Last Updated on January 16, 2026
What happens when you love music but live with people who have ears? This week, Andrew and Dr. Sam dive headfirst into the steaming skip bin of Forbidden Music—those tracks that are so loathed, so divisive, or just so downright baffling that they’ve been banned in their own homes.
From the glitchy chaos of Venetian Snares to the crime against ears that is Nightwish, no genre is safe. We cover everything from folk revolutionaries to jazz breakdowns that sound like a musical nervous breakdown. Dr. Sam gets philosophical about lo-fi wallpaper beats, and Andrew admits to weaponising avant-garde metal to end late-night YouTube sessions.
Expect:
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Punk-pop cheese that could clog your arteries
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Jazz that sounds like someone dropped a saxophone down the stairs
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Finnish metal with the subtlety of Eurovision on steroids
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Why silence might be the ultimate forbidden tune
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Casual academic analysis interrupted by fart stories
Also in this episode:
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The unholy genre of metal for grandmas
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How to destroy dinner parties with free jazz
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Why BBC Radio 6 is for people pretending they still have an edge
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Sparks. Always Sparks.
This one’s about taste, tolerance, and trauma. What’s your forbidden music? Send us your shameful tracks and tell us which song gets you kicked out of your own living room.
### Riffs of the week
#### Dr Sam’s Riff
– Peggy Seeger – Lady, What Do You Do All Day? (1.03)
#### Andrew’s Riff
– Sparks – A Little Bit Of Light Banter (2:01)
### Dr Sam’s track choices
1. No Use for a Name – Chasing Rainbows (0.45)
2. Albert Ayler Trio – Ghosts: Variations 1 (0.30)
3. Nightwish – I Wish I Had an Angel (opening)
4. Defacement – Duality (opening)
### Andrew’s track choices
1. Venetian Snares – Hanjal (4:35)
2. Imperial Triumphant – Pleasuredome (feat. Dave Lombardo & Tomas Haake) (3:30)
3. Spiritbox – Circle With Me (2:40)
4. The Velvet Underground – European Son (6:31)
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