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PODCAST

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music

Adam Scott Glasspool, Steve Murphy, Lucas Way

A podcast that dives deep into discographies - one artist per season. Hosts Adam, Steve, and Lucas go album by album, track by track, exploring how context shapes our experience of music, why fans become obsessed, and what music really is. With three hosts coming from wildly different levels of musical knowledge, expect sharp analysis, wild tangents, hot takes, and more information about the artists (and the hosts) than you ever asked for. Current focus: Björk. Previous seasons featured Manic Street

music music commentary

All Episodes

126:40

Medúlla (Pt. 1)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/10/26

Adam and Steve use their human voices to discuss Medúlla by Björk. The exploration of the career and music of Björk reaches her fifth studio album, released in 2004. Adam and Steve dig into how the album was written and recorded, the inspirations and influences behind it, and the musical landscape at the time it was released, before starting their track-by-track analysis. They consider the meeting of tradition and modernity, the boundaries of a concept album, how an artist goes “back to...

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181:08

Björk's HjAARFwaydiohead Extravaganza!

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/10/19

Lucas makes a big announcement, but first, The Big Mates discuss Gollum, Keith Allen, Dev Patel, and take time to reflect on Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas pause their dissection of Björk's career and follow her lead by looking back. They take a look at her Greatest Hits and the releases surrounding it, discuss her tour after it, and explore the tracks they had yet to encounter. Then they look back at the albums they've already covered, consider what they found most challenging and ...

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62:56

Björk Makes One of Matmos Stand in a Box of Rocks

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/10/12

The Big Mates provide an acrobatic kind of audio accompaniment for a variety of clips from the Vespertine era of Björk’s career. Head to YouTube to watch along by clicking here! Or don't watch along - the episode works fine either way! Our next episode comes out Monday October 19th! 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: whatismusic...

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93:06

Vespertine (Pt. 2)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/10/05

The Big Mates discuss Pro Tools, music boxes, ocarinas, and Vespertine by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their dissection of Björk's fourth album by looking at how she wrote and recorded it, the collaborations she sought to help her, and her goals for the album. They look at how the album was received when it came out, how it's regarded today, and they finish up their track-by-track analysis, exploring the composition, sound, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song in turn - ...

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86:55

Vespertine (Pt. 1)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/09/28

The Big Mates discuss Mr. Burns, activity times, ASMR, and Vespertine by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their dissection of Björk's fourth album by looking at how she wrote and recorded it, the collaborations she sought to help her, and her goals for the album. They also find time to explore the world around Björk, how she processed the events surrounding Dancer in the Dark, and how this record started as a hobby, before starting the track-by-track analysis, exploring the compositi...

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80:09

Selmasongs

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/09/21

The Big Mates discuss soundtracks, musique concrete, the number 14, and Selmasongs by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of Björk's career by examining the soundtrack to the Lars Von Trier musical film she starred in. They talk about how she managed both jobs, how she created the music to show us the world through a character's eyes, and how she started working on songs and pieces of music that incorporated environmental noises. What do we make of the album? How do...

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65:51

Dancer in the Dark

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/09/14

The Big Mates discuss Dogme 95, found sounds, The Mask, and Dancer in the Dark, starring Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of Björk's career by examining the Lars Von Trier musical film she starred in. They talk about the cinematic style, her performance, and how she managed to balance that with writing the songs and score for the film. What will we make of the film? What does it tell us about Björk? Is it a period piece? Find out on this episode of Wha...

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55:12

Björk Might Be a Moth

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/09/07

The Big Mates provide a smooth kind of audio accompaniment for a variety of clips from the Homogenic era of Björk’s career. Head to YouTube to watch along by clicking here! Or don't watch along - the episode works fine either way! Our next episode comes out Monday September 14th, and sees us discuss the film Dancer in the Dark! Join the conversation on: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod Instagram: https://www.in...

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92:39

Homogenic (Pt. 3)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/08/31

The Big Mates discuss song labels, Norse mythology, single edits, and Homogenic by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and their track-by-track analysis of her third 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 al...

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102:52

Homogenic (Pt. 2)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/08/24

The Big Mates discuss dubstep, meditation, gonk pop, and Homogenic by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and their track-by-track analysis of her third 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 Björk collaborated ...

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107:24

Homogenic (Pt. 1)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/08/17

The Big Mates discuss the launch of Channel 5, magical crime, “intelligent” dance music and Homogenic by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their dissection of her third album by looking at how Björk wrote and recorded it, the collaborations she sought to help her, and the goal of creating a cohesive record. They also find time to explore the world around Björk, the experience of the Post tour and her rise to international celebrity, and the effect this has on her career and music goin...

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65:24

Björk Confuses Wembley Arena

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/08/10

The Big Mates provide a large kind of audio accompaniment for a variety of clips from the Post era of Björk’s career. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss dolphin noises, Burger King pens, the sartorial instincts of Sporty Spice, vocal gymnastics, and being welcomed to Bangkok whilst watching Björk perform on TV, at festivals, and at her own shows. They also look at some interviews and promotional footage from around the Post era. Head to YouTube to watch along by clicking here! Or don't watc...

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95:20

Post (Pt. 3)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/08/03

The Big Mates discuss studying, relaxing, chilling, and Post by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and their track-by-track analysis of her second 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 album was received a...

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85:28

Post (Pt. 2)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/07/27

The Big Mates discuss chance, big band jazz, sampling, and Post by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and their track-by-track analysis of her second 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 Björk collabora...

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92:56

Post (Pt. 1)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/07/20

The Big Mates discuss big batteries, envelopes, headphones , and Post by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas begin their dissection of her second solo album by looking at how Björk wrote and recorded the record, the changes in the team around her, and the thought behind the various styles found on the record. They also find time to explore how Björk reacted to her new found fame and the musical landscape in 1995, before starting the track-by-track analysis of the album, exploring the composit...

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64:58

Björk Shows Us Her Home Studio

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/07/13

The Big Mates provide a special kind of audio accompaniment for a variety of clips from the Debut era of Björk’s career. Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss late night hosts, Cars equivalents, Letterboxd ratings, Glastonbury Festival, the Eurovision movie, the true identity of ancient aliens, and hectic editing whilst watching Björk perform on TV, at festivals, and at her own shows. They also look at some interviews and promotional footage from around the Debut era. Head to YouTube to w...

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89:58

Debut (Pt. 3)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/07/06

The Big Mates discuss simulations, sampling, scores, and Debut by Björk. Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their exploration of the career of Björk and conclude their track-by-track analysis of her first studio album. They explore the composition, tone, lyrics, meaning, and context for each song on the second half of the record 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...

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30:35

BREAKING MUSE: The Wow! Signal

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/07/01

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...

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76:28

Debut (Pt. 2)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/06/29

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...

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82:18

Debut (Pt. 1)

What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Music ·

2026/06/22

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...

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358 results

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