LYRICS FOR LUNCH

This week, we take a look at the making of Billie Eilish’s Oscar-winning “What Was I Made For?” AKA “Barbie’s heart song” — commissioned by Greta Gerwig for the billion dollar blockbuster that takes aim at patriarchy, glass ceilings, and unattainable beauty standards…? Sublime!

In December of 1967, before the release of their biggest hit in the United States, The Zombies called it quits. Seeing a money-making opportunity, two shady promoters from Michigan created not one, but two (!!!) imposter bands calling themselves The Zombies and put them on the road. This week, Aviv and Lindsay dive into the insane true story, and ask how could this have happened in the sixties, and then somehow again in the 1980s.

Pop artist Andy Warhol famously quipped, "In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." This week, we meet the so-called Warhol Superstars — the gritty and glamorous entourage depicted in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," the poetic and unlikely Top 40 breakthrough that gave voice to people outcasted from mainstream society and immortalized them forever in song. 

This week we’re hot on the trail of the bizarre conspiracy theory claiming Canadian pop-punkster Avril Lavigne was replaced by a body double shortly after the success of her first album, Let Go. Is there any merit to this mystery? Let’s just say it’s complicated. Join us this week as we go way down the rabbit hole on the aledged replacement of the Real Avril.

What do the Avengers, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-haired Men, and the Traveling Wilburys have in common? They're all part of our first ever Lyrics for Lunch trivia episode! Have fun, and may the odds be ever in your favor

This is the story of Luke Combs, a mediocre man with a guitar, riding the coattails of Tracy Chapman, a queer woman of color. Or is it? While the latter has 4 multi-platinum albums and 4 Grammys in her own right, she’s making headlines once again as the first Black woman to win a Country Music Association (CMA) award … prompting us to ask the questions: What is still very wrong with the country music industrial complex? And what does Nelson Mandela have to do with it?

Between 1975 and 1982, a blood-thirsty gang of murderers terrorized a section of Northern Ireland. Nearly 30 years later, the Decemberists told the tale on their notable fourth album, The Crane Wife. But did they get the story right? And was it ever theirs to tell at all? We’ve got the whole story, this week on Lyrics for Lunch.

In honor of Taylor’s boyfriend heading to the Superbowl next week, we’re revisiting our All Too Well (10 Minute Version) episode where we examined all things Swiftie and some of TayTay’s less favorably remembered loves…. Enjoy!

You'd be hard pressed to ignore that something is going on with Taylor Swift this week. The release of her re-recorded 2012 album Red (Taylor's Version) sent Swiftie's on a tizzy of epic proportions. And in classic Swift "Style," Queen Tay did not disappoint: surprise dropping a short film, a new music video directed by Blake Lively, and in the time between recording this episode and uploading it, a #sadgirlautumn version of "All Too Well" featuring The National's Aaron Dessner. But why is Taylor re-recording her first 6 albums in the first place? And why is everyone so worried about the mental health of notorious scarf thief Jake Gyllenhaal? We've got the whole scoop — plus the inside story from our special guest, musician Elayna Harrison, one of the lucky few Swiftie's invited to the secret All Too Well film premier. I think it’s safe to say we Need to Calm Down.

This year on New Year’s Eve, Green Day, one of the best selling rock bands in history, changed the lyrics to their 2004 Anti-Bush anthem, American Idiot, to take a shot at the MAGA crowd. This week, Lindsay and Aviv dive deep into the band’s history, ideology, and recording style to determine when, if ever, Green Day jumped the shark.

What do Stacy's Mom, A Colbert Christmas, Tom Hanks' directorial debut, a water feature store in New Jersey, and Emmy winner Crazy Ex Girlfriend all have in common? A master composer and musical comedy writer with a legacy as joyful as they come.

This week we look at how the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl took Fairytale of New York from an elusive bet to one of the most-loved Christmas songs of all time. Happy holidays, everyone!

What started as a requiem for a glacier became a triumphant call for hope and action in the fight to save our planet. This week: How environmentalist and LGBTQIA activist Pattie Gonia teamed up with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and trans singer-songwriter (2019 Tiny Desk winner) Quinn Christopherson to create a musical rallying cry for the most critical movement this world has ever seen. And yes, the fits were fabulous.

If you thought Bad Blood was just for the Swifties, think again. This week, we've got the story of a beef so strong, it inspired a movement of killer lyrics, offensive hair, bloody T-shirts, and  — you guessed it — dangerous misogyny. Screenwriter and emo expert Jim McDevitt of Boston’s legend(waitforit)dary Bukowski's Tavern and host of the "Should have Been Their Last" podcast is here to set the record straight. Tell all your friends! 

As the mystery of Hall & Oates's unraveling ... unravels, we bring you everything we know about the “ultimate partnership betrayal" tearing apart the beige dynamic duo — and everything we knew before that — from green pancakes to the Son of Sam killings and beyond.

This week, by listener request, we bring you the tale of the chilling “therapy” that inspired some strange art — that inspired some strange art — that inspired some strange art.

Sixties folk icon and Sesame Street trailblazer Buffy Sainte-Marie has come under fierce scrutiny since the CBC published a bombshell exposé in late October accusing her of fabricating her story of indigenous ancestry — a story she’s been telling variations of for more than 60 years. Today we dive into Buffy’s past, her accolades, her accusations, and her fabrications.

This week we’re bringing you the obscure true story of an OG MPDG — the muse behind James Taylor’s classic "Fire & Rain."

Here's a story about Jelly Man Kelly. He sure loves Jelly.

And maybe some day, me and you, friend, we can have tea with him.

Hey hey it's our 100th episode! In celebration (or maybe not so much), we're diving deeeep into how the pop industrial complex used Britney Spears as a pawn in the ongoing scheme to oppress millennial women. 

In honor of Spooky Season, we're bringing you the frightening tale of one nepo baby with a ghastly fake accent and a fascination with voyeurism.

In the year 2000, Eminem’s “Stan” gave new name to an obsessive fan, and in doing so, left an eternal mark on popular culture and vernacular. Twenty three years later, as “stanning” continues to evolve, we take a hard look at the creative genius behind some problematic art, uncover the secret inspiration for the song "Stan" — and ask the question, when does “art” go too far?

Forty years after its release, the opening guitar lick and congenial snare response of Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” remain a calling card for end of the second Millennium. This week we look at the circumstances that led to its rise a cult classic — and ask our favorite question … what is this song even about? 

The Spice Girls hit the peak of their fame in 1997 with the release of their second album, Spiceworld . It would be the last album the iconic five some would ever put out together. Their final song was Spiceworld’s chart-topper “Viva Forever,” a sultry ballad about a secret love that was lost. So who was it about? And why did the Spice Girls break up when they appeared to be just heating up? We’ve got the whole story, this week on Lyrics for Lunch.

In 1999, TV and film soundtracks were as popular as women-as-prizes plot lines. This week, we take a look at Sixpence None The Richer’s sleeper hit, “Kiss Me,” which had a starring role in multiple problematic plot lines and became 1999’s most played song in 11 countries. 

Wednesday night, the first Republican presidential primary debate kicked off by asking presidential hopefuls not about policy or solutions to our nation's biggest problems — no. When Fox News host Martha MacCallum took to the mic to ask her first question, it was about country newcomer Oliver Anthony, whose lighting rise to fame was so unbelievable that folks who understand how going viral actually works started asking questions. This week, we follow the trail to find out who is behind Anthony's rise to fame, and take a look at the song lyrics galvanizing Good Ol' Boys with its evocation of Regan-era tropes and QAnon conspiracies.

This week we pay tribute to the legendary life of Tina Turner, from her unlikely rise to stardom and her courage on stage and off.

In May 2021, a video of a teenage punk band went viral. The original song they were performing in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month was an anti-hate original they’d written in the wake of pandemic lockdown as anti-Asian sentiments were growing among racists everywhere. “Racist, Sexist Boy” caught the attention of some heavy hitting musicians — and today the Linda Lindas have appeared in two films and are touring with Paramore. How did this all happen so quickly? We’ll give you two guesses. But even if the Linda Lindas are the new nepobabies in town, we’re here for the representation they offer to young people everywhere. And their music is pretty cool, too.

This week, with trans rights under continuous attack, we look at the life of Against Me! lead singer, Laura Jane Grace — from clashing with the law as a teenager, to coming up in the punk rock scene, to finding the courage to embody her true self. We’ll look at the secrets Laura was sharing with her fans through her music, and how her lyrical camouflage helped her and others like her find the courage to life their authentic lives.

Doja Cat’s career has not been without controversy since her 2018 internet breakout “MOOO! (Bitch I’m a Cow)” dazzled the hearts and minds of anyone with a cell phone. Since then, she’s collab’d with SZA, the Weekend, won an MTV Music Video Award for Best New Artist, and casually changed what it means to be an American rapper. But the snags she’s hit along the way have been so questionable they prompted the New York Times to ask, “Is Doja Cat Uncancelable?” Join us on our quest for the truth — on the bumpy road of blue face, joyful farm puns, and the complicated, potentially misunderstood Doja Cat song “Dindu Nuffin.”

In the mid-1960s, Sammy Davis Jr. was the third most-famous black person in the world — just behind Dr. Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali. Davis, undoubtedly the most popular of the three, dazzled audiences with song, dance, and self-deprecation, skills he learned could help save his skin in the Army where he suffered racist violence that would leave him permanently disfigured. But Davis was determined not to let racism stop him, even when it came between him and the love of his life. This week, we explore the extraordinary life and legacy of Mister Show Business. Hold onto your hats.

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have been off and on since they were teenagers. More than a decade later, Miley’s burning it all down. But what are the circumstances that led to her mega-hit breakup anthem “Flowers”? And what exactly does Bruno Mars have to do with it? Did Miley and Dolly Parton start a cult to get kicked out of elementary school? We’ve got the whole scoop, this week on Lyrics for Lunch.

In 1991, an eerie, grunge tale of teen violence swept popular culture. The rumor mill went wild: Was Jeremy about a school shooting? Revenge for childhood bullying? An evil kid with Daddy issues? But the true story of Jeremy Wade Dell is a lot more complicated than the chorus of a song. And the problems that led to his death have heart-wrenchingly only gotten worse over the past two decades. Join us this week for a rollercoaster ride of tragedies — from childhood suicide to Ron DeSantis and the saga of the Tennessee Three.

This one's for Craig and Clare.

In 2002, a Little Love Song That Could finally made its way from Vanessa Carlton’s brain out into the world — and the world was never the same. How did one song manage to catapult careers (Terry Crews included) while becoming the calling card for the Basic B? What happened to Vanessa after her song went platinum? And, perhaps most importantly, who is this song about? We’ve got all this and more, this week on Lyrics for Lunch.

What happens when two domineering stage parents decide that the fate of their family is written in the stars? And how many of Destiny’s Children did Beyonce trample on her way to becoming Queen Bey? We’ve got the stories behind the scandals — this week on Lyrics for Lunch.

Equal parts unlikely and inevitable, the rise of Andre Charles from poverty in the Atlanta punk scene, to drag icon for the 20th & 21st centuries, to fracking mogul — is a story as American as apple pie. This week, we explore his one and only musical chart topper, and what exactly he means by *work.*

[That's] Hot off the press: Hilton's memoir drops today, but we've already got the scoop on the making of the American heiress and the survivor beneath the facade. Join us for a very special re-release of the Paris Hilton story. 

This week, we bring you the story of how one of the most promising rock bands of the nineties fell from grace — and who was behind the crash.

Watch us on YouTube on Podcasts on VEVO.

It has been said that “Fat Cats, Bigga Fish” by the band The Coup “is to hip hop what Alan Ginsberg’s Howl is to poetry, Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” is to Jazz, or Marx’s Das Kapital is to socialist theory.” This week, Lindsay and Aviv take a deep dive into a hip hop record and a lyricist, Boots Riley, who has always weirdly been able to predict the future, maybe even 9/11. Let's just hope he's wrong about the horses...

Cyndi Lauper: Feminist icon, fierce ally, fashion legend, and WWE Hall-of-Famer … need we say more? This week, we take you behind the scenes on the making of the feisty equality anthem that almost never was.

On March 10, 2003, just days before the American invasion of Iraq, anti-war protests were growing in the streets of London. It was the start of the Dixie Chicks Top of the World Tour, and between songs at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Chicks lead singer, Natalie Maines, told the audience she was against war and violence, too. The resulting backlash went waaaay down in history as the premier example of modern-day cancellation. This is the story of what happens when “free speech” gets tested by those touting god, guns, and country.

In late 2004, an anonymous 18-year old uploaded a webcam video to the internet with the sole intention of making his friends smile. Little did he know he was about to define what it means to go viral. The boy? Gary Brolsma. The song? Dragostea Din Tei — an absolute banger that would turn Gary into an international superstar. Or was it the other way around? Did the song make Gary a sensation or did Gary make the song? Find out this week as we take a look at the Numa Numa song and the legend of Gary Brolsma.

Check us out on YouTube at PodcastsOnVEVO. 

By now the world is pretty convinced it knows who Carly Simon annihilated in 1971 when she penned her epic breakup anthem “You’re So Vain.” But like most songs on this show, the truth lies somewhere far more obscure. Join us this week as Aviv reveals the song’s true inspiration, and it isn’t Matthew McConaughey.

Lindsay is in the driver's seat this week as we cruise down the dark desert highway. Is The Eagles' Hotel California a backmasked, Satan-worshiping pop odyssey? A cannibalistic reggae riff? A thinly veiled metaphor for a trip the the mental institution, hidden to protect copyright? Or something far more sinister, a commentary on the music industry itself? All that and more, this week...

How did a sexed-up blues ditty become a non-sensical ode to ... Italian ice cream? We've got the scoop, this week, as we we take a look at the life and times of one Richard Wayne Penniman.