Bigmouth - podcast cover

Bigmouth

Podmasters
Clever talk about pop culture. Bigmouth is pop culture talk for discerning grown-ups. Music, TV, movies, books or something else entirely – we’ll enthuse, argue, squabble and pick over the bones of what’s happening in the world of the stuff we love. Presented by WORD magazine veterans Andrew Harrison (ex-editor of Q, Select and Mixmag) and Siân “Stan” Pattenden, a graduate of the Smash Hits and Select Mag Schools of Excellence.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

116: Podcast #116: The Meg, Boards Of Canada, REM and more

SHARK LIFE! Who will be the only one of our panel who didn’t like this summer’s prime Statham-vs-Fish chompbuster The Meg? How does Boards Of Canada’s ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ sound 20 years down the line? And what will be our guest JUDE ROGERS’ choice for the album only she in the whole wide world likes? (Clue above). Andrew and Siân are on hand with the chum bucket and the mop. Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. Produced and presented by Andrew Har...

Aug 18, 20181 hrEp. 116

115: Podcast #115: Nuts In May, Jake Shears, Ant-Man & The Wasp

GO WILD IN THE COUNTRY: Is Mike Leigh’s great rural comedy Nuts In May (now back on iPlayer) still in a field of its own? Has former Scissor Sister Jake Shears rediscovered his mucky mojo on his solo debut? And does Marvel’s shrinky-dink super-sequel Ant-Man And The Wasp have a sting in its tail – or will it simply show that little things please little minds? Guests NEIL DENNY of literary podcast and magazine Little Atoms and rock journo ROY WILKINSON of British Sea Power fame join Andrew and Si...

Aug 11, 201854 minEp. 115

114: Podcast #114: Robin Williams’ deranged life, Underworld vs Iggy Pop, Generation Wealth

This week on the pop culture podcast for procrastinating polymaths… Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Sky Atlantic/HBO’s masterful biographical documentary, will astonish and move you. As Iggy Pop hooks up with Underworld, will electronic talking blues become the lingua franca of the over-60s? And does new disgusting rich people documentary Generation Wealth capture the reality of the plutocracy – or are they even worse than we thought? Special guests Rob Fitzpatrick of Spotify/The Word magaz...

Aug 04, 201849 minEp. 114

113: Podcast #113: The secret history of electronic music, Roy Carr’s brilliant NME tapes and more

As the studio melts and Siân and Andrew wilt in the heat, Melody Maker veteran DAVID STUBBS joins us to talk about his new book ‘Mars By 1980: The History Of Electronic Music’. Fellow bleeps’n’clonks devotee JOE MUGGS of Mixmag weighs in on the stuff you didn’t know about the avant garde sound that now owns the world. And yes that’s Karlheinz Stockhausen in the pic. PLUS: We look back at the amazing NME cassettes that changed a generation’s way of listening, and the NME journo Roy Carr who compi...

Jul 28, 20181 hr 8 minEp. 113

112: Podcast #112: Who Is America? Picnic At Hanging Rock, Lotic, summer tunes

We’re back from our hols with guests DAVID BENNUN, veteran of Melody Maker and Loaded, and the David Attenborough of football casual culture ANTHONY TEASDALE joining Andrew and Siân for more high-end pop culture natter. This week: Sacha Baron-Cohen’s Who Is America? brings his old-school gotcha comedy back – but does it work in a post-satire world? Can the miniseries remake of Picnic At Hanging Rock currently running on BBC2 match the deep strangeness of the original? Meet queertronica artiste L...

Jul 21, 20181 hr 9 minEp. 112

111: Podcast #111: Duran Duran, Public Image Ltd, Captain America and more with Katie Puckrik and Ralph Moore

On this week’s show… Did BBC4’s Duran Duran night remind us why we loved (or not) the self-styled Chic Pistols of Birmingham? Will new rockumentary ‘The Public Image Is Rotten’ change your mind about the irascible John Lydon? Can Marvel Comics successfully relaunch Captain America for a divided USA by handing the reins to uncompromising African-American author Ta-Nehisi Coates? Plus our guests KATIE PUCKRIK of Channel 4’s The Word fame/infamy and Mixmag Editor-at-Large RALPH MOORE give us their ...

Jul 07, 20181 hr 7 minEp. 111

110: Podcast #110: ANNE DUDLEY of Art Of Noise in the studio plus Millie Jackson, summer tunes and more

Oh to be in England… This week the legend that is ANNE DUDLEY, string arranger to ABC, Malcolm McLaren, Pet Shop Boys and the pop elite, joins us in the Bigmouth Bunker. Listen up as Anne discusses her Life In Pop™, how she helped create Careless Whisper and Getting Away With It, and her new album ‘Anne Dudley Plays The Art Of Noise’… on piano? Hold tight for an exclusive live rendition of Moments In Love on the hopelessly out-of-tune studio joanna. PLUS Mojo and Guardian journo SOPHIE HARRIS jo...

Jun 30, 20181 hr 6 minEp. 110

109: Podcast #109: Lost Vagueness Glastonbury movie, Public Enemy, The The film and more

On the probing pop culture podcast this week… Did post-crusty cabaret field LOST VAGUENESS really save Glastonbury’s vegan bacon? And why did it fall apart? A new documentary explains. Plus PUBLIC ENEMY’s Nation Of Millions is 30 years old, and a new documentary delves into the complex psyche of Matt Johnson of THE THE. Guests Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian and Steve Yates help Andrew and Siân sort it all out. Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. Produced an...

Jun 23, 20181 hr 5 minEp. 109

108: Podcast #108: Johnny Marr, Microdisney, Fantastic Negrito, Get Shorty on Sky and more

On the perspicacious pop culture podcast this week… Is it time to stop worrying and let JOHNNY MARR carry The Smiths’ banner? Who is rock-blues auteur FANTASTIC NEGRITO and why should you care? Is the TV version of GET SHORTY worth your eyeball time – and does Chris O’Dowd cut the mustard as a movie-obsessed mob enforcer? Plus guests Andrew Mueller and Eamonn Forde join Andrew at the fantastic comeback shows by the James Joyces of the midlife crisis, MICRODISNEY. All this and a whole lot more. S...

Jun 16, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 108

107: Podcast #107: Studio 54 documentary, Kanye West, Lily Allen and more…

This week on the plugged-on pop culture podcast… DISCO VERITÉ: Why you really need to see this brilliant Studio 54 documentary, out on June 15. EGO FREAKO: Will we ever decide we’ve had enough of Kanye West? LIL COMMUNICATION: Has Lily Allen turned her middle-youth meltdown into quality adult pop? Plus guests Hannah Verdier (Guardian) and Michael Hogan (Times) join Siân and Andrew in ’fessing up to the things they wish they liked but just can’t, no matter how hard they try… Support BIGMOUTH – bu...

Jun 09, 20181 hr 3 minEp. 107

106: Podcast #106: Han Solo, Generation Grime, Paris ’68 in pop and more

WOOKIEE MEETS ROOKIE: Is the Young Han Solo prequel spaceworthy? How good is Sky Arts’ UK hiphopumenatary Generation Grime? (Spoiler: it’s ace). Will Paris In The Spring – Saint Etienne’s compilation of music from France’s political turmoil of 1968 – leave you totally soixante-huitarded? And is Trump-baiting comedian Michelle Wolf’s new Netflix series any cop? Guests MIRANDA SAWYER of The Observer and LUKE TURNER of The Quietus join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out… See acast.com/privacy for p...

Jun 02, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 106

105: Podcast #105: Madness biopic, Half Man Half Biscuit, zombies on Netflix and more…

Guests this week on the pop culture podcast for perspicacious popinjays are film writer LINDA MARRIC and Telegraph/Mojo rock’n’roll journo ANDREW PERRY. On the agenda: a highly idiosyncratic biopic of Lee ‘Kix’ Thompson of MADNESS, Martin Freeman flees Aussie zombies in CARGO on Netflix, and the glorious return of the only band which describes modern life as it truly is: HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT. Plus – added football content! How did Robert Plant react when he spotted Mr Perry’s Torquay United sca...

May 26, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 105

104: Podcast #104: Arctic Monkeys, Patrick Melrose, Viv Albertine, Spotify.

Is the new Arctic Monkeys album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino a return to form? Does Patrick Melrose just need a nice cup of tea and a lie down? We've also read Viv Albertine's To Throw Away Unopened and will be ruminating on New Moral Arbitraters Spotify, who've "banned" R Kelly. Special guests Sylvia Patterson and Sophie Black tell it like it is. Support BIGMOUTH – you can buy us a virtual pina colada via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. Presented by Siân Pattenden. Studio production b...

May 19, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 104

103: Podcast #103: Kraftwerk’s Man-Machine is 40, Beach House, DJ Koze, Jon Hopkins, The Rain

Where would the future be without ‘The Man-Machine’ by Kraftwerk, which turns 40 this week, eh? What’s the sound of the summer: Beach House’s woozy, heat-hazy ‘7’, DJ Koze’s wayward disco or the Sky At Night sounds of Jon Hopkins? Special guests MICHAEL HANN of The Guardian and freelance heavy metal evangelist JUSTIN QUIRK are on hand to help Siân and Andrew sort it all out… Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a birthday pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison...

May 12, 20181 hr 5 minEp. 103

102: Podcast #102: Infinity War with spoilers, Janelle Monae, HBO’s Barry, Too Slow To Disco Brasil

It’s the greatest multi-character crossover in history! In a special extra-length edition packed with scarcely believable action, we assemble guests STRICTLY KEV AKA DJ FOOD of Ninja Tune fame, MARK HOOPER – editor of Hole & Corner magazine – plus a special cameo role from IAN DUNT of our sister podcast Remainiacs. Who are all these characters and what do they want? On the agenda: what did Infinity War mean and how are the Avengers going to get out of that? (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS so we’re ...

May 05, 20181 hr 10 minEp. 102

101: Podcast #101: Michael Smiley, the glory days of raving, Sting & Shaggy and more

On this week’s show: actor MICHAEL SMILEY joins guest SARAH MORGAN for another gala pop culture digress-o-thon. Which tunes inspired Smiley on his journey from baldy late-night comic via ‘Spaced’ to ‘Luther’ and beyond? How are our guests feeling about acid house on the occasion of its 30th birthday? What on earth is going on with that Shaggy and Sting album? All this and more will be dissected… Help keep BIGMOUTH going for another 100 shows – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon....

Apr 28, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 101

100: Podcast #100! Simon Day, Charley’s War, Juliana Hatfield, Chas & Dave, Andrew Collins and more…

For our gala ONE HUNDREDTH podcast, special guests SIMON DAY of The Fast Show and ANDREW COLLINS (who was on the very first Bigmouth back when it was in black and white) join us for the finest in high-end pop chatter. This week: Untold pop tales in Sky’s Urban Myths. Legendary WWI story Charley’s War returns in a lavish new edition. Is it still the greatest British comic book of all time? Is Chas & Dave’s first proper album in 30 years any good, and what about Juliana Hatfield’s LP of Olivia...

Apr 21, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 100

99: Podcast #99: The City And The City, Confidence Man, the greatest ten seconds in pop

This week, guests PETER ROBINSON of PopJustice and NME fame and DAN MAIER of Harry Hill and TV comedy fame join Andrew and Siân at the Algonquin Round Table of pop music, telly and similar. On the agenda: Have BBC2 successfully filmed China Miéville’s unfilmable novel The City And The City? Are Australian pop-dance hipsters Confidence Man up to the job of being the new Deee-Lite? Will the reunited En Vogue free our minds and will our asses follow? And what are the greatest ten second bits in all...

Apr 14, 20181 hr 3 minEp. 99

98: Podcast #98: David Hepworth on his elegy for the rock star plus Eels, Idris Elba

This week Andrew’s old boss DAVID HEPWORTH of Word, Q and Live Aid fame comes in to discuss his book ‘Uncommon People: The Rise And Fall Of The Rock Stars’, out now in paperback. Are rock stars really finished, and did Dave fiddle the scores so he didn’t have to write about Liam Gallagher? Plus fellow guest ANNA FIELDING of Stylist magazine piles in to look at IDRIS ELBA’S new comedy ‘In The Long Run’, dissect the latest LP by fun-with-depression rock hermits EELS, and confess to the album that ...

Apr 07, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 98

97: Podcast #97: Cunk on Britain, Suede, record shops book

This week on the discerning pop culture podcast, FACE magazine veterans Richard Benson and Craig McLean join Andrew and Siân to discuss Philomena Cunk’s all-encompassing Reithian history of Britain. Turns out they would have put the Cunk on the cover of The Face… but doing what? Plus: We spank ourselves senseless with a tambourine for the 25th birthday edition of Suede’s debut, explore the lore of the Great British Record Shop, and find out how Craig broke his arm messing about with Björk. It’s ...

Mar 31, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 97

96: Podcast #96: Unsane, Pulp’s This Is Hardcore at 20, Jake Shears book

On this week’s show… Can Steven Soderbergh’s UNSANE drag the stalker movie into the iPhone era? Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters writes a surprisingly moving book. How does Pulp’s Britpop comedown epic ‘This Is Hardcore’ stack up at 20 years old? And our guests reveal the records that they like but nobody else can stand. KATE HUTCHINSON of The Guardian and Worldwide FM and movie critic LINDA MARRIC join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out. Audio production by Sophie Black. Bigmouth is a Podmasters ...

Mar 24, 20181 hr 1 minEp. 96

95: Podcast #95: Annihilation, David Byrne, MFSB, tracking down Steve Ditko

On this week’s show, Alex Garland’s ANNIHILATION: psychedelic sci-fi masterpiece, Ghostbusters done seriously, or Google Deep Dream: The Movie? DAVID BYRNE’s new album and the best of soul orchestra MFSB. The worst songs by our guests’ favourite bands. And the surprising story of how our guest Ralph Moore of Mixmag tracked down the infamously reclusive comics legend Steve Ditko… Justin Quirk of The Guardian and Supplement magazine joins Ralph plus Andrew and Siân for the smartest pop culture nat...

Mar 17, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 95

94: Podcast #94: Big Lebowski at 20, Tracey Thorn, Tribe Called Quest doc

This week on the pop culture podcast for connoisseur time-wasters: Does The Big Lebowski still abide after 20 years? Has Tracey Thorn reinvented herself as the one-woman Pet Shop Girls of middle youth? Why you should investigate that A Tribe Called Quest documentary that’s finally on Netflix. And what's the deal with Superorganism, the Dalston Avalanches? Guests HANNAH VERDIER of The Guardian and Smash Hits and ANDREW MUELLER of Monocle and Melody Maker join Siân and Andrew to thrash it all out....

Mar 10, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 94

93: Podcast #93: Janelle Monáe, Collateral, Go-Kart Mozart and more

Can the panel discuss Janelle Monáe’s latest bangers without mentioning Pr***e? Was BBC2’s urban conspiracy thriller ‘Collateral’ any good? Can special guest MICHAEL HOGAN of the Telegraph withstand the uncut indieness of Go-Kart Mozart and The Lovely Eggs? And which flop movies should have been hits? Listen up and find out… Click here to listen now or subscribe at http://po.st/BGMitunes Studio production is by Sophie Black. Bigmouth is a Podmasters Production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy ...

Mar 03, 20181 hr 11 minEp. 93

92: Podcast #92: Shape Of Water, Oscar tips, Jonathan Wilson, our worst gigs

Underwater love: Is Guillermo del Toro’s amphibiosexual romance The Shape Of Water more than just Oscar bait? And who will win the Oscars anyway? Can Father John Misty’s mate Jonathan Wilson update the sensitive Californian longhair songbook? And what are the worst gigs we ever went to. Special guests TERRI WHITE – editrix of Empire magazine – and Word mag veteran JAMES MEDD join presenters Siân “Stan” Pattenden and Andrew Harrison to sort the prize catches from the tiddlers. Click here to liste...

Feb 24, 20181 hr 5 minEp. 92

91: Podcast #91: Black Panther, I Tonya, U.S. Girls, Tin Machine and more

Marvel’s Black Panther is the afro-futurist movie that’s bringing new audiences to the superhero genre – and dragging every mum and dad into the multiplex over half term. Which of our guests will unexpectedly love it: maquillage guru SALI HUGHES or Guardian/FT music journo MICHAEL HANN? Will they prefer ice-skating drama I, TONYA instead? What will they make of U.S. GIRLS’ womanpower megapop album? And what are the records that only they like? Spoiler: Sali is standing up for the much-maligned T...

Feb 17, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 91

90: Podcast #90: Roxy Music’s debut, Bowie drama, Joan As Police Woman, The Good Place

It’s ROXY/BOWIE night on Bigmouth this week as we’re joined by journo-about-town and one-time Evening Standard “parties editor” SIMON MILLS and Guardian TV writer JULIA RAESIDE to discuss the return of Roxy’s debut and a very odd BBC radio drama on David Bowie’s final days. Also: Joan As Police Woman’s new album, the return of sleeper hit afterlife comedy The Good Place… and cycling with Gary Kemp out of Spandau Ballet. Plus! The debut of our new co-presenter Siân “Stan” Pattenden! It’s like whe...

Feb 10, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 90

89: Podcast #89: Mark E. Smith tribute plus Franz Ferdinand

DRINK THE LONG DRAUGHT FOR THE HIP PRIEST: The world thought that Mark E. Smith would outlast cockroaches, Keith Richards and Later With Jools Holland… yet the sad day came to pass in January. Join horrid trendy wretch Andrew, mere pseud ’cast producer Matt and Fall fans Debbie Smith (of Curve, Echobelly and more) and David Stubbs to pore over the singular life, achievements and vocabulary of the artist otherwise known as Roman Totale XVII. Plus the new Franz Ferdinand album, and another sad far...

Feb 03, 20181 hr 3 minEp. 89

88: Podcast #88: REMAINIACS crossover featuring Britannia, Django Django, Alan Moore

Two universes clash in our senses-shattering first Podcast Crossover! Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey of our sister show REMAINIACS – the best Brexit podcast on the internet – enter the Bigmouth Bunker. This week: Sky’s Romans-in-Britain epic Britannia, the return of Django Django and BBC4’s latest music biz documentary. Plus: Can a roomful of comics nerds agree whether Doomsday Clock, DC’s controversial sequel to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, is a harmless sideshow or an actual war crime? ...

Jan 27, 20181 hr 1 minEp. 88

87: Podcast #87: Three Billboards, The Moonlandingz, Derry Girls and more

Is bleak comic thriller THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI as good as everyone’s saying? And what about the criticism that it doesn’t care about its black characters? Plus – a chance to catch up on The Moonlandingz’ mesmeric disgusto-pop, and two glimpses into the world of the modern teenager with the black humour of The End Of The F**king World and C4’s bravura situation BOMBedy Derry Girls. Guests SIAN PATTENDEN and JUDE ROGERS tell Matt and Andrew what’s what. Click here to listen now ...

Jan 20, 20181 hr 2 minEp. 87
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast