‘Africa’ by Toto and Why Memories and Chord Progressions are Liars

‘Africa’ by Toto and Why Memories and Chord Progressions are Liars

June 30, 2026 · 1h 15m

About this episode

The episode explores Toto's 'Africa' and how memories can distort our emotional connections to music.

Does that love song really remind them of you, or is it actually their previous partner? In this week’s episode, we revel in Toto’s 1982 masterpiece “Africa.” Nichole talks about how our memories play tricks on us, and how different people react to ambiguity. Meanwhile, Mark takes us on another investigation, this time trying to uncover how this song’s iconic riff fits in with the various keys of the song. We dare you to sing along (well) with this chorus! Other music heard in this episode: Green Day - “Whatsername”, The Beach Boys - “In My Room”, Don Henley - “The Boys of Summer”, Sublime - “Wrong Way”, Toto - “Dune (Desert Theme)”, Steely Dan - “Black Friday”, Toto - “Hold the Line”, Toto - “I Won’t Hold You Back”, The Bee Gees - “More Than a Woman”, The Beatles - “Something”, The Cardigans - “Lovefool” Send us your thoughts at NeverMusicPod@gmail.com Nevermind the Music is part of The Lorehounds Network. Join the Nevermind the Music Discord channel by visiting thelorehounds.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

People in this episode

Hosts: Nichole, Mark

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Africa, Whatsername, In My Room, The Boys of Summer, Wrong Way, Dune (Desert Theme), Black Friday, Hold the Line, I Won’t Hold You Back, More Than a Woman

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