Spin It! The Record Ranking Podcast

Tell 'em Kendrick did it... We're back to talk about Compton's own Kendrick Lamar and his 2025 record GNX! After we explored Damn back on episode 72, James felt like this Pulitzer Prize winner deserved a better score from Connor. We're back (reincarnated) in the Year Of Redemption to break down his shortest record yet (but one of his most expansive). After decimating Drake in a years-long feud with the astounding Not Like Us, GNX is Kendrick's attempt to move his career forward with songs of the confrontational, the introspective, and the catchy. He wrote more than 80 songs for the project, but only a dozen made the cut. Will it be the perfect combo to redeem his score?James & Connor will debrief on our last Kendrick episode and get to the bottom of why we're back again. We relive the backwards concept album and catch up on our Kendrick listening habits. The Mixtaper is ready to Squabble Up with a new round of Fact Or Spin, featuring comfy socks, vault tracks, and a baffling reskin of a classic crunchy conundrum. From the vintage car on the cover to the final twist of Gloria, we'll touch every corner of this Album Of The Year nominee. Ain't no legends if his legends end, so find out why we think K Dot does (or doesn't) deserve the Greatest Of All Time!Is this album a step up or a step back after Damn and Mr. Morale? Is SZA a dominant force for Favorite Feature or can one of the 9 other voices on this record compete? If you woke up lookin' for that broccoli, turn the TV Off and head to our socials or spinitpod.com for more!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro0:25 Last Time: Damn.4:55 About Kendrick Lamar7:31 Not Like Us / Drake Feud11:48 About GNX16:12 Awards & Accolades17:25 Fact Or Spin20:03 He Has An Interesting Rider24:00 He Has An Unreleased Track With Prince26:20 Kendrick Has A Supernatural Connection To Tupac29:47 He Needs A Shepherd's Pie For Every Show39:40 Album Art40:53 Wacced Out Murals43:36 Squabble Up45:52 Luther (with SZA)48:55 Man At The Garden50:10 Hey Now (feat. Dody6)51:47 Reincarnated54:20 TV Off (feat. Lefty Gunplay)56:26 Dodger Blue (feat. Wallie The Sensei, Siete7x, Roddy Ricch)57:47 Peekaboo (feat. AZChike)59:52 Heart Pt. 61:01:32 GNX (feat. Hitta J3, YoungThreat, Peysoh)1:03:58 Gloria (with SZA)1:05:50 Final Spin

It Must Be Love this Valentine's Day as we review and rank Bewitched, the second studio album by jazz-pop sensation Laufey! With timeless melodies, lush instrumentation, and heart-filled lyrics, this "love album" blends the traditional and the trendy effortlessly. We'll see Laufey's career through From The Start, including her run on The Voice Iceland and her solo cello appearance with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15! From jazz standards like Misty to the powerful Lovesick, Bewitched is a record that lives up to its title track!James & Connor talk Valentine plans, jazz affinity, and more, all while trying to remember what little we know about Icelandic pronunciation. The Mixtaper is back to introduce us to a new alter ego and sidekick in Mei Mei the Bunny in a cozy knit sweater! Then he teaches us about sugar-sweet clapbacks, a fairytale moment, and Laufey's secret (fifth?) language! Then we break down this record top to bottom, exploring the stories behind Letter To My 13 Year Old Self, Promise, California And Me, and more! It's a Grammy-winning album with its own kind of pizzazz, but how will it fare amongst Jazzy Connor's other rankings?Are you rocking with jazz pop? Do you prefer the vocals or Mei Mei's newly-unearthed instrumental versions? If you inadvertently insulted Laufey in a coffee shop... what do you think she'd say? Let us know in the comments and on social media! Tune in next week for an episode on another (very different) album! Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro3:22 About Laufey10:03 About Bewitched15:20 Awards & Accolades16:13 Fact Or Spin18:18 She Has An Alter Ego & Sidekick25:31 She Gave A Sugar-Sweet Clapback29:28 She Had A Cinderella Moment32:28 She And Her Twin Have A Secret Musical Language35:48 Album Art37:23 Dreamer38:38 Second Best39:46 Haunted41:00 Must Be Love41:39 While You Were Sleeping43:07 Lovesick44:07 California And Me45:37 Nocturne (Interlude)46:41 Promise47:59 From The Start49:55 Misty52:31 Serendipity52:58 Letter To My 13 Year Old Self56:02 Bewitched57:13 Final Spin

¡Hola! In our annual Grammy Special, we're reviewing and ranking the Album Of The Year: DeBÍ TIRAR MáS FOTOS by Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny! This reggaeton fusion record is a love letter to Benito's roots and homeland, from plena and dembow beats to vibrant traditions. With diverse instrumentation, nostalgic lyrics, and his signature swagger, Bad Bunny delivers on his promises and takes us straight to the Enchanted Isle (and El Clúb)! After a near-miss at the 2023 Grammys, find out how this award-winning album rose above all the competition!It all kicks off with our Grammy recap. We'll reveal the results of our predictions, debrief about the night's biggest winners, and talk ceremony highlights. Then we discover our (somewhat minimal) experience with Spanish and discuss various influential rabbits as we explore Bad Bunny's unique rise to the top of the global charts! The Mixtaper is back in Fact Or Spin to bestow new Awards For The Shellbound, spanning conservation, soap operas, and gastroparesis. Find out which of these 17 tracks Bad Bunny loves, and get ready for his Super Bowl LX halftime show with this special episode!!¿Entiendes español? Was Bad Bunny your AOTY champion, or did you make other predictions? What did you think of the Grammys? Let us know in the comments or on socials, and stay tuned for another album next week!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro2:29 68th Grammy Awards Predictions Results13:54 Ceremony Highlights Recap20:29 About Bad Bunny31:19 About DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS37:02 Awards & Accolades38:27 Fact Or Spin40:30 The Turtle Conservation Award44:03 The Bubble Bath Betrayal Award48:56 The Gastroparesis Award55:23 Fast Fire Awards: Chaotic Concerts1:01:48 Album Art1:03:47 NUEVAYoL1:07:00 VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR1:09:56 BAILE INoLVIDABLE1:12:55 PERFuMITO NUEVO1:15:18 WELTiTA1:16:57 VeLDÁ1:18:29 EL CLúB1:20:46 KETU TeCRÉ1:22:13 BOKeTE1:23:49 KLOuFRENS1:25:16 TURiSTA1:26:50 CAFé CON RON1:28:32 PIToRRO DE COCO1:30:40 LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii1:33:54 EoO1:35:54 DtMF1:40:14 LA MuDANZA1:41:12 Final Spin

BONUS CONTENT! It's Grammy Week once again and we're gearing up for our special episode by predicting the winners of ALL 95 categories! After Connor's big win last year, who will walk away the winner? James & Connor will talk about the new categories for 2026 and discover some oddities-- a father & son competition, 8-bit jazz, stacked categories for Best Rap Album and Best Pop Vocal Album, and some humous hopefuls. There are artists we've covered (like Doechii, Cody Fry, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick Lamar, to name a few) and even more new names to consider. See how many picks we make in sync again, and then find out who we predict will be our next Album Of The Year! Every nominee from Bad Bunny to Leon Thomas would be a first-time AOTY champion, so this year's ceremony will certainly be one for the record books!Find all our Grammy picks on our Official Ranking Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NV92dyhk2KfdSpSzx9avIAHrWzrFo5wMsg7Lf_-TxvY/edit?gid=409464286#gid=409464286And tune in on the Friday after the Grammys for our annual Grammy Special to learn how we did with these picks and see who reigns supreme with the Album Of The Year!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro3:17 Changes To The Categories4:59 Field 11: Classical8:11 Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition, & Arrangement9:56 Field 9: Package, Notes, & Historical12:45 Field 8: Children's, Comedy, Audiobooks, Visual Media, & Music Video/Film20:40 Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant22:38 Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music23:39 Field 5: Country & American Roots Music29:28 Field 4: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater32:32 Field 3: R&B, Rap, & Spoken Word Poetry35:35 Field 2: Rock, Metal & Alternative Music37:12 Field 1: Pop& Dance/Electronic Music40:24 General Field45:51 Predicting Album Of The Year48:10 Wrap-Up

Happy Gopher Day! Join James and Connor (aka the Country Road Kid) as we rank and review Highwayman, the debut studio album by country supergroup The Highwaymen! In an attempt to stay relevant in an ever-changing country music landscape, four legends came together to create something different: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. After collaborating and admiring each other's work for decades, the Mount Rushmore of rugged outlaw country took to the studio, armed with ten hits like Against The Wind, Deportee, and Cash's own Big River. Would this Hail Mary effort jumpstart their iconic careers?We'll talk about the four episodes that led us here -- one about each individual Highwayman-- and learn about the holiday specials and films that brought them all together in the first place. We'll explore their group dynamics and talk about the ways music had changed around them between their debuts and 1985. All the while we'll reminisce about panning for gold in the sandbox, hearing these songs as kids, and more. The Mixtaper has facts (or spins) about hotel horses, midwife pranks, and a suspiciously Bill-Murray-adjacent Midnight Breakfast fact. Turn those suits inside out and get ready to ride with some of the genre's greatest.What do you think about the Highwaymen supergroup? Is this album over- or under-ambitious, and is it the best of their three records to cover in an episode? How do you think the Groundhog Day time loop mechanics work? Let us know in the comments or on socials, and be sure to follow for our Grammy Special coverage next week!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro2:05 Relevant Past Episodes5:20 About The Highwaymen9:10 About Highwayman17:48 Awards & Accolades18:41 Fact Or Spin21:39 Waylon And Willie Rode Horses In A Hotel24:36 Waylon And Cash Used Dynamite As Entertainment26:58 Willie Tricked Kris Into Thinking He Was Delivering A Baby30:52 Waylon and Cash Loved To Make Midnight Breakfast37:17 Album Art38:02 Highwayman41:19 The Last Cowboy Song42:23 Jim, I Wore A Tie Today44:36 Big River46:55 Committed To Parkview48:08 Desperados Waiting For A Train49:20 Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)51:30 Welfare Line52:20 Against The Wind54:55 The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over56:58 Final Spin

We're just living that life, Von Dutch, cult classic, as we rank Charli XCX's hyperpop club record Brat! Its danceable melodies, carefree bite, and minimalist neon green aesthetic sparked a cultural movement in Brat Summer, and hits like 360, Apple, and Sympathy Is A Knife turned into certified Club Classics. Inspired by her early days in London's underground illegal rave scene, Brat sees Charli showing off striking vulnerability through crisp, energetic songs with memorable melodies. From relationships to generational trauma to impending motherhood (or even to just a good party song), this record really does it all.James & Connor are ready to Talk Talk about Charli's unique path to superstardom, from I Don't Care and Boom Clap to Wuthering Heights. The Mixtaper is so Julia as we ponder her homecoming coup, a sentimental vault track, Bratcoin, and even more VERY passionate fans during Fact Or Spin! Then we Rewind to 2024 and reminisce about Brat Summer as we work through these bite-sized pop beats. Where will Connor score Charli XCX compared to her fellow Album Of The Year nominees? James might even go so far as an on-the-spot redemption for this one!Did you catch the main metaphor in Apple? What foods would you make into footlongs? Are we your favorite reference? Tell us all about it in the comments or on socials! Follow for more next week as we go for a supergroup during our Gopher Day Special!!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro3:01 About Charli XCX13:13 About Brat19:10 Awards & Accolades20:03 Fact Or Spin21:17 She Crashed A High School Homecoming Dance25:45 Hardcore Fans Are Obsessed With Her Unreleased Song28:52 She Has Passionate Fans35:16 She Launched Her Own Cryptocurrency39:58 Album Art44:21 36047:27 Club Classics49:11 Sympathy Is A Knife51:39 I Might Say Something Stupid52:31 Talk Talk54:50 Von Dutch58:00 Everything Is Romantic59:04 Rewind1:00:18 So I1:02:05 Girl, So Confusing1:04:23 Apple1:07:40 B2B1:09:25 Mean Girls1:10:14 I Think About It All The Time1:12:06 3651:13:18 Final Spin

Same as it ever was... We're letting the days go by as we review and rank Remain In Light by the Talking Heads! For their iconic 1980 record, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz migrated to the Bahamas to escape city life. While they were there they developed an affinity for the Caribbean ethos and African-inspired percussion, which they brought into the studio alongside producer Brian Eno. The result is a polyrhythmic, pulsing new-wave sound, made with "human sampling" techniques and a flair for the funky. The record is home to instant classics like Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) and Once In A Lifetime, but how will the rest of these intense-yet-danceable tracks hold up?James & Connor (your own resident talking heads) walk through the band's history and a breakup so sudden only David Byrne knew it had even happened! We'll talk about their inspirations and legacy, and we'll learn why this blotchy album cover is the first of its kind! The Mixtaper's ready for another round on the Great Curve of Fact Or Spin with tales of limo dispatches, sticky shaving, and a humiliating burglary at letter-opener point. Then we'll Overload you with facts about the 8 tracks that make up Remain In Light... but the Talking Heads' score remains to be Seen And Not Seen.You may ask yourself, "well, how did I get here?" Good question. Let us know on our socials and wherever you get your podcasts! Are you a Talking Head-head? Do you have a tiny way mouth? What's the worst shaving liquid? We want all your thoughts in the comments!!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro3:19 About Talking Heads10:50 About Remain In Light22:46 Awards & Accolades23:24 Fact Or Spin24:21 Tina Weymouth Was A Limo Dispatcher27:40 David Byrne Shaved With An Interesting Lubricant30:37 David Byrne Was Burgled With A Letter Opener36:51 Fast Fire Facts: Celebrity Talking Head Heads44:16 Album Art48:21 Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)51:35 Crosseyed And Painless54:05 The Great Curve55:38 Once In A Lifetime1:01:43 Houses In Motion1:03:18 Seen And Not Seen1:05:08 Listening Wind1:07:26 The Overload1:09:09 Final Spin

Ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah!!! This week we head into the Eye Of The Storm as we review and rank Immortalized, the riotous sixth studio album from Disturbed! After an indefinite hiatus in the early 2010s the band roared back onto the scene with this surprise record in 2015, featuring iconic moments like The Vengeful One, the ballad-adjacent The Light, and an unforgettable cover of The Sound Of Silence. Sucker punch hooks and powerful vocals keep the album moving, but did the band play it too safe by sticking to their tried-and-true formula?Connor first recommended Disturbed's Evolution to James half a decade ago. It was a solid record, but scored low on his ranking list. In the Year Of Redemption, Connor's hoping a more lively record can Fire It Up and recalibrate James' opinions. We'll talk about the band's rise to greatness, David Draiman's decision to walk from a six-figure salary, and learn about the secret reunion that led to Immortalized! The Mixtaper is brewing up facts about a wrestling wife, defenestration, and a four-year follicular fakeout. Can Disturbed Open Our Eyes or have we Saved Our Last Goodbye for the latest of Connor's picks?Have you ever been to Oconomowoc, WI? Did we even get close to saying that one right? Did you recognize that gurgly sound? Let us know in the comments or on social media! And be sure to like and subscribe for more-- in the words of Disturbed, "What Are You Waiting For?!"Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro1:45 Past Disturbed Experience6:55 About Disturbed17:13 About Immortalized25:50 Fact Or Spin27:19 Love Was Brewing For Mike Wengren30:43 Brewing Was Love For Mike Wengren36:42 David Draiman Disturbs Almost Everyone44:11 Dan Donegan Was Not As He Appeared...51:50 Album Art54:43 The Eye Of The Storm55:59 Immortalized59:37 The Vengeful One1:02:12 Open Your Eyes1:05:44 The Light1:08:36 What Are You Waiting For1:10:43 You're Mine1:12:14 Who1:14:51 Save Our Last Goodbye1:18:48 Fire It Up1:20:32 The Sound Of Silence1:25:09 Never Wrong1:27:48 Who Taught You How To Hate1:29:59 Final Spin

Honey, Just Allow Him One More Chance! The Year Of Redemption blows us back into the North Country this week to revisit The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan! After Highway 61 Revisited didn't exactly leave Connor "going electric," we decided to wind back the clock to 1962 and explore one of Dylan's first masterpieces. After barely breaking even with his debut, people called him a folly... but with his sophomore effort, this so-called spokesman of a generation set out to prove them wrong! Armed with a guitar and a harmonica and inspired by social upheaval that defined the decade, the future folk legend suddenly came into his own with hits like Blowin' In The Wind, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.James & Connor break down what went wrong for Dylan in our first episode. Then we'll explore his backstory and dive deeper into the making of Freewheelin', from its jazz producer to its strikingly cool (literally) cover photo. The Mixtaper is back to redeem himself with facts about loitering crime, scared children, and a $100,000,000 secondhand couch. As we move through Freewheelin' track by track, we'll discover the traditional roots of so many of these songs and learn the social, political, and personal context behind lyrics that evolved the course of popular music. Whether you're here for pacifist protest pieces like Masters Of War, heartaching ballads like Girl From The North Country, or you just want to hear him say "needle" in a funny voice... Freewheelin' could be just the Bob Dylan redemption you need.Have you tried the infamous cherry cordial milk? Would you be kind to a scruffy vagrant? Is YOUR favorite Dylan track in the acoustic or electric style? Let us know if Dinky Dylan deserved a follow-up in the comments or on socials. See you soon for another album; Happy New Year!!Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro6:50 About Bob Dylan11:09 About The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan22:18 Awards & Accolades23:37 Fact Or Spin26:21 Bob Dylan Is A Scruffy Vagrant30:35 Bob Dylan Went Incognito34:48 Grandpa Bob Scares Children38:17 Bob Dylan Is Not Much Of A Negotiator46:48 Album Art49:59 Blowin' In The Wind54:23 Girl From The North Country58:16 Masters Of War1:00:52 Down The Highway1:03:59 Bob Dylan's Blues1:04:57 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall1:08:20 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right1:10:49 Bob Dylan's Dream1:13:10 Oxford Town1:15:12 Talkin' World War III Blues1:17:08 Corrina, Corrina1:19:18 Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance1:21:04 I Shall Be Free1:23:53 Final Spin