Over/underrated: a music podcast with Fran and Babs – Details, episodes & analysis

As has become tradition, we have each picked our ten favourite tunes of the year!

Like in 2023 & 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories - however as we spoke quite a lot during this episode, we've divided it into two parts - you can already listen to Part I here.

In Part II, we discuss the best rock song, favourite collaboration, best song from outside of Europe, best solo song and favourite sync track.

In this episode, Fran mishears a crucial lyric in a Denzel Curry song and Babs gets obsessed with a certain Luca Guadagnino film soundtrack...

Listen to our ⁠Best of 2023⁠, ⁠⁠Best of 2022⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Best of 2021⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Best of 2020⁠⁠⁠ episodes to see our faves from previous years. 

You can find ⁠⁠the ⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from our playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss.

Follow us on social media: it's⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram & Threads, and we're giving Bluesky another go ⁠⁠@oumusicpod.bsky.social⁠⁠ - we're also still on Twitter/X ⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, for now. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

As has become tradition, we have each picked our ten favourite tunes of the year!

Like in 2023 & 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories - however as we spoke quite a lot during this episode, we've divided it into two parts (the next one will be out on New Year's Day)...

In Part I, we discuss the best song by a group, favourite track in a genre we don't normally like, favourite song not in English, and best song to listen to live.

In this episode, we learn more than expected about the country of Niger, and Babs is surprised that a 'trap-pop' song by a popular singer is on her list...

Listen to our Best of 2023, ⁠Best of 2022⁠, ⁠⁠Best of 2021⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Best of 2020⁠⁠ episodes to see our faves from previous years. 

You can find ⁠the ⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from our playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss.

Follow us on social media: it's⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram & Threads, and we're giving Bluesky another go ⁠@oumusicpod.bsky.social⁠ - we're also still on Twitter/X ⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, for now. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Fran & Babs listened to (almost) the entirety of Björk's discography - having only previously dipped in and out of her music - and collaborated on a ten-track playlist spanning the decades to properly deliberate on her music and legacy...

Natasha Khan a.k.a Bat for Lashes is this week's underrated artist - Fran thinks she has many good songs beyond her hits, while until now, Babs was mostly indifferent...will his ten-track playlist convince her otherwise?

You can find ⁠⁠⁠⁠the ⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all the songs from our playlist, plus bonus songs from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss.

Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Joined by writer & broadcaster Bill Cummings, we're returning down under to discuss two bands who experienced wildly varying levels of success...

INXS have sold a whopping 95 million albums worldwide - they're one of Australia's most successful musical acts ever. With their crisp new wave sound and iconic frontman, will Fran & Babs feel the hype is nevertheless deserved?

Bill picked The Go-Betweens as "the quintessential underrated band" - with nine studio albums to their name, they never secured an Australian or UK Top 40 single (although the band has had a bridge named after them in their native Brisbane!). Fran & Babs knew almost nothing about the group, so will they join Bill on the other side of the Go Between Bridge?

Bill is the founder of God Is in the TV, an online music and culture fanzine which you should check out. He also hosts the Show Me Magic podcast, which is focused on new music.

You can find⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠the ⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Bill's playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

We often discuss covers, so it was about time for a special episode dedicated to the ones we admire, as well as those we don't love so much...

We've picked ten overrated cover versions - those that are better known than the originals or ones we don't enjoy - as well as ten underrated covers, songs we feel add to, or even improve on, the original.

Tune in also for a slightly controversial pick, which lead to an in-depth online and offline discussion on what the difference is between a remix and a cover version...and find out what some of our favourite karaoke songs are 🎤

You can find ⁠⁠⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all our chosen cover versions, plus bonus songs from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss.

Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Joined by musician, comedian and podcaster Robin Allender, we are back feeling nostalgic about the late 90's...

Stereophonics are clearly one of the more successful acts to emerge from Wales - to date, their most famous song Dakota has had over 200 million streams on Spotify - but are Fran, Babs or Robin fans of the band?

Robin picked Ash as an underrated favourite in part due to the influence their Trailer EP had on him as a youth, especially the song Uncle Pat...Fran & Babs are Ash fans, but is their favourite Ash era the same as Robin's?

Check out Robin's music podcasts: on The Clientele Podcast Robin interviews the band and their fans about what makes The Clientele's music unique. On Your Own Personal Beatles, Robin and co-host Jack Pelling talk to guests about how their lives have been influenced "by the greatest band of them all."

Check out Robin's music on Bandcamp and his Linktree for all of Robin's creative endevours.

You can find⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Robin's playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Billie Eilish is undoubtedly one of the world's most famous pop stars and Babs enjoys quite a few of her songs. She pitches some of her faves - and a couple of not-so-faves - to Fran, as we both ponder whether the hype is justified...

Babs also FINALLY gets to chat Fran's ear off about how much she loves Charli xcx. Charli is undeniably also a famous pop star, but Babs is frustrated that she doesn't have enough mainstream recognition and not enough people know the breadth of her back catalogue...will Fran agree?

Babs fully recommends Charli xcx's Netflix reality TV show 'I'm With the Band: Nasty Cherry', where she puts together an all-girl band.

You can find ⁠⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Babs' playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss.

Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Joined by our first ever returning guest - Ryan Schaff, host of ⁠The Broken Record Player podcast⁠ - we're breaking out the eyeliner, black nail varnish and discussing what makes a band truly goth...

Ryan is a huge fan of The Cure - they're in his top five favourite bands of all time - while Fran & Babs don't exactly muster the same level of enthusiasm...can he get them more on board? Xmal Deutschland's 'Incubus Succubus' might be considered a 'goth classic', but Ryan argues that this 80's band deserve more success and recognition beyond one song - and we discuss whether singing mostly in German may have hampered their success...

You should listen to ⁠The Broken Record Player podcast⁠ - Babs has guested three times, discussing ⁠⁠PJ Harvey's debut album Dry⁠⁠, ⁠Toxicity by System of a Down⁠ as well as ⁠The Chemical Brothers' Dig Your Own Hole⁠. You should also check out Ryan's previous guest stints on Over/underrated, where he talked about grunge bands Pearl Jam and L7.

You can find ⁠⁠⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Ryan's playlist, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

Joined by friend of the podcast Lieselotte Smets, we're learning more about the musical landscape of the Netherlands 🇳🇱

Lieselotte is Belgian, but has lived in the Netherlands for many years. Despite being Flemish - and therefore a native Dutch speaker - she realised there was a massive gap in her Netherlands music knowledge, so she has been keenly exploring the country's lesser-known gems.

For this episode, Lieselotte created a ten-track playlist of some of her favourite underrated Dutch acts, which we discuss in depth - and we also talk about the dreaded 'Dutch disease' at concerts...

The Guardian article we mentioned was called Sounds of Europe: The Netherlands.

You can find ⁠⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Lieselotte's playlist, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠⁠ for our logo.

U2 are obviously one of the biggest bands in the world, with 15 studio albums to date - Fran believes there's a lot of gold in their extensive back catalogue and that some of their albums are more underrated than others...will Babs agree?

We also discuss The Psychedelic Furs' back catalogue in some depth - Babs had previously dipped into the band's music but not gone much beyond their biggest hits...can Fran convince her they should be known for more than Pretty in Pink?

You can find ⁠⁠the playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from Fran's playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during the episode.

Download, review, subscribe and get in touch - especially if you have any suggestions for future themes or musicians to discuss. Follow us on social media: it's ⁠⁠@OUmusicpod⁠⁠ on Twitter/X - and now also ⁠@OUmusicpod⁠ on Bluesky - as well as ⁠⁠@overunderratedmusicpod⁠⁠ on Instagram. You can also email us at ⁠⁠overunderratedmusicpod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠Mark Abbott⁠⁠ for our logo.