Have you ever had that friend who seemed to change their whole personality each time they had a new relationship? No? Then you’re probably that friend! This week, we vibe with No Doubt’s 1995 radio smash “Don’t Speak.” Nichole argues that No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani’s changing styles is a great example of the so-called chameleon effect, while Mark thinks this song has a great example of a cool type of key change. It’s not petty if you use a big word to describe it!

Other music heard in this episode: No Doubt - “Rock Steady”, No Doubt - “Just a Girl”, No Doubt - “Total Hate”, Matthew Wilder - “Break My Stride”, No Doubt - “Bathwater”, No Doubt - “Trapped in a Box”, No Doubt - “It’s My Life”, J.S. Bach - “Ach Gott, erhör mein Seufzen und Wehklagen,” BWV 254, No Doubt - “Excuse Me Mr.”, No Doubt - “Happy Now?”, No Doubt - “New”, Queen - “We Are the Champions”, Avril Lavigne - “Sk8er Boi”

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Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

Why do violinists hate violists? Is Flipper actually evil? We comb through the listeners’ increasingly deranged questions with another Mailbag episode! Hear listeners test Nichole’s rhythm and shill their music in another fun check-in with our audience.

Music heard in this episode: Eight Foot Manchild - “Circle of Salt”, Vultures of Culture - “Catch and Release”, Nice & Smooth - “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow”, Dashboard Confessional - “Me and Mine”, Stereolab - “Diagonals”

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

Are things getting a bit companionate or maybe just fatuous? In this episode, we swoon to Kendrick Lamar and Sza’s 2024 slow jam “Luther.” Mark goes gaga over the surprising long-term trajectory of this song’s melody. Since we know our listeners always fall for a good classification system, this week Nichole brings us a good one: the triangular theory of love! The music and psychology pieces are certainly locking lips in this episode.

Other music heard in this episode: Dionne Warwick - “I Say a Little Prayer”, Taylor Swift - “End Game (feat. Ed Sheeran)”, Rihanna - “Work (feat. Drake)”, Beyoncé - “Crazy in Love (feat. Jay-Z)”, Ariana Grande - “Side by Side (feat. Nicki Minaj)”, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - “If This World Were Mine”, Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn - “If This World Were Mine”, Cheryl Lynn - “Got to be Real”, Luther Vandross - “Never Too Much”, Luther Vandross - “Here and Now”, Kendrick Lamar - “All the Stars (feat. SZA)”, SZA - “Good Days (feat. Jacob Collier)”, Taylor Swift - “Out of the Woods”, David Guetta - “Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj)”, Ariana Grande - “No Tears Left to Cry”

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Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

What’s the perfect playlist to bring you from rage to bliss? This week, we welcome writer and Tedx speaker Sadie Higgins. Sadie talks to us about how we can use music in our everyday lives to regulate our emotions and find a sense of community. Will Nichole actually sing on-mic? Join us for a fun conversation that proves that [spoiler] music is… good!

Music heard in this episode: Harry Styles - “Grapejuice”, Harry Styles - “Fine Line”, Next - “Too Close”, 3 Doors Down - “Kryponite”, Buffalo Springfield - “For What It’s Worth”, Beyoncé - “Crazy in Love (feat. Jay-Z)”, HQ Binaural Beats - “Theta Wave 2.0”

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

Is this the most “L.A.” band of the 2000s? This week, somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep is System of a Down’s 2001 rock hit “Toxicity.” Nichole talks us through the idea of cognitive dissonance, and ends up aiming her sights in the general direction of this band, while Mark takes us through the cool tempo changes of this song that would make the math nerds proud. The rare NTM debate can be found in the middle of this episode!

Other music heard in this episode: Aerosmith - “Dream On”, Letters to Cleo - “Here and Now”, Dropkick Murphys - “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”, The Macrotones - “Nothing is the Same”, Jan and Dean - “Surf City”, Jackson Browne - “Take it Easy”, Minutemen - “This Ain’t No Picnic”, Cypress Hill - “Insane in the Brain”, System of a Down - “Chop-Suey!”, System of a Down - “Prison Song”, System of a Down - “Spiders”, System of a Down - “Aerials”, System of a Down - “B.Y.O.B.”, System of a Down - “Radio/Video”, Franz Ferdinand - “Take Me Out”, The Beatles - “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, System of a Down - “Chic ‘n’ Stu”, System of a Down - “Question!”, Taylor Swift - “Tolerate It”, Taylor Swift - “Closure”, Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Veronica”, Paul Simon - “Hurricane Eye”, Elliott Carter - “String Quartet No. 1 (Julliard String Quartet)”

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Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

What motivates an artist to go beyond performative tweets and truly advocate for a cause they care about? This week, we are joined by Jessica Ilyse Kurn and Michael Stewart Foley, co-hosts of Against the Grain: The Farm Aid Podcast. For over forty years, the Farm Aid music festival has brought legendary artists together to support small family farmers. We talk about what brings them to that stage, what these farmers are up against, and how we’re all united by the same need… to EAT!

Listen to Against the Grain: The Farm Aid Podcast at farmaid.org/podcast and watch for the 2026 festival lineup at farmaid.org/festival!

Music heard in this episode: Bad Religion - “Grains of Wrath”, John Mellencamp - “Rain on the Scarecrow”

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

Is 47.5 times through a guitar riff enough? This week, we grab a ticket to anywhere with Tracy Chapman’s thoughtful 1988 ballad “Fast Car.” Nichole relates this song to people’s sense of whether they are in control of their lives, and, Here in episode #89, Mark finally starts listening to lyrics, and elaborates on how the song’s repetitiveness is actually the key to its moving storytelling. Just maybe this week it will be Nichole’s turn to secrete salty fluid from her optical sensors!

Other music heard in this episode: Tracy Chapman - “Give Me One Reason”, Tracy Chapman - “Stand By Me”, Tracy Chapman - “Baby Can I Hold You”, Shelly Thunder - “Sorry,” Nicki Minaj - “Sorry (feat. Nas)”, Tracy Chapman - “Behind the Wall”, Tracy Chapman - “For My Love”, Tobtok - “Fast Car”, Luke Combs - “Fast Car”, Bob Dylan - “Hurricane”, Suicidal Tendencies - “Institutionalized”, The Eagles - “Lyin’ Eyes”, Aloe Blacc - “I Need a Dollar”

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com

Is that episode title just a joke? Mark definitely wishes it was. In this week’s Sidetrack, our hosts give their lists of songs that get the waterworks flowing. Join us for some really awesome music and some major over-sharing! See you next week for a regular, sob-free episode!

Music heard in this episode: Bonnie Raitt - “I Can’t Make You Love”, Earth, Wind & Fire - “September”, Sarah Bareilles - “She Used to Be Mine”, The King’s Singers - “And So It Goes”, Billie Eilish - “The Thirtieth”, Northside Special - “A Place to Call Home”, Taylor Swift - “marjorie”, Tally Hall - “Be Born”, Beck - “The Golden Age”, Say Anything - “Alive With the Glory of Love”

Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com

Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com