Aural Fixation – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Hi friends, Andy here – née Aural Fixation, currently wittering away on Tracks of Our Queers.

In case you're still not subscribed to the Tracks of Our Queers feed, I'm sharing one of my favourite recent episodes right here.

Margaret Cho requires zero introduction. She is nothing less than a living, breathing queero, and it was an honour to chat to her about the music that has soundtracked her queer life.

Subscribe to Tracks of Our Queers right here, and follow me at @tracksofourqueers.

Jonesing for more Aural Fixation? You never know when Cycle 9 might pop up right here...

Andy here – as I'm putting the finishing touches on Tracks of Our Queers' second season, I thought I'd share some previews from my favourite episodes so far.

Here's the first 10 minutes of my conversation with Bonzai Bonner, a DJ, nightlife promoter and activist based in Glasgow.

You can find and subscribe to Tracks of Our Queers wherever you get your podcasts.

Judy Garland's concert appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall is often described as the greatest night in show business history. After ongoing battles with a variety of substances for most of the 1950s, many had come to judge Judy. Her 1961 return to the stage, however, was a roaring success devoured by a crowd made up almost entirely of screaming queens.

Discussion on the original gay icon must be taken seriously, and Andy and Drew recruited Judy super-stan Alexander Andrews for a conversation that covers the legendary performance.

Want more from the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. Don't forget to check out this episode's playlist.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

What do the forces of Nicki Minaj, Ronan Keating, and those who imprint queerness on successful figures in pop culture all have in common? They all want a piece of Tracy Chapman, ladies, and count us in.

 One of the best-selling albums of all time by anyone, anywhere, 1988's Tracy Chapman took the singer-songwriter traditions of the 70s and brought them into a new musical landscape and sparking another decade of heartfelt guitar confessionals – but there's so much more than meets the eye in the Tracy Chapman House (TCH). Press play to find out. 

Want more from the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. For fast cars, and revolutions, don't forget to check out this episode's playlist.

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 
 
Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

The boys are joined by artist, photographer, DJ, and Andy's mate from uni, Matthew Arthur Williams, to discuss the legendary Joni Mitchell and her 1975 album, The Hissing of Summer Lawns.

An unrivalled figure in pop culture, Joni loves the queers and the queers love Joni but her icon status isn't as obvious or surface level as most of our usual Aural Fixation subjects. Matthew takes us on a memory lane trip back to the mid-00s, when Joni was the soundtrack of his blossoming queerhood.

You can find Matthew on Instagram here, and follow his DJing here. Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. And don't forget to check out this episode's playlist .

Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Christina Aguilera's masterpiece Stripped has been cited as inspiration by countless pop sensations including Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande. From self love, to feminism, to sex positivity, the music gave gals, gays and theys permission to roar when it hit the shelves in 2002.

Nearly two decades later, Stripped still gets our temperatures up. What better way to kick off our eighth cycle than with a full strip-search of the album that made us fighters and taught us to trust the voice within. So here it is – no hype, no glass, no pretence. Just Andy and Drew. And a lawsuit with the Sugababes.

Want more from the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. And don't forget to check out this episode's playlist which will NOT bring you down today.

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 

Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

After over seventy episodes and several many bottles of chilled Semillon (send me home), we've reached our Cycle 7 finale! As is tradition (of which there are many!) this ep sees us tackling a subject that's a little... left of the usual format.

Second only to Madonna (welcome to her fempire), RuPaul's Drag Race is the cultural touchstone of Aural Fixation. We're hard-pressed to find an episode of the podcast that doesn't in some way reference the show (Tamar, have you ever watched the show?) or its contestants. Beyond the pod, we'd go so far as to say that Drag Race is THE defining piece of queer iconography of the last decade, and there ain't no signs of it stopping any time soon. As such, we felt it important – nay necessawry – to dedicate our Cycle 7 finale to the show that launched a thousand wig lines.

But we couldn't do it alone! We've enlisted Entertainment Weekly reporter and Drag Race herstorian Joey Nolfi to weigh in on his experience of the show's impact and spill the tea on where the franchise might be heading. You ready, girl? This episode will Curl. Your. Hair.

Want more from the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. And don't forget to check out this episode's playlist!

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 

Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

We're in for a treat this fortnight with our first of two very special Drag Race episodes. First up, superstar of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, Maxi Shield, regales us with her long and very personal history with... Madonna.
 
Yes, we know, every Aural Fixation episode is essentially about Madonna, but this topic was Maxi's choice and for good reason. Our album of focus is the incomparable Immaculate Collection, but it was her brush with a diamanté banana on the Rebel Heart Tour that will prick up your ears.
 
Want more from the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. And don't forget to check out this episode's playlist!

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 
 
Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

April 2020 was a rough time to release new music, but that didn't stop Rina Sawayama from having one of the strongest pop albums of last year. The eponymous Sawayama was an eclectic mash-up of Y2K nostalgia, paying homage to early 2000's manufactured pop, nu-metal and R&B.

The album went on to feature on several best of lists, and Sawayama herself made history after criticising major British music awards such as the Mercury Prize and the BRITs who deemed her illegible to be nominated as a British artist, despite having lived in the UK since she was five.

Join Andy and Drew for a good old fashioned kiki on all things Rina, from her take on chosen family to her relationship with deep pop godfather of the pod, Elton John.

Like the boys? Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. And don't forget to check out this episode's playlist!

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 
 
Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

A mere 18 years old and mother of a three week old baby when her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released, Sinéad O’Connor shot to stratospheric success off of her haunting vocals, powerful songwriting and give-no-fucks visuals.

In this episode, we use Sinéad's blistering debut as a starting point for an exploration of her distilled queerness, her massive appeal to queer listeners, and exactly why is she so... very... O'Conic? We also touch on the Prince Thing, the Pope Thing, and the Madonna Thing (spoiler alert, we're Team Sinéad on all).

Visit our online home at auralfixationpodcast.com, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, or go old school and email us at auralfixationpodcast@gmail.com. You can follow Andy on @andrewdoyouthinkyouare and Drew on @with.all.drew.respect. Don't forget to check out this episode's playlist.

Our big gay thanks to Anthony Garvin and the team at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney. 
 
Finally, we would like to acknowledge both the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and the Ngarigo, the traditional custodians of the lands this podcast episode was recorded on, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.