Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

Welcome to our Beats Around The Bush season, in which we investigate the rap and hip-hop that brought us joy during/near the first Bush presidency, 1988-1993ish. After we try to explain our construction of this framework, we dig into our first BATB topic: "hippie hop," the relaxed/baked grooves of the time from artists like De La Soul, PM Dawn, Us3, Digable Planets, and Arrested Development. Who has the sexiest flow? Which group's album sent Sarah tumbling off her dorm futon? Does Mark have middle-school poetry sins to atone for? How ya doin', Al(s): it's a brand-new season of MASTAS. Our intro is the late George H.W. Bush, and our outro is Gramatik. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES This journey really began with our very first ep, about 1991's "Now That We've Found Love" A look back at the PM Dawn/KRS-One beef An oral history of "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" Destabilize yourselves with nineties-osity The "Rec Ex" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Who is the Lilith Fairest of them all? At last, our answer -- but first, we look at last-comers Heather Nova, Jewel, Paula Cole, Des'ree, and Natalie Merchant. And we ask a few more questions, like which sophomore year lyrics belong to, high school or college; whether we feel truly confident in our Lilithosity metrics; who's our favorite liberal scold; and when someone's going to form a lit-mag EIC union. All this, plus a surprise 40th-place finish, a Mark-rage epilogue, and a potato gun loaded with C-minus Dylan lyrics in the Lilith Fair 40 season finale. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Janis Joplin. Interstitial music provided by the Sundays. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 97: Hit-Single TV Themes Of The '90s Episode 8: Jewel-erdome! "You Were Meant For Me" vs. "Hands" Episode 150: 10,000 Maniacs' "In My Tribe," Ranked Episode 100: Surprise Party! Visit our sponsor, BetterHelp Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The second-to-last set of 5 songs joins the Lilith fray by zig-zagging all over the map: Ani DiFranco, India.Arie, Natalie Imbruglia, Aimee Mann, and Chantal Kreviazuk take us from a soggy subbasement of the Brill Building, to the desert, to the diner for a celery soda, to the valley of the shadow of WTF. That's where the doctors with butterfly nets found us; where did the Top 35 rankings find YOU? Grab a copy of the CanCon statute and a vegan crunch wrap, because we're almost done with the Lilith Fair 40. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Peggy Lee. Interstitial music provided by Cat Power. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 29: Dan Bern, "Marilyn" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The murderers' row of artists joining us for our Top 30 episode -- Joan Osborne, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Shawn Colvin, and Lisa Loeb & 9 Stories -- might actually literally kill us? Primitivism without authenticity, dorm-room BS, a plea to send all the puppies, and the unexpected pleasures of representative democracy all have a moment this week, so while we figure out how the Hooters got in here, grab a pair of tiresome spectacles and listen to our latest ep! Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Pat Benatar. Interstitial music provided by Agnes Obel. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 242: Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car"  Episode 39: Fiona Apple, "Criminal" Episode 210: Fiona Apple, "Heavy Balloon" Episode 68: "Stay" Title Bout Visit our sponsor, BetterHelp Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're in the #LilithFair40 homestretch now with our top 25, joined by Bif Naked, The Juliana Hatfield 3, Jill Scott, Patty Griffin, and the Cardigans. Discovering Toni Morrison, the sophomore-pox that ravaged college radio, commercials for shampoo that contains absinthe, and Wednesday Addams's private moment with Christian Slater -- you won't want to miss this ep, so kick off one shoe and have a listen. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Bettie Serveert. Interstitial music provided by Holly & the Italians. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 197: Patty Griffin, "Making Pies" Revelation Chapter 3 (you really get the full range in these show notes, eh what) Episode 102: Olivia Newton-John, "Magic" America's Damp 40, Episode 04 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Lilith Fair 40 reaches the halfway mark -- what better time to confront the contribution of festival founder Sarah McLachlan, along with Macy Gray, Dionne Farris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Dido? We also remember childhood soundtracks, acknowledge "listen boo-boo" energy, blank on Shiri Appleby's name (sorry, lady!), spread German mustard on car singing, and play hacky-sack at the center of the Lilith/WB Venn. Help us separate love and Lilithosity in our Top 20 episode! Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by I'm With Her. Interstitial music provided by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Famous original Dido Emily St. James for AV Club on "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" TV Insider on the legacy of the WB Visit our sponsor, BetterHelp Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mark gets emotional, Sarah gets confused, and the Lilith/WB Venn gets unpacked: it's the third #LilithFair40 episode, with the Indigo Girls, Letters to Cleo, Alanis, Liz Phair, and Michelle Branch rounding out the top 15. Secular hymns, hidden fists, zines, cool girls, and Dawson Leery (...again!): the quest for the Lilith Fairest of them all continues. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Dolly Parton. Interstitial music provided by Etta James. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Elle's oral history of "[Beep] and Run" Episode 55: Four by Phair Single 51: The Woodstock '99 documentary (not the new Netflix one; the other one) Episode 170: "Jagged Little Pill," Ranked About Cometbus Director Susan Skoog remembers Whatever at Filmmaker Magazine Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The rankings get exponentially tougher in our second episode, with k.d. lang, Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, The Cranberries, and Melissa Etheridge joining the countdown. Raisin girls, genre-defying voices, The Hall Of B-Plus, and when a window is just a window as we introduce the 10 Lilith Fairest songs on our chart. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by The Ladybugs. Interstitial music provided by k.d. lang via Joni Mitchell. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 60: "Little Earthquakes," Ranked Episode 190: "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," Ranked Visit our sponsor, BetterHelp 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 first "real" episode of the Lilith Fair 40: Dar Williams, Meredith Brooks, Frente!, Suzanne Vega, and The Corrs inaugurate our chart, with help from the MCSL "listies" mixtape, greasy-haired sad boys, how to sing about a building collapse, incomplete subversion of the male gaze, and sibling bands to fall asleep to. All this, and Mark may have identified his overall #1 song -- in the first five minutes! Put on an extra layer of crystal deodorant, because we're on a journey here, people. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Carly Simon. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Episode 125: Abba-sode! with Adam Grosswirth Episode 135: Shakira, "She-Wolf" "[expletive deleted]" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to The Lilith Fair 40, in which we put on broomstick-pleated skirts and Pride jewelry, light some Nag Champa, and set off on a journey of discovery: what is the Lilith Fairest song of all time? This season, we're looking at the woman-forward festival of the late '90s; our own musical attitudes from that time; and misogyny in pop music -- and in THIS episode, we're revealing the 40 songs under discussion, and explaining the process. We're very XXcited to get started, so grab a peasant blouse and join us! Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Denise & Co. To contact us or buy our books, visit MarkAndSarahTalkAboutSongs.com. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES The Lilith Fair 40 homepage Yes, Lilith Fair was a real thing Vanity Fair's oral history of the festival Check out our sponsor, BetterHelp Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.