Harkpodcast

This week we're forgoing our tradition of covering more religious songs for the Easter and Pesach seasons in favor of lighter fare. We dig into two 2020 Hanukkah songs brought to you by that one company that owns most of the things! You know the one. "Hanukkah Medley" performed by Julia Lester of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series packs three traditional Hanukkah songs (including one that we assumed was an original during recording) and several costume changes into just two minutes. "Puppy for Hanukkah" by Daveed Diggs also has a lot going on - including, you know, being a bop. Our ranking music this episode is "Puppies are Forever" by Sia.

It's St. Patrick's Day, so for this episode we've got... well, one mildly relevant song. By request, we listen to "The Season's Upon Us" by Dropkick Murphys, a Celtic-punk entry in the "I hate my family" subgenre of holiday tunes. Then we hear No Doubt's rendition of "Oi to the World", evoking both nostalgia and regret. Our ranking music in this episode is "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys. Thank you to Scott for these requests!

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8th, we're listening to two songs that bring women to the forefront of the Christmas character canon! Uh, sort of. "Good Queen Wenceslas" by Goldstein is an odd take on the classic carol that leaves us feeling conflicted, while "Red Nose, Red Dress" by Christmas Aguilera has us completely hooked. So much so that it's also the ranking music for this episode!

In honor of International Mother Language Day on February 21st, we're increasing the linguistic diversity of our list by covering two songs in languages that haven't been featured on the show before! First up we enjoy "Elu Agogo", a cheerful Christmas song in Yoruba performed by Ife Ogunwumiju. Then we experience "Marie Te Po", a Te Reo Maori translation of "Silent Night", performed by Lucky Boy^ - who brings some delightful surprises to the old standard. The ranking music in this episode is "Betelehemu" as performed by the African Children's Choir.

As Lunar New Year approaches, we're looking back at one very specific year - the only year between 1943 and 2020 that has never had a song featured on the podcast! We discuss two of 1972's strange and sometimes haunting holiday songs: "The Gift of Giving" by Bill Withers and "Slipping into Christmas" by Leon Russell. This episode's ranking music is "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers.

In anticipation of Groundhog Day, a holiday that is as much about repetition and time travel than it is about anything else, we're doing our most repetitive episode yet - two requests by a repeat requester, featuring two versions of songs we've discussed before, performed by two artists we've discussed before! We discuss "Baby, It's Cold Outside" AGAIN, this time as performed by Louie Armstrong and Velma Middleton. And then we reluctantly dig back into the big steaming pile of Bob Rivers' parody tracks, and unfortunately experience "Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire". The ranking music this week is the theme song of the 1980s Chipmunks cartoon, which was initially called "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and later simply "The Chipmunks". Thank you to Tom for these requests!

It's Epiphany, aka Three Kings Day - but instead of three kings, we've got two princes! That's right, we're abandoning our format to talk about the Spin Doctors' 90s hit! No, just kidding, we're talking about Prince. Join us as we reflect on the apocalyptic New Year's anthem "1999" and the strange, gloomy "Another Lonely Christmas". This week's ranking music is, in fact, "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors.

Our final episode of 2020 marks another 25 episodes of HARK and another 50 songs on our list, so as per tradition, we're aiming to unseat the songs at the top and the bottom. For Ian's best-of-the-best pick, he selects a song that leans into the philosophical questions Christmastime poses and also our early-00s-indie-bullshit wheelhouse. For RJ's bottom-of-the-list pick, they select a scalding hot take on a classic Christmas character that physically hurts. The ranking music is "Grinch 2000" by Busta Rhymes and Jim Carrey.

Ian and RJ are forgoing the usual episode structure this week to instead deal with an appeal! Er, of sorts - using a testing method devised by Ian, our co-hosts finally decide whether or not they will act on their long-standing threat to switch the places of two songs on the list: "Ipod Xmas" by Hello Saferide and "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses.

It's beginning to look a lot like Dragon Tuesday. And to celebrate, we listen to two draconic Christmas songs! First is "Darcy the Dragon" by Roger Whittaker, which leaves some questions unanswered regarding both Darcy himself and the events of his Christmas errands. Then "Fly On Christmas Dragon" by Robby Grant splits open our brains - not because its lyrics pose any deep or complex quandaries, but for reasons we can't quite put our fingers on. The ranking music this week is the Peace Keepers homeworld theme from Spyro the Dragon.

As Diwali approaches, we listen two winter holiday songs by Desi artists. Our first song, "All of the Lights" by Vivek Shraya, is a blend of elements lovingly arranged into a beautiful whole. Then we say as much as we can say about "Desi Jingle Bells" by Lilly Singh. Shraya's essay about her Diwali/Christmas EP All of the Lights can be found here! The ranking music in this episode is "New Jingle Horse" by Geeta Brothers Duet Group.

It's time for our annual Halloween-Christmas crossover episode, in which we listen to two spooooky winter holiday songs! This year, in recognition of the 5 anniversary of our first Halloween episode, we're revisiting the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's musical offerings with "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fishmen," and then dipping into the Nightmare Before Christmas well again with "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" as performed by Korn. This week's ranking music is "It's Halloween (A Christmas Song)" by Randy Brooks!

We're back after a short autumn recess, and we've got a lot to say, apparently. You know what else is back after a brief delay? The CMT Music Awards. In celebration(?), we're listening to Christmas songs by some of this year's nominees: "What Time Is It?" by LoCash (or maybe LOCASH), and "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" by Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton. This week's ranking music is "Heaven Let Your Eent Shine Down".

In honor of the High Holy Days, we're covering two Hanukkah songs this week! Both of our selections come from the album Hanukkah+ - a fresh, hip compilation from 2019 featuring some of our long-time favorite bands and artists. Or, well... one of our long-time favorite bands (Yo La Tengo with "Eight Candles") and also an artist that we definitely don't not like but who even can tell (Adam Green with "Dreidels of Fire"). Our ranking music this week is "Jessica" by Adam Green.

This week, for reasons, we're listening to some songs about sex and butts: "All I Want for XXXmas" by Slayyyter feat. Ayesha Erotica and "Christmas Butt" by Puss N' Boots. FYI, we really earn that explicit tag on this one! And also, for an episode that's mostly about sexual Christmas music, there's a weird bummer section in the middle? Hey, thanks for listening. This week's ranking music is, in fact, "WAP" by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion.

This week on HARK: two requests from 19X7, possibly requested in 20X7! We are digging into some old, old requests and wind up listening to two songs that feel very representative of their respective decades. "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)" by Roxette feels so 80s for a song that didn't reach its peak until the 80s were (arguably) over, while "Christmas" by Blues Traveller is the kind of song you probably couldn't get away with writing after 1997 unless you're Phish (also, Phish did kind of write this song). Our ranking music this week is "Hook" by Blues Traveller. Thank you to Mindy and paulsebert for these requests!

It's World Elephant Day, and for unrelated reasons, we're covering some listener requests! We're transported to the 00's by "Christmas for Two" by Sixpence None the Richer, while it takes a moment for us to find our footing in "O Holy Night" as performed by Charlie Rich. Our ranking music this week is "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer. Thank you to Matt and Maya for these requests!

For this week's HARK, we return to a request that we split up earlier in the year. Listener Tim requested Yogi Yorgesson and paired it with "Reindeer" by Swedish band The Knife, for a tenuous Sweden theme. This week, we're honoring the spirit of that request by pairing "Reindeer" with a song by another Swedish artist: "Correspondence: Silent Night" by Annika Norlin. This week's ranking music is "iPod X-Mas" by one of Norlin's other projects, Hello Saferide. Thanks again to Tim for the request!

It's that time of year again! Time for BIRTHDAY BOY'S CHOICE! As per tradition, Ian is given license to choose whatever songs he wants to listen to this week, and also as per tradition, he chooses some weird bullshit. Revisit some earworms from his youth with us: "Tennessee Christmas" as performed by Lee Greenwood and "Our Love Is Like a Holiday" by Michael Bolton. Our ranking music this episode is "Christmas in L.A. (Yippee Ki Yay)" by Marian Call.

This episode of HARK is here just in time for Canada Day (in our time zone, anyway), and we're listening to some Canadian content by request! "First Christmas" by Stan Rogers is up first, and we find ourselves unprepared. But we quickly get back into our groove by dissing Michael Bublé's rendition of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". Our ranking music this week is "Exiles Among You" by The Weakerthans. Thank you to Joe, Carl, and Dave for these requests!