This week we “Meet Virginia,” a monster brought to life by mom rock juggernauts Train in their 1998 single. She’s not like other girls.
Also: rhyming words with themselves… twice, remorseful memories of bullying girls in high school with Nickelback lyrics and flying burritos, and, again, a song that strikes an unlikely chord with am internet commentator.
Music We Like: Watsky - X Infinity, Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition, and Afghan Whigs - Do To The Beast
This week we're chatting about “the opposite of jazz fusion”: Green Jelly’s claymation video for “Three Little Pigs." Guest Derek appreciates songs made up of just one riff, we have a healthy discussion on the merits of anthropomorphic pig asses, and an edgy, 90’s update of the Big Bad Wolf gets gunned down by Rambo.
“Is this the longest punk song ever written?”
“This is three minutes longer than the longest punk song ever written.”
Music We Like: Ken Mode's Success LP and Nerve EP, Robert Glasper and Jill Scott's "Calls," and AFI's "Get Hurt"
This week I'm talking exclusively to Emma Maatman about her single-digit, pre-tween infatuation with Backstreet Boys and the excellent video for the historically complicated "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)".
We cover the most confidently dinky beat in RnB and a fun, very "believable" music video featuring a backflipping werewolf pimp, a hideously scarred phantom of the opera, and a goofy, decidedly un-sexual mummy.
Also: Not wanting to be a home wrecker or a “slut” when choosing your boy band crush, learning grammar through pop songs, and the christian names of these classic monsters
Music we like: Chavez's Cockfighter EP
This week we're covering Crazy Town... again? Guest Matt Zeidner explains how, at age 12, this was the perfect blend of hip hop and punk rock (as clearly stated in the song), and how a particularly terrible lyric held a personal meaning for him.
Also: Crazy Town describes what this song sounds like, namedrops MUCH better bands, hints at even more disturbing fantasies than those we’re aware of, and a listener relates an Awful Sound-related band encounter.
Music we like: Slowdive's new track, Star Roving, and Migos' upcoming C U L T U R E
This week Cahn returns to chat about the INCREDIBLE "Chattahoochee" from 1993. Is this the music video America needs right now? I think so.
On the docket: Alan Jackson's penchant for writing songs based on phrases he hears; the average temperature of "a hoochie coochie"; interesting reactions to frustrated abstinence; the good-natured fun and stunning visuals of the video, which revolve around teenage antics and glorious footage of Jackson himself absolutely shredding on a single ski in the Chattahoochee river.
Music we like: Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, and Omar Rodriguez Lopez's Sworn Virgins
Remember to check out Nick Bahula's artwork at instagram.com/bahulashop and throw some business his way!
This week guest Travis Duscay finally admits musical fallibility as we return to one of his adolescent favorites, The Bloodhound Gang, and their hackneyed, overbearingly ironic "Fire Water Burn."
Does repeating a punchline twice make it three times as funny? As an aging actor, would you risk what might be your final performance on being the butt of Jimmy Pop's sight gags? If you admit to being white frequently enough, do you become a good rapper? Colby Ferrin has an answer for that.
Music We Like: Death Grips - Bottomless Pit, Troller
It’s the 2 year anniversary of That Awful Sound! Matt Booth returns for this very special episode and we revisit New Found Glory’s lovesick, middle school anthem “Dressed to Kill” and its cringey video featuring a y2k-era nice-guy stalker lusting after an equally psychotic Rachel Leigh Cook.
To celebrate the occasion we dive deeper than ever into our horrible fashion choices, including fake piercings made from household items, hot topic socks worn thin, and temporary tattoos purchased FAR too late in life.
We also recap our favorite albums of the year, including Angel Du$t’s “Rock The Fuck On Forever,” Helms Alee’s “Stillicide,” Creative Adult’s “Fear of Life,” Dinosaur Jr’s “Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not,” BADBADNOTGOOD’s “IV,” Nocturnal Habits’ “New Skin For Old Children,” Solange’s “A Seat At The Table,” Field Music’s “Common Time,” Autolux’s “Pussy’s Dead,” and Royal Canoe’s “Something Got Lost Between Here and The Orbit”
This week we dive into the women-empowering, yet totally insane video for TLC's Unpretty: forced boob jobs, CGI ladybugs, gang wars (for some reason), and onscreen bulimia.
Music we like: Mariachi El Bronx, Baroness's "Shock Me," and Ty Segall's new band Goggs.
This week Emma reflects on the uncomfortable experience of hearing Offspring’s libertarian protest anthem, Why Don't You Get A Job, as an 11 year-old girl trying to get into punk music.
Also: what this dumb song has in common with the Beatles, The Simpsons, and Pootie Tang; Dexter Holland’s confusion over foreign currency; a sorely missed opportunity for director McG, and a way to use this grating song to your advantage.
Music We Like: Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - Mariner, Khemmis - Hunted, A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here
This week! Aimee-Beth returns to help me dissect the cringe-y music video and bizarrely outdated lyrics for “I Will Buy You A New Life” by desperate-ex-husband-in-band-form Everclear.
Aimee recalls enjoying the emotional honesty (read: oversharing) of lead singer Art, while I remember knowing, even at ten years old, that something was very wrong with the song’s message.
Also: we cry about the US Presidential election and celebrate my victory at the twitter polls, where, coincidentally, I also won with a mere plurality of votes; vent some rage at Maroon 5; and uncover what the band Lit has been up to.
Music We Like: Courtney Barnett (again), Mouse on the Keys, Nocturnal Habits (again), L.A. Witch, The Coathangers, New Ruin, Super Unison
This week my brother-in-law stops by to chat about butt rock/post grunge band Default and their 2001 single, "Wasting My Time."
We discuss the Canadians' unfortunate choices both in this video and their career in general, not least of which would be letting Chad Kroeger write over half the songs on their debut album.
We dive into the ultra literal and hilariously lazy music video and expound on the genre of butt rock in general: What does it mean? What bands does it cover? Where are its roots?
Music We Like: Chevelle's "Saferwaters," The Lemon Twigs' "Do Hollywood," and Creative Adults' "Fear of Life"
This week we take on ska-punk/alternative rock/post grunge/funk metal band Jimmie’s Chicken Shack and their three-minute cringe compilation of a music video for Do Right.
Jimi Haha undermines the victim-playing message of the song with incriminating lyrics and makes a mediocre song much worse by dint of an insufferable music video. Emma introduces a new segment, Michael shakes his head more than in any other episode, and I find a way to make Jimi’s sophisticated artwork more relatable to the everyman.
Stuff We Like: clipping.'s "Air 'Em Out," Post Pink's "Maid in Mexico," and Nocturnal Habit's "Good Grief
It’s Halloween at That Awful Sound! Former Rob Zombie Superbeast Cahn Curtis joins me to discuss and dissect “Never Gonna Stop,” which, while not being terrible, still represents the end of his obsession with the artist.
We hear about how Cahn sold his prescription meds in order to buy overpriced White Zombie bootlegs, make a revelation or two about these seemingly random lyrics, and wonder aloud at how a horror director could make a such a beautiful, but utterly ultra-nonviolent homage to A Clockwork Orange.
Music We Like: Acid Witch - “Stoned” and Jesu/Sun Kil Moon
This week we're covering the terrible rap metal your older brother wasn't listening to: Infectious Groove's "Therapy" featuring Ozzy.
Guest Jerry "Wazzup" Woolbright remembers being introduced to this band in second grade by an older cousin as a way to bridge the gap between hair metal and punk, and we revel in another euphemism for mental illness involving a train and Ozzy Osbourne.
Also in this episode: The band's appearance in Encino Man, this video's ties to adult swim, and multiple songwriting credits on this album attributed to fictional characters (really).
Recommended in this episode: Suicidal Tendencies (obviously), Neurosis' "Fires Within Fires" and the films Murder Party, Blue Ruin, and Green Room
This week! First-time guest Chris Arias shares his memories of Aaron Carter’s Aaron’s Party, second-time guest Jerry Woolbright remembers being too old for this sh*t, and together we dissect this Kid Power throwback to the golden age of funk and hip hop.
In this track: Out of control calls and responses, corny sound fx, anachronistic lyrics obviously written by much older men, and uncomfortable allusions of what was to come for the young artist.
Stuff we like: Charly Bliss - “Urge to Purge,” Dinosaur Jr. - “Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not,” Lush - “Blind Spot EP
This week Sloane Sache joins me for the first time to talk about Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta, and try to figure out what these misheard lyrics actually are.
Turns out we both still kind of like this song, but there's plenty to make fun of, including run-together lyrical deliveries, eyeroll-inducing hipster kitsch, and bizarre financial decisions made by the band.
Stuff we like this week: Other Harvey Danger songs! Outlaw State of Mind by Chris Stapleton and Mr. Fish by Pile.
This week we’re revisiting the titans of fart rock, Smash Mouth, and their 1999 single, “Then The Morning Comes.” We cover the meme-ification of the band and singer Steve Harwell, the incessant rhyming in the lyrics, fake sleaziness and forced nostalgia of the song, and tediousness of the “humorous” video.
Plus: a painful but necessary mash-up with Steely Dan, the infinitely better songs from which these riffs were stolen, and the incredibly inappropriate lyrics included in actual Alvin & The Chipmunks covers.
Stuff we like: Touche Amore’s "Stage Four," Wildhoney’s "Your Face Sideways," and BADBADNOTGOOD’s "IV"
First Ever Awful Sound Reissue! Wasn't able to get a new episode edited in time, so here's one from the back catalogue that I particularly enjoy. Back to the normal schedule next week.
To celebrate the return of the show, we're dissecting two unlikely songs and videos from the cast of The X-Files: the titular track from David Duchovny's Weather Channel inspired, cliche-ridden debut album, "Hell or Highwater," and Gillian Anderson's hyper-sexual, spoken-word nonsense for Hal's Extremis.
Also: A review of Duchovny's ridiculous children's(?) book, Holy Cow, my guest relays a story about in-laws from Roswell, these two "red-blooded males" find Gillian Anderson attractive enough to acknowledge her personhood, and, as always, a selection of delicious YouTube comments.
This week we’re discussing and dissecting Usher’s inaccurately titled “Nice & Slow,” and returning guest James Hernandez talks about dedicating slow jams on the radio to his middle-school crushes and making the switch from RnB to Slayer.
We’ve got helpful Genius annotations for lyrics that are anything but nice and slow, and a cinematic music video featuring probably-fake sign language, an inefficient kidnapping, and a load-bearing eyepatch.
Stuff We Like: Steven Malkmus & The Jicks and Rochelle Jordan’s “Follow Me”
This week we have an episode that I’m shocked was possible. I’m talking to Kevan Aguilar, who was more than happy to subvert expectations by sharing his summer-long love affair with the incredibly awful Kottonmouth Kings.
We’re dissecting Peace Not Greed from the year 2G featuring Jack Grisham of TSOL and an total lack of perspective on police brutality. Kevan talks about identifying with the anti-authoritarian message of the song, his mom being cool with him hanging a poster of the band holding a giant platter of weed, and how this may relate to him becoming straightedge shortly thereafter.
Also: a quaintly optimistic take on the effects of weed legalization, a weird intersection of fake libertarianism and new age spirituality, and lots of juicy youtube beef.
