Trivia / Spectrum Pulse

• The Cast Showoff: Claimed to be able to sing in one of his Q&A videos. While he has done impressions of sung lines in several videos in the past, the 'Best Hit Songs of 2016' video and the Carpool Karaoke collaboration with ARTV and Infinity on Hannah in particular showed off some lovely baritone vocals.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Mark has stated that he's not a big fan of his 'Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2015' video, mostly due to the numerous editing mistakes.
  • In 2022, Mark made the controversial decision to completely get rid of album ratings altogether, as he had long become disillusioned with fans caring more about how each record scored out of 10 than they were on hearing the actual critical analysis he was giving.
  • On a personal level, he's not proud of his Ayn Rand fandom in his teenage years, discussing it at length in his review of Incredibles 2.
  • In the February 24, 2024 episode of Billboard Breakdown, while going in-depth on the criticisms he got from Kanye West fans for his announcement of not covering Vultures, Mark mentions a bunch of albums he reviewed that he admits he probably shouldn't have due to the criminal allegations/convictions surrounding their artist, namely Heaven Upside Down by Marilyn Manson, Black Panties by R. Kelly, and X and Fan of a Fan: The Album by Chris Brown.
• Milestone Celebration: To commemorate his tenth anniversary of making YouTube videos, Mark released videos over the course of 2023 looking back at the music of that year:
  • In January, he revisited his list of the Best Albums of 2013 and roasted his picks, including some honorable mentions that other critics put on their lists.
  • In February, he did a special video essay on the album that topped that list, Push the Sky Away by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He would later do special video essays in a similar style on Fall Out Boy's Save Rock and Roll and Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience duology, as well as the legacy of the bro-country subgenre.
• Real Song Theme Tune: Billboard Breakdown uses "Amnesia" by Chumbawamba.
• Screwed by the Lawyers
  • The review of "A Head Full Of Dreams" by Coldplay got blocked worldwide by Warner Music.
  • The Nov 12, 2016 episode of Billboard Breakdown was blocked from YouTube for years because it used a clip of "Shout Out To My Ex" by Little Mix, despite Mark giving it a positive review and naming it as his best of the week.
• Troubled Production: In late October 2021, both of Mark's channels were hacked by a cryptocurrency huckster who used them to hawk his scam, forcing Mark to put his album reviews and Billboard Breakdown on hold for a week while he fought to get his channels back. His Billboard Breakdown for the week of October 30, 2021 only exists in text form on his website.
• What Could Have Been: Mark planned to do a review of Kanye West's Jesus is King... but proceeded to quit the album due his own thoughts of it being disjointed and confusing and especially with the infamous Chick-Fil-A reference, as Mark refuses to support the fast-food chain due to its polarizing business choices. He would review the album..but it was less of a review and more of a criticism of West's execution and how he feels West is only trying to cash into Christian music in his own deluded way.

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