When does a cover song make you hear the original for the first time?

This week, we’re talking about covers that don’t just recreate a song — they take it somewhere completely different.

*Content note:* We briefly discuss themes of domestic violence and murder while talking about Eminem’s “’97 Bonnie & Clyde” and Tori Amos’s reinterpretation.

Beyoncé turns Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” from a plea into something closer to a warning. Sturgill Simpson transforms an ’80s synth-pop hit into a devastating country ballad. Tori Amos changes the entire perspective of an Eminem song without changing the lyrics. And Joan As Police Woman takes T.I.’s swagger and turns it into something altogether stranger.

What makes a cover work when it moves far away from the original? Does something have to remain — a melody, a feeling, a lyric — for it to still feel like the same song? And can changing the singer, genre or point of view reveal something that was hiding in the original all along?

📱 Follow Play Record📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playrecordpod/

Can music connect you to a culture you grew up with — or one you didn't?🎶 Playlist here: https://playrecordpodcast.sdz.sh/hispanic-heritage-month

Here are the artists we discuss in this episode:

- Juan Gabriel

- Morrissey

- The Smiths

- Alice Bag / The Bags

- Julio Iglesias

- Ricky Martin

- Rage Against the Machine / Zack de la Rocha

- Shakira

- Bad Bunny

- Ceshia Ubau

- Los Lobos

- Ritchie Valens

- CECI CECI

- Violeta Parra

- Víctor Jara

- Kacey Musgraves

- The Germs

- Tom WaitsFor Hispanic Heritage Month, we're talking about the ways music can shape our understanding of culture, identity and where we come from.

Jess grew up Nicaraguan American in a Spanish-speaking household, with Spanish-language music playing at family gatherings and on Saturday mornings. Tyler has Mexican heritage on his mother's side, but grew up largely disconnected from that culture after earlier generations of his family assimilated into American life. Music became one of the ways each of us connected — and reconnected — with those parts of ourselves. We talk about growing up between cultures, discovering music from Latin America as adults, artists who cross cultural and language barriers, and whether you need to share someone's background to find something meaningful in their music.Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:30 Music, culture & Hispanic Heritage Month

00:53 Growing up Nicaraguan American

05:50 Tyler’s Mexican heritage & assimilation

09:00 Shakira, Bad Bunny & crossing cultural boundaries

12:50 Discovering Nicaraguan artist Ceshia Ubau

14:24 Tyler’s picks: Los Lobos & Chicano music

16:46 Jess’s picks: CECI & new Nicaraguan music

18:50 Violeta Parra, Víctor Jara & Latin American folk music

21:30 Music, politics & cultural identity

23:49 Shakira makes the mix

25:30 Alice Bag, The Bags & Chicano punk

27:30 Final thoughts🎧 Listen to Play Record▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlayRecordPodcast🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033DtFWQBaLPMiNYgykjdD?si=9c33ee347d174619🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/play-record-podcast/id6783468122🎙️ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/63224d90-334e-4339-a7f8-bdcc7ddabe9f/play-record-podcast📱 Follow Play Record📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playrecordpod/🎤 About Play RecordPlay Record is a music podcast hosted by Jess and Tyler, where every episode starts with a theme and turns into stories, debates, nostalgia, and the songs that shaped our lives.Whether we're talking about mixtapes, guilty pleasures, forgotten albums, heartbreak songs, or the perfect soundtrack for a night swim, every episode celebrates the memories behind the music.❤️ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment. We'd love to hear your picks!🎵 What's on your playlist?#MusicPodcast #Playlists #Mixtapes #MusicLovers #NowPlaying

Tom Waits has new music. And somehow, his collaboration with Massive Attack feels both completely unexpected and like it was always supposed to happen.

On this edition of What’s on the Turntable, Tyler takes us through “Boots on the Ground” and “The Fly,” the new two-song release from Tom Waits and Massive Attack. We talk about why Massive Attack's dark, ominous sound fits so naturally around Waits, why the vinyl hits differently, and what it means to hear new Tom Waits music after such a long stretch without it.

We also get into the anger behind “Boots on the Ground,” the strange connection between the two tracks, Casey Waits' involvement, and why Tom's voice somehow seems to get more Tom Waits as he gets older.

What do you think of the Tom Waits/Massive Attack collaboration? And if you're a Tom Waits fan, where does “Boots on the Ground” fit for you?

🎙️ What Songs Are in Your Emotional First Aid Kit?

What song do you reach for when you're having a bad day and coffee just isn't doing the trick anymore?

🎙️Listen to the playlist here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ydoJqA76BdJVfQR6ouD0d?si=KEioUII7SrCZIt3pdHl2hw&utm_source=copy-link&pi=g6SE_RPFRDuVO

Inspired by the idea of creating an “emotional first aid kit,” from the NY Times article, "The Best Advice I've Ever Heard for How to Be Happy" by Jancee Dunn (linked below), Jess made a Dose of Dopamine playlist: songs she can count on for a little boost when she needs one. So naturally, we decided to make a mix for Play Record.

But what actually belongs on a playlist like this? Can a happy song make you sad because of the memories attached to it? Can you overplay a song until it loses its power? And does a mood-boosting song even have to sound happy?

We talk about the strange ways music can change our moods, including the song Tyler saves for the final miles of an ultramarathon and the Adele song he once listened to about 30 times while writing a short story. Then we share some of the songs we'd put in our own musical emergency kits.

What song never fails to give you a boost? Tell us what belongs on your emotional emergency playlist in the comments.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 What makes a song your emotional emergency contact?01:02 Building a “Dose of Dopamine” playlist02:11 What disqualifies a song?04:56 Can you intentionally use music to change your mood?07:35 Can you overplay a song until it loses its power?08:48 Tyler's secret weapon for ultramarathons11:36 What does a dopamine boost actually feel like?13:41 Our dopamine playlist picks14:38 Massive Attack — “Teardrop”15:51 The Weakerthans — “Watermark”18:00 Lila Downs — “La Bamba”20:15 Manel — “Al Mar!”21:48 Mariah Carey — “Fantasy”23:57 Cat Stevens — “Tea for the Tillerman”

🎶 Songs & Artists Mentioned

Massive Attack feat. Elizabeth Fraser — “Teardrop”The Weakerthans — “Watermark”Lila Downs — “La Bamba”Manel — “Al Mar!”Mariah Carey — “Fantasy”Cat Stevens — “Tea for the Tillerman”Bon Iver — “Holocene”Adele — “Rolling in the Deep”Stevie Wonder — “I Just Called to Say I Love You”Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers — “Islands in the Stream”

Link to NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/28/magazine/how-to-be-happy.html

🎧 Listen to Play Record

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlayRecordPodcast🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/play-record-podcast/id6783468122

🎙️ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/63224d90-334e-4339-a7f8-bdcc7ddabe9f/play-record-podcast

📱 Follow Play Record📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playrecordpod/🎤 About Play RecordPlay Record is a music podcast hosted by Jess and Tyler, where every episode starts with a theme and turns into stories, debates, nostalgia, and the songs that shaped our lives.Whether we're talking about mixtapes, guilty pleasures, forgotten albums, heartbreak songs, or the perfect soundtrack for a night swim, every episode celebrates the memories behind the music.❤️ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment. We'd love to hear your picks!🎵 What's in your emotional first aid kit?#MusicPodcast #Playlists #Mixtapes #MusicLovers #NowPlaying

What song do you wish you could go back in time and give to your 16-year-old self?

🟢 Listen to the Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6yfsIeyiKMZP9HUOQXzube?si=8c39fed4dc5e45a8

This week, we're building a playlist for the teenagers we used to be: songs we somehow missed when we were young, along with newer music we think our teenage selves needed to hear.

We talk about discovering The Replacements years too late, whether Jess's teenage self would have actually appreciated Neko Case, the strange pressure of high school romance, sitting alone in your bedroom with headphones on, and the music that might have made growing up feel a little less confusing. And we confront an important question: would our teenage selves really have loved these songs, or are we just projecting our current tastes backward?

Our picks include Cat Power, Jets to Brazil, 10,000 Maniacs, The Replacements, Neko Case and Burial, plus a bonus round where we choose a song to give to each other's 16-year-old selves.

What song or band would you go back and give to your teenage self? And do you think they would actually listen to you?

Songs on the playlist:

🎧 Liquid Swords - GZA

🎧 Walkabout - The Slits

🎧 Answering Machine - The Replacements

🎧 Like the Weather - 10,000 Maniacs

🎧 Sea Anemone - Jets to Brazil

🎧 An Ice Age - Neko Case

🎧 Naked if I want to - Cat Power

🎧 Imitation of Christ - The Pschedelic Furs

🎧1952 Vincent Black Lightning - Richard Thompson

🎧 Come Down to Us - Burial

🎧 Listen to Play Record

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlayRecordPodcast

🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033DtFWQBaLPMiNYgykjdD?si=9c33ee347d174619

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/play-record-podcast/id6783468122

🎙️ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/63224d90-334e-4339-a7f8-bdcc7ddabe9f/play-record-podcast

📱 Follow Play Record

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playrecordpod/

🎤 About Play Record

Play Record is a music podcast hosted by Jess and Tyler, where every episode starts with a theme and turns into stories, debates, nostalgia, and the songs that shaped our lives.

Whether we're talking about mixtapes, guilty pleasures, forgotten albums, heartbreak songs, or the perfect soundtrack for a night swim, every episode celebrates the memories behind the music.

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment. We'd love to hear your picks!

🎵 What's on your playlist?#MusicPodcast #90sMusic #GenX #Mixtapes #MusicLovers

🎙️ Are We Too Old to Discover New Music?

There was a time when discovering new music meant mixtapes from friends, trusted radio DJs, flipping through Spin or Rolling Stone, or taking a chance on an entire album because you liked one song. Now we have Spotify algorithms, Shazam, YouTube, social media, and a seemingly endless supply of music at our fingertips.

But does having access to more music actually mean we're discovering more of it?

In this episode, we talk about how our relationship with new music (and new to us) has changed as we've gotten older, why 30 seems to be the dreaded age when people supposedly stop seeking out new artists, and the very different ways we find music now. We also share some of our favorite recent discoveries and how we found them, from Spotify autoplay and Shazam to friends, concert apps, music magazines, and random YouTube rabbit holes.

How do you discover new music now? And what's the best artist or song you've discovered lately? Let us know in the comments!

Tori Amos has been making music for more than three decades. So why do we still compare every new Tori Amos record to Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, and Boys for Pele?

For this edition of What’s on the Turntable, Jess brings Tori Amos’s new album In Times of Dragons, a record about power, patriarchy, aging, change, and finding a way forward in a world that can feel increasingly threatening.

We talk about the story behind the album, Jess’s favorite tracks “Shush” and “23 Peaks,” the apparent Courtney Love olive branch hidden in one of the songs, and Tori’s evolution as both a songwriter and live performer.

We also get into Pitchfork’s review of the album and a bigger question: Is it fair to judge an artist in their 60s against the music they made in their 20s? Sometimes being a fan means accepting that the artist you fell in love with isn’t that person anymore. Maybe that’s the point.

💬 What do you want from an artist you’ve followed for decades? Do you want them to evolve, or is there a part of you that still wants another version of the album that made you love them?

Link to the Pitchfork article mentioned: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tori-amos-in-times-of-dragons/⏱️

Chapters:

00:36 The story behind In Times of Dragons

02:01 “Shush” & the Courtney Love connection

04:01 Is In Times of Dragons a hopeful album?

05:09 “23 Peaks” & accepting change06:11 The problem with Pitchfork’s review

09:01 Should we compare artists to their earlier work?

10:35 Learning to accept Tori Amos’ evolution12:41 How Tori has changed her live shows

17:21 In Times of Dragons vinyl & artwork

18:32 Still a Tori fan from the ’90s?

Follow Play Record📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playrecordpod/

🎤 About Play RecordPlay Record is a music podcast hosted by Jess and Tyler, where every episode starts with music and turns into stories, debates, nostalgia, and the songs that shaped our lives.

Whether we're talking about mixtapes, guilty pleasures, forgotten albums, heartbreak songs, or what's currently spinning on our turntable, every episode celebrates the memories and stories behind the music.

❤️ If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment. We'd love to hear what you're listening to.

#ToriAmos #InTimesOfDragons #PlayRecordPodcast #EWF #ITOD #earswithfeet

Have you ever heard a song you've loved for years...only to realize it means something completely different now?

In this episode of Play Record, we're talking about the songs that changed because we changed. Some took on new meaning after growing older. Others hit harder because of life experiences, relationships, parenthood, or simply paying closer attention to the lyrics.

From Cat Stevens and David Bowie to Rod Stewart, Pulp, Against Me!, and New Order, we share the songs that stopped us in our tracks years later, and why they feel completely different today.

Because sometimes the lyrics don't change. We do.

👇 What song means something completely different to you now than it did when you first heard it?