THIS. IS….A  JOEL SPENCE DEBORAH TARICA NICOLE BYER PRODUCTION. Nicole sits down with Deborah and Joel to ‘dance-sit” and talk about Missy Elliot’s 2002 album. We discuss the top two guidelines about hair - how not to dye it it and how...oh man...just don’t touch a stranger’s hair unless you’ve been invited to.

Drew Droege sits down with Deborah and Joel to discuss the weirdest most loveable band in the world: Air Supply. Well, the B-52s but we swoon over Air Supply too.

Alex Fernie shares his love for Ted Leo and his thrilling 2003 album. We explore all that makes Ted Leo so great and still leave stuff out. We go back to that time when things were emerging from great national tragedy and relive our hopes and great optimism for change that ran flat into…..“damn.”

Lennon shares her experience teaching high school French in the deep south for two years….in her early 20s  The hardest thing she had ever done and a time to do some “real growing up.” She wouldn’t have gotten through it were in not for karaoke night, community theatre, the catfish served at the school (catfish that non-students would line up at the school to eat) and of course, those kids she taught. Also helping her, the mournful songs on Krauss’ 1999 album.

Joel and Deborah feel all the feelings with Janie Haddad Tompkins as we discuss both their particular songs and then this explosive 1995 album. We hit the jackpot here with brilliant and cathartic singers.  We talk about those angels that appear in our lives when they’re most needed. We talk about how heroic Alanis’ music is and how her lyrics are, in some cases unfortunately, STILL timeless. We’re full of gratitude for these artists and what they’ve gifted us. Lots of chills in this one.

Joel and Deborah still struggle with pleasantries but then dart off in two different directions with their songs that are important to them.  Deborah’s beautiful choice can make her cry and we get it. Joel’s song can make him cringe and we get it...but...oh, what the hell..it’s a foot tapper! Love whatever song you want! Be an individual. What’s more punk than that!?!

Deborah reveals she’s the long lost daughter of Bette Midler and Joel admits he had retired from dancing by sophomore year of high school. We discuss the shocking and horrible original name for the album and ask some questions...How much under the banner of satire can you get away with? What if you don’t know if it’s satire? How can anyone be an expert in satire if Deb invented it in this episode?

We start with Deborah relaying an experience that makes Edgar and I nearly die of jealousy. But then we go deep on Edgar and this mesmerizing album. We also go deep on Kanye and end up just as confused as we we were when we started. How could anyone have clarity on that man? Without a caterer for hot food and a caterer for cold food how can you get clarity on anything? Annnnnnnd, Edgar had a beautiful dark twisted persona in college. His name? Well, you gotta listen. It’s really satisfying.

We talk about EVERYTHING: Lauryn Hill, T-Pain, naming your mix tapes, Snopes, Ben Schwartz’s leaky Chevy (oil leak? Nope! Rain!) karaoke, admitting that “Greatest Hits” and “Best Of” albums are great, the idea you can know the lyrics to a song for all your life and never know what they mean and, of course, The Darkest Hour.

Erin threw a few albums at us and we accidentally picked the one she was scared to talk about! The twists and turns of Erin’s father’s fascinating life loom over the hour, and we’re grateful that Trent Reznor was there for Erin when not much else was. We learn Deborah would’ve never been the person to slam her door and say, “Leave me the f*** alone mom and dad!”

Will Hines share his love for Phair’s debut 1993 album. Despite the coolness of the music played, your hosts reveal a…. “cool deficit.” Deborah admits that once in high school, while her friends were partying in her house, she went and cried in her car. On the debut episode of his own podcast, Joel praises... a guitar solo? On This Particular Song we have “You Don’t Know Me” by Ray Charles and “Champions of Red Wine” By The New Pornographers.

Does music make you feel things? Like, anything at all? If not, you might be a sociopath! If so, this might be the podcast for you! Join hosts Joel Spence and Deborah Tarica each week as they invite someone they think is very very fantastic, to pick an album that is very very important to them. Together, they listen to that album and go back in time to understand what it means to that particular guest and how it helped make them who they are today.