What Is Music?: A Music Podcast About Arctic Monkeys
A podcast that dives deep into discographies - one artist per season. Hosts Adam, Steve, and Lucas go album by album, track by track, exploring how context shapes our experience of music, why fans become obsessed, and what music really is. With three hosts coming from wildly different levels of musical knowledge, expect sharp analysis, wild tangents, hot takes, and more information about the artists (and the hosts) than you ever asked for. Currently exploring the discography of Arctic Monkeys. Previous seasons featured Manic Street Preachers, Muse, Billie Eilish, Radiohead, Lauryn Hill, and R.E.M.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 103 minutes
- Episodes
- 297
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Dead Letter Office
The Big Mates discuss liner notes, The Velvet Underground, being nice, and Dead Letter Office by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by exp…
R.E.M. Clip-a-palooza 82-86 Commentary
The Big Mates provide exciting and tangential audio commentary for a selection of R.E.M. clips ranging from 1982 to 1986.
Confronted with very little good footage of the Pageantry tour, Adam, Steve, …
Lifes Rich Pageant (Pt. 3)
The Big Mates discuss Godzilla, a car crash, The Lion King, and Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by finishing up t…
Lifes Rich Pageant (Pt. 2)
The Big Mates discuss bedtime routines, contact lenses, gravity, and Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting …
Lifes Rich Pageant (Pt. 1)
The Big Mates discuss BIG NEWS, Band of Brothers, animals, and Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their …
R.E.M. Live on Rockpalast 1985 Commentary
The Big Mates provide lively and intellectual audio commentary for R.E.M. Live on Rockpalast in 1985.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of other, completely unrelat…
Fables of the Reconstruction (Pt. 2)
The Big Mates discuss the U.S. civil war, Foo Fighters, aliens, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by …
Fables of the Reconstruction (Pt. 1)
The Big Mates discuss Blink-182, Nick Drake, One Direction, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by star…
Producing R.E.M. with Don Dixon
Adam sits down with music producer, songwriter, and artist Don Dixon to discuss his work as part of the producing team for Murmur and Reckoning by R.E.M..
They talk about how Don became a music produc…
BREAKING NEWS: The Smile - Wall of Eyes
BONG. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY NEWS BROADCAST. The Big Mates discuss the newly released album Wall of Eyes by Radiohead spin-off band, The Smile. They give their first impressions and pick some standout…
R.E.M. Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, June 1984 Commentary
The Big Mates provide insightful and inspiring audio commentary for R.E.M. Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, in June 1984.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of …
Reckoning (Pt. 2)
The Big Mates discuss time travel, big diving, line dancing, and Reckoning by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by continuing and conclud…
Reckoning (Pt. 1)
The Big Mates discuss foot injuries, binaural recording, the joy of knowing Jesus, and Reckoning by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by …
Another Christmas Episode
The Big Mates get festive.
Join us for another Christmas of mostly the same stuff as the previous ones. Are you ready for Christmas? What's your favourite Christmas? What are your favourite Christmas …
Murmur (Pt. 3)
The Big Mates discuss head shapes, nostalgia, the sequel to Gladiator, and Murmur by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas conclude their track-by-track analysis on R.E.M.'s debut album, released in 1983. The…
Murmur (Pt. 2)
The Big Mates discuss niche British TV theme tunes, inherent emotion, time signatures, and Murmur by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their track-by-track analysis on R.E.M.'s debut album, relea…
Murmur (Pt. 1)
The Big Mates discuss small waveforms, portmanteaus, Muse, and Murmur by R.E.M.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas continue their deep dive into the career and discography of R.E.M. by starting their track-by-tra…
R.E.M. Live at the Raleigh Underground 1982 Commentary
The Big Mates provide casual and tangential audio commentary for R.E.M. Live at the Raleigh Underground 1982.
Adam, Steve, and Lucas discuss the live performance (and a whole host of other, completely…
Chronic Town
The Big Mates discuss the history of rock music, torn posters, pressing mistakes, and the early days of R.E.M..
Adam, Steve, and Lucas start at the beginning, talking about the individual members of R…
Season 6 Introduction: R.(w)E.M.joying This?
The Big Mates introduce Season 6 of the What Is Music? podcast.
It's called "R.(w)E.M.joying This?: A Critical Analysis of the History, Cultural Impact, and Music of R.E.M." Adam, Steve, and Lucas beg…