Signature Song

Madonna is indisputably one of the most successful and influential singer-songwriters of all time. She’s smashed records, paved the way for countless women in pop music, and wowed fans with her wild sartorial choices and genre-bending music close to 45 years. Join us as we examine Madonna’s impossibly expansive career and creativity on the season 3 premiere of Signature Song.

As we approach the end of our summer break, we take a look at some of the comments listeners have left across various platforms -- and reveal the first artist of season 3! 00:00 - Welcome to the listener mailbag 01:26 - Has Signature Song broken our brains? 02:25 - Smash Mouth, Bon Jovi, and obvious signature songs 05:06 - What we’ve been listening to 07:53 - Diving into listener comments 08:48 - Britney Spears: did we underrate “(You Drive Me) Crazy”? 12:28 - Pearl Jam: is “Even Flow” ac

Few bands have pursued grandeur as relentlessly as U2. Across nearly five decades, the Irish quartet has transformed political urgency, spiritual yearning, romantic conflict, and unabashed optimism into some of the biggest rock songs ever recorded. We trace their journey from the martial intensity of War to the stadium transcendence of The Unforgettable Fire, the emotional sweep of The Joshua Tree, and the polished uplift of All That You Can't Leave Behind. Along the way, we discuss delay pedals

Selena’s career was impossibly brief, but her musical legacy is enormous: Tejano cumbia, Mexican balladry, English-language pop, joy, heartbreak, charisma, and a voice that could make even the simplest hook feel inevitable. We dive into the songs that made Selena a regional superstar, a Latin music icon, and eventually one of the great “what might have been” stories in pop history. We laugh, we debate, we get a little emotional, and we try to answer a deceptively difficult question: what is Sele

Welcome to this week’s deep dive into the Smashing Pumpkins, an act that helped define alternative rock in the 1990s and beyond. From soaring melodies and gauzy production to crushing guitar hooks and Billy Corgan’s one-of-a-kind vocals, we explore the songs that have cemented the band’s legacy, about which Jorge and Lane have differing opinions. Despite all our rage, we’re still two dudes in a podcast cage.

More than just synth-driven sophisti-pop radio mainstays, Tears for Fears embody a spirit of experimentation, intellectualism, and emotional complexity rarely found in Top 10 mainstream pop music. From war to primal scream therapy to gender dynamics, core members Roland Orzabal and Curtis Smith explore cerebral, intense lyrical themes and bend genres seamlessly all at once. What song in their catalog stands the test of time? Listen as we shout (not really), shout, and let it all out in this epis