FINALLY, after a long hiatus (sorry Stoppies!) we are thrilled/enraged to bring you a truly confounding episode of Make it Stop, where our intrepid hosts engage in the critical work of unraveling the Mars Volta's deeply ill conceived 9th studio album, Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos Del Vacio. Joining us to wade through the murky depths is perpetual pod bestie Ben Stein, who shares Mike's love for the often infuriating, but undoubtedly talented band. Will the love endure through 14 painfully plodding tracks that lack hooks, drums, guitars, and any semblance of a coherent song structure? Will Heather learn to appreciate the obscure lyrical meanderings and intricate layers of jazzy jams or will she crash out entirely? And ultimately, is this the rare story of a band that maybe needs to be doing drugs in order to make a decent album? Find out on this episode of Make it Stop!

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Howdy folks, we're back back back again with another WRETCH-rospective of a classic and beloved act, documenting and dissecting the 10 worst Queen tracks ever recorded. We're not gonna lie Stoppies, this was a tough one - not because their catalogue is overripe with audio atrocities but because with Freddie Mercury on vocals, Brian May on guitar, and Roger Taylor on drums (sorry to the oft-forgotten John Deacon on bass) it was hard to find TRULY awful tracks. However Mike did manage to dredge up some musical muck including misguided biblical retellings, reluctant talk box synth guitars and scat rap vaudeville singalongs about suicide. Enjoy!*

*enjoyment not guaranteed.

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Feeling futuristic? Horny and confused? Are your circuits overloaded with indie electro-clash posturing, fembot fantasies, and the desperate clang of a pop star perpetually trying to reboot her identity to decidedly mixed results? This week, we plug into Bionic, Christina Aguilera’s glittery, glitchy, seemingly cursed attempt at beating Lady Gaga in the art pop culture wars of the early 2010s.

Joining us on this cybernetic misadventure is Boston musician and unrivaled electro pop diva Dave of Battlemode, as we unravel the tangled wires of Xtina’s identity crisis, complete with MIA-mimicking monotone choruses, Switch-pop dumbed down dubstep beats, and an inexplicable string of Sia-penned coffeehouse ballads. We dig into the cultural wasteland of 2010, when pop was plastic, femme-powerment was market-tested, and a newly married mom wanted all of us to know how much she wanted you to licky licky yum yum on her Woohoo. Bop, flop, whichever way you slice it....we wish it would STOP. Part of the Pantheon podcast network.

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How are you feeling, Stoppies? A little aggrieved? A tad perturbed? Are you ready to get REAL about your DEFIANT opinions on the woke mind virus, how doctors are evil pill pushers, and why Jon Stewart doesn't send you cute little videos on your birthday anymore? This week we cover the precipitous fall of once beloved Cookie Monster-voiced ska dad Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who threw away the cushiest career in showbiz to become an RFK Jr. sycophant and conspiracy huckster. His new band, The Defiant, is the saddest supergroup of MAGA-pilled castaways whose only requirement for joining is presumably that they got kicked out of their previous elder punk bands for having one too many brain worms. Joining us to mourn our fallen soldier is comedian Dicky Stock and musician Tom Saunders, who can both boast membership in high school ska bands and shared suburban legacies with our dear hosts Heather and Mike. We go way off the rails for this one, and extremely heavy on the Massachusetts regional in jokes - who knew Dicky had so many absurdly specific stories about being punched out in green rooms with local hardcore legends? Apologies in advance, but hey, we're just being HONEST.

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Stoppies, are you ready to go to MOUND TOWN? Are you ready to don your trueys, blast some longhorns and hole up with your weird friends in an abandoned shack in the woods to make autotuned nightmare trap about paint by number horror tropes all encased in a thick glue of glitchy witch hop freak shit? Well WE ARE! Our first episode back and we're keeping it in the family with true blue besties Brian and Julez who help us sift through the chopper-ed and screwed weirdness that is Sematary, a Northern California bred freak show making modern day Monster Mashups for troubled teens. Do we hate it? Do we get it? Does it matter? Find out on this episode of MAKE IT STOP!

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Get ready for the hilarious return of the Make It Stop podcast! Hosts Heather and Mike Dunn are back starting April 15th, delivering funny music commentary and scathing critiques of the worst music out there. If you love podcasts that break down bad music with sharp opinions and hot takes, especially focusing on recent releases, Make It Stop is your destination. Expect new episodes packed with bad music analysis every other Tuesday. Follow Make It Stop wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a single terrible track.

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Have you got our latest podcast project? It's time for even MORE of that Van you love to hate, because we're deep diving into round 2 of this miserable musical end of life crisis. Joining us this round is comedian and "famous coward" Mark Gallagher, known for his hilarious character work and his deep, deep appreciation of ornery out of touch white rock stars with God complexes and a chip on their shoulder the size of their ex-wife. Maybe not the second part. Either way, this disc is less wife-hatred and more life-hatred, specifically towards mask-wearers, public health officials, and the proverbial "they" who "own the media". Whoever could he be referring to? Hope you enjoy this blustering, bloviating batshit fuckery, 'cause we sure as hell didn't.

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Welcome Back, Stoppies! We're officially rounding the corner on a whole 100 episodes and 5 seasons of musical masochism, so thank you for your patience in advance for what will likely be a much more relaxed release schedule this time around. As punishment for our tardiness we kick off the "fun" by attempting to tackle cantankerous Celtic crooner Van Morrison's Latest Record Project Volume 1. An album that finds the short statured human neck lamenting the endless persecution he has suffered and continues to suffer at the callous hands of his ex-wife as well as the deep state. For Van the only thing worse than paying alimony and child support is having to wear a mask while you do it, and make no mistake he will let you know exactly how he feels about it, over babby's first 12 bar blues, for about 6 minutes at a time, about 28 times in a row. Your fave, returning guest Brandon Vallee, gets roped in to try to parse which of the two boogeymen Van is railing against on any given track, and now we're worried he'll never talk to us again. A wild night is calling, but don't blame us for what happens when you answer. Part of the Pantheon Podcast Network!

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Alright stoppies, it's the moment you've all been waiting for - a knock down, drag out deathmatch between two deeply embarrassing teenage genres of the late 90s: Nu Metal vs. 3rd Wave Ska. Nu Metal Mike vs. Perpetual Ska Kid Heather battle it out with fan of both genres and very funny comedian Ethan Marsh reffing to make sure there's no wallet chain yanking or funny trombone stuff going on, keeping it a good clean fight. Representing Nu Metal is of course the legendary Florida miscreants Limp Bizkit who know their way around a sick riff, heavy bassline and a catchy sgriggedy scratchy DJ Lethal breakdown on 1999's Significant Other. Challengers and fellow Floridians Less than Jake take on the nu metal megastars with 1998's Hello Rockview, a stalwart of the ska-punk pantheon and catchy and fun in their own right, if a little repetitive as they make sure every song calls out how lame and boring Florida is (we agree). Which embarassing genre will reign supreme as the least worst? Find out on our EPIC SEASON 4 FINALE - Enjoy!

Support Make it Stop for just $5/month and you can get access to EXCLUSIVE bonus episodes including during our summer hiatus and other cool content! Check it out at www.patreon.com/makeitstop today.

Part of Pantheon Podcasts.

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MMM MMMM MMMM...nah. The world was briefly captivated in the early 90s by Brad Roberts' low, smoldering baritone and his band of eccentric Canadian rockers the Crash Test Dummies. The one hit hit hard, but after a string of sloppy follow ups, the Dummies were in the doldrums by the time 1999's Give Yourself A Hand rolled around. To switch things up they decided to have Roberts sing in a falsetto and let keyboardist Ellen Reid play lead on a few songs for some reason - though those tracks provide the only bright spots in an otherwise chaotically awful album. No wonder their label dropped them after sharting out miserable musical monstrosities like "I Want Your Goo". Getting into the goo with us is none other than legendary Boston Rock Goddess Mistress Carrie of the Mistress Carrie Podcast and formerly of 107.3 WAAF (rest in peace), who does her best to honor the artistic intent while also eviscerating their bleating boring bullshit. It's a heck of an episode folks, and it's MMM MMM bad. Enjoy!

Make It Stop and Mistress Carrie Podcast are part of Pantheon Podcasts

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We're killing our Idols this week as we surf the circuits of cyber hell with none other than Billy Idol, who in 1993 was an aging "punk" desperately clinging to relevance while soaked in a haze of club drugs and heroin. But the drug called The Internet became the most addictive of all as he lazily skimmed Neuromancer and decided he was the ultimate authority on the emergent cyberpunk culture, to the point of audaciously making it the title of his album. Orchestra hits, sexy spoken word, sitars and self indulgent interludes abound on this 20 track digital disaster, though we have a blast surfing through the cybersludge with guest Manny Raposo who helps us contextualize this virtual insanity. Does it work? Not in the slightest, but it's also a hell of a fun ride.

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