Confusing band names, the MTV aura, and what happens if the comedy/tragedy masks and a keyboard mate: it's the 4th episode of our Best New Artist season, which brings us great winners, indefensible losers, and tracks that are more branding exercise than song. Does Mariah tie a whole Reagan-era room together? Listen now and find out!

Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne; for more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• • The list of Best New Artist recipients, and nominees
  • The Best New Artist Breakdown season premiere
  • Best New Artist Breakdown 03: 1977-1984
  • Episode 242: Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car"
  • SDB's review of Monsters
  • Beats Around The Bush, Episode 05: The Mystery Of Tone Loc
  • Episode 50: The Indigo Girls' "Indigo Girls," Ranked
  • Beats Around The Bush, Episode 01: Hippie Hop Hooray
  • Episode 164: Milli Vanilli, "Blame It On The Rain"
  • Lisa Stansfield live at The Apollo

Disco, NuRo, and not knowing where to look during "Afternoon Delight" -- it's all part of our third episode, when we're also talking about Starman's dinner party, the mayonnaise filter, the Michael McDonald industrial complex, and Mark's request to dump all the geography-named bands into one planetary supergroup. There's only one way to lift the Best New Artist curse, and that's to listen now.

Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• The list of Best New Artist recipients, and nominees
• The Best New Artist Breakdown season premiere
• Only Chicken
• Michael and Maeby sing "Afternoon Delight"
• Dig the styling on the Brothers Johnson
• "Hey Deanie" at The Lost Songs Project
• Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 2: 1975-1990
• In My Life's Wikipedia page
• Pop Goes The Actor 3: Comedians
• Episode 107: Bond-Movie Songs, Ranked

We're wading into the '70s in our second ep, which includes ruminations on inessential classic rock; how Karen Carpenter and Judy Garland can take you whenever they are; holding your nose and throwing your vote at the nomination dartboard; and more. We've only just beguuuuuun / to taaaaaaalk -- and to hear your comments! -- so listen now.

Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• The list of Best New Artist recipients, and nominees
• The Best New Artist Breakdown season premiere
• Episode 62: "Ode To Billie Joe" And "Harper Valley PTA"
• '90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 03: Forrest Gump
• Episode 18: Led Zeppelin/Dread Zeppelin/Dolly Parton, "Stairway To Heaven"
• Episode 69: Bryan Adams, "Summer Of '69" (with guest Danny MacEachern!)
• "Lost Grammy Nominee: Chase" at The Lost Songs Project
• "Woman Of The Hour: There are no winners here" at Best Evidence

The Best New Artist Breakdown season has begun! Instead of pitting the 64 winners of the Grammys' Best New Artist category against each other, we're talking about each year's nominees and winner in the context of their time...and in today's sixties-spanning ep, we're trying to make sense of the 20th century's monocultures, how far in the past most votes had gotten stuck, the weird dominance of the ukelele in the Kennedy years, and the weird ambitions of Mr. Swingle. Ready to go Bach to the future? Listen now!

Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• The list of Best New Artist recipients, and nominees
• The Record Of The Year Showdown season premiere
• Episode 145: Bobby Darin, "Mack The Knife"
• The Beat Generation box-set playlist on Spotify
• The Lost Songs Project on Timi Yuro
• Episode 62: "Ode To Billie Joe" And "Harper Valley PTA"
• The Lost Songs Project on Harpers Bizarre
• Life Magazine's cover story on the non-golden era of hijacking

Our finale finds us talking about actor/musicians with lasting pop careers: Oscar-winners (Jamie Foxx), Grammy-winners (Childish Gambino), former child stars (Hailee Steinfeld), and Jokers (Jared Leto). After discussing contemporary stank, the competent/memorable axis, music for coffee shops, and the R&B version of that Top Chef challenge where they have to elevate gas-station snacks, we talk about what we've learned about the drive to create art. Grab Ludacris and have a listen.

Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne; special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• Record Of The Year Showdown, Episode 4: 2007-2022
• Episode 68: "Stay" Title Bout
• SDB's review of House of Gucci at Best Evidence
• Episode 73: Jamie Foxx feat. Guru & Common, "Any Given Sunday"
• MB on "Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)" at The Lost Songs Project

This week's crop of actor-musician hyphenates got their thespian starts in films of the 1980s: Corey Feldman, Keanu Reeves (Dogstar), Kevin Bacon (the Bacon Brothers), and Kiefer Sutherland. Copyright-compliant Gin Blossoms tracks and workout-cooldown music prompted thoughts about perfectly good outdoor-restaurant entertainment, the artistic practice that capitalism tries to stifle, and whether pretty boys want to be told they're smart (and vice versa). Strange things are afoot at the Circle MASTAS, so grab one of Kiefer's hats and have a listen.

Intro and outro by Andrew Byrne; special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• Harsh but fair, Discogs commenter TwoOneFive
• "Comeback King" by Corey Feldman
• '90s Soundtrack Flashback, Episode 04: Romeo + Juliet
• River's Edge

Do you love to laugh? Then fall down the ha-ha hole that is Pop Goes The Actor's third episode! This week, we're looking at comedians who tested the pop waters, including a Blues Brother, Eddie Murphy, Tracey Ullman, and Jack Black. Acting range, the cult of mid-'70s SNL, finding unexpected IQ points in a song you've heard a dozen times, and which instrument is the creme fraiche of blues tracks -- and much more. Someone here is from Jersey, so order your minimum two drinks and listen!

Intro and outro by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli; special thanks to Amanda, and to Terri. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• The "limberjack dolls" SDB was trying to think of the name for
• Daphne Merkin goes deep for the Times on "jolie-laide" (gift link)
• The Dragnet rap, a staple of morning drive-time radio at that time
• This Had Oscar Buzz on Bernie
• Our Weird Al vs. Everybody season
• "Whatzupwitu"'s Wikipedia page

Oh yes it's ladies' night on the second episode of Pop Goes The Actor...but IS the feeling right? Sometimes! We wend our way through copyright-compliant bugle boys of Company Wonder Woman, the adorkable Zooey Deschanel, Shelley Fabares's evident terror, Marla Gibbs's appealing blood-thinner ad, and a track from Cybill Shepherd that puts the "no" back in "bossa nova." Throw that sax in a dumpster and join us for legitimate fun vs. snarky fun, the sexual politics of Camelot-era pop, and the timeline where Rosemary Clooney is good.

Intro and outro by David Gregory Byrne, and special thanks to Amanda. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas.

SHOW NOTES

• Pop Goes The Actor 1: '70s Sitcoms
• Extra Extra Hot Great on Fallout
• More on the Relatives
• Colleen Stan, aka "the girl in the box"