What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

Épisodes

• BREAKING MUSE: The Wow! Signal 01.07.2026 30min

  BONG. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY NEWS BROADCAST. The Big Mates discuss the newly released album The Wow! Signal by Muse. They give their first impressions and pick some standout tracks. Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and mor...
• Debut (Pt. 2) 29.06.2026 1h 16min

  The Big Mates discuss Goddesses, beauty, GoldenEye, and Debut by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and their track-by-track analysis of her first studio album. They explore the composition, tone, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song in turn - all from three differing perspectives, from being deeply into music and analysis, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between! They also look at how the writing of the album...
• Debut (Pt. 1) 22.06.2026 1h 22min

  The Big Mates discuss Mr. Oizo, the Second Summer of Love, Space Jam, and Debut by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their dissection of her first solo album by looking at how Björk wrote and recorded the album, the collaborations she sought to help her, and the thought behind the various styles found on the record. They also find time to explore a brief history of the relationship between the UK and electronic dance music, before starting the track-by-track analysis of the album, exp...
• Björk Handles Ants and Spiders and Lizards 15.06.2026 1h

  The Big Mates provide a special kind of audio accompaniment for a variety of clips from across the career of The Sugarcubes. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss Icelandic cuisine, currency conversion rates, successful side projects, milk, Top of the Pops, Joan Jett, Netflix podcasts, and MTV programming whilst watching some music videos for the band’s biggest hits, footage of them performing on TV, and archival footage of Björk’s earlier projects. Head to YouTube to watch along by clic...
• Stick Around for Joy 08.06.2026 1h 6min

  The Big Mates discuss antique shops, alternative dance music, relatively new sweets, and Stick Around for Joy by The Sugarcubes. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue the prologue of their deep-dive exploration into the music of Björk by talking about the third album by The Sugarcubes. They discuss the details of the band's hiatus, the journey to America to make the album, the incorporation of dance-influenced sounds, and offer analysis, interpretation, and opinion from three differing perspe...
• Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! 01.06.2026 1h 15min

  The Big Mates discuss classic cities, CBGB’s, allergies, and Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! by The Sugarcubes. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue the prologue of their deep-dive exploration into the music of Björk by talking about the second album by The Sugarcubes. They discuss how the band reacted to their early success, how the album was made, the expansion of the line-up, and offer analysis, interpretation, and opinion from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into...
• Life's Too Good 25.05.2026 1h 42min

  The Big Mates discuss speaking, growling, fasting, and Life's Too Good by The Sugarcubes. Adam, Steve, and Lucas properly begin their deep-dive exploration of Björk by talking about her upbringing, her musical background, the influences she found whilst discovering music, and how she started off her career. They discuss the early days of her creative output, the many projects she engaged with in Iceland, and how she found her artistic voice. They then talk about The Sugarcubes and ...
• Season 8 Introduction: Do You All Is Full Of Love Us? 18.05.2026 1h 15min

  Introducing Season 8 of the What Is Music? podcast, which is called "Do You All Is Full Of Love Us?: A Critical Analysis of the History, Cultural Impact, and Music of Björk". Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their deep-dive exploration of Björk by talking about their experiences with her music, their journeys with her over time, and what they know about her. They also talk about what they value in music and the roles it plays in their lives before exploring where Björk is from, the genres she ope...
• We Went to See Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) in 3D at the Cinema 11.05.2026 41min

  The Big Mates discuss the cats, burgers, popcorn, and the new Billie Eilish film. Adam, Steve, and Lucas met in person for the first time in decades to go and see Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D). They discuss the film, its focus, its direction, the performance, and its use of 3D! Our next episode is out next Monday, May 18th, and will see us begin a brand new season! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.soc...
• Who Is Music?: The Reckoning 04.05.2026 1h 2min

  The Big Mates look to the future of the podcast by kicking off a tournament to decide the artist covered in a future season of What Is Music? Adam, Steve, and Lucas reveal the participants for the forthcoming competition and set the first round of matches. These head-to-heads will take place daily, starting on Tuesday May 5th. The matches will be voted on by you, our listeners, and will take place exclusively on our Patreon - but you only need a Free Membership to participate. Head to...
• Album Club: U2 - The Joshua Tree 27.04.2026 4h 8min

  Now on our main feed, we present to you The WIM Album Club, with an episode we released on our Patreon earlier this year. The episode is a classic WIM deep-dive into the album The Joshua Tree by U2 and features all of the usual discussion, analysis, commentary, history, insight, and tangents you've come to expect from the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to our Patreon to hear more episodes on a range of different artists, in different genres, from different countries and era...
• Arctic Monkeys Final Thoughts 20.04.2026 3h 45min

  The Big Mates discuss and conclude their thoughts on Arctic Monkeys and their career. They bring a year-long journey to a close, with thoughts on the sound, story, and attitude of the band, a recap of each of their albums and moods, and a look at their impact and legacy. Thank you all for joining us! Our next episode is out next Monday! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram:...
• Arctic Monkeys Music Videos 13.04.2026 2h 39min

  The Big Mates watch all of Arctic Monkeys' music videos in one sitting. You can watch along with us here: www.bilibili.com/video/BV1AiQWBqEkR/ Or you can just listen without watching anything - that works too! Or you could make your own playlist - scroll down to see which videos we covered! Our next episode will see us wrap-up and offer final thoughts on the whole 7-album, 22-year career of Arctic Monkeys and is out on Monday April 20th! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.a...
• INTRODUCING: Welcome to Twin Peaks 08.04.2026 44min

  Welcome to Welcome to Twin Peaks: A Twin Peaks Podcast for Beginners. Join Adam and Steve as they put on their investigation trenchcoats, pour a hot steaming cup of coffee, and dive into the world of Twin Peaks. In this first episode they introduce the podcast, the season to come, and their relationship with Twin Peaks and David Lynch. They discuss their knowledge of the show, including its place in culture at the time it was released and now, the vibe of the show, and whether or not the co...
• Arctic Monkeys B-Sides (Pt. 2) 06.04.2026 1h 30min

  The Big Mates mixed bags, S Club Juniors, tracklistings, and A Selection of B-Sides by Arctic Monkeys. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their dissection of the career of Arctic Monkeys by looking at a variety of b-sides from across their career. They discuss the writing, rehearsal, and recording of these songs from numerous eras, exploring the composition, tone, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song in turn - all from three differing perspectives, from being deeply into music and an...
• Arctic Monkeys B-Sides (Pt. 1) 30.03.2026 1h 30min

  The Big Mates discuss crows, ravens, flamingoes, and A Selection of B-Sides by Arctic Monkeys. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their dissection of the career of Arctic Monkeys by looking at a variety of b-sides from across their career. They discuss the writing, rehearsal, and recording of these songs from numerous eras, exploring the composition, tone, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song in turn - all from three differing perspectives, from being deeply into music and ...
• Arctic Monkeys Live at Glastonbury Festival 2023 Commentary 23.03.2026 1h 56min

  The Big Mates provide pointy and muddy audio commentary for Arctic Monkeys Live at Glastonbury Festival 2023. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the 2023 headlining performance as broadcast to television, and as witness with Adam's own two eyes. They also talk about how the band toured The Car. Head to YouTube to watch along here: https://archive.org/details/arctic-monkeys-glastonbury-2023 Or don't watch along - the episode works fine either way! Our next episode comes out Monday M...
• The Car (Pt. 2) 16.03.2026 1h 40min

  The Big Mates discuss Arrested Development, cowboys, J.W. Pepper, and The Car by Arctic Monkeys. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Arctic Monkeys and conclude their track-by-track analysis of their seventh studio album. They explore the composition, tone, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song in turn - all from three differing perspectives, from being deeply into music and analysis, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between!...
• The Car (Pt. 1) 09.03.2026 1h 46min

  The Big Mates discuss textual mishaps, DVD technology, Waluigi, and The Car by Arctic Monkeys. Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their dissection of the band's seventh and most recent album by talking about orchestras, pandemics, and how they entered the studio to record a guitar-based rock album. They discuss the writing, rehearsal, and recording of what became The Car, explore the overall themes and sound, and begin their track-by-track analysis, exploring the composition, tone, lyri...
• Arctic Monkeys Live at the Royal Albert Hall 02.03.2026 1h 5min

  The Big Mates discuss the Turkish barber experience, winter camping, live documents, and Live at the Royal Albert Hall by Arctic Monkeys. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the band's career by examining their one and only live album! What do we make of this album? What do we make of live albums in general? What is munge? Find out on this episode of What Is Music? Our next episode is out next week, Monday March 9th, and will see us begin the deep-dive into The Car! Joi...