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60 Songs That Explain the '90s

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60 Songs That Explain the '90s
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174 episodes

  • 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

    Feist — “1234”

    06/05/2026 | 1h 25 mins.
    Imagine, you’re on the road with an indie sleaze band making sock puppets sing obscenities when Sesame Street gives you a call. Leslie Feist’s career can most similarly be compared to the life of Benjamin Button with her most successful and youthful song, “1234,” coming later in her colorful and previously raucous music career. Rob breaks down Feist’s magical ability to bring new perspectives to covers and sing emotion into numbers before he is joined by Canadian filmmaker Chandler Levack. They discuss the role Feist’s music played in soundtracking Chandler’s college years and how this affected her most recent film, Mile End Kicks, which follows a young music journalist becoming increasingly more involved in the music scene she’s documenting.

    Listen to the songs from the episode: '00s #44 Feist "1234"

    Host: Rob Harvilla

    Producers: Olivia Crerie, Julianna Ress, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles

    Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler

    Guest: Chandler Levack

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  • 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

    Joanna Newsom — “Emily”

    29/04/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
    This episode is for all of the people who don’t know the difference between a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite. Rob finally opens up about his hipster phase of life that nearly got him killed (his words, not ours). He recounts all of the “freak folk” music he discovered in the Bay Area, all of which led him to the harp virtuoso and wordsmith Joanna Newsom. He tries his best not to describe her unique singing voice while dissecting her ability to bend words and seamlessly expand her listener’s vocabulary. Finally, he is joined by music journalist and ex-h*pst*r Garrett Kamps, who recounts what it was like watching one of Joanna Newsom’s first shows and contemplates why fans may have felt protective over her.

    Host: Rob Harvilla

    Producers: Olivia Crerie, Julianna Ress, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles

    Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler

    Guest: Garrett Kamps

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  • 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

    Wolf Parade — “I’ll Believe in Anything”

    22/04/2026 | 1h 32 mins.
    Will you come to my cottage this summer and blast Canadian rock music? Rob is asking … for a friend! This week, we analyze the dramatic comeback of the Wolf Parade song “I’ll Believe in Anything” after its use in the hit gay hockey show ‘Heated Rivalry.’ He explains how his focus on the ferocity of Wolf Parade’s music distracted him from the meaning of the lyrics and how they surprised him years later during the song's resurgence. Later, he is joined by Canadian Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the differences in the Montreal and Toronto rock scenes, remind Rob of forgotten Canadian bands, and explain what a “reheat” is.

    Listen to the songs from the episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jGtG2AAHCdpazCzuSlHrP?si=c5055ad6583f45e6&pt=21d76d95c5a8429ca2ed00ab7a01c09a

    Host: Rob Harvilla

    Producers: Olivia Crerie, Julianna Ress, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles

    Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler

    Guest: Elamin Abdelmahmoud

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  • 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

    Radiohead — “All I Need”

    15/04/2026 | 1h 43 mins.
    Keep those negative thoughts to yourself! They are a parasite to those around you, and who knows that better than Thom Yorke? This week, Rob proves that Radiohead has the ability to sully the minds of even the most innocent by discussing “All I Need,” from their 2007 album, 'In Rainbows.' He breaks down the initial reaction to the pay-what-you-can release of 'In Rainbows’ and discusses why the album resonates with a new generation of Radiohead fans. Finally, he is joined by 'In Rainbows' expert Cole Cuchna from Dissect to break down the various lyrical interpretations of “All I Need” and the timeless quality of the album’s sonics.

    Listen to Rob’s ’90s Radiohead episode:

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EHs9EMkYVbLrhl4KkzzSn?si=c4a63a2fee6e4a94

    Listen to Dissect’s 'In Rainbows' breakdown:

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/3r7UlNtqVjeVEVUsOQoEsu?si=1bb40847b7e1472d

    Host: Rob Harvilla

    Producers: Olivia Crerie, Julianna Ress, and Justin Sayles

    Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler and Chris Sutton

    Guest: Cole Cuchna
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  • 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

    TV On The Radio — “Wolf Like Me”

    08/04/2026 | 1h 22 mins.
    This week, Rob takes a trip down memory lane, a.k.a. 2000s Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Now that we are in the dark ages of social media and virality, there is a set-in-stone Mount Rushmore of late-night TV band performances, including the high-energy TV On The Radio debut of “Wolf Like Me.” Rob discusses how TV On The Radio was affected by post-9/11 New York, giving us the iconic opening album line, “I was a lover before this war.” Later, he is joined by musician and top-10 TV On The Radio fan Bartees Strange to discuss covering a monolith of a song like “Wolf Like Me” and how TV On The Radio paved the road for artists like Bartees.

    Host: Rob Harvilla

    Producers: Justin Sayles and Olivia Crerie

    Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler, Julianna Ress, and Chris Sutton

    Guest: Bartees Strange
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About 60 Songs That Explain the '90s

First came '60 Songs That Explain the '90s.' (We did that.) Then came '60 Songs That Explain the '90s: The 2000s.' (We're doing that now—and yes, that's the actual name.) But whether you want to jump back to the Clinton years or join us as we reboot our old iPods, you can find all of the collected works of Rob Harvilla below. Come back each Wednesday for a new episode.
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