Ariana Grande "petal"

Ariana Grande is going a little feral, but she’s doing it with remarkable restraint. This week, Joe and Toby dig into “Petal” and Ariana’s latest album, exploring how one of pop’s most gifted vocalists is choosing subtlety over fireworks and using her music to say some things she may have been too polite to say before. The image of a flower pushing through concrete becomes the perfect metaphor: resilience isn’t always about becoming harder. Sometimes it’s about staying soft, authentic, and unmistakably yourself despite everything pushing against you. From there, the riffs go where the riffs go. The guys wrestle with the price of fame, our strange sense of ownership over artists, the pressure to constantly achieve more, and why walking away can sometimes be as courageous as pushing forward. They get into work-life balance, artists like André 3000 and Fiona Apple who chose different paths, handwritten letters, looksmaxxing, aging, beauty standards, and the exhausting pursuit of external validation. Ultimately, it all comes back to boundaries: knowing what belongs to the world, what belongs to you, and when it’s time to put up the stop sign. Plus: Earl Grey, Doctor Doom, gym mirrors, gray beards, terrible tours, and a surprisingly useful theory involving speed bumps. How are you growing through the concrete? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Avsnitt(116)

Angine de Poitrine "Fabienk"

Prepare for an intergalactic funk transmission as Joe and Toby explore “Fabiano” by Quebec duo Angine de Poitrine. Armed with masks, polka dots, microtonal guitars, dizzying rhythms, and enough loopin...

4 Aug 1h 5min

Sienna Spiro "Die On This Hill"

What are you willing to die on a hill for? For rising British singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro, the question becomes a haunting exploration of loyalty, stubbornness, and the moment you realize you may b...

22 Juli 53min

Olivia Rodrigo "Drop Dead"

Joe and Toby dive into Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead,” unpacking the emotional precision, lyrical sharpness, and intimate vocal delivery that make her music feel like an inner monologue. The conversatio...

2 Juli 52min

Drake - "Janice STFU"

This week on Riffs on Riffs, we tackle one of the most polarizing artists of the modern era: Drake, his track “Janice STFU,” and the massive cultural machine surrounding the release of Iceman. Alonog ...

15 Juni 1h 11min

Chris Brown "Fallin"

This week on Riffs on Riffs, we dive into “Fallin” by Chris Brown featuring Leon Thomas, and what starts as a conversation about one song quickly turns into a full-blown exploration of modern R&B, blu...

14 Maj 1h 3min

Kehlani "Folded"

In this episode of Riffs on Riffs, we unpack “Folded” by Kehlani—a song that’s equal parts breakup, late-night temptation, and emotional tug-of-war. Inspired by a shoutout from Olivia Dean, we dive in...

28 Apr 51min

Jalen Ngonda "If You Don't Want My Love"

In this episode of Riffs on Riffs, Joe and Toby dig into “If You Don’t Want My Love” by Jalen Ngonda — a track that feels equal parts vintage and urgent. From the moment the needle drops (figurative...

13 Apr 55min