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1''Song vs. Song'' is a music podcast hosted by Todd Nathanson (WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows) and Alina Morgan. Each episode has them comparing two commonly-themed songs within the same era with the winner being chosen by a vote on Patreon.
2
3!Songs Reviewed By Song vs. Song
4[[folder:Regular Episodes]]
5* "Livin' on a Prayer" by Music/BonJovi vs. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Music/{{Journey|Band}}
6* "Wonderwall" by Music/{{Oasis}} vs. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Music/GreenDay
7* "Ice Ice Baby" by Music/VanillaIce vs. "U Can't Touch This" by Music/MCHammer
8* "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor vs. [[Film/SaturdayNightFever "Stayin' Alive"]] by Music/TheBeeGees
9* "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Music/CyndiLauper vs. "Material Girl" by Music/{{Madonna}}
10* "Africa" by Music/{{Toto}} vs. "Down Under" by Music/MenAtWork
11* "Yeah!" by Music/{{Usher}} vs. "Umbrella" by Music/{{Rihanna}}
12* "Kokomo" by The Music/BeachBoys vs. "Got My Mind Set On You" by Music/GeorgeHarrison
13* "[[Film/Titanic1997 My Heart Will Go On]]" by Music/CelineDion vs. "[[Film/TheBodyguard I Will Always Love You]]" by Music/WhitneyHouston
14* "Smooth" by Music/{{Santana}} ft. Music/RobThomas vs. "[[Film/MysteryMen All]][[WesternAnimation/Shrek1 -Star]]" by Music/SmashMouth
15* "Space Oddity" by Music/DavidBowie vs. "Rocket Man" by Music/EltonJohn
16* "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by Music/MyChemicalRomance vs. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" by Music/FallOutBoy
17* "Get the Party Started" by Music/{{Pink}} vs. "Since U Been Gone" by Music/KellyClarkson
18* "Boys Don't Cry" by Music/{{The Cure|Band}} vs. "This Charming Man" by Music/TheSmiths
19* "Let It Be" by Music/TheBeatles vs. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}
20* "Jeremy" by Music/PearlJam vs. "Black Hole Sun" by Music/{{Soundgarden}}
21* "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile vs. "Thong Song" by Sisqo
22* "With or Without You" by Music/{{U2}} vs. "Every Breath You Take" by Music/ThePolice
23* "Hey Ya!" by Music/{{Outkast}} vs. "Crazy" by [[Music/CeeLoGreen Gnarls]] [[Music/BrianBurton Barkley]]
24* "You Oughta Know" by Music/AlanisMorissette vs. "Criminal" by Music/FionaApple
25* "What's Love Got to Do with It" by Music/TinaTurner vs. "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Music/{{Cher}}
26* "Take Me Out" by Music/FranzFerdinand vs. "Float On" by Music/ModestMouse
27* "Shining Star" by Music/EarthWindAndFire vs. "Superstition" by Music/StevieWonder
28* "[[Film/CityOfAngels Iris]]" by The Music/GooGooDolls vs. "[[Film/Armageddon1998 I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing]]" by Music/{{Aerosmith}}
29* "[[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Let It Go]]" by Creator/IdinaMenzel vs. "[[WesternAnimation/{{Moana}} How Far I'll Go]]" by Auliʻi Cravalho
30* "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Music/GeneAutry vs. "Frosty the Snowman" by Gene Autry & The Cass County Boys
31* "Bodak Yellow" by Music/CardiB vs. "Truth Hurts" by Music/{{Lizzo}}
32* "In the End" by Music/LinkinPark vs. "Bring Me to Life" by Music/{{Evanescence}}
33* "Summer of '69" by Music/BryanAdams vs. "Jack & Diane" by [[Music/JohnMellencamp John "Cougar" Mellencamp]]
34* "No Scrubs" by Music/{{TLC}} vs. "Say My Name" by Music/DestinysChild
35* "Lollipop" by Music/LilWayne vs. "Whatever You Like" by Music/{{TI}}
36* "Wild Thing" by The Troggs vs. "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen
37* "Jessie's Girl" by Music/RickSpringfield vs. "My Best Friend's Girl" by Music/TheCars
38* "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Music/BillyJoel vs. "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by Music/{{REM}}
39* "[[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2 Happy]]" by Music/PharrellWilliams vs. "[[WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}} Can't Stop the Feeling!]]" by Music/JustinTimberlake
40* "Another One Bites the Dust" by Music/{{Queen|Band}} vs. [[Film/RockyIII "Eye of the Tiger"]] by Music/{{Survivor|Band}}
41* "She's So High" by Tal Bachman vs. "Teenage Dirtbag" by Music/{{Wheatus}}
42* "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by The Music/BackstreetBoys vs. "Bye Bye Bye" by Music/{{NSYNC}}
43* [[Film/{{Shaft}} "Theme from Shaft"]] by Music/IsaacHayes vs. [[Film/{{Superfly}} "Superfly"]] by Music/CurtisMayfield
44* "Hollaback Girl" by Music/GwenStefani vs. "My Humps" by Music/TheBlackEyedPeas
45* "867-5309 (Jenny)" by Tommy Tutone vs. "Centerfold" by Music/TheJGeilsBand
46* "[[WesternAnimation/Shrek1 I'm a Believer]]" by Music/TheMonkees vs. "[[Film/GroundhogDay I Got You Babe]]" by Sonny & Cher
47* "Back in Black" by Music/{{ACDC}} vs. "Crazy Train" by Music/OzzyOsbourne
48* "[[Film/RealityBites Stay (I Missed You)]]" by Lisa Loeb vs. "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia
49* "California Love" by Music/TupacShakur vs. "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" by Music/TheNotoriousBig
50* "Dirt Road Anthem" by Music/JasonAldean vs. "Cruise" by Music/FloridaGeorgiaLine
51* "Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}" by Ray Parker, Jr. vs. "Film/MenInBlack" by Creator/WillSmith
52* "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Music/NeutralMilkHotel vs. "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields
53* "Celebration" by Music/KoolAndTheGang vs. "All Night Long" by Music/LionelRichie
54* "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid vs. "Music/WeAreTheWorld" by U.S.A. for Africa
55* "Rockstar" by [=DaBaby=] vs. "Rockstar" by Music/PostMalone
56* "Freak on a Leash" by Music/{{Korn}} vs. "Nookie" by Music/LimpBizkit
57* "Girlfriend" by Music/AvrilLavigne vs. "Misery Business" by Music/{{Paramore}}
58* [[Film/GardenState "New Slang"]] by Music/TheShins vs. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Music/DeathCabForCutie
59* "Cornflake Girl" by Music/ToriAmos vs. "Human Behavior" by Music/{{Bjork}}
60* "Welcome to the Jungle" by Music/GunsNRoses vs. "Enter Sandman" by Music/{{Metallica}}
61* "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge vs. "Closer to Fine" by Music/{{Indigo Girls}}
62* "Teenage Dream" by Music/KatyPerry vs. "Poker Face" by Music/LadyGaga
63* "Seether" by Music/VerucaSalt vs. "Cannonball" by The Breeders
64* "Move Along" by Music/TheAllAmericanRejects vs. "Ocean Avenue" by Music/{{Yellowcard}}
65* "In da Club" by Music/FiftyCent vs. "Hot in Herre" by Music/{{Nelly}}
66* "Runaway" by Music/KanyeWest vs. "Marvins Room" by Music/{{Drake}}
67* "Solsbury Hill" by Music/PeterGabriel vs. "Wuthering Heights" by Music/KateBush
68* "Stairway to Heaven" by Music/LedZeppelin vs. [[IconicSongRequest "Free Bird"]] by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd
69* "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" by Music/BustaRhymes vs. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by Music/MissyElliott
70* "School's Out" by Music/AliceCooper vs. [[Music/TheWall "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2"]] by Music/PinkFloyd
71* "Band on the Run" by Music/{{Wings|Band}} vs. "Mr. Blue Sky" by Music/ElectricLightOrchestra
72* "What's My Age Again?" by Music/Blink182 vs. "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by Music/TheOffspring
73* "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Music/{{WHAM}} vs. "Karma Chameleon" by Music/CultureClub
74* "Blue Monday" by Music/NewOrder vs. "Enjoy the Silence" by Music/DepecheMode
75* "Jump" by Kris Kross vs. "Jump Around" by Music/HouseOfPain
76* "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by Music/JohnLennon and Music/YokoOno vs. "Wonderful Christmastime" by Music/PaulMcCartney
77* "Good 4 U" by Music/OliviaRodrigo vs. "Happier Than Ever" by Music/BillieEilish
78* "Semi-Charmed Life" by Music/ThirdEyeBlind vs. "One Week" by Music/BarenakedLadies
79* "Everywhere" by Music/MichelleBranch vs. "A Thousand Miles" by Music/VanessaCarlton
80* "November Rain" by Music/GunsNRoses vs. "I'd Do Any Thing for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Music/MeatLoaf
81* "Get Lucky" by Music/DaftPunk featuring Music/PharrellWilliams vs. "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Music/BrunoMars
82* "Roar" by Music/KatyPerry vs. "Brave" by Music/SaraBareilles
83* "Gimme Shelter" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} vs. "Helter Skelter" by Music/TheBeatles
84* "Stacy's Mom" by Music/FountainsOfWayne vs. "1985" by Music/BowlingForSoup
85* "Easy Lover" by [[Music/EarthWindAndFire Philip Bailey]] and Music/PhilCollins vs. "Maneater" by Music/DarylHallAndJohnOates
86* "Low" by Music/FloRida vs. "Get Low" by Music/LilJon & the East Side Boyz
87* "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura vs. "Another Sunny Day" by Music/BelleAndSebastian
88* "Fly" by Music/SugarRay vs. "What I Got" by Music/{{Sublime}}
89* "Tiny Dancer" by Music/EltonJohn vs. "Piano Man" by Music/BillyJoel
90* "I Love Rock n' Roll" by Music/JoanJett vs. "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" by Music/PatBenatar
91* "Just a Girl" by Music/NoDoubt vs. "Stupid Girl" by Music/{{Garbage}}
92* "We Found Love" by Music/{{Rihanna}} vs. "Superbass" by Music/NickiMinaj
93* "Fix You" by Music/{{Coldplay}} vs. "Chasing Cars" by Music/SnowPatrol
94* "Chandelier" by Music/{{Sia}} vs. "Wrecking Ball" by Music/MileyCyrus
95* "Running on Empty" by Music/JacksonBrowne vs. "Against the Wind" by Music/BobSeger
96* "Mr. Brightside" by Music/TheKillers vs. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Music/PanicAtTheDisco
97* "Film/{{Footloose}}" by Music/KennyLoggins vs. "Film/{{Flashdance}}" by Irene Cara
98* "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms vs. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee
99* "As It Was" by Music/HarryStyles vs. "Anti-Hero" Music/TaylorSwift
100* "If It Makes You Happy" by Music/SherylCrow vs. "Who Will Save Your Soul" Music/{{Jewel}}
101* "Whip It" by Music/{{Devo}} vs. "Cars" by Music/{{Gary Numan}}
102* "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Music/{{Nirvana}} vs. "Closer" by Music/NineInchNails
103* "Brick House" by Music/{{Commodores}} vs. "Super Freak" by Music/RickJames
104* "With Arms Wide Open" by Music/{{Creed|band}} vs. "How You Remind Me" by Music/{{Nickelback}}
105* "It's Tricky" by Music/RunDMC vs. "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" by Music/BeastieBoys
106* "Jenny from the Block" by Music/JenniferLopez vs. "Glamorous" by Music/{{Fergie}}
107* "Burning Down the House" by Music/TalkingHeads vs. "Sledgehammer" by Music/PeterGabriel
108* "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" by Music/DrDre featuring Music/SnoopDogg vs. "Gangsta's Paradise" by Music/{{Coolio}} featuring L.V.
109* "Anarchy in the U.K." by Music/SexPistols vs. "London Calling" by Music/TheClash
110* "Wannabe" by Music/SpiceGirls vs. "[=MMMBop=]" by {{Music/Hanson}}
111* "Born in the U.S.A." by Music/BruceSpringsteen vs. "Rockin' in the Free World" by Music/NeilYoung
112* "Take On Me" by Music/ReelBigFish (originally by Music/AHa) vs. "Come On Eileen" by Save Ferris (originally by Music/DexysMidnightRunners)
113* "Flowers" by Music/MileyCyrus vs. "Vampire" by Music/OliviaRodrigo
114* "Smoke on the Water" by Music/DeepPurple vs. "Iron Man" by Music/BlackSabbath
115* "One Sweet Day" by Music/BoyzIIMen and Music/MariahCarey vs "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Music/EltonJohn
116* "White & Nerdy" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic vs. "I'm on a Boat" by Music/TheLonelyIsland
117* "My Hero" by Music/FooFighters vs. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by Music/TheSmashingPumpkins
118* "Promiscuous" by Music/NellyFurtado and Music/{{Timbaland}} vs. "Music/HipsDontLie" by Music/{{Shakira}} and [[Music/TheFugees Wyclef Jean]]
119* "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Music/TheRollingStones vs. "My Generation" by Music/TheWho
120* "Santa Tell Me" by Music/ArianaGrande vs. "Underneath the Tree" by Music/KellyClarkson
121* "Genius of Love" by Music/TomTomClub vs. "Rapture" by Music/{{Blondie|Band}}
122* "...Baby One More Time" by Music/BritneySpears vs. "Genie in a Bottle" by Music/ChristinaAguilera
123* "Goodbye Earl" by [[Music/TheChicks The Dixie Chicks]] vs. "Before He Cheats" by Music/CarrieUnderwood
124* "I Kissed a Girl" by Music/KatyPerry vs. "I Kissed a Girl" by Music/JillSobule
125* "Last Nite" by Music/TheStrokes vs "Fell in Love With a Girl" by Music/TheWhiteStripes
126* "Teen Age Riot" by Music/SonicYouth vs. "Where Is My Mind?" by Music/{{Pixies}}
127* "Smack That" by Music/{{Akon}} ft. Music/{{Eminem}} vs. "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" by Music/TPain ft. Yung Joc
128* "It Was a Good Day" by Music/IceCube vs. "Regulate" by Warren G. & Nate Dogg
129* "Brown Eyed Girl" by Music/VanMorrison vs. "Happy Together" by Music/TheTurtles
130[[/folder]]
131! This podcast provides examples of:
132* AbandonedCatchphrase: Beginning with "Seether" vs. "Cannonball", Alina would end the sales pitch for the show's Patreon with "and that's not just a deal, it's a Kim Deal", in reference to Kim Deal, a member of the Breeders who performed "Cannonball". This catchphrase was repeated in the next few episodes but was quickly abandoned. It made a one off reappearance in "Teen Age Riot" vs. "Where Is My Mind?" due to Kim Deal being a member of Music/{{Pixies}}.
133* ChristmasEpisode:
134** Todd and Alina pitted [[ChristmasSongs "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" against "Frosty the Snowman"]] for Episode 27 in honor of the 2019 holiday season.
135** [[CharityMotivationSong "Do They Know It's Christmastime" against "We Are The World"]] for the following year.
136** 2021 added [[Music/TheBeatles "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" taking on "Wonderful Christmastime"]].
137** 2022 saw a 50s RockNRoll Christmas showdown between "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".
138** 2023 gave us the "modern Christmas standards" of "[[Music/ArianaGrande Santa Tell Me]]" vs. "[[Music/KellyClarkson Underneath the Tree]]"
139* CulturalPosturing: Downplayed, as Alina has said that being from New Jersey is not a huge part of her life outside the musical sphere, but she can generally be relied upon to stick up for a New Jersey act whenever they're being discussed on the show.
140* CurbStompBattle: Some match-ups are particularly one-sided; while the hosts originally tried to avoid it, Todd eventually "gave up" and matched songs regardless of whether or not both sides had a fair chance of victory. (A few {{Dark Horse Victor|y}}ies have slipped through anyway.) Some of the winners by the biggest margins are "Superstition" (vs. "Shining Star"), "Another One Bites the Dust" (vs. "Eye of the Tiger") and "Hollaback Girl", though in the latter case it's generally seen as a repudiation of the other candidate, "My Humps".
141* ElectionDayEpisode: "Celebration" vs. "All Night Long" was recorded and released in response to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.
142* HalloweenEpisode: For Halloween 2020 they did the themes from "Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}" vs. "Film/MenInBlack".
143* OneHitWonder: "She's So High" vs. "Teenage Dirtbag" is so far the only battle of the one-hit wonders on the show, although "Ice Ice Baby" vs. "U Can't Touch This", "867-5309 (Jenny)" vs. "Centerfold", "Wild Thing" vs. "Louie Louie", "Stay (I Missed You)" vs. "Torn", "Jump" vs. "Jump Around" and "Whip It" vs "Cars" are all borderline cases.
144* OncePerEpisode:
145** Towards the end of the episode, the hosts discuss three (later four) hypothetical questions relating to the songs, partly for fun, but also to try and narrow down their choices in matchups where one or the other remains undecided as to which they prefer:
146*** If one of the two songs were to be deleted from history, which would you save? This relates to the historical impact of the songs.
147*** If you could be a fly on the wall and witness the entire process of the song being composed and recorded, [[CatchPhrase soup to nuts,]] including the music video in some instances, which would you pick? This often relates to which song has more unique elements or a more interesting story behind it.
148*** If Creator/WilliamShatner were to record a cover of only one of the two songs, which would you pick? This mostly started as a way of invoking Shatner's infamous style of delivery for humour, but also allows reflection on the lyrics; they tend to favour songs whose lyrics better suit Shatner's actorly delivery.
149*** At some point Alina added a fourth question: Which song would Music/MeganTheeStallion listen to to get ready for a night of "hot girl shit?"
150** Alina has referenced the fact that she says "How dare you!" and "In the year of our lord 20##" an average of once per episode.
151* PopularityPolynomial[[invoked]]: This is discussed in a couple episodes featuring acts that were big in the [='60s=] like The Beach Boys and Tina Turner, where Todd talks about how these bands and artists' hitmaking status dried up in the [='70s=], only for them to get at least one major hit in the next decade thanks to Boomer nostalgia.
152* SelfDeprecation: While both hosts are willing to make themselves the butt of a joke, Alina is more likely to mock her own snobbish and hipster-y musical tastes, a contrarian streak to her opinions, and generally miserable childhood over the course of a given episode.
153* SpecialGuest: Todd and Alina are often joined by a third guest contributor, usually someone with more personal knowledge or attachment to one or both of the acts being discussed on the episode.
154** ''Billboard'' magazine editor Andrew Unterberger appears on "Lollipop"/"Whatever You Like", "Stairway to Heaven"/"Free Bird", "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"/"Another Sunny Day", and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"/"Gangsta's Paradise".
155** "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"/"Bye Bye Bye" features screenwriter C. Robert Cargill.
156** Country music Youtuber Grady Smith comes in on "Dirt Road Anthem"/"Cruise" to fill in for Alina's relative lack of experience in country music.
157** The bonus episode on ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow'' features Michael Keene, for a similar reason to the above.
158** Creator/LindsayEllis on the "Freak on a Leash"/"Nookie" episode to bring some lived-in experience to the proceedings.
159** Alina's wife, Raven, on "Seether"/"Cannonball" for similar reasons.
160** WebVideo/SpectrumPulse appears as the special guest for the "In da Club"/"Hot in Herre", "Good 4 U"/"Happier Than Ever", and "As It Was"/"Anti-Hero" episodes.
161** WebVideo/TheRapCritic is featured in the "Rockstar"/"Rockstar", "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check"/"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" and "Low"/"Get Low" episodes.
162** Angelina Meehan (Lindsay Ellis' former writer and editor, and her replacement as the host of ''Musicalsplaining''), is featured on "Cornflake Girl"/"Human Behaviour", "Solsbury Hill"/"Wuthering Heights" and "Piano Man"/"Tiny Dancer".
163** Navah Wolfe for the Eurovision 2022 special.
164** WebVideo/MicTheSnare appears on "Get Lucky"/"Uptown Funk", "Fix You"/"Chasing Cars", and "Santa Tell Me"/"Underneath the Tree".
165** WebVideo/CrashThompson is featured in "Flowers"/"Vampire".
166* ThirdTimesTheCharm: The show has generally not repeated acts (Aside from having two separate Beatles vs Rolling Stones matchups), although certain musicians pop up on repeat due to appearing in multiple acts. The duo notes in the 2021 Christmas episode that Music/PaulMcCartney is their first person to show up three different matchups (as part of Music/TheBeatles, part of Music/{{Wings|Band}}, and a solo act).

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