We're back one last time with a bittersweet symphony to close out season 3 of the B-Sides. In this mailbag episode, we're answering a flurry of questions, reading listeners' (almost exclusively Taylor Swift-related) comments, and ending with a favorite quote about how music sneaks up on us — and changes us. Doing this podcast for the past four years in community with you all has changed us for the better. We love you and we thank you. <3 To stay with us beyond the podcast feed, ma...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast On today's episode we talk about nepo-siblings. Who are they? And what creates a power imbalance? Nepo-siblings are a rare breed. Being a nepo-sibling pair relies on talent from both siblings – what level of talent separates each sibling we’ll get into in today's ep. It also relies on a hustle from the “lesser” famous sibling – putting themselves on reality shows, trapping themselves in an elevator, and lip syncing on SNL. Join us for a discussion on three sets of siblings (Ariana/Franki...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast There are moments in pop culture where an artist makes a choice - and there’s no turning back. Those moments, those inflection points, remind us that nothing is inevitable or predetermined, and we are all a part of history. Join us to unpack 4 inflection points in detail and name a buncha others. Here are some links we mentioned: Our episode about The Chicks Hannah’s 2018 newsletter about Miley Cyrus “Mariah Carey’s Glitter Era deserved better” Our episodes where we unpacked Glitter a bit more, ...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast So sorry, but: Why'd she have to go and make things so complicated? Avril is such a rare artist. She made a splash right away with Let Go , which had a rebellious yet old soul sort of vibe to it. And her early eras and albums are still so special to so many of us. She changed the moment, she was the moment, and, in some ways, she always will be. She opened doors almost immediately into 2000s alt rock and pop punk sub-genres in what used to be a far more monocultural world. And yet, she has...
Mar 08, 2023•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Now for something a little different: on today's podcast Mimi, Hannah and Becky take listeners through a few artists they're excited about. Getting yourself, or others, to listen to new artists can sometimes be a challenge. Our brains are literally hardwired to replay stuff we like and know. So let us do the hard work introduce you to some new artists including Renee Rapp, Omar Apollo, and Ethel Cain. Press play, sit back, and enjoy. Listen to a playlist featuring all the artists on today's pod ...
Feb 15, 2023•54 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast First thing's first: Go birds; E-A-G-L-E-S; and Fly, Eagles, Fly. Whew, okay. Here we find ourselves again at the intersection of music and sports. We're getting into the NFL's dreadful politics, we're gabbing about the iconic Super Bowl halftime shows of yore, we're speculating not-so-wildly about Rihanna's upcoming performance, and so much more. Here in the show notes, we're also correcting the record: Lady Gaga *caught* the football at the end of her 2017 halftime show. Good for her. An...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s our 50th episode!! We are so proud of US! <3 So - let’s reflect. We’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror…until today. Join us on a trip down memory lane. We talk about how pop music has changed since we launched in 2019, revisit our old takes (find out which ones did not age well!), reflect on some pop stars we thought were on the rise and now, simply, aren’t, and play a B-Sides quiz game. We reference a bunch of our own episodes! Here’s most of them, in order of wh...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It's September 4, 2002. You're ten years old. You're huddled around your parents' TV, quickly dialing on your landline for vote for Kelly Clarkson. She is crowned the winner of American Idol. Hot tears are falling out your eyes. Kelly is belting a moment like this. You're wondering if like will ever be the same (it won't). On today's podcast, we're talking about the one and only, Kelly Clarkson. We discuss how she's managed to stay America's golden girl, the men who have tried to f*ck her over, ...
Jan 04, 2023•48 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast When 10 people died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in November of 2021, it was incredibly difficult and painful to make sense of the news. Over a year later, we are here to pull lessons learned from the tragedy. TRIGGER WARNING for this episode: mass casualty events, substance use Part 1. Overview Part 2. The fallout for Travis and the Kardashian-Jenners Part 3. How crowds and artists *usually* protect each other Part 4. Six human errors that led to this tragedy Citations: Rolling stone a...
Dec 07, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we've got just one more review for you, and then we'll move on to our not-reviewing-a-new-album-or-film-every-episode programming. We watched Selena Gomez's new documentary, "My Mind & Me," and now it's time to share some thoughts on the fallacies of celebrity activism, great expectations, managing relationships within pop stardom and child stardom, passing bills through Congress, and more — including the ever-present soulless enterprise we all know as capitalism. Here's a quote we...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast We came back for you with a full episode review of Carly Rae Jepsen's newest album, The Loneliest Time. The album – which was released the same midnight as Midnights – is a moonstruck album, chock-full of the suns and stars. First we do a quick recap of Carly Rae's rise to fame, and then play a fun superlative game about what is most Carly and which lyrics we couldn't understand. We hope you go find yourself or WHATEVER (as long as you listen to this podcast on your journey). Be sure to ca...
Nov 09, 2022•59 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast The B-Sides is BACK for Season 3! (We came back for you, baby!) We are the *most* excited to launch season 3 with a review of Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album, Midnights. There’s a lot we would’ve, could’ve, should’ve said, but these are our immediate reactions after our first day of listening. We can’t wait to hear what you think - make sure to get in touch with your reactions. We give out superlatives and awards like: The "That's So Tay" Award, The Cringiest Lyric Award, and The Miss AmericaNO...
Oct 23, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The B-Sides season 3 is COMING! Until then, enjoy this bonus episode. Your friendly neighborhood B-Sides hosts went to see Carly Rae Jepsen live in concert at Radio City Music Hall for her So Nice Tour. Today’s episode is an in-depth review of the magical show - even if you didn’t see the concert, our review will help you Cut To The Feeling. -- Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review! Make sure to follow us on insta: instagram.com/listentothebsides and join us on discord here . You can no...
Oct 04, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to our season 2 finale! We're wrapping up 2021 with a nice long chat about the long shadow of 2009 in pop and pop culture. Such power, such impact. It's time to revisit the brash and soaring sound of music, the final cohort of ubiquitous artists, and the transformative technology that ushered in our modern hell scape. Should be fun, so settle in! Here was the syllabus for this episode, which we dropped a few days in advance in our discord group : Punch, Interview: DJ Earworm The Crimson ...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re going to talk about Taylor Swift. We know it’s not ethical to speculate on celebrities’ sexualities. But it feels so intoxicating - and in some moments, righteous - to speculate on Taylor Swift’s personal life, especially when she invites deep speculation into her discography and all the text she puts out into the world. What’s a progressive to do? We’ll tackle this in four parts: Part 1: Why it is actually harmful to speculate about anyone’s sexuality Part 2: Taylor’s own history on...
Dec 08, 2021•58 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast On today’s episode we’re going to talk about the elusive and enduring genre of music that is Christian Rock. How did it happen? Why do we (as Jews) like the sound of Christian Rock? Why do some bands “pretend” not to be as Christian as they are? We'll discuss all this and more, plus play a game called "is this Christian Rock or White Christian Men singing?" We also dive into Adele's new album 30, and of course, Red (Taylor's Version). Join our discord to keep the conversation going: https:...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast With her 2017 album Witness, Katy Perry invented the genre of “purposeful pop” more as a tool for relevance in her album promotion than an actual political analysis, which hurt both the political agenda she was pushing and the album itself. We think you’ll enjoy this episode whether or not you know the album (and spoiler: even some of the most ardent pop listeners don’t know this album!). This episode continues the conversation we began in episode 40. You don’t need to listen to episode 40 first...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we return to flophood but with a Halloweentown twist. Because the flop eras we’re talking about this episode involve artists who felt compelled to enter eras and try on identities that are aesthetically creepy, at the very least. We dare you to take a side-by-side look at the cover art for Christina Aguilera's Bionic and Katy Perry's Witness... But the larger story here is about what happens when a pop star reinvents themselves for a new era of their career and, instead of a natural e...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast On today's podcast we are joined by musical expert Jon Schneidman. Together we do a deep dive into Dear Evan Hansen, the recent musical turned movie, that may or may not have ruined Ben Platt's career. We explore white mediocrity in film vs stage, autistic coding, and nepotism. Maybe, after you listen, you'll be found. TW: this episode talks about suicide as it relates to the plot of DEH. Reading on autistic coding and representation . Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review! Make sure to...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast What’s in a flop? On today’s episode, we look at moments that “flopped” through a more critical lens to discuss why albums flop, what happens when a “flop” is not really a “flop,” and how the cultural void of the early aughts fits in to this. We’ll do that by examining two seminal texts - ARTPOP by Lady Gaga (2013) and Glitter by Mariah Carey (2001). So excited to announce the creation of our discord space, which you can join here: https://discord.gg/8fA4Wqcqkp And - THE GRITTY T-SHIRTS ARE HERE...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, we're trying to figure it out. Looking at the facts of a feud itself and how stories about it unfold can tell us a lot about power dynamics in the industry, who gets empathy and who doesn’t, and also? Talking about drama can be fun. The word "feud" seems to hold a lot of weight and draws people’s attention (again, drama is fun) but it often makes the actual circumstances seem far more superficial and balanced than they really are. We each came to the table with a so-cal...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast When done well, a soundtrack can do so much for a show, audience, and featured artists - it enriches and even memorializes scenes, tells us how we’re supposed to feel and introduces artists and audiences to each other. And no one did it better than some of our fave shows from the 2000s: Grey’s Anatomy, the OC, and Gossip Girl . Grey's Anatomy: 6:50ish The OC: 31:10ish Gossip Girl: 50minish Some enjoyable links from today’s episode: Grey's musical episode and its oral history . The shot heard rou...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast We are in an inflection point with Olivia Rodrigo's rise to fame. How we act now will determine not only her future as a celebrity, but the future of ~Celebrity~ in the US. Here are some of the articles we referenced today: https://www.insider.com/millennials-are-inevitably-in-love-with-olivia-rodrigo-2021-5 https://www.glamour.com/story/for-geriatric-millennials-who-love-olivia-rodrigo-its-brutal-out-here Thank you for subscribing and leaving a review! Make sure to follow us on ins...
Jul 21, 2021•53 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast If you read the title of this episode then you know it's time to take a seat and buckle up. Today we're going in on a long-awaited topic, but also an undercurrent of a lot of our episodes and conversations, and that is...GirlBoss culture and its intersections with pop music. What is GirlBoss really? What does it pretend to be? Where did this term come from? And mirror mirror on the wall, which pop songs are most GirlBoss of all? We'll assess some hits by some faves: from Taylor Swift ...
Jul 07, 2021•49 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re going to talk about Country-Pop. A genre that, for many, was once (and maybe still) isn’t taken seriously as “good” or welcome or authentic. Some folks are quick to dismiss country music say the lyrics are predictable (rotating around words and themes like girl, truck, liquor + jesus). Others who complain about country say, melodically, the songs are boring and repetitive. All that - and a little inherent classism too - makes country a no-go for many. On today’s episode we’re going t...
Jun 23, 2021•50 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Fandom is often seen as a frivolous identity or extra curricular, but it can be a heavy, heavy aspect of our lives. This is especially true for fans of Demi Lovato in the last few years. Join us as we breakdown what fandom means through the lens of this incredible artist and public figure. Their private struggles have taken on a public dimension as we all continue to learn about the pressures of celebrity and how they can contribute to a dark, dark situation for artists. We also discuss how comp...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast The American national anthem AKA The Star-Spangled Banner is absurd — in terms of the lyrics, the music, and also the weight behind it as a performance piece. And we can't just never talk about that, can we? So we're going in on it today, exploring the origins of this song and some iconic performances from the past 50 years. The national anthem is a very hard song to sing and a high stakes milestone/legacy song for a lot of artists because, to put it simply, nationalism is real and rampant...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast On today's podcast we talk about our favorite frenemy app: Tik Tok. The app has had a major impact beyond just how we doom scroll the hour before bed. It has shaped the literal sound of pop music, what’s on our top chats, and even manufactured musicians. Listen to find out Hannah's beef with the app, and stay for Mimi's take on the Addison Rae/Britney Spears debacle. Chuan Skincare is an affordable, hand-crafted skincare line made from all natural ingredients. They offer clay masks, ...
Apr 28, 2021•49 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" dropped, and our thesis this fine day is that the world will never be the same. Without the benefit of hindsight, we examine why this song and video has ushered in such a watershed moment. Then, we go into what the right-wing backlash means (22:43), why Lil Nas X is not babysitting in his free time for extra cash, and the surprising thing we have in common with F*x N*ws (31:10). To wrap up, we compare this backlash to other conservative vitriol aimed at pop...
Apr 14, 2021•48 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast We are overdue for a (re)visit to our forever princess of pop, Britney Jean Spears. Imagine being the lightning rod for so much capitalistic, patriarchal ire and garbage, while also bringing so much joy and pop gold and cultural reset after cultural reset into the world. Can you even? In one of our first ever episodes, we talked about how Britney had the weight of ~what it meant to be an American Girl~ on her shoulders and graciously carried us from one millennium to the next. Now we’re do...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast 
