This Is Not Happening - An Album Of The Month Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Festive Greetings from This Is Not Happening and welcome to our year-end, 2025 wrap-up episode. As always we split the pod into Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1 features our Top 10 favourite albums of 2025. We use a proprietary algorithm to create our list our collective favourite albums, we're talking nascent data-science excellence! Every year it throws up some surprises as our tastes are so different (and in some ways so similar.

Part 2 features a festive Spin It or Bin It. We each bring a candidate for track of the year and ask the age old question 'Spin It or Bin It' ... will anyone really bin anyone elses Track of the Year? Probably.

To retain the tension, I won't share any spoilers here ... other than to share a 40 track playlist of some of our favourite 2025 tracks ... here.

Whatever you do at this time of year, who ever you do it with ... have a good one.

Please join us in January where we will go back to the usual format of Album of the Month + Spin It or Bin It.

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

We are officially 62 months old. Welcome to the latest episode of This Is Not Happening, an album of the month podcast.

In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Guy brings back an artist that we first featured in early 2022, Joy Crookes. Joy is tackling the tricky 2nd album syndrome with her latest release 'Juniper'.

In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we stick with theme of 'Joy' and ask each other to brings tracks that bring us joy and happiness.

                                ----- Part 1 | Joy Crookes | Juniper -----

In January 2022 we reviewed Joy's debut Skin. The consensus was that we loved it and it became a very important and deeply album for some of us. In terms of expectations, the bar was raised when Joy released the single 'Pass the Salt' in January of this year. 

So what did we get with this sophomore release? Well, a lot is the simple answer! Perhaps not a big leap stylistically but a massive long-jump forwards in terms of song writing and performance. Will that be enough for the pod ... have a listen and tell us what you think.

• Listen to the album ... HERE
• Watch some great videos ... HERE
• Watch a great reaction video from Jakar right ... HERE
• Read a great interview with Joy in Glamour magazine ... HERE
• Listen to a deeply personal and revealing interview ... HERE

                                  ----- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Joy' -----

Songs that bring us 'Joy and Happiness' sounds like a simple theme to find music for ... well, not for one of us who revels in the dark and miserable side of music. The selections are predictably brilliant!

• Nolan chose 'Jayou' by Jurassic 5.
• David chose 'Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)' by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.
• Joey chose 'Superstylin' by Groove Armada.
• Guy went mental and chose 'Josephine' by Chris Rea!

We all chose 4 tracks as a shortlist which we combine into a belter of a 16 track playlist, listen to that bad boy HERE.

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Another month, another pod. Welcome to Episode 53 of This is Not Happening (TINH), an Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast. In Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, Guy hosts an interesting discussion on Father John Misty's (FJM) latest album, Mahashmashana. 50% of the Pod love FJM, 50% don't!

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, our theme this month is 'Location, Location, Location', or 'songs about places' and it's a belter!

Part 1 | Father John Misty | Mahashmashana

We often review artists that we all love. This month this is not the case. 2 of us love FJM, one of us gets very angry when listening to FJM and one of us doesn't really have an opinion. Can this album keep the fans happy and win over the angry and the non-plussed?

Given the above, this is a surprisingly well mannered and coherent conversation about FJMs latest album. There's only 8 tracks but they're all pretty long. We discuss songwriting, song length and album themes like ageing and the associated ego deaths that accompany it.

• Listen to the album ... HERE
• Watch some of the videos for the tracks discussed ...  HERE
• Watch the World Cafe interview that we reference on the pod ... HERE
• Watch a live performance of lead single 'She Cleans Up' ... HERE

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Location, Location, Location'

Songs about places are really common. It's a theme explored by many (most?) artists at some point in their songwriting. This was a great chat and 4 great track selections.

• Guy chose Paris by Friendly Fires feat. Au Revioire Simone.
• Nolan chose New York State of Mind by Nas.
• Joey chose Welcome to Jamrock by Damien Marley.
• David chose Tobacco Road by Bobby Gentry.

Here is a 16 track playlist where we all contribute 4 Location, Location, Location themed tracks to an extended playlist.

Chapters: 

00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:10 - Album of the Month
00:06:26 - What Do You Expect and What Did You Get?
00:18:40 - Album style and themes
00:27:30 - The 'character' Father John Misty
00:38:56 - 

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

It's the end of the year and that means it's time for us decide on our individual Top 10 Favourite albums list. Once this is done, we hand this to David, who fires up the TINH algorithm and a collective Top 10 is created. Sometimes it's predictable, sometimes it's not, more often than not Guy feels like the TINH black-sheep but every year we tell him we love him and it all works out well.

Part 1 | TINH Collective Top 10 List.

We run down our top 10 list, introducing the albums and why they made it into our top 10. We always plan to be short and snapy. We always fail. But hopefully you enjoy it.

Part 2 | Spin It Or Bin It | Favourite Track of 2024.

We usually create a short list of 4 tracks each and pick a single track to represent the theme. With it being the end of the year, the theme is obvious, Favourite Track of the Year. But we each created a 10 track 'short' list this time.

The 40 track 'Favourite Tracks of 2024 is available here and it's a belter.

In Part 2 we each talk through our favourite track of the year and then ask the question ... Spin It or Bin It where we try to decide a track of the year.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Chapters: 

00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:10 - Albums 10/9/8
00:11:58 - Albums 7/6/5
00:25:16 - Albums 4/3/2
00:44:50 - No.1 Album
00:53:24 - Spin It Or Bin It - Tracks of 2024
01:24:28 - Outro

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Another month, another pod. A very warm and most welcome to Episode 51 of This is Not Happening (TINH), an Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast. In Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, Joey sits in the middle of a 'divisive discussion'  focused on Caribou's new album Honey. One of us think it's some of the best of Caribou's work, one of us thinks it's much less than that.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, our theme this month is 'Basslines', for once we stipulated no other rules.

Part 1 | Caribou | 'Honey'

We all love Caribou. There are few artists that sit in the centre of the TINH venn diagram, but Caribou is one of them.  However, we all have different favourite Caribou albums and therefore have different expectations and hopes when it comes to a new Caribou album.

The debate is fierce. We cover many topics including how to be fair when an artist produces something we weren't expecting, can you remove the bias of your disappointment and critique the album without bias? Unfortunately, we also end up talking about AI and music too.

• Listen to the album ... HERE
• Watch some of the videos for the tracks discussed ...  HERE
• Watch this short of it going off when Dan drops Honey in a DJ set ... HERE
• Watch this short of Dan talking about 'Volume' ... HERE
• BBC Sounds interview with Dan Snaith from this month ... HERE

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Basslines'

The best Spin It or Bin It's are often the simplest. This month, the theme is one word and no extra rules or exclusions, 'Basslines'. However you want to interpret it, it's cool.N

• Joey chose 'Walk on the Wildside' by Lou Reed
• Nolan chose 'Transitions'   by Dennis Ferrer
• Guy chose '...(nothing but) Flowers' by Talking Heads
• David chose 'Taxman' by the Beatle

Here is a 16 track playlist where we all contribute 4 'basslines' themed tracks to an extended playlist.

See you on Episode 52 ...

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

We've hit the BIG 5-0 and we're still speaking to each other. It's delight to welcome to Episode 50 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, David introduces the latest album from one of my favourite obsession artists, 'My Method Actor' by Nilifur Yanya.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, we return for our quarterly visit to the theme of 'New Music' ... anything released since August 1st.

Part 1 | Nilifur Yanya | My Method Actor

This is the third full length studio album from Yanya. She is a super interesting artist blending soul, jazz, indie and a bunch of other sounds and influences in there. This album is something of a departure for her following her last 2 albums that perhaps embraced the indie side of her influences. This album is a super smart melding of all of her influences, definitely leaning more towards the soul and jazz side of her music. It feels like a return to some of her earliest EP releases and I love it for that fact.

• Listen to the album ... HERE
• Watch a video of her performing a track from her 2nd EP back in 2017 on the BBC Introducing stage ...  HERE
• 2 Tracks from the new album get a very low-fi video, watch them both HERE and HERE
• The obligatory Jimmy Fallon performance link is ... HERE
• Interesting interview on 'The Talk.Com', this is a quick read and enlightening ... read it HERE

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Music

Super-simple, we all chose a track that we love from the last couple of months and ask each the simple binary question, Spin It or Bin It?

• Joey chose Wristwatch by MJ Lenderman
• Guy chose Zero Sum by The Smile
• Nolan chose Dafodil by Jamie XX and friends
• David chose Neon Signs by The Weather Station

See you on Episode 51 ...

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 49 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, Nolan goes back to his spiritual home, Hip Hop and has picked an album that the genre has been waiting decades for - Common and Pete Rock, The Auditorium Vol. 1.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme sounds simple but it turned out to be deceptively divisive. This month we delve into 'Power Ballads' ... but what actually is a Power Ballad?

Part 1 | Common & Pete Rock | The Auditorium Vol. 1

If you're age (old AF) and you like Hip Hop then you've probably been listening to these two legends for 30 odd years. Common is 52, Mr. Rock is 54. They've been at the top of their games for decades but does the combination deliver synergy or something a little less?

• Listen to the album HERE
• Watch some videos HEREand  HEREand HERE
• Guy references the performance of 'When the Sun Shines Again' on Jimmy Fallon.
• If you've got 4 hrs then watch this monster chat with the pair onDrinks Champs
• I reference a NY Time Popcast Episode discussing what 'What's an ageing rapper to do'
• Guy references 

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Power Ballads.

So what is a Power Ballad? We all know the classics, but if we try and bring something a little different then first we have to have some sort of definition. We've picked 4 tracks that aren't on many Power Ballad playlists ... 

• Guy chose Nothing Compares 2U by Sinead O'Connor.
• David chose The Way That You Do It by Gerry Rafferty. 
• Joey chose Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo.
• Nolan chose Roar by Katy Perry. 

See you on Episode 50 ... 

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 48 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, Guy has picked the an album that could not be further from last month's Charli XCX outing. He's also picked the best named TINH AOTM ever, Linda Thompson's Proxy Music.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is simple ... 'Long Songs' no explanation of the theme required here apart from Guy's completely arbitrary suggestion that all tracks had to be over 8 minutes.

Part 1 | Linda Thompson | Proxy Music

English Folk musician legend Linda Thompson has lived enough life for several people. The good, the bad and everything in between. She's now a 72 year old songwriter force who has sadly lost her super-power to sing ... so she's written songs for other artists to perform. The album is an eclectic collection of songs and collaborators pulled together through the concept of performing through a proxy. The critics love it with a combined Metacritic Score of 86. There's a lot of love on the pod but not without a few reservations along the way.

• Listen to the album here.
• Watch Linda on Jools Holland back in 2011 videos here.
• Guy references a couple of articles in his introduction and conversation they're worth a look and can be found here and here.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Long Songs.

We love a long song. Even our resident (but absent on this episode) pop being loves a long song. Guy defines a long song as anything over 8 mins, who are we to argue with that kind of logic. So them's the rules. Who bought what to the table to judge in Spin It or Bin It?

• Guy chose ''Black Star' by David Bowie.
• Nolan chose'Dance Yrself Clean'   by LCD Soundsystem
• Joey chose 'Menneskekollectivet' by Lost Girls

See you on Episode 49 ... 

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 47 of This is Not Happening.  An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 2, Joey has picked the most obvious choice for 4 middle aged dads, Brat by Charli XCX. It is impossible to ignore the critical response for this album so we all dive headfirst into the first Charli album that any of us has experienced. And it's a belter ... but I am pretty sure it will also divide opinion.

This month, in Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is simple ... 'New Music' (tracks released since 01.05.24. However, one of us picked a 49 year old track. Take a listen to hear him justify this decision.

Part 1 | Charli XCX | Brat

With a whopping 95% score on Metacritic, this album has had a massive impact from critics right across the music press's broad spectrum of publications. It's 15 tracks with an average length well under 3 minutes. And it has some serious weight behind a savage combo of pure pop punches. But there is WAY WAY more to it that sugar-coated pop prettiness as we get stuck right into.

• Listen to the album here.
• Watch some videos here.
• Want to know what Charli means to the world of pop this podcast is gold.
• Want to know more about the making of the album, listen to this one. 
• And read this great article with Charli. 

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks

Every 3 months (or so) we pick to do 'New Tracks' which we define as being released 2-3 months before our podcast record date (01.05.24). We've got 4 interesting tracks this month. We've got two very different female sole artist indie tracks, one undeniable piece of piano driven, laid back housey, post-club loveliness and of course something French from David.

• David chose 'Le Sud (Latin Version)' by Nino Ferrer, Guts, Patchworks.
• Guy chose 'Method Actor' by Nilifur Yanya.
• Nolan chose 'God gave me feet for dancing' by Ezra Collective fear. Yazmin Lacey.
• Joey chose 'My Name on a T-Shirt' by Odie Leigh.

See you on Episode 47 ... 

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 45 of This is Not Happening.  An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'?

This month, in Part 1, David bravely returns to the scene a previous crime on our podcast. He brings the second St. Vincent album to a group of people who historically have not reacted well to St. Vincent. Wow. How might this one go? In all seriousness, this is a very different experience to 'Daddy's Home' and a really good chat about the good, the not so good and our collective love of Pop Reggae.

This month, in Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is 'Crying in Aldi' or 'music that makes you cry'. As the theme suggests, things got pretty emotional.

Part 1 | St. Vincent | All Born Screaming

I think the full continuum of emotions or lack of emotions is expressed in this review. David brings unconditional love for St. Vincent plus a thinly veiled threat that his wife might tell us off again if we say mean things. The rest of bring various thoughts and ideas to the table that range from the inquisitive to the annoyed.

• Listen to the album here.
• Watch some videos here, including the Jimmy Kimmel live performance.
• We reference the Tape Notes podcast (and also videos) which delve into the making of the album . This is seriously informative and entertaining discussion. Take a look at it here.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Crying in Aldi'

The most 'in' of 'in jokes' is that Joey often cries to sad songs while doing the big shop in Aldi. He's been banned from 3 stores now and is considering to switching to Lidl. In support of our brother, we've all been researching which songs make us cry and testing them out in various big-box supermarket chains.

• David chose - 'Already Dead' by Beck.
• Nolan chose -  'Basket' by Dan Mangan.
• Guy chose - 'Magnificent'  by Elbow.
• Joey chose - 'My Girls'   by Animal Collective.

See you on Episode 47 ... where 4 old guys talk about Charlie XCX. What could go wrong?

We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/