A Reading Break

Cecilia shares some updates, including an article of hers that’s new in Longreads: “Let Go of Your Ego: A Reading List on Brian Wilson and PET SOUNDS” (https://tinyurl.com/2p879xzv). If you’re looking for some not-so-scholarly addenda to the whole first season of this podcast, then all you need is this list. If nothing else, it’ll give you some fun rabbit-hole reading to cap off the week. In the meantime, keep an ear out for our next Newman episodes, and catch up on the Beach Boys ones if you’re not caught up already.

We’re in a transitional phase at the moment, but hang in there—we’ll be back soon with the next segment of the Newman season. In the meantime, go catch up on Volumes 2 and 1!

And now for something completely different! Cecilia is joined by Natalia Cardenas, host of the She Loves You Podcast (listen here: shorturl.at/egnsD), to discuss the Beatles and the myriad roles women played in their lives and career—Cynthia Powell Lennon mostly, but also Pattie Boyd, Jane Asher, Maureen Starkey, and, of course, Yoko Ono. Plus the fans, who masterminded just about everything except the music. Shout-outs along the way to (who else?) the Beach Boys and the Mamas & the Papas. Check out Natalia’s work on Instagram @cynthialennondaily and @shelovesyoupodcast.

In our dissection of yet another song-quoting song, we’re helped by no less than everyone! Kathleen Hanna. Garfunkel & Oates. Jim Croce. Peter, Paul, & Mary. Lou Reed (again). Woody Guthrie. Wallace Shawn. Dr. Seuss. You get the picture. There are POV shifts and Pixar shout-outs. Plus, we put an end to the who-gets-the-decades debate!

We dive deep into the ethnic and religious demographics of Chicago for a song about a hastily arranged wedding. We discuss theories of short fiction. We pay our compositional respects to the Bard of Long Island, Sir William Joel, for his potential Newman references. And we take a stance as a staunchly anti-Rudyard Kipling podcast. Bases covered. Honorable mentions: “Volare” (the song and, apparently, the car) and THE IRISHMAN, a movie neither of us saw.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear a comprehensive history of the Hollywood cowboy and/or the American folk tradition, have we got an episode for you. If you’ve never wanted to be a cowboy, you’re lying to yourself. And Zooey Deschanel reserves the right to come on the pod whenever she wants. Visitations along the way from Tom Stoppard, Bob Dylan, the Three Amigos, and a singing bush. (CW: mention of rape)

A regular love song for a change! No strings attached. We dissect the romantic counterpart to the platonic “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and shout out its special place in Gigliotti family lore. Old Randy might win the favor of the Suits after all. Also: Rickie Lee Jones foretells her work with Lenny Waronker, and Van Dyke Parks is the intersection of all notable California composers.

Today we dig into one of Cecilia’s favorite tracks, all about urban planning gone wrong. Where does Newman’s dismal portrait fit into the canon of Baltimore-themed media, from HAIRSPRAY to THE WIRE? Honorable mentions: the reggae movement and the diversely talented Nina Simone.

Jewish geniuses left and right! We talk appropriating American legend inside and outside the musical canon, distinction between types of travelers, Advanced Dream Interpretation, and little boys playing baseball in the rain. Plus…the true meaning of Christmas?

Happy week between holidays! While you get caught up on the first season and a half, we plug our new insta (@pod_sounds_podcast) and shout out some of this year’s Christmas tunes on rotation. Celebrate safe!