Shows
The Spotlight RadioS3E5: Rage Against the Machine & Denzel CurryWelcome to Season 3 Episode 5 of the Spotlight Radio where your hosts, Aaron and Sarah Mae spotlight records we love!
This week we started off our program with a BANG(!!!) as Aaron brought Rage Against the Machine’s 1996 record, Evil Empire to the studio. Rage Against the Machine is a left-wing, progressive that has been described as a variety of genres--from rap rock, alternative metal and nu metal. We discuss the content of lead singer Zach de la Rocha’s radical lyrics on immigration, the US government and its prevailing relevance in 2020.
In the second half of o...2020-03-061h 31The Spotlight RadioS3E3: The Kilig SpecialWelcome back to Season 3, Episode 3 of the Spotlight Radio! We are so excited to share "The Kilig Special," a program we've put together in anticipation for Valentine's Day. For those of you that don't know, 'kilig' is a Tagalog word that's used to describe the butterflies you feel around someone you like very much or the excitement you might feel when you talk about love! (Ex. Wow, this song gives me so much kilig!)
There's not much for us to say this week except that these songs were chosen with great care and each one of them c...2020-02-141h 29The Spotlight RadioS3E2: Pharrell Williams and NxWorriesWelcome to Season 3 Episode 2 of the Spotlight Radio where your hosts, Aaron and Sarah Mae spotlight records they love. :^)
This week, we started off our main program with the tracks from Pharrell Williams, The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. Aaron describes his love for Pharrell Williams as well as the undeniable influence he’s had on the current music industry.
For the second half of the program, Sarah Mae highlighted ‘Yes Lawd!’ a 2015 rap and neo-soul album from NxWorries, a duo consisting of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge. Aaron and Sarah Mae rave about the album’...2020-02-071h 29The Spotlight RadioS3E1: Solange WeekWelcome back to The Spotlight 2020 where Sarah Mae and Aaron spotlight their favorite records and tunes :)
We are excited to start of the decade with one our favorite artists in the entire world and that is Solange Knowles. This past episode we both chose to play both of Solange's most recent studio albums. Sarah Mae dove into 'A Seat at the Table' and played songs like "Don't Touch My Hair" and "Cranes in the Sky". She talked a lot about Solange's influences for this record. Aaron talked about her most recent 2019 record "When I Get Home" and...2020-01-311h 31
The Spotlight RadioOFFSEASON: Top 10 Albums of 2019Welcome to the offseason of The Spotlight Radio!
In this bonus episode we aren't in our typical studio but we still wanted to give you all some content during the winter time! 2019 was full of great albums and we wanted to highlight our top 10 albums of the year. This list is made up of albums that we both enjoyed together and is important to note that they aren't ranked in any sort of order. We hope you enjoy this special bonus episode and keep a look out for more special content coming later this offseason. Here are o...2019-12-311h 35
The Spotlight RadioS2E11: The Season Finale Christmas SpecialWelcome to the season 2 finale of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
For our final week of the semester, Aaron and Sarah Mae play a special Christmas mix full of classics and new favorites that they love from artists such as Tyler, the Creator, Whitney Houston, Kacey Musgraves and more. Listen to the playlist here! Throughout the program, Aaron and Sarah Mae discuss their plans for the holidays and reflect on Christmases throughout the years. They are also briefly joined by their friend, Solomon, who will also be hosting a...2019-12-061h 35
The Spotlight RadioS2E10: Clairo & black midiWelcome to week 10 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
This week, Sarah Mae opened the show with “Sofia” by Clairo off of her 2019 summer release, ‘Immunity.’ Clairo is a 21-year-old artist who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. Her rise to bedroom-pop fame was skyrocketed by her refreshingly simple music video to “Pretty Girl” in 2017. Sarah Mae discusses how ‘Immunity’ is a coming-of-age album through and through. She also draws parallels between ‘Immunity’ and ‘Apollo XXI,’ a record that was discussed earlier in the season. In the second half of the show...2019-11-221h 22
The Spotlight RadioS2E9: Playboi Carti & ThundercatWelcome to week 9 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
This week Aaron featured Playboi Carti's 2018 record 'Die Lit.' This is Carti's 2nd release and first studio album, one of the best trap albums of the year featuring an array of prolific artists like Skepta, Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj and more. Aaron praises Carti for his ability to make an album so minimal yet so vivid with sonic imagery. This was one of Aaron's favorite albums of 2018 and an instant classic that transcends space and time. Sarah Mae...2019-11-161h 19
The Spotlight RadioS2E8: Father John Misty & Sons of KemetWelcome to week 8 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
Sarah Mae started out the week with Father John Misty’s 2012 release, ‘Fear Fun.’ This record was Josh Tillman’s first album under the musical pseudonym, Father John Misty. Prior to his record he had released 7 previous records and before that he was also a drummer for the band, Fleet Foxes. Sarah Mae praises Tillman for his ability to create very enjoyable and listenable music while also making listeners uncomfortable (in a good way) with the messaging of his lyrics. Aaron br...2019-11-081h 13
Better Out LoudEp 03: No Compromising in Love or Music or Middle School Favorites (with Aaron Escobar and Sarah Mae Dizon)Joined by the hosts of The Spotlight Radio Show at GMU (@ultradog2004), Aaron Escobar and Sarah Mae Dizon share gems from their relationship with each other, with music, and being purposeful in loving others through intentional expression. We decided that food is a love language to add to the list and we never remember to mention how we know each other... but we'll leave that a mystery just for fun.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/better-out-loud/support2019-11-071h 16
The Spotlight RadioS2E7: Earl Sweatshirt & FKA twigsWelcome to week 7 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
The first album that we featured this week was Earl Sweatshirt’s long awaited 2018 record ‘Some Rap Songs’ (SRS). A record that dives into Earls mental health (“Shattered Dreams”) grieving with the death of his father (“Playing Possum”), substance abuse ("Azucar") and his relationships with people he considered his friends (“Red Water”). Earl uses a series of vignettes to execute these themes and does it in a way that catches your attention. ‘SRS’ is such a mature record sonically, it has a very dark undert...2019-11-011h 18
The Spotlight RadioS2E6: Rina Sawayama & Toro y MoiWelcome to week 6 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
The first album we brought to the show this week was model-turned-pop-star Rina Sawayama’s 2017 EP, 'RINA.' We discuss the EP’s infectious pop style which harkens back to the Britney Spears era of pop music. Tracks such as “Ordinary Superstar” and “Alterlife” (which we mistakenly/affectionately call “Afterlife”) carries the nostalgia of the aughts, but are still unique to Sawayama’s voice and style. We also talk through the lyrics of the EP which as a whole, seek to grapple our rel...2019-10-251h 23
The Spotlight RadioS2E5: IDLES & Kero Kero BonitoWelcome to week 5 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
This week we highlighted two of our favorite UK bands. First off we talked about the IDLES, a post-punk band from Bristol. We talked about their 2018 record Joy as an Act of Resistance, a record that although uses a very gritty production, lyrically, front man Joe Talbot, talks a lot about masculinity and the toxicity that it holds, love and growth, optimism and the current political climate in the UK. We discuss what the title of the record means to...2019-10-221h 18
The Spotlight RadioS2E4: Weyes Blood & MitskiWelcome to week 4 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
This week we highlighted the 2019 record 'Titanic Rising' by Weyes Blood. A Baroque Pop album that incorporates a lot of themes of climate change, existentialism and modernism. Tracks like 'Movies' and 'Something to Believe' makes you think of the world we live in today. We dive into this record and discuss a lot of the instrumentation, the choices of timbre she uses, and her lyric choices. Following 'Titanic Rising' we discuss the 2018 record 'Be the Cowboy' by Mitski. An album...2019-10-221h 19
The Spotlight RadioS2E3: Tyler, the Creator & Injury ReserveWelcome to week 3 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!
This week we discussed two of our favorite records of 2019. Coming off his prolific 2017 record 'Flower Boy,' Tyler the Creator does it again! His 2019 record IGOR is packed with themes of love, jealousy and so much more! We discussed the themes behind tracks like NEW MAGIC WAND and the production off of tracks like RUNNING OUT TIME. Brace yourself for the blaring synthesizer chords on IGORS THEME as it starts off the show! The next record we talked about...2019-10-221h 19
The Spotlight RadioS2E2: Metronomy & The Pedrito Martinez GroupWelcome to Week 2 of The Spotlight where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!!
This past week Sarah Mae highlighted one of her favorite albums from middle school, Metronomy's 2011 album 'The English Riviera.' On the show, Sarah Mae explains the emotional connection she has with this album; it holds special memories she has with her sister. Although the album has a sound that has been oversaturated since its 2011 release, it is nonetheless enjoyable. "The Bay" is her personal favorite of the record. Aaron highlighted a very special album that holds a lot of...2019-10-211h 23
The Spotlight RadioS2E1: Blood Orange & Steve LacyWelcome back to The Spotlight, where Sarah Mae and Aaron highlight and discuss their favorite records!!
Our first episode back we highlighted the 2019 mixtape, 'Angels Pulse' by the one and only Blood Orange (Dev Hynes) which carries several themes of grief and growth. Coming off of his prolific 2018 album, 'Negro Swan,' we dive in to what this mixtapes means in relation to his previous record and what it means to us. The next album we highlighted was the 2019 Steve Lacy debut album, 'Apollo XXI' which carries an overarching theme of self discovery and acceptance and according...2019-10-211h 09