Your Childhood Sucks! (feat. music from This Romantic Tragedy, Hollywood Undead, Peter Gabriel, Linkin Park, and Andrew Lloyd Webber)

·1 hr 34 min·5 clips

Mike and Adam declare your childhood music sucks and prepare to roast their own embarrassing formative songs.

The episode opens with Mike and Adam framing the theme: childhood music often doesn't age well, and they're here to roast their own and their listeners' past favorites. They explain the segment originated from Discord discussions where listeners shared nostalgic songs, leading to a formal submission call. Listeners sent one song with a music video, plus optional childhood photos. The first submission is from Dave, featuring the band This Romantic Tragedy and the song 'The Worst Part of Waking Up.' The hosts examine Dave's 2008 emo photo—sideways beanie, hoodie, bangs—before watching the video, noting its crab walks, windmill guitars, and synth elements emblematic of the late-2000s screamo scene. They conclude Dave's childhood doesn't hold up musically. Next, Daniel submits Hollywood Undead's 'Been to Hell,' with a photo of him as a young teen in a Christian t-shirt. The hosts watch the video's exploitative Hollywood narrative, speculating how it corrupted a conservative kid and led him to explore scene music via algorithms. They deem Daniel's childhood relatable and holding up. Mike then shares his own pick: Linkin Park's 'One Step Closer.' He describes secretly watching the MTV video as a teen, mesmerized by its satanic imagery, Asian representation, and blend of hip-hop and rock, which felt forbidden and life-changing. He declares his childhood holds up. Thomas submits Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer.' The hosts are baffled by its 1986 stop-motion claymation and surreal visuals, wondering how this led Thomas to modern rock fandom. They request more context from him. Finally, Adam reveals his pick: Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera' title track. He recounts bonding with his family over the soundtrack during a difficult childhood, attending a live show, and how its theatrical darkness influenced his later taste for grandiose, gothic music like Sleep Token. He argues his childhood holds up. The episode closes with brief music recommendations and a tease for next week's 'Greatest Song in the World' segment.

As heard by us

A warm roast of childhood music taste, with Hollywood Undead as the flashpoint and self-embarrassment doing the work.

Mike and Adam build the episode around a familiar music confession: the songs that felt formative in childhood do not always survive adult scrutiny.

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Why you'd press play

You want a childhood-music roast where Mike and Adam put old favorites on trial, Hollywood Undead included, with enough self-mockery to keep everyone implicated.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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