The Record Of The Year Showdown comes down to this...and there's not a ton of surprises here, probably, but there IS the wall of history, the wisdom of (drunk, stoned New York City) crowds, shared musical language, the "Somebody" multiverse, and Sarah's zombie mom. So, you know: Monday. Everyone's a winner in the battle of head vs. heart as we crown a ROTY champion in our season finale. Our intro is by Whitrew Byrnston, and our outro is by the Pet Shop Boys. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES Not sure what's going on? ROTYS Episode 1 Amer ..read more

Mark's shenanigans aside, we had an easier time ranking our semifinal group than we'd expected -- but we didn't necessarily expect to go on a sentimental journey with TLC, Sarah Palin's nephew LARP Jr., cutesy Aretha, braided beards, and an open invitation to Gotye to come on/edit the podcast. But a full moon and Sarah's all-covers clip choices put us on the emotional road to our season finale. Don't worry, we will still always love you (and have not gotten killed by John Ramos) in our penultimate ROTY episode. Our intro is by Whitnaurack Bargellston, and our outro is by Deee-Lite. For more in ..read more

"This'll be cinchy! [cut to: sobbing]" We thought we'd have a more straightforward time of our quarterfinal rankings, but alas, no. We did have a Whitney-koan reader mail, a visit from Katharine Hepburn, the aural equivalent of a sped-up Bob Ross episode, and music-minister shout-outs before Julio got the stretch and carted off four more beloved songs. Grab a fine-tooth comb and join us for Episode 8 of the Record Of The Year Showdown. Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outro is by the Sundays. For more information/to become a patron of OUR show, vis ..read more

More like the BITTER-sweet 16, the episode that forces hosts and listeners alike to make terrible choices, as well as rank things politically, salute album-cover pets of yore, choose which Adele hills to die on, pit Henry Mancini against Leonard Nimoy, mourn the consensus "blech," and dodge the ire of John Ramos whilst deploying Emilio Estevez fist-pumps. Is today a "Beat It" day, or is Sunny coming home to Mark Ronson's name on her mailbox? Lace up those skates, boo: it's Episode 7 of the Record Of The Year Showdown. Our intro is by Andrew Byrne with an assist by Whitney Houston, and our outr ..read more

The Round Of 32 is a plot-heavy affair: Coldplay premonitions, beautiful German cheese, learning to love advisedly off-putting pop, and songs that grab you by the nip. As the decisions get more agonizing, Aunt Doreen punches Grampy Blankenship in the face, and we discover that the ghost in the machine is -- and will continue to be -- Whitney. Get ready to scramble a goose egg; it's the second half of the ROTYS Sweet 16. Our intro is by Laura Barger and Jack Baldelli, and our outro is by Whitn-- er, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. For more information/to become a patron of the show, visit pat ..read more

It's the final section of our Record Of The Year Showdown Round Of 64! The Grammys get more of a clue, albeit seemingly by accident, here in the 21st century, and we're talking about that, plus the late Shows Of Note, editorial thrills in dinosaur/country-fiddle pairings, farts over a xylophone, our favorite generic bands, the schmaltz hinge point, songs that need their videos in order to work, and phannntommm-adjacent content. Who is this millennium's Anne Murray? Find out in the season's fourth episode! Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by the Strokes. For more informatio ..read more

We're heading -- somewhat angrily! -- into the 21st century in our third Record Of The Year Showdown episode. Spanning 1991-2006 at the Grammys, our discussion also looks at early-nineties quality control lapses, celebrations of the dusty past, nestling in the Swiss-y holes of pop cheese, seventh-grade-dance melodrama, special categories for Whitneying and Mariahing, "psyyyyych!" noms, and George Santos's first Grammy. Less math than last time, but more rage as MASTAS's ROTY Showdown season turns the corner in the Round Of 64. Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by William Jo ..read more

The Record Of The Year Showdown enters the second "bracket" section with winners from 1975-1990, which means a lot of flashbacks to our America's Damp 40 season; theories about Billy Joel and Rufus Wainwright; Eagles/color-blindness test metaphors; underappreciated dad-bod pop stars; how a cult implicated Steve Winwood; and the necessity of special categories to contain nuclear waste like "We Are The World." It all culminates in a FIVE-way tie amongst cheeses standing alone -- AND outtakes! We've got wind, we've got wings, YOU'VE got an all-new episode of MASTAS. Our intro is Laura Barger and ..read more

Welcome to our Record Of The Year Showdown season! With listeners' help, we're going to find out which Grammy-winner for ROTY is the best of the 64 winners to date...or maybe just the least baffling and unconscionable. How are we doing this? It's sort of a bracket; we'll explain up top, and then we'll talk about cobwebby rocking chairs, how anyone managed to get laid during the Eisenhower presidency, rewarding artists who don't "take the pot," and songs we can't get all the way through. Grab a triple espresso for all those instrumentals: it's an all-new season of MASTAS! Our intro is Andrew By ..read more

We're wrapping up our second "embarrassing radio hip-hop" ep with Marky Mark, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, and two by Young MC. Different Wahlbergs for different times in one's bunk, Myra Cormier truthering, rap conceived by dudes named Kev to sell plastic toys, the drums you find in the dumpster behind KMart, and cheekbones that could cut ham -- it's all here in the lucky (?) seventh episode of Beats Around The Bush. Our intro is the "Straight Up" PSA, and our outro is Tribe Called Quest. To become a patron of the show, visit patreon.com/mastas. To buy our Madonna A to Z book, click here. SHOW NOT ..read more