Episode 43 – #8 – About a Potato

Welcome to Fifty by Two, a podcast about music where two friends with very different tastes count down their top fifty albums.

Number eight! If you didn’t enjoy the political bent of one of last episode’s bands, hang in there for another episode. We listen to and discuss one of the best loved and best selling albums in history, and James has to listen to metal again. That’s the good stuff.

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Episode 43 – About a Potato

48 – #3 – Schrödinger's Musical Fifty by Two

Welcome to Fifty by Two, a podcast about music where two friends with very different tastes count down their top fifty albums.We're back! After a long busyness break, we return with out third favourite albums. Content Warnings: explicit language, discussions of sexual health, cancer, and drugs in relation to song lyrics.Full show notes, transcript, and content warnings available at https://50by2.net/2025/11/14/episode-48-3-schrodingers-musical/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  1. 48 – #3 – Schrödinger's Musical
  2. 47 – #4 – The First Time in Nineteen Years
  3. 46 – #5 – The Best Thing that I Can Say
  4. 45 – #6 – A Dip and-a-Half
  5. 44 – #7 – The Amulet of FOMO

Transcript coming soon.

Content warnings: some explicit language, brief mention of adult themes.

See below for show notes, and further listening and watching recommendations. Note that this will contain spoilers, and we’d recommend reading on after listening to the episode.

Recommendations

Official video for Pulp’s new single, Spike Island.
Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross featured in M&S’s advert campaign.
Matchbox Twenty’s cover of Never Going Back Again.
Elton John’s (predictable?) cover of Don’t Stop.
Live version of You Make Loving Fun mentioned in the episode.
Mick Fleetwood and Samantha Fox hosting the Brit Awards (on YouTube only because of age restrictions).

Excerpt of Rick Rubin’s interview with Rick Beato mentioned in the episode.
Chop Suey! on Guitar Hero.
Suggestions (from System of a Down’s first album) live in 2002.
Holy Mountains – one of System of a Down’s songs about the Armenian Genocide – played live in Armenia.
Tenacious D’s quick live cover of Chop Suey! Unfortunately, we can’t embed it because the video uploader ticked a box in their settings (use the link above to open it in YouTube).
Official video for Chop Suey!
Official video for Aerials.

Albums Discussed in this Episode

  1. James’ choice: Fleetwood MacRumours (Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube).
  2. Glen’s choice: System of a Down – Toxicity (Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube).

Music Clips Used

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours:

  • The Chain (05:32, 59:35).
  • You Make Loving Fun (17:06).
  • Dreams (25:30).
  • Go your Own Way (31:41).
  • Songbird (34:52).
  • Don’t Stop (41:49).
  • Never Going Back Again (49:08).
  • I Don’t Want to Know (52:48).

System of a Down – Toxicity:

  • Aerials (01:02:08).
  • Toxicity (01:09:48).
  • Jet Pilot (01:15:50).
  • Prison Song (01:18:42).
  • Needle (01:20:48).
  • Science (01:34:12).
  • Deer Dance (01:41:05).
  • Chop Suey! (01:45:32).

Other sources:

  • Fleetwood Mac – Albatross (10:53).
  • Medley of weird System of a Down bits (01:23:44), featuring:
    • I-E-A-I-A-I-O (Steal This Album!).
    • Chic ‘N’ Stu (Steal This Album!).
    • Viscinity of Oscenity (Hypnotize).
    • U-Fig (Hypnotise).
    • Cigaro (Mesmerize).
    • This Cocaine Makes me Feel Like I’m on this Song (Mesmerize).
    • Darts (System of a Down).
    • Suggestions (System of a Down).
  • Tenacious D – Chop Suey! (System of a Down cover) (01:32:50).
  • Elton John – Don’t Stop (Fleetwood Mac cover) (01:54:28).

Countdowns So Far

You can also see how we rank each other’s albums here. Note that this is up to and including the latest published episode, so will contain spoilers if you are not up-to-date.

RankJamesGlen
#50Tim Minchin – Matilda, the MusicalHorse the Band – R. Borlax
#49The London Symphony Orchestra – Classic RockMike Oldfield – Tubular Bells
#48Remy Zero – The Golden HumNile – Annihilation of the Wicked
#47Harry Secombe – Bless This HouseNick Drake – Pink Moon
#46Fatboy Slim – You’ve Come a Long Way BabyThe Reindeer Section – Son of Evil Reindeer
#45Dr Dre – 2001Elbow – Asleep in the Back
#44Lauren Daigle – Look Up ChildGomez – Bring it On
#43The Baseballs – Strike!Ben Howard – Every Kingdom
#42Tom Jones – ReloadForeign Slippers – Farewell to the Old Ghosts
#41Black Lace – Party PartyOpeth – Ghost Reveries
#40Nell Bryden – Shake the TreeMaximum the Hormone – Bu-ikikaesu
#39The Torero Band – Lennon and McCartney, Tijuana StyleJimmy Eat World – Clarity
#38Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs – God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t RiseGoo Goo Dolls – Dizzy up the Girl
#37Genesis – Invisible TouchMetallica – Master of Puppets
#36Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers – The Album/Swing the MoodArcade Fire – Funeral
#35Richard Hawley – Coles CornerBat for Lashes – Fur and Gold
#34Grainne Duffy – Out of the DarkDamien Rice – O
#33David Brent and Foregone Conclusion – Life on the RoadBiffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
#32Damien Rice – OMogwai – Happy Songs for Happy People
#31Wildwood Kin – Turning TidesDeftones – Saturday Night Wrist
#30Sam Kelly – The Lost BoysPulp – Different Class
#29The Rolling Stones – Hackney DiamondsFrightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse
#28Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His FriendsCounting Crows – August and Everything After
#27Nickelback – Silver Side UpSoundgarden – Superunknown
#26Paul McCartney and Wings – Band on the RunSkunk Anansie – Paranoid and Sunburnt
#25The Shires – BraveMastodon – Leviathan
#24[Film Soundtrack] – Little Shop of Horrors Original Motion Picture SoundtrackSigur Rós – Takk
#23Pearl Jam – TenNirvana – Nevermind
#22The Darkness – One Way Ticket to Hell… And BackSmashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
#21Rend Collective – Homemade Worship by Handmade PeopleThe Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath
#20Michael Jackson – BadThe Fall of Troy – Manipulator
#19Queen + Paul Rogers – The Cosmos RocksPearl Jam – Binaural
#18U2 – Rattle & HumPlacebo – Without You, I’m Nothing
#17Oasis – Definitely MaybeDavid Bowie – Hunky Dory
#16Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice – Jesus Christ SuperstarSigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
#15Avril Lavigne – The Best Damn ThingAt the Drive-In – Relationship of Command
#14U2 – All that you Can’t Leave BehindPixies – Surfer Rosa
#13Meat Loaf – Bat out of HellREM – Automatic for the People
#12Elton John – Sleeping with the PastRadiohead – The Bends
#11Eagles – Hotel CaliforniaA Perfect Circle – Mer De Noms
#10Michael Jackson – ThrillerCoheed & Cambria – The Second Stage Turbine Blade
#9Thirty Seconds to Mars – A Beautiful LieRage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine
#8Fleetwood Mac – RumoursSystem of a Down – Toxicity

Our current theme is a cover of Europe’s The Final Countdown, lovingly (and very quickly) made by Glen.

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