Tape Spaghetti

Why are music's biggest megastars cashing out their catalogs for jaw-dropping sums—and who’s buying? If you've ever seen a headline like “Queen sells catalog for $1.27B” and wondered "…how does that even work?" – this episode's for you. Scott and Blake break down the recent gold rush of music rights sales, including the acquisitions of Bieber, Dylan, and Springsteen's oeuvres. They also turn back the clock to some legendary/infamous cases of royalty bonanzas. Little Richard got fleeced. David Bowie sold "Bowie Bonds." And after the drama of the Beatles' publishing saga, Paul McCartney set the King of Pop on a path to buy the crown jewels. From copyright basics to the present day money grabs of Primary Wave and private equity, this one is a financial thriller where great tunes are the principal currency.

If thinking about the sounds of glass shattering or funeral bells tolling on live TV send chills down your spine, you've already met Jim Johnston —you just didn’t know his name. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott & Blake break kayfabe and pull back the curtain on how WWE's most legendary entrance themes, which often emerged out of pure chaos. The in-house composer who scored wrestling's golden era under absurd pressure, Johnston often had as little as 90 minutes to write the music that would define a character forever.... but somehow he nailed it again and again and again. The guys break down his creative process, from layering car crash sounds to evoke violence, to writing funeral music rooted in childhood loneliness, to inventing gibberish death-metal lyrics because, well, no one would understand them anyway. They also dig into Johnston’s fraught relationship with WWE, publishing trade-offs, and why modern wrestling themes just don’t hit the same. It’s part music theory, part pro wrestling lore, and part love letter to the sounds that could make an arena explode before a single haymaker was thrown.

Gather round, children of the Spaghetti. From the vaults beneath the Shred Shed, Blake unearthed the ancient scrolls: Tone Mob episode 20, the first recorded encounter between Blake Wyland and Scott Marquart. Back when a “mobile rig” meant earbuds, an iPhone, and whatever flimsy connection the 3G overlords were willing to grant, these two met in the wild and immediately started talking like they’d been swapping gear opinions since the Bronze Age. What starts as “an hour about guitar strings” becomes the first domino in a very long, very weird chain reaction. Domino #1: this conversation turns an Instagram DM into a real friendship. Domino #2: that friendship turns into a business partnership, building Stringjoy side-by-side and spending the next decade on the phone like it’s a paid subscription service. Domino #3: after years of working together and talking music, gear, and life almost daily, the next obvious step was inevitable: Tape Spaghetti. Two guys with built-in chemistry, a backlog of shared lore, and way too many stories to keep trapped in business calls. Along the way in this time capsule: custom gauges, balanced tension, the case of the disappearing B string, gear hoarders vs. gear flippers, boutique weirdness, and the kind of sincere nerd-dom that accidentally becomes a career. And yes, the scrolls are old enough to include ambient fuel-lab echoes and the occasional ghost of a train drifting through the background like it demanded a writing credit. It’s not quite When Harry Met Sally… but it is the moment the map was drawn: Tone Mob led to Stringjoy, Stringjoy led to Tape Spaghetti, and now you’re listening to the genesis in real time.

In this year’s Tape Spaghetti Christmas special, Scott & Blake ask a question that you’ve probably never considered – but won’t be able to unhear afterward: why does Christmas music sound so… Hawaiian? Unraveling X-Mas tunes’ tropical DNA takes us back to 19th-century Hawaiian royalty, to the invention of the steel guitar, through WWII, tiki bars, surf rock, and suburban America’s obsession with escapism. Along the way, elements of Hawaiian music quietly crept into mainstream country, pop, and holiday standards, making classics like Blue Christmas and Mele Kalikimaka feel downright cozy and festive. Grab an eggnog, get comfy, and prepare to forever change how you hear Christmas music.

In this special edition of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake wrap up  and run down their favorite albums of 2025…. and, as usual, a whooole buncha other stuff. From revelations about their own streaming habits, strong opinions on production choices and pedal chains, a victory lap on year one of Tape Spaghetti, and oh yeah, spotlights on the guys’ picks for the best albums of the year, this one is a journey of deep-dives and nostalgia bombs that touches on Euro-country, lush indie rock, and a surprise posthumous appearance from Waylon Jennings. Whether you’re into metal, pop, country, indie, or “whatever the heck this is,” don’t miss this one.