Recommendations, Requests, and Reflections

Matt talks about some of the albums and songs that have been stuck in his head and reflects on the podcast recently, as well as gives previews for what's coming to the pod and Matt's Coffee Corner. 

Don't forget to Subscribe, Like, Share, and Comment!

Time Codes:
00:00 - Opening Act
01:07 - Grow a Show Preview
04:12 - Albums & Songs on Repeat
11:44 - Coffee Corner Preview & Request
13:48 - Podcast Reflections
18:17 - Curtain Call

Have a suggestion for the pod? Use our new form to let us know! https://forms.gle/MVHjxmoSLRY4WL6U9 

Follow us on Instagram for updates: https://www.instagram.com/downoncemorepod

Links to audio versions, YouTube, & all social accounts: https://linktr.ee/downoncemorepod

#music #coffee #preview #reflections #downoncemorepod

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up everyone? Welcome to another episode of Down Once More. I'm your host Matt, and this week I'm coming at you with a bit of a mini episode. We've done a lot the past few weeks. We've reviewed musical movies with Sage, with Brad. We had Siebes on talking about the Love Island season eight as a whole and the reunion. Last week I reviewed the 1982 Pro Shot of Sweeney Todd and a lot more. So we've been having a lot of fun on the podcast, and I decided to put that fun to an end. No, I'm just kidding. We're still gonna have fun. But what I'm gonna do is a little bit of a preview of what's coming up on the pod, and I'm gonna talk some music. It's been a while since I've done like an Apple Music replay overview and just give my picks for what I've been listening to lately, what I've been enjoying, and what's been stuck in my head. So that's what we're gonna kind of do this week. As always, there's time codes down below. Appreciate if you like what you see or are listening to, hit a subscribe, hit follow, like, throw a comment on, go review the podcast on Apple, Spotify, all that fun stuff. Now that's out of the way, let's get into the episode. So next week on the pod is something that I am very excited about. This week that this is airing, I am going to see a couple Grow a Show plays, our local lead center where we get all our Broadway national tours that I review on here. They are doing a grow a show workshop where they're giving creators the opportunity to kind of workshop their new musicals that they're trying to get on Broadway in front of the panel to get feedback, notes, insight, and they open it up to the public. So what it consists of is essentially a 50-minute reading staging with some of the songs of the musical in front of the panelists, and then some time for the creators to get feedback from those panelists and kind of help give them insight for what direction they could take their show. This is how a lot of uh up-and-coming musicals got started. So, like In Pieces, one of my favorite musical concept albums that's been uh sold-out runs in the West End and hopefully gonna make it to Broadway soon, or a full staging on the West End. In Pieces got its start just kind of from the ground up. It did a workshop like this at Michigan State University, so it's really cool that the University of Nebraska Lincoln is doing this as well and getting new musicals in here. I was traveling for work last year when it happened, so I'm really glad I'm gonna be able to do it this week. And Sage is gonna join me for those productions, so she's gonna come on the podcast and we are going to give our kind of thoughts on those. Now, these are not full stagings, they're musicals that are in progress, but the two that we're gonna see the first one is Lilyville, and this explores grief, identity, artificial consciousness, and the difficult beauty of embracing life's imperfections. That's kind of the tagline. Next week we'll give more into the story and what it's about, as well as Killer Widows of Willow Grove. This is described as a bold and provocative exploration of female solidarity, justice, and what happens when women stop asking for permission and start taking control of their own destinies. So, two very different musicals, very excited to see what they're all about. And the panel of experts consists of Stephen Bray, who is a composer, lyricist, and producer who's worked on Broadway and with movies, uh, Marcy Heisler, who is a lyricist who has worked both on regional productions. She did the book and lyrics for Ever After, and also worked on TV, most notably The Middle. And then Kevin Bannerman, who is a film producer, and he was part of the producing team of Anastasia, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So a lot of big names that can get people kind of recognition and give good feedback on what producers are looking to see on Broadway and kind of tips on how to refine their shows. So I'm very excited to go and witness this and be able to be a part of it and maybe get in on the ground floor of something that's going to be truly special one day. Okay, let's talk music. For a while, I was doing when I was doing my what's coming to streaming in theaters for the month, I would give a replay of what I was listening to the previous month. Those episodes, since I've started doing my watch report too, and them, what I really watched and enjoyed over the past month, just are so full already. I have been skipping the music part. But the last month I've been listening to a lot of new things for me. And the top three albums I listened to, number one was six. When I went and saw it in theaters, the concert film with Sage, I really enjoyed it. It was one that I had never really gotten into the album, just on its own. It felt pretty disjointed, and I didn't really see the full picture and everything coming together. However, watching the concert film, just hearing those stories, I grew to really enjoy this album if you look at it as kind of just a music album and not a music cull, because the songs are good on their own, even though they may not have a very cohesive sound altogether. There's a lot of different elements and a lot of fun to them. Uh, so that was my most listened to album. Second was Stitches Where Her Words Were by Afterthought, which I've talked about a few times on here. Braden Bales, Ezra, love them both individually. They come together and have this acoustic project that is absolutely amazing. And then the Lost Boys musical cast album. I'd watched the movie from the 80s, really enjoyed it, started listening to the cast album, and really, really enjoy the sound and what they're going for there. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it's emotional. Very, very good. So, those were my top three albums of last month. My top songs fall into that. Number one was All You Wanna Do from Six. This is one that starts so upbeat and the tone is so poppy and so much fun. And then you start listening to the lyrics a little bit more. And Sage and I went in depth on this when we reviewed the Pro Shop. And it is a heartbreaking song, especially at the end, but it is so, so good and so powerful. Next, what is If You Wish I Were Someone Else, then How Is This Monogamy by Afterthought? One of my favorites from the album. It has so many great songs, but this is one that I find constantly on repeat. Next is Don't Lose Your Head from Six, which watching Six got me to go back, and I've been watching the Showtime series The Tudors, which is about Henry VIII. I'm in season two now, and the entire first season and beginning of the second season is his first wife wife Catherine, and then Anne Boleyn in that whole conflict and story. Take quite a few liberties with the story, but it has gotten me hooked, and six is what set me on that path. And so, Don't Lose Your Head is the Anne Boleyn song, and it is so good. Next is another afterthought one, and that is I Am Nothing If Not Bitter. Maybe my favorite from the album, even though it wasn't higher up in my list of most listened to. That's because I listened to it a bunch because it was released as a single before the album even dropped. One of my favorites. And then finally is another afterthought song, which is I'll try to pretend you're not the reason that I existed. So those were my most listened to songs, uh, my top five in August. And then I wanted to just touch on a few other recent music highlights. Oh, and top artists were the same as my top albums: the Sixth Cast album, Afterthought, and then the Lost Boys cast album. But there's been a number of other things I've been listening to lately and really enjoyed. Something that I've just been listening to over the past few weeks, which may show up on my September list, but I have been listening to a lot more random stuff, so maybe not, is Good Guy with a Gun. This is a musical concept album that kind of satirizes the gun debate. It is about uh father and daughter, two completely different personalities, different generations. Their mother was the one that kind of bound them together. She dies at a shooting at the mall, and it sets them on two very different paths. The daughter starts heavily advocating for the disillusion of the Second Amendment, and the father ends up joining the NRI, NRA as a spokesperson. They both have two different opinions on how they could have solved this, and it is very interesting. The themes of it are kind of more around communicating and finding a way to close the distance between the different sides. It shows you both kind of the ridiculous and hypocritical nature on both sides. The dad gets a magical gun from God that allows him to anyone he shoots with it, then believes like him, has the same opinion, same mindset. The daughter gets a magical megaphone from God, because she is protesting that allows her everyone to think like she does. And they both kind of see that extreme of the kind of major groupthink and high of mind and finding different ways throughout it. It's got a stacked cast, it's got Jason Alexander, Kimiko Glenn, Anthony Rapp, a ton of other people in it. Kristen Schaal, a ton of big names on it that came together for this concept album, and it is very, very well done, in my opinion. I've also been listening to Fluorescence, uh kind of pop punk band. They're from Chicago, and I was introduced to them. Another one I found on Instagram, Scrollin' Reels. Their song Roll the Dice is very heavy on there. They promote it very well. And I instantly got hooked, started listening to their album Scream It At Me, which is so good. It has Roll the Dice, it also has Friday the 13th, which is another one of my favorites of theirs. So I've been really digging their sound and their music. And what kind of I saw looking at that is that they are going to be an hour away from me with In Her Own Words and Every Avenue, who are on a co-anniversary tour for different albums, playing the albums in full and some of their greatest hits. So I'm hoping to go to that show next month. And so it's got me listening to both of those bands again. Every Avenue was one that I was really heavy on for a while. I don't even know how I first got introduced to them, but I remember back when I was playing one of the old Forza games, you could connect it to a Microsoft, some kind of Microsoft music that they have, which is now gone, but you could create your own playlist. And so I would throw every Avenue on there and be listening to it as I was driving around playing Forza 3. Ton of fun, ton of fun there. Another band I've listened been listening to a lot is Reigns. Now, you may have seen them on Instagram because they do a lot if you have the same type of algorithm as me, they do a lot of musical theater covers and content on their page, but they're an indie folk band, and I really dig their sound and they are very, very good. And they're on a tour right now, too. And then finally, just another shout out to the after Arizona album, So Clear. I had a ton of fun at the launch party for that album, and they are so much fun to see live. I just love their sound, love their music. So gotta give them a plug as always. And then finally, this is gonna be a true mini episode, but I if you've been following on Instagram, TikTok, or on YouTube, you've probably seen that I've been doing Matt's Coffee Corner. Something not really related to the podcast, it's just been thrown in that feed. But it is every Sunday I make a new coffee drink, talk about it. It started out as me just making standard coffee, doing a quick video of it, and then talking about random things. It was going to be used more to promote the podcast, but since then it has kind of sparked some coffee creativity with me. Uh, because when I cook, I love to just throw stuff together and come up with new fun things. And so now I've been starting to do that with coffee. So I've been more unique with my videos. So this coming up Sunday, what we've got is going to be a monster Americano. This is one that's been viral. It's a Korean drink. I made that and doctored it. I always do my own twist on things a little bit, right? And so I did that. Then the week afterwards, I decided to try a ginger beer Americano. So those are the two that I've already got filmed and will be coming out. I've got some ideas rolling around in my head for what I'm gonna do in the future. But if you have suggestions on that, send me a message on here. If you're listening on audio platforms, there's a little button at the top where you can send me a message. If you're on YouTube, drop a comment. If you're on Instagram, drop a comment or shoot at me a DM on the down at Down Once More pod page. And I love getting those ideas, I love incorporating suggestions that I get from you all as well. I had feedback to maybe try refining one that I did earlier. So I do think I'm gonna try to lock in that recipe and do another video on that. That was my cinnamon roll iced tea kind of latte that I made. So kind of more like an Americano, actually. But regardless, I will probably be doing another one of those. If you as a have suggestions, let me know. Love hearing from you. And then I've just kind of been thinking and reflecting in general, uh, talking to some other people who have been doing podcasting and just talking about the burnout in general. And I'll be honest, I have come very close to shutting down the podcast and hanging it up over the past couple uh past year, year and a half, when I've been going primarily solo. Because originally when it started out, it was a show with me and Rayleigh, and having that banter and back and forth with people, it was fun and it gave me energy. It was something that I enjoyed doing, enjoyed editing. Uh as she had kind of personal stuff that pulled her away, I started kind of like stepping up and doing more solo stuff. Because I once I get into something, I don't like just throwing it away. I like being consistent, I like doing things to the best of my ability and going all in for better or for worse. And so doing an episode a week and the majority of those being solo was draining and kind of just taking a toll on me with everything else that had going on outside of the podcast. It was something else that I was a little bit dreading doing and just feeling like oh, I have to do this. And especially when it came to like editing, that takes usually two to three times, if not more, the length of whatever the podcast episode is. So eaten up a big chunk of time. I was having entire weekends where all I was doing was podcast stuff. But recently, uh having more episodes with guests, so Brad coming on a little bit more, Sage coming on to fill some of those gaps, and then new guests like Siebes had a ton of fun doing that Love Island review. It has really kind of reignited and sparked some of my passion and enjoyment for the podcast, because when you're able to do it with someone else, it helps you just look forward to something and enjoy that. So I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. And I think if I ever get to that level of kind of burnout again, which what I'll probably try to do is scale it back an episode every other week. But that being said, one of the hardest parts of doing a podcast is coming up with the topics each week, especially when it's a solo one where you don't have someone to bounce off on. It's just me talking and it's depending on my notes. So I want to hear from you all. What ideas and suggestions do you have for the podcast, for lists, for drafts? If you go to linktree.com slash down once more pod, you will see all our links to all of our socials, as well as I do have a 10% discount code for the fleur glassware, which I love and use for my iced coffees all the time now in the videos. But I'm gonna throw on there a Google form where you can give your suggestions on things you want to be heard or talked about on the podcast. I want to hear from you all. I want to do topics that are fun, interesting, engaging for you. There will be a spot to throw in a suggestion for coffee videos as well. So use that. It'll be a lot of fun. I love hearing from you guys' feedback. Like I said, you can DM me as well. That works, but the form will be a way for me to kind of consolidate and gather all that feedback. Oh, and I just started editing and I completely planned on mentioning this, but I forgot to. Last week of the podcast was episode 250 on audio platforms. So we have been going strong for a while now. Uh well, depending on how you view going strong. We have been consistent for a while now. Hopefully, you all have been enjoying it. I didn't do any like special shout-out, and I am awful at tracking our episode numbers and where we're at. So that's why there wasn't anything special in last week's episode. I didn't realize it was episode 250 until I used BuzzSprout for publishing. When they published it, they sent congratulations on your 250th episode. I was like, oh shit, we did it. And so I shared something to the Instagram story, but that was really cool milestone to be at. So, like I said, the growth in followers, the growth in just interaction and feedback with you all has been awesome. So thank you again. Thanks for letting us get to 250 episodes. Thank you to all you new listeners. Love you and appreciate you. Get back to the episode now. I think that's gonna do it for this week's episode. I think next week will be a little bit of a longer episode because Sage and I are gonna talk about both of those shows that we saw, as well as I'm planning on us trying to throw in there a draft of the Hades Town songs. Had a lot of fun doing that with the six, the musical pro shot, and talking about those and just the the strategy behind drafting. Always a good time, and love the discussion that came out of that. So I think I'm gonna throw that on there as well uh for something unique and different and just to shake things up a bit. So as always, make sure you're subscribed and have notifications turned on. YouTube is gonna be the best place to follow us because that is where everything drops. All the podcast episodes, any bonus episodes that we have, as well as Matt's coffee corner, you can get it all there. But if not, we're on Apple, we're on Spotify, we're on Amazon Podcasts, all that fun stuff. You can watch the video version on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and switch back and forth on there if you prefer. Um, but any other podcast audio platform, you can find us there. So subscribe, follow, like, comment, share, all that fun stuff. I appreciate all of you who have been listening. The podcast has grown quite a bit over the past year and a half. It was April 2025, I think, when we hit a hundred subscribers on YouTube. Now we're at like 295, we're almost at 300 in just a year and a half. Had huge growth with the Love Island reviews, starting doing the coffee things have picked things up as well, and just some more musical ones. So love the engagement. Love you guys who are commenting, reaching out, giving suggestions. It's been another thing that's kind of re-energized me. So appreciate it. Sorry, it's a little bit of a shorter episode. Hopefully, you still enjoyed it and throw in those suggestions. See you Sunday on Matt's Coffee Corner, and then we'll see you next week. And don't forget to go down once more. Later.