It was so popular last year that we decided to do it again! Join us this holiday season as we introduce you to twelve of our favourite podcasts in the 12 Days of Podmas.
Not everything arrives fully-formed and ready to roll. Shows take time to morph, gain momentum and work out the rhythm of how they run. How they operate. Ask any creative, not just podcasters, about their earlier episodes/work/novels and they’ll look back on the early stuff and find stuff to cringe about. That’s not the case for Lyrics for Lunch.
Hosted by journalist Lindsey Tucker and filmmaker Aviv Rubenstein, Lyrics for Lunch explores in-depth the stories behind some of the most famous and infamous songs. But immediately out of the gate it feels fully-formed. Episode three feels like it’s episode thirty-three. The structure and dynamic of the hosts click immediately and episodes are always engaging.
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The aforementioned premise is simple, but the podcast expands the type of coverage in very varied ways. Episodes have seen Aviv and Lindsey discover which convicted murderers have legitimate songwriting claims on some of the most beloved songs ever (which appears to happen more than once), with links made between Charles Manson and The Beach Boys and arguments about who wrote which lyrics. There are even links between Devo’s hit ‘Whip It’ and attempted assassin John Hinkley uncovered through the series.
There are episodes that look to prove the existence of time travel through the aid of The Baha Men’s ‘Who Let The Dogs Out?’. Multi-part episodes that cover songs from prolific yet extremely troublesome singers turn into a narrative of an artist’s life. The show doesn’t aim to always be about uncovering the problematic pasts of these songs, offering to celebrate and analyse wholesome songs. Lyrics for Lunch also doesn’t just focus on the current pop culture hits either. So whilst there is an episode focusing on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Driving License’, the show can easily dip and focus on long standing classics such as ‘You Are My Sunshine’.
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Aviv and Lindsey flip between choosing the songs being covered, and episodes generally see one host telling the narrative of the song with the other offering their thoughts. It’s an interesting mix between what is a structured story and stream of consciousness as both provide twists and turns as they reveal the surprisingly complex stories that songs have. The story-telling is very well thought out, and there’s thought in the way information is revealed. This usually leads to some of the more interesting spins on songs. So it’s here where the time-travelling Baha Men is revealed, or the existence of the ‘Hey There Delilah’ song multiverse on Tik Tok is explored.
This gives Lyrics for Lunch an ability to create tension and resolution that you wouldn’t expect in what feels like a free-form conversation between two friends. But it grips you early on, and keeps your attention until the very end. Aviv and Lindsey are likable hosts and they help carry you across the gourmet banquet that is the world of song lyrics.
You can listen to Lyrics For Lunch on Anchor.fm.