Polishing Turds: A Bad Music Podcast

#69. HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2025 Jingle Bell Slop: How AI is Coming for Christmas Music

We're back for our 5th annual Polishing Turds Holiday special! This year we'll be covering the wacky and disturbing world of AI, perhaps the one instrument capable of making Christmas music even worse. We'll take you on a cringe-tastic sleigh ride through vast snowfields of slop; from carols of reindeer sacrifice to fake vulgar Motown hits through - and I swear to god this real - a veritable library of AI Eminem singing gospel music. Don't say you weren't warned....Select sources for this episode:Janelle Shane's early forays into AI Christmas Carols: https://www.aiweirdness.com/the-ais-carol-19-12-24/https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-christmas-music/Mic the Snare video on spotting AI in music: https://youtu.be/hld8CNQdjQs?si=pVRQTldRYzRQD9MHhttps://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/are-you-listening-bots-survey-shows-ai-music-is-virtually-undetectable-2025-11-12/THE WEIRDEST GODDAMN YOUTUBE CHANNEL THAT EXISTS: https://www.youtube.com/@MusicBarronTrumpFOLLOW US:Instagram: polishing.podcast Twitter/X: @polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

#68. BABYMETAL Part IV: The Price We Pay

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 departure of founding member Yui-metal. FOLLOW US:Instagram: polishing.podcast Twitter/X: @polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

#67. BABYMETAL Part III: "I'll Marry You, Dad!"

Fox Gods, crucifixions, and magic corsets oh my! We continue the story of Babymetal by exploring the wild and confusing "lore" surrounding this group. We also examine the lyrical content of their early songs, cover the initial reactions they received from the Western music scene, and tackle the sticky question of whether or not Babymetal truly is "metal".[Sorry, again, about the unusual amount of random noises in this one. At least there are no babies or dogs this time!]FOLLOW US:Instagram: polishing.podcast Twitter/X: @polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

#66. BABYMETAL Part II: The Demon that Devours Holiness has been Resurrected Again

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:Instagram: polishing.podcast Twitter/X: @polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

#65. BABYMETAL Part I: Nick Loves GISM

What comes to mind when you think of Heavy Metal? Is it three cute little girls wearing Lolita dresses and doing synchronized dance moves? Well if you answered "no" you're out of touch, my bruh!Welcome to the preposterous world of Babymetal, a Japanese girl group that combines the saccharine imagery of J-pop with the bone-crushing heaviness of metal. Sounds incongruous? It is, and yet this group is one of the best-selling hard rock acts of our age, earning millions of fans across the globe with their unique brand of so-called kawaii metal.In the first of a multi-part series, we examine the origins of Babymetal by exploring the wild and often problematic world of Japanese Idol music. Why do millions of Japanese men devote endless hours and thousands of yen to support 13-year-old girls who sing the lamest music on Earth? We spent 90 minutes talking about it, and we still don't know...WARNING: This episode contains some rather dark subject matter, including sexual abuse of children. (Don't worry, it's still super funny, but also kinda fucked...)Nick's stupid travel blog that he plugs toward the end of the episode: https://ghostonthehighway.blog/FOLLOW US:Instagram: polishing.podcast Twitter/X: @polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com