"An energetic and scholastic throwback theme, a captivating piece of experimental sound art, and an alt rock ode to one of humanity's most celebrated minds.."What does one of Martin's favorite '90s cartoons have in common with a creative genius

Cathartic Songs

Oct 11th, 2023 48m 22s

"The quintessential cover of a song that yearns for transformation, the ultimate anthem of self-reflection, and a number full of nuance that gets me every. single. time..."In the latest episode of Themes and Variation, I (your stalwart podcast

Songs With Limitations

Sep 27th, 2023 50m 18s

"A composition created in the dark. A vocal piece destined to become a new kind of anthem. And quite possibly the most authentic song in the history of rock..."In the latest episode of Themes and Variation, our podcast panelists share their ta

Fight Songs

Sep 13th, 2023 46m 9s

Follow us on Twitter to keep up with podcast news and join in on the conversation!An aptly named number from a bombastic legend of the upright bass… A rage filled rallying cry echoing the emotions of the masses… And an orchestral tapestry fille

Comeback Songs

Aug 30th, 2023 42m 14s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.The long-awaited return of one of the most legendary names in neo soul… The reflective resurrection of a beloved rock god… And the redemption remix of an artist who rose like a phoenix from the ashes

Themes and Variation Returns on August 30th!

Aug 23rd, 2023 1m 55s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.Hey folks, Mahea Lee here and I'm excited to let you know that Themes and Variation will be returning on Wednesday, August 30th, but this time around I'll be playing host.Just like always, each episod

Songs of the Year 2022

Dec 21st, 2022 55m 37s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.There was no shortage of excellent new music in 2022 and given how quickly the year's gone by, many of us have some serious catching up to do. Luckily, the latest episode of our podcast has arrived to

Theme Songs ( with Tangelene Bolton)

Dec 7th, 2022 41m 48s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.There's something wonderful and maybe even a little mystifying about a good theme song. A few familiar notes can serve as a cue to sit back, break from ordinary life, and enter new worlds and realitie

The Most Played Song on My Phone (with Dominique Marie)

Nov 23rd, 2022 54m 34s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.We had a tough time settling on the exact wording for this theme. Personally, we think that has a lot to do with the fact that, as babies of the late '80s, the members of our podcast team have listene

Songs That Got Me Into Scoring (with Drum & Lace and Ian Hultquist)

Nov 9th, 2022 44m 4s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.Do you remember the first time you were really aware of the music in a movie or TV show? Maybe you heard a swell of strings or an eerie synth line and looked down to see that the hairs on your arm wer

Songs That Say So Much (with Laura Lizcano)

Oct 26th, 2022 53m 46s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.One of the things I love most about music is its seemingly mystical ability to articulate things that cannot be expressed through words alone. There are times when the combination of poetry and melody

Songs That Lived Beyond the Film (with Ian Temple)

Oct 12th, 2022 49m 8s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more."A good theme — like the 'Pink Panther' or 'Baby Elephant Walk' — can work all the way through the picture, which is what I did with them. So, for me, a good melody is not just a pretty tune." – Henry

Short Songs (with Tasha Solomita)

Sep 28th, 2022 49m 2s

Follow us on Twitter for show news and more.There's something pretty wonderful about a piece of music that says everything it means to in under two minutes — a piece that somehow satisfies its listeners while managing to leave them wanting mor

Songs That Are Impossible to Cover (with Redah)

Sep 14th, 2022 47m 54s

Some tracks are so memorable and monumental that it's hard to imagine other versions of the material. It can be because of the presence of a truly iconic artist, a particularly unique set of recording circumstances, or the sheer fact that the p

Odd Time Songs (with Joey Lefitz)

Aug 31st, 2022 56m 26s

Time signatures are an interesting and arguably necessary part of our musical language. They provide the grid against which we place rhythmic values and ideas, letting us know each time "1" comes back around as we count along. They are, at leas

Aug 17th, 2022 53m 20s

We launched the Soundfly podcast, Themes and Variation back in the summer of 2020. Since then we've chatted with all sorts of musicians and music lovers about songs related to themes like "Songs From the First Album You Ever Bought" (episode 1)

Songs I Wish I'd Written (with Sulene van der Walt)

Aug 3rd, 2022 58m 5s

Have you ever heard a song so good you didn't just admire the writer, but also envied the fact that they came up with it?In the most recent episode of the Soundfly podcast, Themes and Variation, Carter and Mahea are joined by pop artist and mul

Songs That Defy Expectations (with Ryan Lott)

Jul 20th, 2022 53m 54s

To paraphrase the words of our special guest for this week's episode of the podcast, the most powerful songs are often the ones that both meet and challenge our expectations of music.Because of years of conditioning and generations of artistic

Songs You Prefer to Listen to Alone (with Adam Claus)

Jul 6th, 2022 56m 17s

Whether you're longing for seventeen uninterrupted minutes of audible bliss, a chance to cling to an interpretation of an instrumental's narrative, or a way to savor the intimacy hidden in a crowd favorite, there are some songs that are best li

Air Guitar Songs (with Dre DiMura)

Jun 22nd, 2022 53m 50s

Few instrumentalists can make a listener involuntarily mimic their performance like a guitarist. With soaring solos and raucous riffs, the guitar has often been the imaginary instrument of wannabe rockstars. In the latest episode of Themes, our

Songs That Offer Bad Advice (with Max Alper)

Jun 1st, 2022 50m 36s

There are songs we keep close to our hearts because of the undeniable wisdom they offer. We hum them to ourselves during stressful moments and think of their lyrics as the "words to live by" that carry us through tough times. Then again, there

Songs You've Heard Too Many Times

May 18th, 2022 47m 55s

When it comes to music, it's sometimes easy to get too much of a good (or not-so-good) thing. Whether you're a wedding band musician who's sick of the same requests or roommate to someone who seems to own just one album, there are likely a few

Songs to Escape Into (with Com Truise)

May 4th, 2022 1h

At Soundfly, we're constantly exploring ways to understand and explain the practical aspects of music, but we can't deny that aspects of it can be wonderfully inexplicable. Music can say things that can't be articulated through any other medium

Songs That Redefined Our Sense of Time (with Jlin)

Apr 20th, 2022 53m 11s

Follow us on Twitter for news about the show and more!Rhythm, groove, beat, tempo... So many musical ideas are intrinsically linked to the way we perceive time. A part locked tightly to an eighth-note grid has an entirely different feel than on

Songs That Defined an Experience (with Jessi Lee)

Apr 6th, 2022 47m 1s

Follow us on Twitter for news about the show and more!At first glance, "Songs That Define an Experience" seems simple and almost straightforward when compared to some of the more intentionally ambiguous themes we've used on the Soundfly podcast