Polishing Turds: A Bad Music Podcast

In the conclusion of our series, we bring the Babymetal story up to date. Like it our not, these kawaii heroines are here to stay, having upset the Metal Establishment and fostered a fanatically loyal fanbase that follows them through every puzzling career move. But are they in fact "the future of metal"? And if so is that a good or bad thing for the genre as a whole? Other topics of discussion include some bizarre Babymetal collabs, kawaii metal imitators and the mysterious departu...

Ah, how fitting that this episode number is 2/3 of the Number of the Beast! Today we continue to excavate the origins of Babymetal by diving into the history of Heavy Metal in Japan. This episode features some of the coolest bands we've ever covered, so for once we're actually excited to talk about our subject matter! FOLLOW US: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@polishing_turds Instagram: polishing.podcast email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

Don't you hate it when an artist wastes everyone's time by dedicating verses or even entire songs to shouting out dozens of random cities? No? It's just us? Well too bad, we're talking about it anyway! Why do so many artists feel compelled to list off dozens of cities they may or may not have been to? Where did this phenomenon begin, and which songs are the absolute worst offenders of all? Join us for a quirky little study of one of the most annoying if unremarked-upon phenomena in music!&n...

The Village People hit their stride with such monster hits as "Y.M.C.A." and "In the Navy", proving that mainstream America will go to any lengths to not get the hint as to what their music's really about. We'll analyze the music from the band's golden age while also connecting it to the broader context of the late 70s music scene... You see, by this point Disco has completely overwhelmed American culture, inserting itself into every conceivable medium including breakfast cereals (serio...

Awww yeah! We're back with another low-effort minisode where we catch up on all the recent goings-on from artists we profiled in the past. Come hear about all the wacky exploits from your favorite Polishing Turds alumni. We've got Cruises with Creed, AI experiments with the Black Eyed Peas, juicy drama from the Cyrus family, and so much more! What better way to start off this horrible, horrible year? FOLLOW US: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@polishing_turds Instagram: polishing.podc...

We conclude our interminable Iced Earth series with the dramatic assault of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. This riot was facilitated in part by a wacky militia called the Oath Keepers, a group whose membership happened to include Jon Schaffer. As usual we go deep; covering the history of the Oath Keepers as well as the far-right Patriot movement from which they emerged. We also discuss what happened to Jon Schaffer after his arrest, the fairness of his sentencing a...

We cover the bizarre story of heavy metal legends Iced Earth, whose lead member was involved in the January 6 Capitol Riot. (Sorry about the dog barking in the background lol) YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btd2KxXOvNc&list=PL6QhZ78uzXMohSWyUqf72sHHcCMjDd1PK Selected Sources: Metal Injection article from 1/6/2021: https://metalinjection.net/politics/is-this-a-photo-of-iced-earths-jon-schaffer-raiding-the-capitol-building "The Fall of Jon Schaffer" by J. Salm...

In Part II of our series we take on Imagine Dragons at their biggest, their boldest, their most obnoxious stage. During the mid-2010s this "rock" band brought their thunderous stomp-clap earworms to every observable realm of the human experience. Whether you were simply trying to listen to the radio, watch a football game, or take a stroll through a shopping center you COULD NOT escape this band. In this episode we try to parse out just what it is that made Imagine Dragons so commercia...

Live Aid - the 1985 worldwide charity extravaganza - has often been called the "greatest concert of all time." So why is it here getting the Polishing Turds treatment? Well, there's more to Live Aid than the iconic Queen set from Bohemian Rhapsody. There's the disturbing, politically-charged famine that inspired the event in the first place. There's a famously inept reunion show from a legendary band backed by a globe-trotting Phil Collins. And of course, there's the lingering, thorny quest...

At long last, it's TUBTHUMPING TIME!! After endless digressions through history, politics, and obscure music scenes we finally arrive at Chumbawamba's era-defining hit. What does "Tubthumping" mean? What inspired its composition? Which creepy pederast mogul pushed it onto pop radio? We're gonna tell you everything you wanted to know about this tune and then some! This episode also includes a special theatrical contribution from the following voice actors. HUGE THANKS to the these talented hu...

(Okay FINE we'll tell the actual story of Chumbawamba and not a bunch of obscure noisy punk bands you've never heard of!) Before they were pop superstars, they were a misbegotten collection of misfits from the post-industrial wasteland of Northern England. They lived collectively in a dilapidated squat house, sharing all food and money (and, occasionally, each other's bodies). They agitated for revolution and made allies with striking coal miners. And slowly but surely, they came to realize ...

CONTENT WARNING: DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL ABUSE, KIDNAPPING, AND OTHER GRUESOME SUBJECT MATTER. Hey guys. Remember Viper, that insane meme rapper who sang about the virtues of smoking crack? Well recently he's been arrested on some truly disturbing charges. This story is so monumentally insane that we had to talk about it separately from our regular content. This episode is short and not very funny. There's no music. Quite honestly, the goal of uploading this is less to entertain our audi...