Speaking Of Music...

speaking of rae... this week the girls (finally!) dive into rae, the sophomore album from ashe. after a wonderous and soulful discussion about ashlyn over a year ago, they are finally back to dance and cry to the jazzy vibes of rae. victoria brings up her many emotional attachments on this album, anusha tells everyone to not get emosh, and sofia points out the emotional perfections throughout the album. enjoy the chaotic but lovely rant about one of the girls' favorite albums of 2022!

speaking of taylor... this week anusha, victoria, and sofia create a fun game to come up with a mock setlist for taylor swift's "the eras tour", which is set to begin in just a few days. they talk about their individual approaches and personal preferences while picking a song from each album, a cover, and a mashup before putting it all in order; just like a mini setlist. sofia draws just a few too many ties back to the reputation tour, anusha combines classics and "underground" favorites, and victoria picks the broodiest songs ever. all in all, the speaking of music podcast is thrilled have another excuse to talk about taylor. make sure to vote for your favorite setlist on instagram @thespeakingofmusicpodcast!

speaking of marginalia... this week, the girls dive into the world of "happy music for sad people" -- ella jane's newest ep, marginalia. the discuss the ep's careful curation of heartbreak, longing, and adoration. vic enjoys the moods that ella sets throughout the album, sofia appreciates ella's relatability, and as always, anusha has a lot to say about the concepts. most importantly, this tracklist taught the girls that they actually struggle with basic spelling (see: the word "shouldn't." where does the apostrophe go??). as always they have the most love for miss ella jane

speaking of 3 am... this week the girls continue their midnights discussion with the 7 bonus tracks that taylor released 3 hours after the original 13 tracks. sofia discusses all the evermore vibes and aaron dessner, anusha gushes over countless lyrics, and victoria expresses her love for everything that the extra tracks bring to the album. hope you enjoy the chaos that is this episode!

speaking of midnights... the overdue episode has finally arrived! the girls sit down and discuss taylor swift's tenth studio album, touching on everything from the promo to the suspense to the new production choices, and, of course, the lyrics. sofia brings up how the songs are loosely reminiscent of her older discography and goes on a spiel about the relationship between "maroon" and "red." anusha starts counting every single question in "question...?" and victoria embodies her masterminded-ness. hope you enjoy the latest chaotic installment of this podcast. 

speaking of 2023... the girls are so excited to kick off the new year of this podcast with their 2023 music predictions! ranging from already-announced projects like miley's endless summer vacation to complete speculations like a silk sonic comeback, they discuss only a portion of what this year has to offer. listen to get excited for everything coming your way this year! 

*this episode was recorded on January 8th, so some information is slightly outdated, but we had fun speculating at that time anyway

speaking of shawn mendes... this week the girls return to their album vs album series with a shawn mendes installation! each track from shawn mendes' self-titled album is lined up against a track from his most recent album wonder, and the girls choose which one they would rather keep. listen to hear about sofia's strong attachements to certain shawn mendes songs while anusha and victoria just lay their opinion down. 

speaking of shawn mendes... this week the girls discuss shawn mendes' self-titled third studio album. sofia starts fangirling left and right and victoria points out how faraway and intruiging japan is. the conversation inevitably steers toward justin beiber on multiple occasions, and the nostalgia of this album forces sofia to point out all the things she did not understand as a younger child. and of course, the girls recount the entire camila-shawn relationship timeline. listen to hearsofia defend her attachments, anusha point out the high and low points, and victoria constantly bring up how cute the whole album is. 

speaking of 5sos... after a wonderous discussion about everyone's love for 5SOS and their new album, the girls put it head to head with CALM. sofia laments about how every decision is a hard one and victoria points out her clear favorites, which were greatly influenced by radio play. meanwhile, anusha shows off her strong teeth. the conversation is steered toward lady gaga (courtesy of victoria) but then is later steered toward taylor swift by sofia as the girls try to voice their love for these two albums. listen and follow along to see where your opinions match in this new installment of album vs album.

speaking of 5SOS5... this week the girls devote their discussion to australia's most famous four-piece, 5 seconds of summer. victoria gets bullied for her taste in "emo" song titles, anusha touches on her love for big words, and sofia does not refrain from constant fangirling (and fun facts!). listen to hear some unintentional 5sos hot takes, bad puns, and considerably better music talk.

speaking of charlie... this week speaking of music takes on charlie puth’s latest studio album. anusha enjoys the clever wordplay of ‘loser’ (and lose her) while sofia defends tracks like "when you’re sad i’m sad." victoria gives the production a stamp of approval and if there’s one thing they all think about this episode it’s: "that’s hilarious."

speaking of ctrl... this week, the girls finally enter the world of r&b perfection that is sza's album, ctrl. they discuss the various pop culture references scattered throughout the album, including in "go gina" and "drew barrymore." victoria voices distaste over both the name gina and the song (sorry to victoria's friend named gina), sofia expresses her love for "the weekend", and anusha gushes over "supermodel." in a chaotic-as-always episode, enjoy a brief tiktok dance retelling from sofia, victoria sort of insulting ginas worldwide, and anusha bringing up sza's existential aging crisis every so often. 

speaking of tender... this week, the girls spotlight cece coakley as the podcast's artist of the month by dissecting her ep "tender." they discuss her use of real-life cliches in the song "cliche," the originality of the song "listerine," and praise her full, deep voice and masterful production. you don't want to miss this episode and if you haven't listened to the ep yet, make sure to check cece's music out!

speaking of surrender... this week the girls can barely contain their energy as they talk maggie rodgers. sofia comes out as a "that's where i am" stan and laughs at bella hadid the horse girl, anusha brings up the concept of rain (who would've guessed?), and victoria expresses her hate for the month of june as well as her love for a damn good violin. follow these three glass-shattering speakers into the world of surrender, where waving the white flag is the only option.

speaking of special... the girls dive into lizzo's new album this week, discussing all the good vocals and slightly questionable lyrics. victoria expresses her interest in catchy choruses while anusha expresses her appreciation for how lizzo always makes her messages within her songs very straightforward. sofia is glad that there are a lot of fun times on the album. even through all the little nit-picks, the girls express their love for the album and for lizzo. 

speaking of sidney bird... this week the girls have a very special episode! they interview sidney bird about her new song, "on brand." sidney explains how the pandemic allowed her to find herself in music and how her upbringing in musical theater and comedy contributed to her daily life, as well as her musical choices. the discussion then moves on to the new single, the important message behind it, and the interesting catches the girls discovered in the music video. listen to hear a wonderful discussion with this rising artist!

speaking of three. two. one... this week, the girls take on lennon stella's album three. two. one. sofia reminisces on lennon's old days with maisy and the girls discuss lennon's growth and reinvention in the music industry. sofia and anusha obsess over "much too much" while victoria brings up how lennon's golf on tv slander is indeed warranted in this episode that is just as chaotic as you'd expect.  

speaking of home video... this week the girls dive into lucy dacus' most recent project, home video. sofia can't help but rave about her favorite tracks (brando anyone?) and victoria gives the production two thumbs up. anusha, although sick with covid (she's all good now don't worry), was not deterred from her usual praise of the stunning conceptual elements of this album. overall, they are thoroughly impressed by lucy's nostalgic feel and cannot wait to hear more from such a brilliant artist.

speaking of superache... this week the girls dive into conan gray's highly anticipated sophomore album, superache. they discuss their opinions on the promotion techniques used and how it affected their rankings. sofia and victoria support each other by somehow having extremely similar rankings while they discuss the various levels of concepts used in the album. anusha defends her opinions on tracks like "family line" and "yours" while sofia and victoria go off on the questionable rhyming that occurred throughout the album. even though they slander some parts of the album just a little, the girls still appreciate conan's second album and will continue to listen. 

speaking of boyish... this week, the girls highlight their favorite indie alt duo, boyish! they gush about how much they love their music and recount watching them open for ella jane back in december. they then discuss their newest ep, my friend mica. anusha brings up the intriguing song titles, victoria brings up the fun cover arts, and sofia expresses her love for every single song. hope you enjoy!

speaking of this is what it feels like... this week, the podcast dissects gracie abrams' latest ep. they touch on her masterful production, her gift for storytelling, and her lovely voice repeatedly throughout the episode. in this episode, anusha delivers a pretty bad pun about maine, vic talks about how california is quite exhausting, and sofia manages sneak a taylor swift reference in there. as always, the girls manage to keep it chaotic while delivering a thorough and complete discussion, so make sure to tune into this episode! 

speaking of harry's house... this week the girls dive in to yet another highly anticipated album by none other than harry styles. as you can imagine, sofia is beyond thrilled and dotes on every single track, but specifically "daylight." anusha agrees and points out all of her favorite romantic lyrics and as always, victoria comments on the production choices. listen for a surprisingly casual conversation (at least by sofia's standards) about love, music, and cursing the daylight.

speaking of five seconds flat... the girls get back to their superiority complex ravings with one of their favorite recent releases, five seconds flat by lizzy mcalpine. victoria starts off the conversation with her insane love for "doomsday" as well as some questionable lyric fixations. anusha discusses how the concepts of all the songs are so satisfying, and sofia praises the well-produced build-ups in the production. they discuss how sad "chemtrails" is as well as its correct use of voice memos. the girls have so much love for this album and they hope you enjoy this discussion :)

speaking of montero... this week's episode has been a long time coming as the girls dive in to lil nas x's first studio album "Montero". sofia can't help but highlight his queer influence on the music industry (but hey it's pride month isnt it?) and victoria backs her up with evidence of a strong debut. sofia and anusha out themselves as "SCOOP" stans, and as always, they all share some good laughs while discussing this album full of suprises.

speaking of jubilee... this week the girls discuss the grammy-nominated third album from japanese breakfast, jubilee. victoria leads the discussion, expressing her love for the production and sound of the songs. she then brings up her orchestra days, and sofia discusses the originality of the concepts. anusha brings up the consistent lyricism in the album, and the discussion continues with so much love for this body of art. hope you enjoy! :)

speaking of dove cameron... this week the girls sit down and discuss one of their favorite underappreciated ex-acts, dove cameron! the episode starts very chaotically as they try to explain how they knew of dove, and then it kicks off strong with a very appreciative discussion about a favorite, "lazybaby." then, victoria pulls out her assassin obsession for "bloodshot" and "waste" and gets attacked by anusha and sofia. overall, the conversation is fun and chaotic for a fun and chaotic artist. hope you enjoy :)

*this episode was recorded before the release of "boyfriend"* 

speaking of isabel pless... this week the girls bring back their artist of the month series and talk about their latest obsession: none other than isabel pless. victoria, as always brings in her anxiety playlist, sofia goes on a quick running rant (and slanders swimmers in the process), and anusha can't help but talk about her clever themes and wordplay. tune in to hear their opinions on isabel's three newest singles and drinking more water!

speaking of fearless... this week, the girls were dragged headfirst into taylor's first re-recorded album, fearless (taylor's version). they have a lot of fun putting on their best worst country accents for these sweet, innocent, love-filled songs, and overall have a blast dissecting this album. anusha falls deeply in love with taylor's personification of rain while vic and sofia gatekeep breathe. after discussing some controversial songs they think are a tad overrated, they end up reflecting on their old opinions of the album. they don't know how it gets better than this, so enjoy the episode :)

speaking of love (and also war)... today, anusha, sof, and vic cover something new and exciting for the podcast - a musical novella. titled "Love in Times of War", the novella alternates between speaking tracks that spin a heartbreaking story and musical tracks that bring the story to life. the story is a timeless one of two generations and the balance between love and war. the girls dissect the novella piece by piece while praising literary elements, brilliant instances of foreshadowing, and the full-circle nature of this story that makes it so fulfilling. 

Thank you Beck Norman and Love in Times of War for sponsoring this episode. 

speaking of vessel... today the girls delve into a new genre, namely alt rock, with some twenty-one pilots. vic exposes her sad girl vibes when she eagerly breaks down "migraine," and sofia shows her newfound twenty-one pilots appreciation with her thoughts on "ode to sleep." anusha brings back her love for concepts (and also ukuleles) while discussing "house of gold," and sofia brings up weirdly specific correlations of cream soda lollipops, target commercials, and geometry dash. enjoy this definitely interesting but also insightful discussion :) 

speaking of phoebe... this week the girls bring in a special guest, the resident pharb catherine, to talk about tracks from phoebe's debut and sophmore albums  in a head-to-head style battle. tune in to hear some unsurprising comments about concepts from anusha, a strange amount of agreement between sofia and victoria, as well as fresh thoughts from the lovely special guest!

speaking of stranger in the alps... the girls return to the world of phoebe bridgers with her debut album, "stranger in the alps." the episode starts off strong with some rants from anusha about the first few tracks and major appreciation for phoebe's writing style and production choices. as the discussion continues, victoria reveals her and phoebe's mutual love for killing and murder, while sofia brings up the significance behind phoebe's obsession. many lyrics are labeled as favorites and many murders are analyzed as the girls show so much appreciation for this album. 

speaking of not your muse... this week, the girls immerse themselves in celeste's debut album, not your muse. they work together to dissect the countless layers of her intricate storytelling and comment on her rich, soulful voice. sofia and victoria express much love for the track "strange" while anusha gushes over "the promise." they go on to talk about celeste's deliberate musical choices, their desire to see her live, and they repeatedly mention her killer range. enjoy a surprisingly put together episode filled with laughs, vegetarian jokes, and unsurprisingly, victoria's ability to bring up marvel regardless of the situation. 

speaking of plastic hearts... this week, the girls break down the most recent album from miley cyrus, titled plastic hearts. The discussion starts with a lot of laughing and zero focus on the actual episode but quickly turns to immense love for this album and for miley. victoria and sofia have a gatekeeping argument over "angels like you" which then turns into an argument about the lyrics. they discuss some songs that they didn't feel as strongly about, and it is brought up again how anusha doesn't love as hard as victoria and sofia do. the episode wraps up bordering the edge of chaos, but the girls keep it together to express their love for this album and its catchy songs. enjoy this chaotic yet hilarious episode :) 

speaking of dawn fm... today, anusha, vic, and sof take a leap into the world of the weeknd's dawn fm. they praise abel's jump into an era full of new sounds and immerse themselves in an album full of disco beats, chill vocals, and potentially questionable features. anusha especially has some comments about the lil wayne feature, but comes to appreciate abel's vocals in "out of time." meanwhile, sof and vic praise tyler, the creator's feature and talk about the discord between the songs and the radio outros. overall, the girls had fun listening to one of the weeknd's most experimental albums yet and are hopeful that his future music will show more vocal growth. 

speaking of the rabbit hole... this week, the girls re-enter the world of ashe (because really, it's just ashe's world and we're all living in it) with her debut ep, "the rabbit hole." they once again express their immense love for ashe and her sound all while dissecting the ep track by track. after showing appreciation for ashe's 60's-inspired sound, unique songwriting style, and rich voice, the girls conclude the episode by saying that sometimes people suck, but ashe certainly doesn't. 

speaking of optimist... this week is filled with 90’s talk, business classes, and sad girl lyrics as sofia, anusha, and victoria discuss FINNEAS’ debut album. starting off with “Medieval”, they speak highly of his ability to properly target feelings and emotions in a way that connects to the listener. later, vic gets into her classical music superiority complex and flaunts her connection to “Peaches Etude”. surprisingly, they are able to avoid fighting over rankings and have a peaceful and enjoyable episode about an album they regard so highly.

speaking of lover... on this fine valentine’s day, the girls break down an album that embodies the concept of love itself - lover by taylor swift. kicking the episode off with an all around love for tracks like “Death By A Thousand Cuts” and “Cornelia Street,” they passionately embark on a discussion about taylor’s storytelling ability and powerful production choices. even though there is some disagreement, (namely a debate on “ME!,” some slandering of “The Man” and lecture about “The Archer”) sofia, anusha, and victoria pull it together to shower the title track with all the love they hope you receive this february 14th

speaking of rachael jenkins... this week, in the podcast's very first episode of "new artist of the month," the girls dive into the discography of rachael jenkins, yet another one of sofia's indie music escapades. starting off strong, they praise the magical musicality of "untitled," and dissect the lyricism surrounding struggles with religion. next, they praise rachael's deep, gorgeous voice and talk about the embodiment of personality in the song "i don't know." wrapping up the discussion with the incredible "allergy season," anusha praises the concept while victoria shows a lot of love for the metaphors. overall the girls can't say enough incredible things about rachael, so make sure to check out her music and potentially find someone new to add to your playlist :)

speaking of 30... adele's big comeback album was finally released, and of course the girls had to talk about it as their first discussion of the new year and new season. the episode starts out with some questions about the album cover and chaotic rankings, but it falls into an interesting discussion about how this album is something fresh but still authentic to adele. the girls touch on the excessive song lengths and sofia brings up that voice memos in songs can be done improperly and properly, with both ways being present on this album. even though there are some mixed feelings about this album present, the girls still want to express their respect and admiration of adele and her music. enjoy the first episode of season 2! 

speaking of 2022... fifteen years and fifteen million tears later (actually: six months and fifteen million bloopers later), the speaking of music podcast is rounding off season one! the girls have learned and grown so much together, and in this episode, they look back at a chaotic half a year and reflect on some highlights. they go through award categories (the speaking of music awards), and announce that they're taking a brief hiatus in january to reflect and refine their content. and as always, byeee :) 

speaking of cuz i love you... this week's episode centers around cuz i love you, lizzo's grammy-winning third album. the discussion starts with a slight disagreement about "tempo" but quickly turns to full appreciation for lizzo's tone, lyrics, style, and overall artistry. the girls gush about the lyricism and self-confidence messages sprinkled within the album and anusha brings up concepts (as she always does). sofia brings her sister into her opinions about the album and victoria shows her true arianator when talking about the "good as hell" remix. listen and enjoy a lot of lizzo appreciation :)

speaking of christmas... kelly clarkson released a new christmas album, and the girls are ready to dissect it just in time for the holidays. starting off strong, they run through their rankings, mentioning the genius of christmas isn't canceled (just you), and they repeatedly praise kelly's full-bodied, experienced voice. in a bonus filled with laughs, christmas music slander, and even an extra way to enter our evermore giveaway (!!), the speaking of music podcast wants to wish all of you the warmest of holidays filled with lots of love