo" bass line at the end. The vocals feel a little over-compressed when Madonna is singing, though the speaking parts are spot on. Otherwise, it's a solid club track and the whole record is made for sweaty dancing in a dark room. Get to it.

(Also, Alex discloses he has a "Kick Down the Door" playlist - which now contains "Danceteria.")

Lastly, we listen to Endlaf's "Burn Down the Louvre." Endlaf is comprised of Stacy King (Eisley, Sucré), Darren King (Mutemath), and cellist/composer, Chelsea McGough. It's a gorgeous track, full of beautifully arranged string parts and King's perfectly doubled vocals. Alex muses that perhaps this song is a reference to the joke among early 19th century artists like Picasso that they wanted to burn down the Louvre as a protest against stale art. Listen on headphones and take in the gorgeous strings, layered and octaved. It's 4:30 long, and doesn't feel like it at all. Swoon.

Thanks for listening, we're glad to be back!

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Minicast: Bizarre Pop

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:15:00 -0400

Our second minicast! We'll be back next week for Season 2. In the meantime, please enjoy Alex's banger Transatlantic accent.

We decided to do this episode about what we term "Bizarre Pop." Songs that we've wanted to fit into typical episodes but are just a little too...bizarre.

Playlist if you wanna get weird with us: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/LCgMnaQFr4

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Firstly, we have another Minicast shot for you!

Professor Pepper

1 part cherry liqueur
1 part coffee liqueur
1 part bergamot or orange liqueur
1 part bourbon.

Chill ingredients beforehand for a layered cocktail. Tastes like a bizarro world version of Coke. Bizarre pop. Salud.

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A little Bizarre Pop history (thanks Alex!):

Bizarre pop has been around for decades – with roots dating back to vaudeville, and modernized in novelty songs and one-hit wonders. In the digital era, though, it seems like a wider audience has begun to embrace or even celebrate things like aesthetic gimmicks and strange production choices. It doesn’t surprise me that the fanbases of a lot of the artists we’re about to talk about are queer or otherwise minority-identifying; as music has democratized, I think fans feel a lot more represented by the strangeness of it all.

More than alt pop, bizarre pop music features aesthetics that may shock or be part of counterculture – in essence maybe they’re anti-pop songs using the sonic palette of pop. Whereas alt pop is typified by the usage of non-pop sounds borrowed from rock and elsewhere, I think bizarre pop is typified by the unexpected – culturally and sonically. Unlike novelty songs, I also think that bizarre pop songs are generally meant with some amount of earnestness. Before we get into it: there’s a huge number of artists and songs that could fit this prompt, from Madonna to We Might Be Giants to M.I.A. to Gorillaz. This is a minicast. If you want a full history lesson, you’re going to have to comment.

Songs discussed in the history section:

O Superman - Laurie Anderson
Aqua - Barbie Girl
Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
MOOO! - Doja Cat (the video is a MUST watch)

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Alex's Choices:

Caroline Polachek - Dang (2023)

SOPHIE - Immaterial (2018)

Magdalena Bay - Image (2024)

Jana's Choices:

Britney Spears - Oops I Did It Again (2000)

Meg Stalter - Prettiest Girl in America (2026)

horsegiirL - Fun Guy Fungi (2026)

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We hope your enjoyed our Minicasts, and thank you again for listening all season long! Subscribe, give us 5 stars, tell your friends. See you next week for Season 2. 🩷

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Minicast: Desert Island Songs

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:15:00 -0400

Welcome to our first minicast! We'll be back with Season 2 of Mixomusicology in July. In the meantime...

🚨 ALERT 🚨

The plane has crashed. We have nothing on this desert island but broken, screen-cracked iPod Nanos that only play 5 songs each. What songs will we choose?

What would YOU choose? Let us know on our Substack / socials. Don't forget to leave a 5 star review if you like the pod!

Follow along with our episode playlist here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/Ha4DNA144o

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This week's shot:

Banana Snaquiri

Alex says: Karin Stanley owns a bar called Dutch Kills around the corner from my house. It’s one of my favorite bars in the city. It feels like it’s been there since the 1800s. The music is perfect. The people are perfect. I do wish they had more barstools, but that would kill the vibe.

This drink is based on hers. It’s a mini daiquiri, and it’s the drink that starts the day for bartenders at Dutch Kills. It’s my desert island drink because it reminds me of home. And also because they’re very refreshing and citrusy, so no scurvy for me.

6:4:3 ratio of aged rum to banana liqueur to lime juice. For a standard shot glass, that’s .75oz rum, .5oz banana liqueur, .3oz lime.

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Jana's desert island list:

Mary Chapin Carpenter: Stones in the Road
SHeDAISY: Love Goes On
MUNA: Around U
Iron & Wine: Woman King
Taylor Swift: This Is Me Trying

Alex's desert island list:

Magnetic Fields: I Don’t Want to Get Over You
Big Thief: Mythological Beauty
Mitski: Your Best American Girl
LCD Soundsystem: Someone Great
Liz Phair: Shatter

Alex's Bonus Pick because he edits this pod: Le Tigre: Keep On Livin’

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

On Principle: Ellie Goulding, Olivia Rodrigo, Rebecca Black

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0400

Folks, we've hit episode 13 and thus, the end of Season One. Incredible. We can't thank you enough for all the listens and the love. It keeps us going. We have some mini-casts planned for our two week break, and we will hit the ground running on Season Two in July. Tell your friends that now is a great time to catch up before the next season!

Follow along with this week's playlist right here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/6dA8kbd2Hq

Alex is monologuing about fame and what the heck is wrong and awful about it, something all three of our artist choices have experience with this week. We are not thrilled on their behalf, but we appreciate how they've processed it and how they comport themselves in their careers. "You can't achieve the same type of fame twice," says Alex.

We discuss our various levels of fame, just as music makers, and the trappings and good parts of it. Social media and parasocial relationships make it a bit of a minefield even for your favorite mid-level podcaster musicians. Everyone just be cool. Let's have a drink.

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This week's drink:

ON PRINCIPLE

1.5oz gin
1oz genepy
.75oz beet shrub
.25oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters

For beet shrub:

1 part beet juice
1 part apple cider vinegar (white is fine)
1 part maple syrup (sugar is fine)
A few good twists of pepper
A lemon peel if you have one laying around

Steps:

Shaker. Pour into Nick and Nora. Garnish with candied ginger.

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First up this week is the return of Ellie Goulding, and we are so thrilled about it. Ellie has been making excellent pop albums for years, and "Black Prada Dress" is the first single from her September album release. Ellie's singular voice, with her breathy vocals and powerful lifts, is one of the most unique in pop. (We recommend the Delirium record if you're new to EG). The lyricism is strong, and it's a push back on someone who treated her poorly. This leads us into a discussion of Ed Sheeran releasing a diss track about Ellie, which affected her personally and professionally (BOO). Anyway...back to the song. We love the piano in the intro, we love the "janky strings" in the chorus, and we love that the lyrics have teeth. Alex says the words, "Ice Spice Jersey beat," and we also hear shades of Melodrama by Lorde. It's pure cinematic pop coupled with the innocent quality of her voice floating powerfully over it all. The outro takes us into a sudden cut after some granular delayed synths for a creative twist. Welcome back, Ellie Goulding, we can't wait for more.

Next up is "Maggots for Brains," a track from the already critically acclaimed new release from Olivia Rodrigo. We feel this record is one of the best of the year. The gothic horror lyrical motif throughout works SO well. Images of maggots, moldy fruit, zombies, and rotting all fit with this love song. Hard to pull off and it works. It's very 80's inspired, and we hear definite tones of "I Melt with You," for one. Alex terms her "the Wario of Phoebe Bridgers." She captures fleeting love stories wrapped in pop that references several eras of influences, which makes it interesting. She's pulling from New Wave, and the dynamics in the production work really well.

On to Rebecca Black's "Speakerphone." We have a lot to say about Rebecca Black, and we think she's potentially a pop genius. She had a rough start with her instant viral fame as a 13-year-old with "Friday," but Rebecca has grown her career and re-invented herself into a truly authentic artist. She's a DJ in high demand (check out her Boiler Room set), she is making consistently great visuals and videos (watch the Speakerphone video for one), and she is a vocal advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. The song is soaked in OTT compression, and Alex finds it a bit hard to listen to because of that. Jana points out it is mixed well and sounds like it SHOULD blow out your speakers but it doesn't. It's just all loud. She's dipping into Phonk with this track, which is an internet born genre blown up by social media, consisting of a mashup of hip hop and electronic music, mixed with 90's Memphis rap and lo-fi. Lyrically we love any song in 2026 that references guillotines, and Rebecca uses the portmanteau of "sycophantasy," which wins the day.

A note: Mixomusicology is charting in Australia, Norway, the UK, the US, and Canada! Thank you all so much for listening. Tell your friends and your enemies, too.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Follow along with this week's playlist!

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Drive Around the Bend: Tinashe, deBasement, Taylor Swift

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:40:00 -0400

Welcome to episode 12...a whole dozen of these things exist! Jana opens with a monologue referencing MUNA's new cover of "King of Wishful Thinking" and waxes poetic about how change is inevitable but it's not always good or kind in the moment. The king of wishful thinking is just getting through something by sheer will. Sometimes this is enough.

Since we definitely need a drink after that monologue, Alex walks us through our first milk punch recipe! It's a reference to a Sidecar, with a new twist.

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This week's drink:

DRIVE AROUND THE BEND

Makes two servings as written, scales VERY well

Ingredients:

3oz cognac
3oz rum
3oz curaçao
2oz lemon juice (reserve the zest for garnish)
4oz milk, infused with Raisin Bran
Lemon demerara sugar (for rimming the glass)

Steps:

1. Infuse milk by packing in Raisin Bran (we used about a cup) and letting steep for an hour. Alternatively, heat mug in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Let cool.

2. To make the lemon demerara sugar, mix lemon zest into a cup of demerara. Let sit.

3. Mix all ingredients except for milk in a large measuring glass.

4. Stream milk into measuring glass, and stir.

5. Let the mixture sit for an hour. It will form curds. The curds will look gross.

6. Using a mesh strainer and some cheesecloth, filter the drink into a clean container.

7. Without disturbing the curds, filter the liquid again. Do this until it’s transparent.

8. Refrigerate until chilled.

9. Coat one side of the glass with lemon demerara sugar. Serve up.

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The first song up is Tinashe's "Too Easy." A filthy club song that's less than 2 minutes long. We both agree that it's too short because we wanna dance. Best lyric, "If you're mad then go to therapy." It's got great forward motion with the kick and bass, but the vocal arrangements shine with some modal harmony that is just hinted at, along with maybe even some K-Pop influences with the "la la" refrain. Inspirations hearken to Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. We agree maybe most good things reference Janet (which sends us down a reminiscence of the Janet and J*st*n incident). Also, Alex reveals he has a very secret "Sexy Getting Ready Playlist." One day, we will share it.

deBasement brings us "STAY IN UR LANE," to which we ask, "Is you even gay?" This track has a giant sound and we love finding up-and-coming artists that we think should have way more listeners than they do. Alex hears Cobrah references, and overall, we just encourage you all to "stay in ur lane, bitch."

On to Jana's favorite kind of moment, a new Taylor Swift song. "I Knew It, I Knew You" is featured on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. A collab between Taylor and Jack Antonoff, we are taken to a breezy 70s folk rock + almost bluesy vibe, with some R&B Braxton-melody lines thrown in. It all works, and it's a fun departure from the Showgirl era Taylor has been in for a while. We even hear some Faith Hill "Love the Way You Love Me." We talk Taylor's odds of getting an EGOT (high), and go on a little diversion about the Cats remake. Overall, this is a simple and solid Taylor Swift song and we love it for the Toy Story nostalgia. The lyrics are vague enough to apply to anyone. Well-written, well produced, goes down like the smooth soundtrack song it is. (Just like a smooth cocktail called Drive Around the Bend).

Then we go off on great soundtracks from our younger years. Jana brings up something that's not even in print anymore, Mr. Wrong. Alex talks about Magnolia with the fabulous Aimee Mann. Taylor makes us want to reminisce, apparently.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Three Wishes: Cara Delevingne, Bella Kay, CARI

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0400

Welcome to Episode 11! Happy Pride, everyone!

Follow along on our playlist: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/bIlbUfUrbL

Alex's beautiful and personal monologue talks about Doris Day's song "Secret Love," part of the soundtrack to the movie Calamity Jane. Love so big it can no longer be hidden...sounds like a theme to us. Secret loves and Calamity Janes...many of us know this combination well. We also talk rom-coms and Julia Roberts supremacy.

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The drink this week:

THREE WISHES

2oz dry vermouth
.5oz sweet vermouth
.5oz lychee syrup
Barspoon of elderflower liqueur
drop of rosewater

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink is based on a pre-Prohibition drink called a Richmond. Very vermouth forward, "east meets west" with some gorgeous flavors mixing together.

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Cara Delevingne is quite the...quintuple threat? The actor / model / director / artist is releasing an album! The first few songs are out and we are listening to "I Forgot." We want to issue a headphone / levels warning on this...it varies quite a bit, to an interesting effect. This song has some of the hardest sound we've covered thus far due to the distorted synth and the weird mixing. The back and forth from soft piano to hard synth is overwhelming in a purposeful creative way. We like the vocoder on the vocals (hi Imogen Heap), and the switch from traditional pop vocals to a more theaterical approach which is cool. This song is a whole journey that we think sets the sonic palate for the project, and we are on the ride with Cara. There's also a short film!

Bella Kay gives us a solid ethereal pop-songwriter track full of yearning with "Promise?" Bella is having a career surge this year at the ripe age of 20, putting out some critically acclaimed singles and opening for Gracie Abrams. The melodic hooks are excellent, Jana digs the acoustic vibes. We talk vocal production techniques (parallel compression, good or bad?). Mic proximity, stylistic choices, indie versus polished pop...all choices. We are excited to see where Bella goes (check out her breakout single The Sick, too).

CARI takes us home with a gorgeously produced and sung track "Crashing Out!" It's half R&B and half industrial beats and distortion, which is a fascinating mix from this West London based artist. The song is about intense chemistry and pushing into passion instead of shying away. "You got me acting all 4-legged lately," is a the line for that vibe. The use of panning in the production is a stand out note, listen on headphones. CARI seems to be on the rise in her career, which we will absolutely gloat about when she is a household name. Bonus lesson on Brauer Motion!

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Blood Flower: Marmozets, Maisie Peters, The Mountain Goats

Thu, 28 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Episode 10! We are in double digits! Wow. Alex says he saw a stat that most podcasts don't make it to Episode 10, so congrats us, and mostly thanks to all you listeners. Jana monologues about the performance art demanded of being online, versus the existentialist detangling from it all..."nothing matters lol." Alex adds some great points about how queer musicians learn to mask and perform from a very young age, and it ends up in our art. There's also a very important update about Leo the Turtle learning new things at an advanced age.

Follow along with this week's playlist: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/CVvVc1QHdW

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Alex sent some magic beans to Jana in the mail this week for the drink ingredient...Tonka Beans. They are used in a super delicious drink! Listen to Alex's very informative note about how these beans might be illegal in the U.S...but here we are making a drink with them anyway.

BLOOD FLOWER

1.5oz aged rum

.75oz cherry liqueur (ginja rossio)

.75oz lemon

.5oz cinnamon and tonka syrup

2 dashes angostura

luxardo cherry

Shake all the ingredients over ice and strain into a glass over a big ice cube

Cinnamon and Tonka Syrup Recipe

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1 cup water

* 2 tonka beans

* 6 cinnamon sticks, broken into shards

Toss everything in a saucepan, and whisk until sugar is saturated. Bring to a boil, let sugar dissolve, then let sit until cool.

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This week's song batch is another interesting grouping. We start with "Cut Back" by Marmozets, a British-based four-piece rock band. We love the aggressive synth melodic line...maximalism is back, Alex exclaims. We hear some Paramore and Metric here. A song about hating small talk is close to both our hearts. "Keep it on the sunny weather," is a smart hook and they dig into the mindlessness of surface level interactions. The angle of the song's narrator criticizing herself for engaging this way keeps it from being a preachy song and more of a smart commentary.

Maisie Peters and Julia Michaels give us "Kingmaker," an almost perfect folk-pop musing on being used and left behind. It's about a relationship, it's about the music business, it's about all the things. Maisie excels at a Swiftian confessional songwriting style, and pairing with Julia Michaels is a one-two punch of smart, witty lyricism. We love that it's a full-on duet, not just a guest spot with wimpy background vocals. We discuss whether the post-chorus is passé or coming back...or just needs to be executed really well.

The Mountain Goats give us "Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds," already winning for best song title on the pod ever. It's referring to some interesting lore concerning Charlie believing that a Japanese horror film (Guinea Pig 2) was so violently realistic that it had to be a real snuff film. The FBI was called in (there was no real murder, it's just a movie). John Darnielle's songwriting is smart, charming, and another interesting take on being so deep into the screen that reality becomes fuzzy. Charlie is placed as the hero of the moment, which is another excellent use of a POV/angle in a song. It's a straightforward folk-rock song, which aids in getting the storytelling across. Will someone please think of the Charlie Sheen of it all? We did.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Train on the Island: Charli xcx, Tove Lo, Aldous Harding

Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Episode 9 is here, and Alex is monologuing about how mystery is punk. Our online world doesn't allow for much of that mystery anymore. He admires sharing art while keeping some opacity to it, and our three artists this week lean into it really well. Media with good meta-commentary comes up, Josie and the Pussycats, Spice World, and Network pop up from the movie world. We ARE mad as hell and we don't wanna take it anymore, but we are going to talk about these awesome songs from Charli xcx, Tove Lo, and Aldous Harding. Also, Alex rescued a baby starling, so things are gonna be okay.

Follow along with our playlist for this week: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/w235LrEdWP

First, though...Alex teaches us how to fat wash bourbon!

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This week's drink:

TRAIN ON THE ISLAND

1.5oz sesame-washed bourbon

.5oz rum

.5oz banana liqueur

pinch smoked sea salt

2 dashes angostura bitters

garnish with Básī xiāngjiāo (caramelized bananas)

1. To fat wash the bourbon, add toasted sesame oil to bourbon in a 1:8 ratio. Steep for a few hours or overnight in a sealable container. Place container on its side in fridge for a few hours, until fat solidifies. Filter out bourbon.

2. Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until cold, then strain over a rocks glass with a large ice cube.

3. Garnish with caramelized bananas, (or a banana chip, or an orange peel, if you don’t feel like candying something while you’re making a drink.)

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Charli xcx dropped "Rock Music" out of nowhere and we are excited for whatever that means (new Charli music is what it means). We hear strains of Celebrity Skin, though Charli is not going with actual rock music here, it's classic Charli tongue-in-cheek fodder. We talk about the impact of brat on pop music and the culture as a whole, and now there's 1:55 of super processed guitars and live drums, but it's still a pop song. We agree she's priming us for a new sound palette, but this seems to be a transition track into her new world. More singles to come, and we will be listening. Plug for Alex's Substack where he writes about the PR behind music and how things are shifting weekly...well worth a read!

Next up is Tove Lo, our Swedish pop icon who has been making bangers for a long time. Her lead single off her new project is "I'm your girl, right?" It's indie rock crossed with the house 90's vibe with a full on build to a drop. Take us to the club, Tove Lo. We love the opening lyric "I love your teeth, I could watch you eat for days." Phew.

Lastly, Aldous Harding is a New Zealander who brings us a gorgeous track called "Train on the Island." as opposed to Charli and Tove Lo, there's a lot of lyrical mystery here. The repeating bass line, fuzzed out effected guitars, and the tasteful and restrained production really speak to the theme of mystery this week. We also love the blown out bass tone that sounds like it was run through a tiny practice amp. The lyrics seem to be bits and pieces of moments in time, but all wrapped up together by a gorgeous track. (Also, an amped flute...who needs anything more?)

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Follow along with our episode playlist here.

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

It Gets So Hot: MUNA's Dancing On the Wall

Thu, 14 May 2026 23:50:00 -0400

Episode 8 brings us two awesome things...our first full length album review and our special guest, Marin Wilts! We are thrilled about both!

And of course, queue up MUNA's Dancing on the Wall.

A little about Marin: Marin Wilts is a singer/songwriter/producer based in Phoenix, AZ. She works with We Make Noise, supporting women and gender-expansive musicians through education, community-building, and professional development opportunities. Marin also teaches songwriting at Arizona State University.

Jana's monologue waxes poetic about the ritual of listening to an album in-depth. Jana's got a system (or a ceremony)...a late night, a glass of something good, and a dedicated and focused first listen to projects by her favorite artists. Alex and Jana share a deep love of MUNA, so of course this episode was a much looked-forward-to episode for them. Marin was not familiar with MUNA at all, and as you listen, you'll hear the magic of introducing a pal to a band you love.

But first, a drink. Alex made two this week!

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This week's cocktail:

IT GETS SO HOT

2oz Diplomatico Mantuano Rum
1oz St. Germain
.75oz lime juice
8 basil leaves
Tepache

1. Put liquid ingredients in shaker without ice.

2. Add in basil and using a muddler or fork, macerate the basil leaves into the liquid.

3. Add ice and shake.

4. Strain into a Collins over ice.

5. Top with Tepache and stir.

6. Garnish with more basil.

Notes from Alex

- Tepache is a fermented drink made from pineapple rind and spices like cinnamon.

- It’s not often that I get to play around with ingredients like this, but so much of this album is a love letter to LA, and so much of LA’s history and culture is owed to Mexico. Tepache is a real tie back to pre-Columbian root and to modern Mexican traditions. To stay as adherent to traditional recipes as possible, I made my own. Here’s the recipe.

- If you don’t want to make it at home, that’s fine - you can find it canned. Or better yet, find someone selling it.

- I find that pineapple pairs really well with a lot of different things. In this recipe, it’s balanced with citrusy elderflower liqueur and herbal basil.

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This week's mocktail:

STUCK IN THE SUBLIME

4oz Tepache
.75oz lime juice
2oz ginger beer
1.5oz blueberry juice
2 dashes bitters

If you’re sober, you should be aware that traditional Tepache, like a kombucha, will always have a little bit of alcohol in it as a byproduct of fermenting.

Canned options, which are less traditional, often have less than .5% ABV, so that’s what we’re opting for here. We’re pairing the pineapple here with ginger, which is a classic combo, and then with blueberry, which offers a good complement to the other flavors here.

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This week we listen to the entirety of MUNA's Dancing On the Wall. MUNA is a Los Angeles based trio consisting of Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, and Josette Maskin.

A few notes from each song:

It Gets So Hot: a great start to this whole project, the synth, bass, and percussion work lets us know we've arrived, we are in a tension-filled hot L.A. summer, it's all happening.
Dancing on the Wall: the lead single with good reason...we are so back. The 80's slap bass is sending us. Lots of great MUNA harmonies, one of the most overtly pop songs on the album. We also talk about how good the bridges are, and this one sets the tone with the musical spiral upwards. Katie Gavin vocal supremacy forever.
Eastside Girls: one of our collective faves, with the Billy Joel bridge, the geography placing us in East L.A., as Alex says, "just a small town girl, living in a lonely world." Weird beats galore and it works so well. It's pop music in a time of war, "Making love in a chemical sunset." Marin brings up scansion and how you have to know the rules and them break them.
Wannabeher: "Obsessed step on my neck yeah." We can't stop singing this. It's fun, period.
On Call: Alex declares it a Celine Dion bop, and packs a whole bunch into 2:35, including a Diane Warren key change. Harmonic modulation keeps taking us higher and we love it, especially another monster bridge.
So What: Full on banger, no tension release here either. We get a huge extended instrumental in the outro, and the mental breakdown is musical and not lyrical. More discussion on the excellence in sapphic yearning that Katie Gavin nails so well. It's not bravado in the first person POV, it's the last gasp of trying to not be bothered about not being loved by that One Person.
Party's Over: a transition to...
Big Stick: the new section of the record...MUNA gets political. "The Teddy Roosevelt core of it all." Katie sings from the perspective of Big Brother, and it's haunting lyrically while still going hard musically.
Mary Jane: a song about addiction being the third in the room. We have Kate Bush, we have Gaga, we have the slap bass! We talk about how this album is really building a cohesive batch of sounds, bringing sounds and themes in and out without boring us.
Girl's Girl: the queer issue of a small local incestuous dating pool...real. We LOVE the pre-chorus with Katie's "ha ha ha ha"'s as a vocal stim. It's got "Jessie's Girl" vibes, filtered guitar, a sing-along chorus, and hooks galore.
...Unless: another transition to...
Why Do I Get A Good Feeling: The Imogen Heap of it all, and we are ready for it. Strings beneath another intense beat, Katie's diction is perfection and gets all her smart words out on this in perfect time.
Buzzkiller: a last track that utterly destroys us. Some of our favorite lyricism on the album. Strings bringing a dissonance, with some acoustic guitar, along with the pulsing, gated synths. Hearts dropped. Tears swelled. The record is over. We loved it so much.

Check out the videos for:

Dancing On the Wall

Wannabeher

Eastside Girls

Check out Katie Gavin's solo record, What A Relief - buy it on Bandcamp here.

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Marin's links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinwilts

Official Website: https://www.marinwilts.com

We Make Noise: https://www.we-make-noise.org

Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Vegas Wedding: The Beaches, Kacey Musgraves, Beth Orton

Thu, 07 May 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Episode 7 and we can hardly believe it. Alex monologues about Nevada, and the beauty of the desert, the deep history there that goes back thousands of years, and the ugliness of Las Vegas, or as Alex puts it..."the worst city I have ever been to." Thankfully he turns it all into cocktail inspiration, with a drink that will make up for a hundred bad turns at the roulette table. As Alex notes, it is based on a coffee order from Gabi Bakery, who are not sponsors but are a lovely reprieve "from almost everything else in Vegas."

Follow along with our playlist for this week: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/IVOs452MM2

This week's drink:

Vegas Wedding

1.5oz matcha-infused gin

.75oz yuzu juice

1oz simple syrup

1 egg white

Shake all ingredients dry. Shake all ingredients with ice. Serve up in a coupe glass.

Substitutions: matcha as a flavor pair can handle almost any other floral, vegetal, or fruity note – this would be great with vanilla, lavender, fennel, mint, stone fruits, or citrus added in as a substitute for the simple syrup

You can infuse the gin with a bunch of different kinds of tea, as well – something with rose hips or chamomile or even a strong oolong tea would work great here, too.

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POPMERGENCY!!! When Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter put out a collab, we have to mention it. We agree, "Bring Your Love" is a dance hit, and Sabrina compliments Madonna like whoa.

On to "Should Have Known Better" from The Beaches, a band we both really love. They deliver with a solid 90's full rock band sound with the classic harmonies and strong lead vocal from Jordan Miller. The Beaches excel at hooky melodies and there's no exception here. It's warranted for a song about the non-committal situationship that everyone should run from...but run from it with this earworm playing.

Next up is "Dry Spell" from Kacey Musgraves' new album Middle of Nowhere. We really dig the direction Kacey has taken overall on this record, shining with her usual wit and candor while pulling in all kinds of influences from traditional Mexican and Tejano music (the true Texan musical history, as Kacey notes). We love the 6-ish different guitar layers, the cool doubled vocals, Kacey's vocals sitting so wide in the mix, and we insist you watch the video. Also, any song with the line, “Lonely with a capital H,” is a winner.

Beth Orton's new track, "Waiting," from her forthcoming album The Ground Above, takes us through a heart-achingly gorgeous jazz inspired journey. One of the pioneers of folktronica in the UK, Beth's career has huge range and depth. It's a bit of a throwback to Earth Wind and Fire but make it lo-fi, which is so cool. Her voice is a main feature, pulling us into the heartbreak before, surprisingly, giving us a positive spin at the end. Deep breath here.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Crush Forever: Metric, Lucy Dacus, Suki Waterhouse

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Episode 6 is a big one…our first special guest! Songwriter/musician/producer Noëlle Hampton joins us from Austin to talk about Metric, Lucy Dacus, and Suki Waterhouse. Check out Noëlle’s work with The Belle Sounds and XANIMAL to get you started (we included some on our weekly playlist!)

Listen along: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/Cnjrx0WyUf

Jana monologues about the bittersweetness of being back in a place that played a big part in her young singer-songwriter days. Austin is an amazing town, and now she cruises through a few times a year with out of state plates. Metric and Lucy address these moments in our past and how we work with them in the present.

But first, Alex walks us through his creative play on a Ranch Water, with strawberry infused mezcal and a tajín rim.

This week's drink:

Crush Forever

2oz mezcal joven (Del Maguey good, or even something less smoky like a salmiana)

1oz ruby grapefruit juice

Twist of Grapefruit Topo Chico or other grapefruit sparkling water (to top)

Rim collins glass with tajín. Add ingredients over ice, stir hard.

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Metric starts us off with “Crush Forever,” a disco infused track off their new project Romanticize the Dive. We love Emily Haines’ sweet, monotone vocals that tell the story so well in the track. Writing to your younger self is a challenging feat, we all agree, but this track tells a story in small moments like “I've spilled outside the cup, mania is only grief spеd up.” Hits us in the feels...and with Metric's long-storied top notch production, this is a clear winner off a great album.

Lucy Dacus brings us “Planting Tomatoes,” a sweet but grungy indie folk track about living in the present moment while remembering someone who has passed and now Lucy is older than they were when they left this plane. We loved the details in the lyrics, which Lucy excels at, like the saxophone down the street and the tomatoes not being good yet. (Jana loves a nerd writer, we all know that). We hear strains of The Weepies and Deb Talan in Lucy’s melody lines.

Suki Waterhouse brings us home with a total banger of a track in “Tiny Raisin.” As everyone refrained upon listening…”it’s a JAM.” Suki takes us on a dangerous and edgy romp with this one…we hear tinges of The Pixies, Sheryl Crow, and some 60’s French pop with a retro vibe but modernized. “That’s my kid in his arms,” was not our favorite lyric juxtaposed with this sexy song, but hey. Suki can do what she wants.

We all agree, all of the tracks this week involve some brilliantly executed mixing to make them come together, so take a listen with those ears on!

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Noëlle’s links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebellesounds

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebellesounds

Website: https://www.thebellesounds.com

Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Doublespeak: Sofia Isella, Alabama Shakes, Noah Kahan

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:00:00 -0400

Episode 5 takes us through some really heavy topics and songs, and that's why we do this together, and why we have a cocktail while we do it. Alex's monologue addresses his thoughts on writing protest songs, and the three songs we are listening to this week excel at addressing large systemic issues in deeply personal ways. But first, Alex talks us through our first egg white cocktail on the pod!

Want to follow along with this week's playlist? Right here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/8WLGKHqwtY

This week's drink:

DOUBLESPEAK

1.5oz cognac

.75oz sweet vermouth

.25oz lemon

.5oz fig jam syrup

.25oz hazelnut liqueur

egg white

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and do a dry shake first. Add ice and then shake until it's cold. Pour into a glass, serve up in a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange peel if desired.

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Sofia Isella starts us off with Numbers 31:17-18, her meditation and indictment of the Old Testament verse. Sofia brings an incredible vocal range to this track, and every part of the production helps to buoy the point. We hear shades of Dresden Dolls, Ethel Cain, and Tori Amos. Moreso, we are excited that younger artists are using their platforms to address deeper societal issues in pop music. As Alex says about the production, it's good mixing and good sound design, bringing a theatrical bent to it all that deepens the meaning. Listen with headphones.

Onward to Alabama Shakes and their new single "American Dream." As with anything the Shakes do, this one is pure excellence, but also pure protest coming from the voice of the average American existing in the slog that is 2026. When presented with the skill that a band like Alabama Shakes provides, it's a home run of an affecting track. Brittany Howard sings us through the deeply pocketed groove, speaking to the drudgery of waking up every day in America, with lines like "Low-grade fever, lower-wage people, How many folks got shot this week? It's enough to make you wanna go back to sleep." Indeed.

Lastly, Noah Kahan brings a more personal take on getting through while looking back with "The Great Divide." A more traditional indie folk pop track, Noah's rumination on a friendship that is long over but still bringing up regrets really gets us in the feels. His writing is vague in a way that allows the listener to feel it personally. While we veer into stomp-clap production, it's an evolution of such and suits the subject matter well. We hear some Jason Isbell influence in there along with the Lumineers. It's a bittersweet end to this trio that are all good answers to anyone who dares to ask, "Where are all the modern protest songs?" They're right here.

Tune in next week when we have a special guest: Noëlle Hampton is joining us from Austin! Check out her band The Belle Sounds while you wait.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Memory Palace: Holly Humberstone, RAGEFLOWER, Bruce Hornsby

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:15:00 -0400

Episode 4! That's a whole month's worth of podcasts! Thanks for being here. We are celebrating with a true delight of an episode. In fact, Jana monologues about delight, since the songs this week offer that in spades both lyrically and musically (and her turtle, Leo, has been taking turtle spa days lately, which is also delightful). Alex survived another NYC winter and Spring has arrived.

Want to follow along with this week's playlist? Right here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/vK4qbVL3b1

This week, Alex concocted a truly delightful drink inspired by Bruce Hornsby's "Memory Palace". It's a play on a Last Word, with a lot of swapped ingredients. Alex used buckwheat honey, and Jana could only find Neem honey, which turned out to be...guess what? Delightful.

This week's drink:

MEMORY PALACE

1oz Dolin Genepy le Chamois

1oz Lemon

1oz Amaro Montenegro

1oz Buckwheat honey syrup

Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Honey simple syrup recipe: https://againstallgrain.com/2020/06/29/honey-simple-syrup

(Alex makes simple syrup by microwaving the correct amount of water and other ingredients; for one cocktail here you’ll need roughly 1oz of water and 1oz of honey accounting for evaporation. Heat it for 30sec - 1min and let cool).

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Holly Humberstone gives us "Make It All Better" off her new album Cruel World. It's got sweet, earnest lyrics we love that don't sway into sap thanks to Holly's delivery and production choices. We are digging the "gross but sweet" vibes and the power of sung pop lyrics, and it's delivered well here. Production-wise, we love how the repetitive synth keeps a motor going throughout, and the breakbeat outro taking us to a new moment in the production (shout out Grace Ives) makes the track a winner.

RAGEFLOWER is a Sydney-based indie rock artist whose new single, "Control," brings a huge sound inspired by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, MUNA, and Japanese House. Written from the perspective of her "inner male narcissist," it's a dynamic track with lyrical wins like, "I want the feeling of the world in between my knees / I want an erection, a marble statue of me." Alex hears some Courtney Barnett influence, and Jana detects some early 2000's Americana/indie-rock inspiration, too. The production is huge and lush, and we can't wait to hear more.

Bruce Hornsby and Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) bring us home with "Memory Palace" from Bruce's new record Indigo Park. Lyrically dense, it's a song about trying to literally hold on to your faculties as you get older, in true poetic Bruce fashion. And yet...still a catchy jam. We discuss the place Hornsby holds in pop culture, and Jana waxes poetic about how he is a quiet icon who holds a core place in pop history but is also maybe not quite as recognized as he should be. We loved the low harmonies in the track provided by Ezra Koenig, Alex appreciates the "softest guitar solo" ever, and Jana notes the classic Bruce "doot doot" vocalized percussion. Overall, cheers to Bruce.

If you like the podcast, please give us a 5 star review in your podcast app! Thanks!

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Shunning Away: Robber Robber, Arlo Parks, Naomi Scott

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Episode 3 feels like an arrival of sorts, or maybe a settling in. To celebrate, Alex makes us a gin based Shunning Away, based on Naomi Scott's song from this week. Alex's monologue discusses our week's theme of songs that evoke senses that aren't just hearing...using production, lyricism, what have you. The songs this week ask you to use your other senses really well! We talk a little politics, just because we have to decompress a little after a threat of nuclear war on a Tuesday, Jana geeks out over Artemis II and The Moon, and we reaffirm the importance of SD card and file management. Always label your SD cards, kids.

Alex MADE his own aquavit...we celebrate that with an Ina Garten cheers.

Follow along with this week's playlist: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/E0xRlCK2PN

This week's drink:

SHUNNING AWAY

1 oz. dry gin

1 oz. elderflower liqueur

1 oz. aquavit

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir over ice and pour over a large ice cube into an old fashioned glass

Top with soda water

Garnish with an orange peel

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Robber Robber's "New Year's Eve" takes us on a crunchy guitar existential crisis that we love lyrically..."grind me down blood computer," we felt that. While it's harder than what Jana goes for, it's softer than Alex's norm, so we met happily in the middle. We loved the discussion of apathy and again, towing the line of distortion and confusion, and again, the lyricism shines here.

Arlo Parks' "Senses" ft. Sampha is up next. We luxuriate in the production of this song and the whole project (Ambiguous Desire). Arlo takes us on a series on nights out clubbing in NYC, and as Alex says, it's all "Dope. Dope dope dope." Silky and smooth. This was made for a late night driving through a city playlist. We talk production choices morphing from synth instruments to more organic as the song evolves, and the Arlo and Sampha discussion in the lyrics. Frank Ocean is a very overt influence here in the best way.

Last but certainly not least, Naomi Scott gives us "Gracie," a Mary Mary / Janet + Michael inspired and overall 80's funky pop inspired track and record that really respects the era is comes from. We are HERE FOR IT. There's ear candy, there's a Norwegian producer on deck, there's true joy throughout the whole record and we can't sing Naomi's praises enough.

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Come to God: Indigo de Souza, Paris Paloma, Olivia Rodrigo

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:00:00 -0400

We made it to episode 2! Alex instructs us on how to make a "Come to God", our last gasp of the boozy, sipper bourbon season before we embrace Spring (looking RIGHT PAST the easy drink pairing of a Paloma for this episode). It's a tasty one, a riff on a classic Manhattan.

This week's playlist so you can listen along with us: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/OyA7lJXlA0

The drink this week:

COME TO GOD

2oz bourbon (rye preferred)

1/2oz Amaro Montenegro

1/2oz Cocchi di Torino

Several heavy dashes of plum bitters

Stir aggressively, this guy’s a strong one...

Add a large ice cube, add one or two Luxardo cherries and enjoy!

Jana asks what the heck vermouth is anyway....Alex explains. (Keep your vermouth in the fridge, friends!)

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This week's songs are "Come to God" by Indigo de Souza, "Miyazaki" by Paris Paloma, and "The Book of Love" - a Magnetic Fields cover by Olivia Rodrigo. Jana launches into her complicated feelings about generative AI art (she hates it), Alex responds with his thoughts (he does too). Jana is trying to find a place to live, and Alex is recovering from a bachelorette weekend where he was "the guy who just started a podcast," (which reached No. 78 on the Apple Music Commentary Charts in week 1, thank you guys).

Indigo de Souza blows us away with the production on "Come to God" while hitting home with a song about grief. Paris has "Miyazaki," the perfect song for the AI discussion, and we talk about the community and struggle of and ultimate joy of making art, and the horrifying trend of generative AI cranking out prompt-songs...the death of art and creativity and the human spirit as we know it. Jana brings up Mary Chapin Carpenter without much of a stretch, because Paris covered her too.

And then...is "The Book of Love" the best love song ever written? Maybe so. Olivia Rodrigo delivers a stunning cover of The Magnetic Fields/Stephin Merritt song, which is now part of the War Child UK benefit project (Donate / Watch the video here).

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Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links:

Jana's Substack: https://janapochop.substack.com

Tarry at the Airport Bar: Snail Mail, Grace Ives, Anne Hathaway

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:05:00 -0400

In Episode 1, Alex walks Jana through his cocktail creation "Tarry at the Airport Bar", featuring bourbon, Frangelico liqueur, and rhubarb bitters. They also discuss "My Maker" by Snail Mail, "Drink Up" by Grace Ives, and "Burial" by Anne Hathaway. Jana waxes poetic about airports and existential crises, Alex confesses he has Vanessa Carlton fan forum history, and they're both going to Devil Wears Prada 2 opening weekend. Listen along to the playlist with this week's tracks, a few other mentions from the show, and some bonus songs Alex and Jana are listening to right now: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/tL1y1Tpf7p

The drink this week:

TARRY AT THE AIRPORT BAR

2oz Old Grand-dad bourbon

1oz Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

2 hearty shakes of rhubarb bitters

2 star anise pods

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake fervently. Serve over a large ice cube with an orange peel or a Luxardo cherry, and an extra star anise pod if you like.

Alex's links:

Alex's Substack: https://alexanderdaoust.substack.com

Jana's links: