The Basement Yard #533 – "Our 2025 Spotify Wrapped!"

Release Date: December 15, 2025
Hosts: Joe Santagato, Frank Alvarez
Guest: Ant

Episode Overview

In this episode of The Basement Yard, Joe, Frank, and Ant dive into their 2025 Spotify Wrapped results, comparing musical tastes, joking about their "listening ages," and exploring the generational quirks in their music choices. The conversation spirals into childhood nostalgia, club drinking habits, quirky party tricks, sentimental hoarding, and the eternal battle over hats. Along the way, they roast one another, reminisce about growing up, and grapple with the meaning behind keeping random items from their lives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hat Talk & The New Era Debate

• The episode kicks off with playful banter about Ant’s New Era brand hat.
• Joe and Frank discuss the classic appeal of the Yankee hat, referencing Jay-Z’s famous lyric:

  "I made a Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can."
  — Jay-Z, as paraphrased by Frank at [02:15]

• They question whether Jay-Z truly popularized the hat or simply promoted it further within hip hop culture.

2. Wikipedia & Online Misinformation Antics

• The crew jokes about their Wikipedia pages being vandalized with misinformation, specifically regarding their heights and podcast affiliations ([04:09]–[06:01]).
• AI and fans have perpetuated jokes, leading to locks on their pages:

  "Now AI is coming back around. It’s coming back around you because you know it's me. Yeah. You did a couple, you did too many jokes."
  — Joey [04:44]

3. Spotify Wrapped (and Apple Music) 2025: Musical Tastes Exposed

a. Ant’s Reveal: The Old Soul

• Ant’s listening “age”: 83 ([06:42])
• Favorite artists: Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, John Bellion
• Top songs include “Valare” and “Beyond the Sea.”
• The group teases Ant about his crooner-heavy playlist and joke he must write papers in a smoking jacket ([07:17]).
• Ant defends his taste:

  “That used to...be my playlist when I would write papers in college and grad school—Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin because their voices just get it on paper.”
  — Frank [07:26]

b. Frank’s Reveal: Family Jams & Broadway

• Musical “age”: presumably younger, but skewed by K-Pop and Hamilton tracks due to his kids ([13:09])
• Top artist: Billy Joel (after bingeing a documentary)
• Hamilton soundtrack dominates his top ten, along with Ozzy Osbourne (as tribute), and K-Pop Demon Hunters for his kids.
• Most played song: “Yakko’s World” from Animaniacs—Frank attempted to memorize all the world’s countries ([15:13]).
• Nugget:

  “I set a goal for myself. A little challenge to test my discipline...and I did it.”
  — Frank [16:11]

c. Joey’s Reveal: Indie Pop & Synesthesia

• Top song is “Olive Tree” by Quinn92.
• Joey jokes about not liking olives and discusses musical synesthesia ([14:28]).
• Joe rarely gets into K-Pop: "I haven't really gotten into K-Pop...I just haven't seen it" ([16:44]).

4. Moviegoing & Music Theater Musings

• Focused discussion on Wicked musical and the new movie adaption ([19:29]–[21:22]).
• Praises for Ariana Grande’s performance and career “full circle” moment ([20:35]):

  "I had this feeling of like, wow, I’m so happy for her...all she's wanted to do was like, do Wicked..."
  — Joey [20:37]

• Frank proposes Joey attends a new movie each month—Joey resists ([21:42]).

5. Nostalgic Drinking Stories: Clubs & Cocktails

• Exchanges about first club drinks, with Frank recalling requesting “Patron Silver Sprite, no ice, fill to the top” at 17 ([24:41]).
• Debates on worst club drinks (Red Bull + vodka), older trends (Nuvo, Hypnotic), and etiquette for ordering drinks at fancy bars ([28:10]):

  “I still to this day kind of have a difficult time with like, what drink do I order at a place that doesn't have a menu?”
  — Joey [28:24]

6. Bar Tricks & Johnny Whoop

• Ant introduces “Johnny Whoop”—a viral TikTok finger trick ([39:16]).
• Frank gets increasingly frustrated as the others deliberately mislead him on the trick ([44:11]):

  "Guys, I'm gonna fucking flip this table, I swear to God."
  — Frank [45:44]

• Frank fears the trick is a “schoolyard got you gay thing.”
• The trio reflects on how much they loathe these “gotcha” logic puzzles ([46:59]):

  "If I live the rest of my life and you asked me to do one of those things or eat a spoon of fucking mustard, I think I found something I hate more than mustard."
  — Frank [47:31]

7. Sentimentality, Hoarding & the Relics of Life

• Extended debate on keeping old clothes and “relics” ([75:02]–[87:12]).
• Frank admits to storing childhood items, even boxers and damaged shirts, for sentimental reasons; he sees these objects as anchors for storytelling:

  “To me, these relics, these items that I hold onto allow me to kind of bring myself back to those moments, back to those memories.”
  — Frank [82:41]

• Joey contrasts that attitude, saying he only saves what “really moves” him; otherwise, he’s quick to donate or discard.
• The conversation touches on Toy Story 3 as a pivotal moment for Frank’s hoarding ([86:32]).

8. Childhood, Lunch Money, and Growing Up

• The guys look back on school lunch money systems, class differences (free lunch), and the oddity of giving cash to young children ([51:00]).
• Debate over pocket change and the classic “give me your lunch money” bully trope ([50:08]).
• Nostalgic references to school pizza and pretzel days.

9. Raccoons, Rabies, and Street Fears

• Frank shares his ongoing garbage feud with a local raccoon ([58:29]) and details about rabies vaccines.
• Joey recalls childhood fears of syringes found on the street and irrational cop paranoia ([64:31]):

  "I like ran...like it was going to grow legs and chase me."
  — Frank [64:36]

• Keith’s story: ditching a sandwich to evade police ([65:26]).

10. Martial Arts hypotheticals

• Joking about who among their circle could beat each other in a fight ([67:09]).
• Predicting that their friend Josh, a Muay Thai practitioner, would destroy them both in a 2-on-1 bout:

  "Josh would kill me, revive me, and then kill me again."
  — Frank [67:14]

• Debate over dirty fighting; Ant proudly claims he’d “go for balls” if outnumbered ([70:21]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Banter about musical age:

  "Your listening age being 83 is fucking crazy."
  — Joey [11:50]

• On club culture:

  “You said Patron. Remember when you thought Patron was like the bro, like best, most expensive thing in the world.”
  — Joey [24:57]

• On Sentimental Hoarding:

  “If those threads could talk, they’d tell the story of my life.”
  — Frank [75:34]

• When Frank finally cracks during Johnny Whoop:

  "Guys, I'm gonna fucking flip this table, I swear to God."
  — Frank [45:44]

Highlighted Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:15 | Jay-Z’s “Yankee hat” and era discussion | | 04:09 | Wikipedia/A.I. misinformation spiral | | 06:42 | Spotify Wrapped: First reveals/listening age jokes | | 13:03 | Frank’s Apple Music stats—Billy Joel, Hamilton | | 19:29 | Discussion of Wicked and moviegoing habits | | 24:41 | First club drinks and old school liquor trends | | 39:16 | "Johnny Whoop" TikTok bar trick frustration | | 75:02 | Deep-dive: Sentimental hoarding of old shirts, shoes | | 82:41 | Frank’s philosophy on memory and physical objects | | 86:32 | How Toy Story 3 traumatized/reinforced Frank’s hoarding | | 64:31 | Street syringes and irrational childhood fears | | 67:09 | Martial arts & who could beat whom among friends |

The Basement Yard Energy

The episode retains the distinctive Basement Yard blend of sarcasm, heartfelt nostalgia, and rapid-fire, often tangential humor. The hosts are self-effacing, quick to call out each other’s quirks, with affectionate jabs about hats, musical taste, and childhood oddities. There’s an underlying warmth in their ability to drift from “Spotify Wrapped” to musings on parenthood, school lunches, or why some guys can’t let go of size medium shirts from a decade ago.

For Those Who Haven't Listened:
This episode is an extended audio group therapy for aging millennials—equal parts musical confessional, memory lane detour, and comedy showcase. The hosts’ willingness to roast each other and go deep on even the silliest of topics keeps things lively and hilariously unpredictable.

End Note:
The boys never take themselves too seriously, whether discussing Spotify algorithms, the power of memorabilia, or viral TikTok bar tricks designed to enrage. The signature Basement Yard combination—heart, wit, and brotherly antagonism—makes this episode a microcosm of their friendship and the show as a whole.