Polishing Turds: A Bad Music Podcast

#70. KIDZ BOP

Did your parents make you listen to Kidz Bop CDs back in the day? If so, we apologize for inadvertently triggering your childhood trauma.For everyone else, let's admire all the ways this seemingly innocent brand manages to embarrass itself over and over. From horrendous production to inexplicable lyric changes to a litany of ill-advised spinoffs and marketing gimmicks, Kidz Bop is living proof that sometimes the solution is worse than the original problem...NOTE: We recorded this episode a couple days after the ICE shooting of Alex Pretti, which kind of fucked with our heads as you can tell. Also Nick had a cold which is why you can hear him coughing at several points. Enjoy!FOLLOW US:Instagram: polishing.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com

#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.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@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.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@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.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@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.podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@polishing_turds email: polishingturdspodcast@gmail.com