This post was originally published on the Mumubl.com Newsletter. For updates and recommendations direct to your inbox don’t forget to subscribe.
Hi – It’s Dave here at Mumubl.com, welcome to our recommendation email where I give you some tips on what’s great to listen to and watch in the world of music.
The, now regular, January break for the newsletter has been and gone and we’re chugging along into 2023 and into February. There’s plenty planned for the site again this year, along with the usual posts on Mumubl.com sharing stories of music that’s loved there’ll be recommendations and editorial on our newsletter and a revival of the Inspiration Liverpool project. There’s a new site and new content coming for that very soon.
There’s plenty going on so far this year in the industry generally, a big focus on making streaming pay and as a defender of Spotify and streaming over the years I’m planning to look at this in one of our upcoming editorial newsletters. But podcasts are as a big as ever and something I spend plenty of time listening to. So this newsletter to start the year shares a few music podcast recommendations for you to get your headphones plugged into. As with my albums of the year I’ve picked out 5, currently no plans to add a bonus 6th but then I didn’t plan on adding a late one to the albums of the year either!
If there’s any you think I should be listening to then let me know, shout out on the Mumubl.com social media wherever you reside.
As always – tell all your friends – every little share helps
Currently checking out – “The Art of Survival” by Bush.
In this edition
The Art of Longevity / Which decade is tops for pops? / Soul music / Decoder / Drowned in Sound / MUMUBL.COM
The Art of Longevity
Having started in 2021 this is now starting to get some longevity of it’s own and it’s well deserved. The basic premise is Keith (pretentiously* styled as “The Song Sommelier”) interviews artists on the secret of their longevity with those chats taking as many twists, turns and unexpected detours as did a lot of their careers.
Always informative, always interesting, even with artists I’m not a huge fan of or that interested in musically. It keeps landing big artists as well, season 6 recently bowing out with a talk with Gavin Rossdale of Bush. Every episode has been a must listen for me but whilst you wait for season 7 why not go back and take your pick of the many great talks that have already been published over the last couple of years.
*Not really, but The Times review did tickle me, sorry Keith!
Which decade is tops for pops?
A newcomer to the listening schedule but an enjoyable one so far, and with interactive social media voting! Another simple premise, take a year suffix, a chart position and then a song from each decade 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and the 2010s. Then pit them against each other to see which is truly the best decade for pop music. Mike, Nick and DJ Trev are our guides through the music, offering – sometimes very well researched insight – into what tracks are battling it out each week.
A certain enjoyment of pop is probably required, it is UK top 40 after all so it’s not all bangers. For every Jimi Hendrix or Taylor Swift there’s always a Zig and Zag round the corner. But sometimes the interest does come from pitting lots of middling pop against each other.
Make sure you get involved in the voting as well, it’s a huge part of the fun, will you be swayed by the nostalgia of a song you heard in your youth? Or the will the breakdown of the song by the guys on the pod persuade you to another track in the 6 on offer? It’s genuinely left me puzzling (in a good way) at times.
Soul Music
A BBC production that shares some DNA with the Mumubl, looking at the emotional connection to music. Each episode picks out a track and talks not just to people and fans who love the track but people involved with it’s creation or creators.
An extensive back catalogue to thumb through and cherry pick the tracks you like. I’d recommend the Prince Purple rain or Killing me softly ones as a good start.
Decoder
Ok so this isn’t a music podcast. It’s ostensibly a tech podcast but every so often it drops in a music related episode and without fail it’s always worth listening to. Often roping in Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding to talk with host Nilay Patel any music episode is worth keeping an eye for.
The most recent “Taylor Swift and the music industry’s next $20” takes a whistle stop tour of the evolution of the music business in the past few decades before a discussion of where it is heading from here and the problems faced.
Drowned in Sound
It might be a little premature to be recommending a podcast with only one episode in it’s feed but Drowned in Sound’s return to podding is promising plenty and gets off to a strong start with an interesting and informative chat with Musician’s Union general secretary Naomi Pohl about the work the union does and the challenges of operating in the industry today.
In dispatches
There are plenty of others out there that didn’t make the short list. The previous podcast recommendations posts from a couple of years ago – “Some podcast recommendations” – still has some great tips such as Electronic ears, Song Exploder and the Jamie Cullum Jazz show.
Notable mention also to
In your ears – lots of great shows on their podcast feed especially Sh1ts & Gigles,
Björk: Sonic Symbolism – a chronological look back at her entire catalogue by the star herself,
McCool and the gang – Liverpool based Natalie McCool having a monthly chat,
Norah Jones is playing along – erm, Norah Jones having a chat and playing some music with people,
Ongoing history of new music – the great History of alt rock series is worth catching up on as are the plenty of shows they put out on various topics.
From Mumubl.com
Don’t forget to check out the great posts at mumubl.com/ sharing stories of the music that shaped people over the years.
This post was originally published on the Mumubl.com Newsletter. For updates and recommendations direct to your inbox don’t forget to subscribe.
