Dissect – Your New Favorite Podcast

As we near the end of the school semester, and the number of assignments and final exam study guides continue to grow, it’s crucial to find an outlet that takes your mind off of these stressors. My recent vice has been the Spotify Original Podcast titled ‘Dissect’, hosted by Cole Cuchna. What he summarizes at the beginning of each episode as a ‘long form musical analysis broken into short, digestible episodes’, this podcast analyzes hit albums dedicating each episode to a song. Not only does it break down the lyrics and references, but it goes deep into the musical composition analyzing chords, beats, and production.

Cuchna is an incredibly well-informed and educated musical journalist and it is clear in each episode as he is able to analyze each single song for nearly an hour. My personal favorite is the Season 4 analysis of Tyler the Creator’s 2017 album, Flower Boy. I have considered myself a huge fan of Tyler the Creator for a number of years, and after listening to this detailed explanation of the extraordinary album I fell in love with it all over again. Cuchna finds a way to dissect every single aspect of the album from the lyric inspiration or atypical key changes, to citing and playing the various samples and finally lacing in direct quotes from interviews Tyler did post release. He also keeps the listener fully engaged and integrates the album’s emotional motif into each subsequent episode.

This is the most complete, informed, and captivating production of a musical review that I have ever experienced, and it serves as the perfect distraction during this crazy season, so do yourself a favor and check it out!