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 are songs that contain advice that's a little more questionable, and while we wouldn't recommend turning in that direction to find your new mantra, the tracks that fall into the category are certainly fun to talk about.

For the latest episode of our podcast, Carter and Mahea sat down with Max Alper (composer, sound artist, educator) to discuss "Songs That Offer Bad Advice." How did Polaroid's marketing team capitalize on a musician's misconception? What piece of music had a powerful influence on a particular hit around the turn of the millennium? And why did one of the nation's greatest songwriters take lyrical shots at a whole host of respectable professions?

For answers to those questions and much more, be sure to check out this episode of Themes and Variation.

Themes and Variation is presented by Soundfly, a music education website changing the way we build our creative skills. Check out all of our courses including The Creative Power of Advanced Harmony, here. Subscribe to all of our courses here and use the discount code PODCAST to take 20% off!

Check out each song discussed on the pod and more songs that offer bad advice with this episode's playlist.

Have questions or comments? Want to suggest a theme for a future episode? Drop us a line at [email protected] or reach out on Twitter.

Mentioned in this episode:

Visit soundfly.com for more!