The final episode of the season is our annual special where we each pick our favourite songs of the year! Like in 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories: favourite song by a solo act, best song by a group, favourite track in a genre we don't normally like, favourite song not in English, best collaboration, best sync song,…

Fran & Babs listened to (almost) the entirety of Björk's discography - having only previously dipped in and out of her music - and collaborated on a ten-track playlist spanning the decades to properly deliberate on her music and legacy... Natasha Khan a.k.a Bat for Lashes is this week's underrated artist - Fran thinks she has many good songs beyond…

Joined by writer & broadcaster Bill Cummings, we're returning down under to discuss two bands who experienced wildly varying levels of success... INXS have sold a whopping 95 million albums worldwide - they're one of Australia's most successful musical acts ever. With their crisp new wave sound and iconic frontman, will Fran & Babs feel the hype is…

We often discuss covers, so it was about time for a special episode dedicated to the ones we admire, as well as those we don't love so much... We've picked ten overrated cover versions - those that are better known than the originals or ones we don't enjoy - as well as ten underrated covers, songs we feel add to, or even improve on, the original. T…

Joined by musician, comedian and podcaster Robin Allender, we are back feeling nostalgic about the late 90's... Stereophonics are clearly one of the more successful acts to emerge from Wales - to date, their most famous song Dakota has had over 200 million streams on Spotify - but are Fran, Babs or Robin fans of the band? Robin picked Ash as an und…

Billie Eilish is undoubtedly one of the world's most famous pop stars and Babs enjoys quite a few of her songs. She pitches some of her faves - and a couple of not-so-faves - to Fran, as we both ponder whether the hype is justified... Babs also FINALLY gets to chat Fran's ear off about how much she loves Charli XCX. Charli is undeniably also a famo…

Joined by our first ever returning guest - Ryan Schaff, host of ⁠The Broken Record Player podcast⁠ - we're breaking out the eyeliner, black nail varnish and discussing what makes a band truly goth... Ryan is a huge fan of The Cure - they're in his top five favourite bands of all time - while Fran & Babs don't exactly muster the same level of enthus…

Joined by friend of the podcast Lieselotte Smets, we're learning more about the musical landscape of the Netherlands 🇳🇱 Lieselotte is Belgian, but has lived in the Netherlands for many years. Despite being Flemish - and therefore a native Dutch speaker - she realised there was a massive gap in her Netherlands music knowledge, so she has been keenly…

U2 are obviously one of the biggest bands in the world, with 15 studio albums to date - Fran believes there's a lot of gold in their extensive back catalogue and that some of their albums are more underrated than others...will Babs agree? We also discuss The Psychedelic Furs' back catalogue in some depth - Babs had previously dipped into the band's…

We're kicking off our new season with a very special episode! We're interviewing Bob Stanley, a very talented writer, musician, DJ, and film producer. Since founding the band Saint Etienne, Bob has enjoyed a parallel career as a music journalist. He came on the podcast to talk about two of his books, which - together - span the entire history of po…

Joined by comedian, writer & performer Joz Norris, we're finally delving into prog rock for our last episode of the season - and we hope, like us, that you don't take it TOO seriously... Joz picked Emerson, Lake & Palmer as overrated because he feels that they represent the wildest excesses of prog and contribute to its pretentious reputation. With…

Joined by content creator, musician, amateur historian, YouTuber, journalist & author Christian Patrick, we're discussing two glam bands on, arguably, the opposite of the fame spectrum this week... First up, another sacred cow under the microscope - we're talking about behemoths Queen, specifically their output from the 70's...like most people, Chr…

Joined by Chris & Mark from the Unsung Podcast, it's Part II of our Record Label special, where we're talking about Wilmington, Delaware's Jade Tree Records (check out Part I where we discussed Washington DC's Dischord Records). Fran & Babs hadn't previously heard of Jade Tree Records - and didn't know many of the bands on their roster. Founded in …

Joined by Chris & Mark from the Unsung Podcast, it's a different approach for today's episode - our guests have picked two different record labels and five bands who released records from them to make up each playlist, and we're all discussing whether a label can be classified as overrated or underrated. In Part I we're talking about Washington DC'…

Following on from our Eurovision 2023 episode, we popped online for a quick chat to talk about an entertaining short film - Worst Kept Secret: The Subwoolfer Documentary which is available on the Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel. Fans of Eurovision 2022 will definitely remember Subwoolfer, the yellow Norwegian space wolves who managed to kee…

It's our yearly Eurovision special - we've listened to all 37 songs from this year's competition and picked our five favourite and least favourite tunes. This time, we're also joined by contributors across Europe giving their opinions on the competition and some of the entries we talk about! If you enjoy this episode, you should check out our 2022 …

Joined by Shane McMenemy from the Mixtaping Identity podcast, we're talking about one of his all-time favourite bands - as well as a DJ he's not super-keen on. It's not that Shane massively dislikes Calvin Harris (Dumfries), but he feels his music is "cynically-produced and commercially-driven" - Shane feels Calvin is good at capitalising on trends…

Friend of the podcast Tom Haigh joins us again - he previously talked about David Bowie in Part I of this British Singer-Songwriters theme - and this time he's talking about musician Nick Drake. An influence on many big artists like R.E.M., Kate Bush and The Cure, Nick Drake's profile was low during his short lifetime - and, argues Tom, still not h…

Joined by friend of the podcast Tom Haigh, we had such fun chatting to him that it's gonna be another two-parter... Fran & Babs have wanted to talk about David Bowie for ages and Tom is a mega-fan, primed and ready to defend him - he has picked some deeper cuts to introduce lesser-known Bowie tunes to two people who feel that he is, at the very lea…

While Fran acknowledges Kraftwerk have been a huge influence on many bands he likes, he's never been interested enough to dip into into their back catalogue too heavily...Babs is a fan and hopes to convince Fran that Kraftwerk's source material is worth listening to in more depth... Fran introduces Babs to Henric de la Cour, a solo act who also use…

Joined by Wisconsinite podcaster and YouTuber Brad LeBaron, we're heading back down under... Melbournites Jet are obviously best known for their smash hit 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' - but they produced three albums and supported huge acts like the Rolling Stones, Oasis, Green Day and Bruce Springsteen...however, do Fran & Babs agree that a lot of t…

We're joined by Teesside-based singer songwriter Jen Dixon this week, who brings two nostalgic rock bands for discussion.. .Jen is a huge Foo Fighters fan - drumming from a young age, she was especially in awe of Taylor Hawkins...Fran is a Foo Fighters fan and says they're excellent live - but Babs has always felt they're overplayed (and that Dave …

'Ow do! We're back in Yorkshire to discuss two more Leodensian rock bands, having talked about Alt-J and Duels back in our first season... Kaiser Chiefs might be best known for their songs and albums of the noughties, but the band has continued to release music as recently as 2022...Fran has put together a playlist spanning most of their albums so …

We will be back next week with the first episode of Season Six! Bands we'll be discussing in this series include David Bowie, Queen, Nick Drake, The Ark, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jet, The Music, Kaiser Chiefs, Kraftwerk, Calvin Harris, Henric de la Cour and Frightened Rabbit. In the meantime, find out what some of our BIGGEST FANS have t…

Rounding off this season is a special bumper episode with Chris Olley, musician and lead singer/guitarist from Six by Seven. If these names sound familiar, it's because Fran picked Six by Seven as an underrated band in our previous Nottingham episode - so this conversation is an Over/underrated first! Chris listened to our episode, got in touch and…

Santa Fran & Babs welcome you to our first ever Christmas special! We're joined by festive music appreciator and friend of the podcast Richard Delahay, who has picked his top five overrated & underrated Christmas songs... How much has working in retail and catering traumatised Fran & Richard's reactions to Christmas songs? How much of our conversat…

We've wrapped up the year once again, each picking our ten favourite tracks from 2022 and discussing our musical highlights and lowlights. However, this year we've mixed it up a little 🍸 and assigned each of our picks to ten categories... In Part II, we have five more categories to discuss: best sync song, favourite song you'd like to hear live, be…

We've wrapped up the year once again, each picking our ten favourite tracks from 2022 and discussing our musical highlights and lowlights. However, this year we've mixed it up a little 🍸 and assigned each of our picks to ten categories... In Part I, we'll be talking about each other's favourite song by a solo act, best song by a group, favourite tr…

Välkomna alla till säsongens sista avsnitt! This week we are joined by Daniel Bellqvist, lead singer of Swedish indie band Eskobar. Daniel shares some great rock'n'roll anecdotes in this episode, including those relating to this week's overrated act, The Cardigans. While we all agree that Lovefool was extremely popular and played non-stop, is it fa…

Hello DARLINGS and welcome to a most flamboyant episode! We're joined by Dr Becky Alexis-Martin and Annie Greatorex to discuss one of the most famous theatrical American musicians of all time and one rather more unknown... Dr Becky is keen to discuss mega-famous, revered Prince - she thinks he's written great songs for women (Sinead O'Connor, The B…

Joined by Paula Wiseman, journalist and host of the Divine Comedians podcast, we're back in the UK this week talking about two singer-songwriters some might not realise are even British... Rod Stewart's music career began in 1962 when he started busking with a harmonica - and he's not stopped making music since. But are his songs interesting enough…

Following on from Part I of our new wave episode, focused on The Cars, we're crossing the Atlantic and travelling to Paris to discuss our underrated pick, Indochine. The best-selling French band of all time, Indochine released their first album in 1982 and have continued to make music ever since - but remain fairly unknown in English-speaking count…

This week, Fran & Babs talked about new wave and 80s music for so long that we've had to make this a two-parter... We've taken a bit of a different approach with this week's overrated pick...Babs was a fan of The Cars without knowing much of their back catalogue while Fran was less sure how he felt. Therefore, Babs took it upon herself to listen to…

Joined by Mike Lash from the Playlist Yeah! podcast, we're heading back to the sea - but is it boring? Mike certainly thinks that the hype surrounding two-piece behemoths Royal Blood is undeserved - while some of their songs are certainly overplayed, will Fran & Babs agree they're overrated? Babs & Mike also get excited about The Eighties Matchbox …

We're back in the UK this week, swooping into the East Midlands for our latest episode... Fran is a London Grammar fan, but every time Babs has tried to get into them nothing stuck out for her...will Fran's ten-track playlist turn her into a fan of Hannah, Dot & Dan? Babs is also introduced to Six by Seven, a band Fran remembers having posters of o…

Joined by friend of the podcast & afro-pop sympathiser George Thurley, we're back in Noo Yoik City for more discussions of rock.... Babs has never been particularly keen on Vampire Weekend and wonders if this is as much due to their aesthetic as their music. Will George's five-track playlist convince her that Ezra Koenig is more of a genius than sh…

G'day mates and welcome to an exploration of two of Australia's biggest musical exports... AC/DC is one of the biggest bands in the world - their album Back in Black is the second best-selling album OF ALL TIME! While Fran & Babs can appreciate their career longevity, how much do they actually like the music? Babs has been a fan of The Vines since …

We are joined once again by writer, comedian, broadcaster and podcasting legend Matthew Crosby for Part II of our jazz rock fusion-themed episodes. This time, Matthew is talking about one of his all-time favourite bands - Steely Dan. Matthew admires how Steely Dan manage to make music which is simultaneously "interesting, weird, complex" as well as…

Joined by writer, comedian, broadcaster and podcasting legend Matthew Crosby, we’re diving deep into the discography of two darn groovy bands… Abracadabracalifornication to all you jazz fusion funk hoppers! Or maybe not, because on this episode we find out why Matthew takes such umbrage with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Despite acknowledging they’re …

Put on some liquid eyeliner, find your sparkliest eyeshadow and bring out the hairspray - we're talking about some New Romantics legends! Fran is a big fan of the era but thinks that behemoths Spandau Ballet only have a handful of good songs...Babs doesn't know much Spandau Ballet beyond the hits - so will she agree with Fran? Babs is also properly…

Joined by Ceri Mitchell from the Playlist Yeah! podcast, we're swooping over The Valleys and landing in Wales' capital.. Ceri studied in Wales and felt the Manic Street Preachers' presence even more strongly there...but it didn't make him a big fan. Despite loving their androgynous image, will Fran & Babs agree that they're overhyped? For his under…

It's that time of year again! Fran & Babs listen to all 40 songs from this year's competition and pick their top five best and worst tunes. Who does Babs accuse of greenwashing? Which region of Europe do a lot of Fran's selections come from? And like in our 2021 episode, will some picks appear in opposing lists? If you enjoy this episode, you shoul…

We're joined by music lecturer, writer and podcaster Karlyn King in our latest episode, tackling one of the biggest rock bands in the world - and talking about a blues musician who should definitely be better-known... With blues as the theme, Fran has picked five early songs by The Rolling Stones to argue that they are an overhyped band in this gen…

We can't believe we haven't covered this theme yet... Babs really likes Kasabian - she doesn't want to, but them's the breaks - and wants to convince Fran to see beyond their lad rock reputation and appreciate their use of synths, their psychedelic edge, as well as their more underrated "bleepy bloopy" songs. Naturally, we also address the recent l…

Joined by Helen Sadler from the Flixwatcher podcast, she has curated two eclectic playlists which arguably fall under the indie folk umbrella... Helen got on board The National train when she saw them live - however, Babs didn't have a great experience watching them during a heatwave at a festival, she felt they were quite boring....will her mind b…

A.k.a. we've both wanted an excuse to talk about Depeche Mode for a while, so we've each picked our top five overrated and underrated DM tunes to have somewhat of a theme! Fran's favourite Depeche Mode albums are Songs of Faith and Devotion and Some Great Reward, while Babs really got into the band thanks to her mum buying the 81-85 and 86-98 Great…

Our first episode with two guests! We're joined by Sam Pay and Martin Zaltz Austwick from the Song by Song podcast to chat arty NYC musicians. Martin & Sam & Fran & Babs differ in opinion on how much - and why - they think Talking Heads are overrated. Discussions centre around whether the band's attitude is a bit elitist, David Byrne's standing in …

Força! We've crossed the Atlantic to discuss the legacy of two of Canada's finest singer-songwriters... Until Babs discovered You Oughta Know, she wasn't a huge Alanis Morissette fan - her biggest songs were definitely overplayed...however, Fran has toured Alanis' discography and chosen ten tracks which show a wider variety of styles than either of…

A.k.a. some oldies talk about that newfangled music making waves across the world! We're joined by the lovely Reggie C Crawford - an audio editor, podcaster, audio engineer and voice-artist - who got into K-Pop thanks to his daughters and provides an excellent introduction to the genre to n00bs Fran & Babs. Reggie wants to make clear he is a BIG BT…

We're starting out pretty chilled in the first episode of season four...one-one-two... Coming into the record, Fran was quite indifferent to trip-hop - so Babs hopes to convince him there's more to Massive Attack than the big hits we've heard on TV shows and adverts. And with Sneaker Pimps releasing a new album in 2021 - 19 years after their previo…