Alle afleveringen
558 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
-
The mid-career crises of Travis Scott and Post Malone
15 augustus 2023 · 36 min
Right now, the two biggest records in the country come to us from two of hip-hop’s biggest superstars: Travis Scott and Post Malone. Both artists have been releasing mainstream records for nearly a decade; their records UTOPIA and AUSTIN, respectfully, sit at number one and two on the Billboard 200. But going further than the numbers, these albums signify a shift in these artists’ sounds, moving them out of their usual genres into previously uncharted territory in both of their careers. And as this is Post Malone’s fifth record and Travis Scott’s fourth, we also must ask: what does it mean to be a mid-career artist? Lees meer
Songs discussed:
Travis Scott – HYAENA
Post Malone – Mourning
Travis Scott, Teezo Touchdown – MODERN JAM
Post Malone – Chemical
Madonna – Borderline
Madonna – Ray of Light
Madonna – Don’t Tell Me
Kendrick Lamar – m.a.a.d. city
Kendrick Lamar – For Free? – interlude
Travis Scott, Swae Lee, Chief Keef – Nightcrawler
Travis Scott, Yung Lean – PARASAIL
Travis Scott, Kid Cudi – LOOOVE
Kanye West – I Am A God
Gentle Giant – Proclamation
Travis Scott, Beyoncé – DELRESTO (ECHOES)
Post Malone – White Iverson
Post Malone, 21 Savage – rockstar
Post Malone – Overdrive
Pixies – Where Is My Mind?
Semisonic – Closing Time
Post Malone – Something Real
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Song Camp 2: Electric Boogaloo! (with Alex Tumay, Wolftyla, Nicholas Petricca, Grace VanderWaal)
11 augustus 2023 · 35 min
Part two of the secret world of song camps looks at the different roles in a songwriting session. There are producers who sit behind a console desk or computer and record, arrange and craft the instrumental and track the vocal. Often they double as engineers who use their technical knowledge to select mics, set up signal chains, and ensure the best recording. Then there is the topliner, a singer who generates melodies on the fly, throwing ideas at the instrumental, looking for the best hooks. Often the top liner is also a songwriter who crafts chords and lyrics to fit the topline melody. And then there is of course the artist who performs the piece. Lees meer
These roles aren’t always clearly divided - most musicians have multiple skills. But for the sake of understanding how each role is essential to creating a song, we asked four musical luminaries to embody one of these roles and break it down: producer/engineer Alex Tumay, topliner Wolftyla, Songwriter and Walk the Moon frontman Nicholas Petricca and Artist Grace VanderWall.
This conversation happened live at the College of Performing Arts at The New School as part of Anti Social Camp 2023, the largest song camp in the world that is working to revive to the NYC songwriting scene.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The secret world of songwriting camps
8 augustus 2023 · 34 min
Beginning in the nineties, pop songwriters have traveled to a 13th-century castle in the south of France for what’s come to be known as a “song camp” – a place where songwriters and collaborators can hunker down and spend a week together writing the next big hits. Lees meer
The castle’s owner Miles Copeland, former manager of The Police, brought songwriters to this far-flung location for a dose of creativity, and yielded massive success through the process: artists like Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Miranda Lambert have all benefited from songs stemming from these retreats.
Over the last fifteen years, song camps have exploded in popularity from Peter Coquillard’s Bali Invitational, to Rihanna’s $200k LA camp, to the Anti Social Camp: a NYC-based event and the world’s largest songwriting retreat. This episode of Switched On Pop, we take a look at the secret world of song camps, and even manage to be a fly-on-the-wall in a camp with songwriter Nicholas Petricca of Walk The Moon, Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean, engineer Will Campbell and producer Andrew Maury.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Your cursive singing is tearing this family apart!
1 augustus 2023 · 31 min
Recently while scrolling twitter we saw a clip from American Idol of judge Katy Perry admonishing an auditioner on the show to “Enunciate!” Lees meer
The video went viral because of Perry’s incensed reaction, but also because the contestant’s performance of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” offered a crystalline example of a popular style of singing that has produced reactions of love and—like for Perry—hate.
It’s a style that features elongated vowels, clipped consonants, and runaway phrasing associated with contemporary singers like Halsey, Jorja Smith, and Shawn Mendes, and like many things in the 21st century it got its name from a tweet—specifically by the user @trackdroppa who boasted in 2009, “Voice so smooth it’s like i’m singing in cursive”
In this episode we speak to vocal coaches and journalists to to ask: Where did this cursive style come from? What are the vocal techniques used to create this sound? And why does cursive singing create so much backlash?
Songs Discussed
Shawn Mendes - Stitches
Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward - Winnie the Pooh
Mick Jagger - Strange Game
Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky - Good For You
Frank Zappa, Moon Zappa - Valley Girl
Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse - Valerie
benny blanco, Halsey, Khalid - Eastside
Jorja Smith - Teenage Fantasy
Tones And I - Dance Monkey
Sia - Cheap Thrills
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
Blink-182 - All The Small Things
SZA - Kill Bill
More
Ashaala Shanae
https://www.themahi.com/founderJumi Akinfenwa
https://www.vice.com/en/contributor/jumi-akinfenwa
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Barbie and the plasticity of pop
25 juli 2023 · 46 min
This past week, the film Barbie opened nationwide to massive success – and with it came a soundtrack, executive produced by Mark Ronson. Lees meer
Functioning as both a companion to the movie and a stand-alone collection of hits, the album features everyone from Dua Lipa to reggaeton star Karol G to K-Pop group FIFTY FIFTY. This episode of Switched on Pop, we take a look at the singles from the soundtrack and see how well they embody the ethos of Barbie: plastic and all.
Check out our 2021 interview with Mark Ronson (about Ginuwine’s “Pony”) here.
We reference “vibe snatching” in this episode. Take a listen to our episode breaking down the phenomenon here.
For more on Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die,” check out our Bond episode from October 2021 here.
Songs Discussed:
Dua Lipa – Dance The Night
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For?
PinkPantheress – Angel
FIFTY FIFTY, Kaliii – Barbie Dreams
Janet Jackson – Together Again
FIFTY FIFTY – Cupid
The Cardigans – Lovefool
Charli XCX – Speed Drive
Billie Eilish – No Time To Die
Aqua – Barbie Girl
Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Aqua – Barbie World
Karol G, Aldo Ranks – WATATI
Jul – My World
Ludacris, Wiz Khalifa, Jeremih, Cashmere Cat – Party Girls
Ava Max – Not Your Barbie Girl
Ava Max – My Head & My Heart
A Touch Of Class – Around the World (La La La La La)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
How Louis Armstrong invented the modern pop star
18 juli 2023 · 33 min
In 1964, Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts with his recording of “Hello, Dolly!” becoming, at age 62, the oldest artist to ever hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Sixty years later, Louis Armstrong remains a beloved cultural figure, his oft-imitated voice still instantly recognizable. But Armstrong is more than a source of levity — his artistry and innovations when he made his first recordings a century ago in 1923 set the template for the modern pop star. On this centennial episode, hear Armstrong as you’ve never heard him: a defiant, pathbreaking musician whose voice resonates in every hit record. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Louis Armstrong - Hello, Dolly!
King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Dippermouth Blues
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra - Sugar Foot Stomp
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven - Potato Head Blues, West End Blues, Big Butter And Egg Man, Heebie Jeebies
Louis Armstrong - Ain't Misbehavin', Dinah, I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas), Black And Blue, Swing That Music
Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers - Dinah
The Boswell Sisters - Heebie Jeebies
Ella Fitzgerald - Mack The Knife - Live At The Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, 1960
Joey Ramone - What a Wonderful World
Ghostface Killah - The Forest
Jon Batiste - What A Wonderful World
More
Read Terry Teachout’s brilliant biography of Armstrong, Pops
Visit the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, NY
Listen to Lil Hardin Armstrong’s 1968 interview with Chris Albertson for Riverside Records
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Speak Now (about Taylor's versions)
11 juli 2023 · 46 min
Taylor Swift is currently the most streamed artist in the world as she’s commandeered the media as she embarks on her Eras tour around the globe. It's likely to be the highest grossing tour of all time, crossing $1B in sales. What’s more, she’s just released her 6th studio album since 2020, and her 3rd re-recording of her older material called Taylor’s Versions. She famously got in a spat with the new owner of her master recordings. She decided to take back control with her own hands and voice, creating mostly true-to-the-original updates alongside a smorgasbord of bonus material. Lees meer
First there was Fearless from 2008, then Red from 2012 and now Speak Now the last of her more country leaning albums having originally arrived in 2010. Switched On Pop listens to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) for whats is and isn’t working musically, how the re-recordings are fairing, and where this ambitious project may go next.
Joining the conversation is Lauren Michele Jackson American cultural critic, assistant professor of English and African American studies at Northwestern, author of White Negroes: When Cornrows Were in Vogue ... and Other Thoughts on Cultural Appropriation and a contributing writer to the New Yorker in her review of Taylor Swift’s midnights said “I’ve always maintained that Swift is incapable of writing a bad song.”
MORE
Pop Pantheon: Checking in on Taylor Swift's Re-Recordings So Far (with Charlie Harding, Larisha Paul & Nora Princiotti)SONGS DISCUSSED
Taylor Swift - Fearless, Red, Speak Now, Never Grow Up, The Story Of Us, Sparks Fly, Mine, Mean, Superman, Karma, Better than Revenge, Electric Touch, Castles Crumbling, When Emma Falls in Love, I Can See You, Back, To December, Last Kiss
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
My Beyoncé Ticket Cost $4,000: Why the Touring Industry Might Be Broken – Into It with Sam Sanders
4 juli 2023 · 25 min
Us at Switched On Pop are off on vacation, but don't fret – this week we're still bringing you an episode, courtesy of the Vulture podcast Into It with Sam Sanders. If you've openly wondered why concert tickets seemingly have gotten more confusing and expensive, this episode's for you. Lees meer
–
Content creator and head of the Beyhive Kalen Allen is more than OK spending four thousand dollars on one ticket for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour. 2023 feels like a big year for huge stadium tours for artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran and more. But why are tickets so expensive, and how much are fans willing to put up with in order to go? Sam talks with music journalist Nate Rogers about why the touring industry might just be broken and what lawmakers and some artists are trying to do to fix it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
What makes a gay anthem?
27 juni 2023 · 36 min
Vulture might have killed the song of the summer back in 2016, but if you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it’s hard to argue against “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue. The track, released this May, has taken the queer community by storm, quickly becoming ubiquitous and inescapable – it's hard to even scroll on Twitter without a well-timed meme about the "padam-ic" popping up on the timeline. However, Minogue's song hasn't even cracked the Billboard Hot 100; instead, its status has morphed into that of a "gay anthem," a song widely celebrated inside the community but unable to garner longstanding success outside of it. Lees meer
This episode of Switched on Pop, producer Reanna Cruz tackles a question that the LGBTQ+ community has debated over for decades: what makes a gay anthem? Through talking with everyone from academics to their close friends, the answer takes us from Judy Garland to 1920s cabaret to, of course, "Padam Padam."
Songs Discussed:
Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam
Édith Piaf – Padam padam
Kylie Minogue – Supernova
Mischa Spoliansky – Das lila Lied (The Lavender Song)
Queen – I Want To Break Free
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
London Philharmonic Choir – Amazing Grace
Traditional – God Save The King
Queen – We Are The Champions
Tom Robinson Band – Glad to be Gay
Diana Ross – I'm Coming Out
Judy Garland – Alone Together (Live At Carnegie Hall/1961)
Countess Luann – Chic C'est La Vie
Judy Garland – The Trolley Song
Lady Gaga – La Vie En Rose
Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
Village People – Y.M.C.A.
Sylvester – You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Miquel Brown – So Many Men, So Little Time
Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again
The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Switches Brew: blink-182, Kate Bush, BewhY, The Pointer Sisters, Saint Levant
20 juni 2023 · 27 min
Another installment of Switches Brew the show where you get to hear from the larger team Switched On Pop team and community about what we're listening to old and new. With recommendations from editor Jolie Myers, producer Reanna Cruz, and listeners Micah Salkind and JT. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Saint Levant - Nails
BewhY - Adaptation
The Pointer Sisters - Dare Me, I'm So Excited, Jump
Junior Jack - Stupidisco
blink-182 - Man Overboard, What's My Age Again? All The Small THings
White Poppy - Orchid Child
Odyssey - Native New Yorker
Kate Bush - The Morning Fog
Spencer Zahn, Dave Harrington, Jeremy Gustin - A Visit To Harry's House
Cicada Ensemble - Murmuration Clip
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Chartbreakers: Mexican regional y más
13 juni 2023 · 45 min
As summer comes upon us, it’s time for some Billboard shake ups. On this week’s edition of Chartbreakers, we’re looking at the recent iterations of the Hot 100 and a trend that has slowly been creeping up in popularity over the past few months: the influx of regional Mexican music. The past two years have seen many songs by Mexican artists making their way onto Billboard, all managing to highlight different scenes and sounds from the different states in Mexico. Lees meer
We’re joined this week by the cohost of the NPR Music podcast Alt. Latino, Anamaria Sayre, who says that Mexican regional, or simply, regional, is a marketing “bucket term” that encompasses different Latin genres including everything from norteño to corridos, all genres that are comfortably finding a home in the top 20 of the Hot 100 in 2023.
Of course, there’s more happening outside of Latin music. Much of the chart has been stagnant since our last iteration of Chartbreakers, but, as always, there’s been some shake ups thanks to the world of the TikTok sped-up remix, the legacy artist, and on some occasions, a mix of both (we’re looking at you, Miguel).
Songs Discussed:
Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – Ella Baila Sola
Bizarrap, Peso Pluma – Peso Pluma: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55
Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny – un x100to
Fuerza Regida – TQM
Grupo Frontera, Fuerza Regida – Bebe Dame
Los Tigres del Norte – Prisión De Amor
Chalino Sanchez, Banda Brava – Alma Enamorada
Chalino Sanchez, Los Amables Del Norte – El Crimen De Culiacán
Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte – Solo Una Patada
Grupo Firme, Junior H – Tronando Ligas
Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga – Que Bendición
DannyLux – Mi Otra Mitad
Natanael Cano – Pacas De Billetes
Miguel – Sure Thing
FIFTY FIFTY – Cupid
Lana del Rey – Say Yes to Heaven
Taylor Swift, Ice Spice – Karma (ft. Ice Spice)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
6 juni 2023 · 37 min
In the song "Touch" from Daft Punk's final studio album, 2013's Random Access Memories, featured artist Paul Williams sings a line that augured the end of an impressive collaboration: "I need something more." With RAM, Daft Punk pulled out all the stops, going the opposite direction of their previous albums, to "give life back to music" and bestow hearts and souls upon their robotic doppelgängers.
RAM features almost no samples or programmed digital instruments, instead leaning into extensive collaborations with legendary studio musicians, iconic producers like Nile Rodgers, and modern mavens such as Pharrell. The making of RAM followed the blueprint of classic albums from what Daft Punk called "the golden age" of recording—Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Pink Floyd. The duo spent over a million dollars, held five years of studio sessions, and painstakingly crafted each track. The result was a record that helped usher in a retro disco-funk revival across pop music and generated a smash hit in "Get Lucky." The band had perhaps crafted their magnum opus—but did it also represent the conclusion of their epic narrative of the battle between human and machine?
Songs Discussed
Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music
Daft Punk - Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
Daft Punk - Giorgio by Moroder
Eagles - Hotel California
Daft Punk - Contact
The Sherbs - We Ride Tonight
Daft Punk - The Prime Time of Your Life
Daft Punk, Paul Williams - Touch (feat. Paul Williams)
Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies: X. L'Accouchement
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Human After All / Alive 2007
30 mei 2023 · 40 min
Throughout their legendary career, Daft Punk continued to prove that the more robotic their music became, the more human they sounded. This dichotomy came to a head on their third album, aptly titled Human After All. Where their past two records wired their circuits and gave the robots a voice, on Human After All, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo gave Daft Punk sentience. On Human After All robots rock, but they also question their rigid programming. The record's ensuing tour and resulting live album, Alive 2007, furthered the narrative by ushering in a new age of live electronic performance. The impact of these two records range from the development of EDM to everlasting hits like “Technologic.” On episode three of our Listening 2 Daft Punk series, we take a look at these two records, and how both Alive and Human After All imbued the robots with super intelligence. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Daft Punk - Human After All
Daft Punk - The Prime Time of Your Life
Daft Punk - Robot Rock
Breakwater - Release the Beast
Daft Punk - Steam Machine
Daft Punk - The Brainwasher
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Daft Punk - Technologic
Daft Punk - Emotion
John Williams – Wild Signals
Daft Punk – Touch It / Technologic
Daft Punk – Oh Yeah
Daft Punk – Technologic
Busta Rhymes – Touch It
Daft Punk – Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger
Daft Punk – Face to Face / Short Circuit
Daft Punk – Da Funk / Daftendirekt
Kanye West – Stronger
Kanye West – On Sight
Daft Punk – Human After All / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better With You
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Discovery
23 mei 2023 · 37 min
Daft Punk’s first album laid the groundwork for their robot personas, with four to the floor beats, programmed drum machines, and sequenced synthesizers. On their second album Discovery, Daft Punk fully lean into the artificial – singing through robotic vocoders that correspond with their now-iconic robot helmets.
But in there is a paradox, explored on episode 2 of Listening to Daft Punk: the more machine the robots become, the more human the music sounds. Lees meerSongs Discussed
Daft Punk - One More Time
Daft Punk - Teachers
Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
Sister Sledge - Il Macquillage Lady
AC/DC - Thunderstruck
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
Daft Punk - Revolution 909
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Kraftwerk - The Robots
Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove
Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You
Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce
Stevie Wonder - 1-2-3 Sesame Street
Cher - Believe
Kid Rock - Only God Knows Why
Barry Manilow - Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed
Daft Punk - Superheroes
Edwin Birdsong - Cola Bottle Baby
Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman
Daft Punk - Face to Face
Daft Punk - Something About Us
Daft Punk - Voyager
Daft Punk - Veridis Quo
Daft Punk - Superheroes
Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams - LYTD (Vocoder Tests) [feat. Pharrell Williams]
Daft Punk - Digital Love
Daft Punk - Crescendolls
Eddie Johns - More Spell On You
George Duke - I Love You More
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Homework
16 mei 2023 · 38 min
Ten years ago, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories gave life back to music. The world-beating smash “Get Lucky” broke streaming records, forged a retro sound that still dominates the charts, and paved the way for artists like The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Lizzo to craft their own throwback hits. How did Daft Punk do it? Switched On Pop’s four part-mini series Listening 2: Daft Punk unlocks the sounds, voices, and stories across all four of the group’s studio albums. On their first album, Homework, Daft Punk stretched the boundaries of electronic music and began wiring the circuits that would become their robot alter-egos, asking a fundamental question: where does the human end and the machine begin? Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music
Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
The Beach Boys - Darlin'
Daft Punk - Around the World
Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Strong
Daft Punk - Robot Rock
Daft Punk - Game of Love
Daft Punk - Da Funk
Daft Punk - Teachers
Black Box - Ride on Time
Daft Punk - Daftendirekt
Daft Punk - Fresh
Daft Punk - High Fidelity
Daft Punk - Oh Yeah
Daft Punk - Phoenix
Daft Punk - Rollin' & Scratchin'
Daft Punk - Rock'n Roll
Daft Punk - Burnin'
Kraftwerk - The Robots
Vangelis - Main Titles
Brad Fiedel - Main Title - The Terminator
Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow - The Turing Test
Daft Punk - TRON Legacy (End Titles)
Daft Punk - Indo Silver Club
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
The Jonas Brothers' Yacht Rock Revival
9 mei 2023 · 39 min
After nearly two decades as a band the Jonas Brothers are staking their claim to a magnum opus by calling their next album, quite simply, The Album (out May 12). The project follows the success of their 2019 comeback project Happiness Begins — which blended polished pop sounds with ‘70s funk breaks and produced the No. 1 single “Sucker” — with a focus on the smooth sounds of yacht rock. Switched On pop co-host Charlie Harding spoke with Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas in March 2023, during their five night broadway run, in anticipation for the release of The Album. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Jonas Brothers - Wings, Waffle House, Montana Sky, Summer Baby, Before the Storm
Daryl Hall & John Oates - She's Gone, Wings
Kenny Loggins - Meet Me Half Way
Steely Dan - Reelin' In The Years
Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground
Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel, Leave Me Alone
The Doobie Brothers - Takin' It to the Streets, Minute By Minute
Thundercat, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins - Show You The Way
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin'
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle
Eagles - Take It Easy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
From Westeros-techno to trance metal: Eurovision 2023
2 mei 2023 · 29 min
It’s May, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Eurovision Song Contest. This year’s edition of the international-but-primarily-in-Europe competition features a uniquely eclectic group of songs (per usual), from a take on electro-flamenco, to Game of Thrones EDM, to a previous winner’s return to the Eurovision stage. On this episode, Charlie and Nate look at the six songs bookmakers are looking at to lead the pack of this year’s entries. Lees meer
Songs Discussed:
Alessandra – Queen of Kings
Deadmau5 – Right This Second
Gabry Ponte, R3HAB, Timmy Trumpet – Call Me
La Zarra – Évidemment
Édith Piaf – Non, je ne regrette rien
Claude François – Alexandrie Alexandra
Blanca Paloma – EAEA
TVORCHI – Heart of Steel
Kalush Orchesta – Stefania
Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
Kraftwerk – Radioactivity
Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Loreen – Tattoo
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Who killed the key change in pop music?
25 april 2023 · 33 min
When trouble strikes in music town, there’s one guy who gets the call. That’s me, Joe Treble, forensic musicologist. This week, I've got one of the most shocking cases I've ever worked. Someone killed the key change in pop music, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to find the perpetrator.
The key change used to be at large on the Billboard charts. From the 1950s to the 1990s, 20-30% of all number one hits featured one. In Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody," the key change hits right before the final chorus. The song’s harmonic center shifts up, raising the pitch of the song, challenging the vocalist to hit higher and higher notes, juicing the big finish with excitement and pep. But starting in the 1990s the key change virtually disappeared from the Hot 100. Now, hit songs start and end in the same key, and no one seems to have even noticed. Except for me.
This investigation will bring me face to face with a rogue's gallery of suspects and sources: Chris Dalla Riva, music and data specialist; Brandon McFarland, alias 1-O.A.K., producer; Emily King, singer and songwriter. Each interrogation brings me closer to revealing the murderer, but will I be able to handle the terrible truth? Tune in as I tackle the hardest case of my career: the case of the missing key change! Lees meerSongs Discussed
Emily King - Georgia Sleepwalker, Medal, The Way that You Love Me
YG, Kamaiyah, RJ, Mitch, Ty Dolla $ign - Do Yo Dance (feat. Kamaiyah, RJ, Mitch, Ty Dolla $ign)
Beyoncé - Love On Top
Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Frank Sinatra - Strangers In The Night
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
A.I. Drake has put music in a tailspin
21 april 2023 · 37 min
We have an emergency podcast drop because the biggest and fastest moving story on the internet right now is about a song called “Heart On My Sleeve.” The track sounds like it was made by the producer Metro Boomin featuring Drake and The Weeknd. It might be one of the most consequential songs in music history because it was actually a fake, made with artificial intelligence. The blowback from this song has been enormous and a bit confusing. So host Charlie Harding went on The Vergecast podcast to break down how this song was likely made, and what it might mean for the music industry, the tech industry and all of our intellectual property. Lees meer
Listen to the whole episode on The Vergecast
Read Alex Cranz's story on Laser Bongs on The Verge
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
BTS goes solo together
18 april 2023 · 49 min
The South Korean idol group BTS is one of the biggest musical sensations in history. They're constantly breaking records and they have one of the most dedicated fan bases in the world known as Army. Their hit singles like “Boy With Love,” “Dynamite,” and “Butter” have been discussed on the show in the past for breaking through the US charts. But back in 2022, they decided to take a break from group activities and start releasing solo material because of their obligations to each fulfill mandatory military service in South Korea, precluding them from working together at the same time. Solo projects aren’t new for the group – BTS members have released mixtapes as far back as 2015 and countless solo singles – but this was the first time that BTS had ever announced a prolonged break. This moment, originally presented as a hiatus, has evolved into a whole new musical chapter for the group, with a seemingly endless array of new solo releases. Switched On Pop listens back to one track from each solo effort so far to introduce the casual listener to what is happening in this new era of BTS. Joining the show is Lenika Cruz, senior editor at The Atlantic, who literally wrote the book on BTS, simply called On BTS out on the Atlantic Editions imprint. Lees meer
Songs Discussed:
j-hope, J. Cole - on the street
Jimin - Like Crazy
RM, Youjeen - Wild Flower
Agust D - People Pt.2
Agust D - People
Jung Kook - Dreamers
JIN - The Astronaut
BTS - Singularity, Inner Child
Coldplay, BTS - My Universe
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
This Generation's Caroline Polachek
11 april 2023 · 44 min
From the first seconds of her latest album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, Caroline Polachek asserts that she is truly a once-in-a-generation artist. From her work in the indie band Chairlift to years of behind-the-scenes songwriting, she has worked hard over years to build a stellar music career – culminating in the pop opus Desire, already one of the best rated albums of 2023. On this episode of Switched on Pop, we look at Polachek’s career thus far, and talk to her about the intricacies of her latest. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Caroline Polachek - So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings
Chairlift - Bruises
Ramona Lisa - Dominic
Beyoncé - No Angel
Danny L Harle, Caroline Polachek - Ashes of Love
Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek - Tears
CEP - Lilian’s Pavilion
Caroline Polachek - Pretty in Possible
Suzanne Vega - Tom’s Diner DNA remix
Caroline Polachek - Welcome to my Island
Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is A Rider
Caroline Polachek - Smoke
Caroline Polachek - Crude Drawing of An Angel
Caroline Polachek - Butterfly Net
Caroline Polachek - Sunset
Caroline Polachek - Fly To You
Caroline Polachek - Hopedrunk Ever Asking
Caroline Polachek - Billions
Caroline Polachek - Blood And Butter
Caroline Polachek - Butterfly Net
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
The Shakira Conspiracy
4 april 2023 · 31 min
Shakira is back on the Billboard Hot 100 – thanks to the help of Argentinian producer Bizarrap. Together, their song “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” is layered with musical and lyrical references, from the callbacks to “She Wolf” to the multiple beat switches. It also works to play into something larger: something akin to a pop music conspiracy. On this episode of Switched On Pop, we take a closer look at Shakira’s latest, and how it’s indicative of a larger metatextual shift in pop music. Lees meer
Songs Discussed:
Shakira, Bizarrap – Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53
Shakira – Vuelve
Alanis Morrisette – Not The Doctor
Shakira – Whenever, Wherever
Shakira, Alejandro Sanz – La Tortura
Shakira, Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie
Shakira – She Wolf
The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
Giorgio Moroder – Palm Springs Drive
LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
Pascal Letoublon – Friendships
Beyoncé – Sorry
Taylor Swift – All Too Well
Olivia Rodrigo – Driver’s License
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Reinventing Bach
28 maart 2023 · 40 min
If you’ve ever learned classical piano, you probably tried to play one of Bach’s Inventions. The composer wrote fifteen pieces containing the most important fifteen keys in order to teach his son the fundamentals of piano and composition. Today, they remain some of the most popular pieces of piano music. Acclaimed jazz pianist Dan Tepfer recently revisited his childhood music books seeing them in a way he’d never realized as a student: the Inventions are much more than novice piano works. Lees meer
For Tepfer, each of the Inventions not only highlight masterful command over harmony and counterpoint, but also contain moving character arcs that resemble the hero’s journey. A character is introduced at home in place of safety in act I. And then they are thrust into chaos and must overcome unsurmountable challenges in Act II. Finally, in Act III, our hero overcomes their final battle and returns home transformed by the journey. Once Tepfer heard this character arc, he started to apply it to his own free improv.
Through studying Bach, Tepfer conceived a new album: Inventions / Reinventions. In this project Tepfer fills in the missing keys from the Bach to complete all twenty four keys (there are twelve major and twelve minor keys) while updating the music with modern improvisation. In this conversation Tepfer walks co-host Charlie Harding through his process of playing Bach and applying it to jazz improv.
Listen to Dan Tepfer’s Inventions / Reinventions on StorySound Records
Listen to Into It with Sam Sanders on Fair Use
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
100 gecs and the new sound of hyperpop
21 maart 2023 · 39 min
Everyone will describe the music of 100 gecs differently. To some, Dylan Brady and Laura Les make deeply satisfying earworms, tracks able to scratch the itches that occupy the deepest memory-holed corners of the brain. To others, though, their music is an "anarchic assault on the ears,” a quilt of all of the genres historically ridiculed in the popular canon: nu-metal, scuzz-rock, ska and 90’s pop punk are all fair game in the world of gecs. Lees meer
On their latest record, aptly titled 10000 gecs, Brady and Les double down on the crunchy distortion and harmonics, creating tracks equally influenced by Primus and Eddie Van Halen as they are by their hyperpop contemporaries. The album reflects a Internet-core approach to music as a whole, shedding notions of “good” and “bad” music in favor of catchy melodies and intricate song construction.
On this episode on Switched On Pop, we dig deep into the ethos of 100 gecs, and producer Reanna Cruz talks to the duo themselves about their eclectic sophomore record.
Songs discussed:
100 gecs – Hollywood Baby
100 gecs – Billy Knows Jamie
100 gecs – stupid horse
100 gecs – 745 sticky
100 gecs – Doritos & Fritos
Primus – Jerry Was A Racecar Driver
Ween – Bananas and Blow
Limp Bizkit – My Generation
Gorillaz – Dirty Harry
Future – I Been Drinking
J-Kwon – Tipsy
Justin Timberlake – Summer Love
Violent Femmes – Added Up
100 gecs – Dumbest Girl Alive
THX Deep Note
Cypress Hill – Insane in the Membrane
100 gecs – The Most Wanted Person in the United States
100 gecs – Frog on the Floor
Alan Jackson – Chattahoochee
Limp Bizkit – Dad Vibes
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Switches Brew
17 maart 2023 · 24 min
Every week the Switched On Pop team gets together and everybody shares one song they’re loving right now. It is one of our favorite conversations each week because we hear music that is new and old, on and off the charts. We’re sharing that conversation with you as a new format we’re calling Switches Brew alongside friend of the show Brittany Luse, host of NPR's It's Been A Minute Lees meer
Listen to Brittany Luse on NPR’s It’s Been A Minute: Web, Apple, Spotify
Songs Discussed
Little Freddie King - Messin' Around tha House
De La Soul - Tread Water
Nick Hakim - Qadir
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (Marcus Intalex Remix) on Bandcamp
Madison Cunningham - Hospital (One Man Down) (feat. Remi Wolf)
Remi Wolf - Down the Line
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Modern Classics: Seal - Kiss From a Rose
14 maart 2023 · 37 min
“Kiss From a Rose” is one of the most unusual number one hits of all time. Seal’s song can’t decide if it’s in minor or major, it uses an old-fashioned waltz rhythm, and its lush orchestration and elaborate vocal harmonies support mysterious lyrics about a “greying tower alone on the sea.” Seal himself wasn’t sure about the song, and needed some convincing to include the composition on his 1994 album SEAL II. But once director Joel Schumacher decided to use the track for the end credits of the film Batman Forever, the song went global and has remained a cultural phenomenon ever since. Ahead of his upcoming 30th anniversary tour for the albums SEAL I and SEAL II, we speak with the singer and songwriter about the enduring appeal of “Kiss From A Rose.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
How John Denver got huge in Asia
7 maart 2023 · 33 min
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song about West Virginia, but its message of homecoming has resonance far beyond Appalachia. Songwriter and producer Ian Fitchuk found this out when he was requested to perform Denver’s music at a music festival in Tibet. Fitchuk discovered that Denver has a huge following in East and South East Asia, where Denver toured multiple times from the 70s through the 90s. Denver’s songs first came to the region through the US Armed Forces Network radio as well as a diplomatic performance for China’s leader Deng Xiaoping at the Kennedy Center in 1979. Denver performed alongside the Harlem Globetrotters and the Joffrey ballet, and he left such an impression, the show led to an invitation to be one of the first western musicians to tour China. To better understand Denver’s meaning in the region, Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding speaks with Ian Fitchuk about his performance and interviews journalist Jason Jeung who wrote about “Country Roads” in The Atlantic. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads
Kacey Musgraves - Oh, What A World
The East Is Red
John Denver - Rocky Mountain High
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
James Taylor - Carolina in My Mind
Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You
John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Chartbreakers: Jersey Club, Complicated Country, and 50s Crooners
28 februari 2023 · 31 min
Currently on Billboard’s hot 100 there is an unexpected UK Garage / Jersey House mashup, a disgraced country star making a questionable comeback, and an out of nowhere fifties ballad all jockeying for their moment on the charts. This week, we take a listen to the FEBRUARY 25, 2023 Hot 100, looking for triumphs, fumbles, and oddities. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
PinkPantheress, Ice Spice - Boy's a liar Pt. 2
Ice Spice - Munch (Feelin’ U)
Drake - Currents
Lil Uzi Vert - Just Wanna Rock
Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers - Sunship Edit
Todd Edwards - Wishing I Were Home
Ice Spice - In Ha Mood
Morgan Wallen - You Proof
Morgan Wallen - Last Night
Tyler Childers - Way of the Triune God - Jubilee Version
Mac DeMarco - Heart To Heart
Miguel - Sure Thing
Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage - Creepin' (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)
Mario Winans - I Don't Wanna Know
Fugees, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Pras - Ready or Not
Enya - Boadicea
Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You
The Everly Brothers - Let It Be Me
Ritchie Valens - We Belong Together
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
Patsy Cline, The Jordanaires - Crazy
Ray Charles - Georgia on My Mind - Original Master Recording
The Beatles - In My Life - Remastered 2009
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Five years later, the legacy of Nipsey Hussle's "Victory Lap"
22 februari 2023 · 36 min
Five years ago, Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle released Victory Lap, his only full length album. It was the high point of a career stretching back to the mid 2000s, when Hussle started releasing mixtapes on his own record label — mixtapes that brought him respect from artists like Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar, but were not widely heard.
Victory Lap brought him both the critical acclaim and commercial success he deserved — It hit #2 on the Billboard 200, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album. But only a little over a year after its release, Hussle was shot to death outside his clothing store and community center in Crenshaw. In some ways, Hussle’s tragic end has overshadowed his incredible life as a musician and community activist.
In this conversation with Justin Tinsley, host of the podcast King of Crenshaw, we listen deeply to Victory Lap to hear Nipsey’s identity as an artist and consider the legacy of his debut album on its 5th anniversary.
Songs Discussed
Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap, Dedication, Hussle and Motivate, Last Time That I Checc'd, Real Big
Arctic Monkeys - Knee Socks
Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life
Snoop Dogg - Y'all Gone Miss Me
More
Listen to the King of Crenshaw podcast.
Check out more of Justin's work
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
“Flowers” and the art of the response song
14 februari 2023 · 40 min
“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus is spending another week on top of the Billboard 100 – quite fitting for Valentine’s Day. Lees meer
The disco-country track has gotten people talking for a few reasons, but most notably, Cyrus invokes Bruno Mars’ classic “When I Was Your Man” in both lyrical and melodic allusions. The connection between the two songs is not one of interpolation, but rather, Miley is responding to Bruno’s hit through her own words: making “Flowers” an answer song.
This episode of Switched On Pop, we take a deeper look at “Flowers” and how it fits in the canon of response songs throughout history, from classics like “This Land is Your Land” to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.”
Songs Discussed:
Miley Cyrus – Flowers
Kacey Musgraves – High Horse
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
Dua Lipa – New Rules
Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man
Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
TLC – No Scrubs
Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg – California Girls
JAY-Z, Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
Big Mama Thornton – Hound Dog
Rufus Thomas – Bear Cat
Hank Thompson – The Wild Side of Life
Kitty Wells – It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Ray Charles – Hit the Road, Jack
Nina Simone – Come on Back Jack
The Chantels – Well, I Told You
UTFO – Roxanne, Roxanne
Roxanne Shanté – Roxanne’s Revenge
UTFO – The Real Roxanne
New Edition – Candy Girl
The Jackson 5 – ABC
Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back
Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Rihanna Party! ICYMI
12 februari 2023 · 54 min
In case you missed it, “Rihanna Is The 21st Century’s Most Influential Musician” according to NPR. Millions and millions of fans the world over agree, and while we try to avoid overt expressions of pop favoritism, we think they’ve got a strong case. It’s for that reason and a dozen others that we were thrilled to welcome Gina Delvac of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend back to the show to discuss the legendary career of one Ms. Robyn Rihanna Fenty. As we all await her ninth studio album (R9), join us for a virtual* blunt-smoke-laced tour through the hit songs that defined her early sound, and a delectable deep dive into her most recent album, ANTI.
MORE CONTENT
Check out Jenny Gathright’s NPR article “Rihanna Is The 21st Century’s Most Influential Musician.”
And find even more work from our wonderful contributors this week down below: Lees meerGina
Ivie
Zoe
Cate
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
The L.A. guitar shop that reinvented indie folk
7 februari 2023 · 36 min
In 2010, a photographer named Reuben Cox moved to Los Angeles to start Old Style Guitar Shop. In the years since, the instruments that he continues to repair and sell have come to define the sound of the LA indie folk scene among artists like Blake Mills, Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham, Ethan Gruska and Phoebe Bridgers. Lees meer
Reuben’s guitars are Frankenstein-esque creations, cobbled together from spare parts and neglected guitar bodies found in flea markets and estate sales. The sounds that these make, though, are as eccentric as their source: the strings are laid on top of Reuben’s signature, a rubber bridge.
This sound, and the mythos of the rubber bridge guitar, has turned Reuben into a local celebrity and put Old Style at the center of Los Angeles’s indie music scene. In this episode of Switched on Pop, host Charlie Harding explores that sound and the man behind it all.
Songs Discussed (playlist)
Taylor Swift - champagne problems
Olivia Rodrigo - hope ur ok
boygenius - Emily I’m Sorry
Jenny Owen Youngs - Vampire Weeknight
Andrew Bird - The New Saint Jude
Marcus Mumford - Only Child
Perfume Genius - Slip Away
Andrew Bird - Underlands
Madison Cunningham - Anywhere
Madison Cunningham - Life According to Raechel
Phoebe Bridgers - Garden Song
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
A History of Whammies at the Grammys - Into It with Sam Sanders
2 februari 2023 · 25 min
It's Grammys weekend and Sam Sanders, host of Vulture's Into It podcast, is ready for disappointment! Sam is joined by Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding and Reanna Cruz to break down the Grammys' history of tone deafness when it comes to the night's biggest awards. Will Beyoncé lose Album of the Year again... or will the voting body finally give her her due? Lees meer
Subscribe to Into It: https://link.chtbl.com/intoit?sid=stw
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Wonders: Bobby McFerrin
31 januari 2023 · 35 min
In 1988, Bobby McFerrin recorded a song a cappella with a simple message: not to worry, and just enjoy life. That song, aptly titled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” topped the charts and become one of the most well known one-hit wonders of all time. Lees meer
In doing so, it also propelled McFerrin into the spotlight, winning him three Grammy awards and an eternal place in pop culture. His career, though, is more than just the Big Mouth Billy Bass: a deep dive reveals an incredible career in jazz, folk, and classical music as well as a remarkable command of his own voice. This episode of Switched on Pop, we explore the history behind "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and the ensuing legacy of Bobby McFerrin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The New Wave of Paramore
24 januari 2023 · 34 min
Six years after their last record, Paramore is back with new music, and their upcoming record seems to have an uncanny connection to the era of new wave. But what is “new wave” anyway? Is it just a period of time in music or something more? Lees meer
In this episode of Switched on Pop, we explore some of the tracks from This is Why, out February 10th, and connect them to the works of everyone from Talking Heads to Joy Division.
Songs Discussed
Paramore – C’est Comme Ça
Olivia Rodrigo – good 4 u
Paramore – Misery Business
Paramore – Ain’t It Fun
Paramore – Pool
Paramore – This Is Why
Talking Heads – I Zimbra
Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Happy House
The B-52’s – Dirty Back Road
Gang of Four – Cheeseburger
Oingo Boingo – Just Another Day
DEVO – Uncontrollable Urge
Paramore – Hard Times
Les Rita Mitsouko – C’est comme ça
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
Paramore – The News
Joy Division – Disorder
Blondie – The Thin Line
Blondie – The Tide Is High
The Police – So Lonely
Paramore – Pressure
Paramore – Told You So
Boy Harsher – LA
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Taylor Swift and the music industry's next $20
21 januari 2023 · 1 uur 22 min
Streaming feels like it's both at its height and on a precipice. Musicians are fed up at getting paid fractions of a penny, and the whole business model seems precarious. Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding was talking about the challenges for streaming future with my friend Nilay Patel, editor in chief of The Verge and host the podcast Decoder - a show about big ideas. And they taped a conversation about what’s next for streaming through the case study of Taylor Swift who has deftly navigated the transition from CDs to streaming, and whose era tour may mark the end of an era in music.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
SZA's Endless Melody
18 januari 2023 · 30 min
Why does SZA's latest album SOS hit different? It's the way her melodies don't repeat where you expect them to, defying all the rules of pop songwriting. We break down how her endless melodies echo the intimate themes of her most recent release, and how they connect to genres ranging from gospel to Wagnerian opera. Lees meer
Songs Discussed
SZA - Kill Bill, SOS, Shirt, Notice Me, Seek & Destroy, Gone Girl, Low, Smoking on My Ex Pack, Ghost in the Machine (ft Phoebe Bridgers), F2F
Sam Smith & Kim Petras - Unholy
Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero
Jazmine Sullivan - Girl Like Me (ft H.E.R.)
Summer Walker - No Love (ft. SZA)
Jessye Norman - Isoldes Liebestod
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phenomenon
10 januari 2023 · 28 min
Over the past few months, you may have heard your favorite song pop up on the Internet – just slightly faster. You’re not alone: the phenomenon of the “sped-up” remix has taken over social media, with everyone from Lady Gaga to Thundercat getting the tempo treatment. The popularity of the craze has led to millions of TikTok videos, Billboard number ones, and songs becoming relevant again, decades after release. Ever since the proliferation of these “remixes,” the big questions remain: where did these songs come from and why are they here? Lees meer
On this episode of Switched on Pop, we explore this exact phenomenon, tracing its roots from Thomas Edison to Cam’ron to vaporwave to nightcore.
Songs Discussed:
“Dream On” – Aerosmith (sped up)
“Escapism” – RAYE, 070 Shake (sped up)
“Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy (sped up)
“Miss You” – Oliver Tree (sped up)
“Say It Right” – Nelly Furtado (sped up)
“Bloody Mary” – Lady Gaga (sped up)
“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals (slowed down)
“Juicy” – Notorious B.I.G.
“Juicy” – DJ Screw
“Jolene” – Dolly Parton (slowed down)
“リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |” – Macintosh Plus
“In Da Club Before Eleven O’ Clock” – DJ Rashad
“Monster [Nightcore]” – Meg & Dia, remixed by Barren Gates
“Concrete Angel” – Hannah Diamond
“Witch Doctor” – David Seville
“Oh Boy” – Cam’ron, Juelz Santana
“Cool for the Summer” – Demi Lovato (sped up)
“Them Changes” – Thundercat (sped up & Chopnotslop remix)
“That’s All” – Genesis
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
ICYMI 90s Music Canon
3 januari 2023 · 37 min
Matt Daniels, editor of the publication The Pudding, wanted to find out what songs from his youth would last into the future. So he designed a study that would test if Gen-Z had a grip on 90s culture. Hundreds of thousands of participants provided over 3 million data points. Daniels parsed through the data for insights. Sadly, the majority of his most beloved songs have not survived even one generation. Though most had been forgotten, he found that just a few songs had staying power across generations — what he defined as the emerging 90s music canon. Find out what songs make it and which have fallen to the wayside. Lees meer
MORE
The Pudding’s study on Defining the 90s Canon
Take The Pudding’s quiz yourselfSONGS DISCUSSED
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Mariah Carey - Fantasy!
Lou Bega - Mambo #5
Los Del Rio - Macarena
Boys II Men - Motown Philly
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
Savage Garden - I Want You
The Barenaked Ladies - One Week
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love
Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On
Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Smash Mouth - All Star
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
ICYMI: We *do* talk about Bruno
27 december 2022 · 27 min
The number one song on the charts is a bit of a mystery. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is the unlikely hit from Disney’s sleeper animated musical Encanto. Set in a mountainous village in Colombia, the film was a middling commercial success when it was released in Nov 2021. But in recent months it has become a pop culture phenomenon for a confluence of reasons: an expansive discourse on Colombian representation in media, fan videos on TikTok, and of course it's ear-wormy hits.
The musical is yet another notch in the belt for Lin Manuel Miranda (the auteur behind Hamilton and In The Heights) who wrote the now chart-topping song book. While Disney certainly commands vast commercial success, its musicals rarely see such crossover attention. The last #1 Disney musical number was “A Whole New World” from the animated Aladdin back in 1993. Where that song was literally uplifting, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is quite the opposite.
Bruno is the uncle of the Madrigal family, whose skill for seeing the future portends gloom and sends him into exile. In his namesake song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” an ensemble cast trade verses about his ghostly presence (Bruno haunts the family home, living inside its walls). It is an odd ball song, with dark and bizarre lyrics. Sure it starts with a story about rain on a wedding day (which is not ironic), but then it takes a hard left into tales of dead fish, middle aged weight gain, and creeping rats. So then what makes it a hit? A distinctive concoction of salsa piano rhythms, familiar Lin Manuel Miranda-isms, and contemporary pop connections to Camila Cabello, Britney Spears, J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Cardi B.
Listen to Switched On Pop to solve the mystery of what makes “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” a hit. Lees meerSONGS DISCUSSED
Lin Manuel Miranda - We Don’t Talk About Bruno, In The Heights, Helpless, Satisfied, My Shot, Wait For It, Say No To This
Cardi B, J Balvin, I Like It
Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee - Despacito
Camila Cabello, Young Thug - Havana
… -
Anitta & Rosalía on the borders of Latin pop
20 december 2022 · 27 min
When it comes to distinguishing what exactly Latin music is, what makes the cut? To some, it’s simply music from the Latin American region, and to others, it’s any music that is sung in Spanish – but much like the pop canon, the phrase encapsulates so many different eras, styles, and genres. Lees meer
Like any distinction, there’s also music on the periphery: specifically, the music of Brazil, where the sounds are similar but the main language is different, and Spain, where the history of colonization looms over the country’s relationship with Latin America, raising controversial questions of appropriation.
Nonetheless though, music from both countries has made big waves amongst U.S. listeners on Latin radio stations and at award shows. Anitta’s record Versions of Me has been finding success on streaming and the radio, while Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI has become one of the most acclaimed records of the year, winning this year’s Album of the Year award at the Latin Grammys. This episode of Switched on Pop, we take a look at these artists and how they incorporate both native and Latin sounds in their tracks.
Vote for the Signal Awards: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2022/shows/general/music
SONGS DISCUSSED:
Anitta – Girl From Rio
Rosalía – DESPECHÁ
Anitta, Ty Dolla $ign – Gimme Your Number
MC Marcinho, DJ Marlboro – Glamourosa (Rap Glamurosa)
M.I.A. – Bucky Done Gun
Anitta, Papatinho, MC Kevin o Chris, Mr. Catra, YG – Que Rabão
Anitta – Envolver
Karol G – PROVENZA
Rosalía – MALAMENTE - Cap.1: Augurio
Rosalía – BULERÍAS
Rosalía – DELIRIO DE GRANDEZA
Justo Betancourt – Delirio De Grandeza
Tego Calderon – Al Natural
Rosalía – SAOKO
Wisin, Daddy Yankee – Saoco
Rosalía – CHICKEN TERIYAKI
Rosalía – DIABLO
Rosalía, TOKISCHA – LA COMBI VERSACE
Rosalía, The Weeknd – La Fama
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
How Bad Bunny won 2022
13 december 2022 · 35 min
For Switched On Pop’s end of year coverage, we just have one superlative: who won 2022? The answer, of course, is Bad Bunny. This year alone, the prolific Puerto Rican artist has topped charts worldwide, became Spotify’s most streamed artist globally, and his record Un Verano Sin Ti has obtained many accolades including being the first Spanish-language album nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. Lees meer
The record itself serves as a textbook to the sounds of Latin America: over the course of 23 songs, we’re introduced to bachata, dembow, cumbia, merengue, bomba, and of course, reggaeton. This episode, alongside LA Times journalist Suzy Exposito, we unpack Un Verano Sin Ti and why the album is so important, both for Bad Bunny and the Latin diaspora.
Vote for the Signal Awards: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2022/shows/general/music
Songs Discussed:
Bad Bunny – Callaita
Bad Bunny – Diles
Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin – I Like It
N.O.R.E., Daddy Yankee, Nina Sky, Gemstar, Big Mato – Oye Mi Canto
Ruben Blades – Plástico
Bad Bunny – Después de la Playa
Bad Bunny – Tití Me Preguntó
Bad Bunny – El Apagón
Héctor Lavoe, Fania All Stars – Mi Gente - Live
Omega – Si Te Vas
Aventura, Don Omar – Ella Y Yo
Nando Boom – Ellos Benia Dem Bow
Daddy Yankee – Gasolina
El General – Tu Pun Pun
Shabba Ranks – Dem Bow
El Alfa, CJ, Chael Produciendo, El Cherry Scom – La Mamá de la Mamá
Bad Bunny – Me Fui de Vacaciones
Bad Bunny, Bomba Estéreo – Ojitos Lindos
Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto – The Girl From Ipanema
Bad Bunny – Si Veo a Tu Mamá
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
The soft sounds of Kali Uchis (live from Vulture Fest)
6 december 2022 · 32 min
Through crafting a unique, cross-cultural sound, Kali Uchis has emerged as one of indie music’s most promising talents. From playing in jazz band as a kid to collaborating with Bootsy Collins and Kaytranada, the Grammy Award-winning artist has managed to take her bilingual, one-of-a-kind music to the Billboard charts while still keeping her DIY ethos. At this year’s Vulture Fest live in Los Angeles, host Charlie Harding talked with Uchis about her career, her songcraft and her two upcoming albums: one in Spanish and one in English.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
Why do new Christmas songs fail?
29 november 2022 · 27 min
In case you missed it last year: why are there no new Christmas songs? One one hand, there's more holiday songs than we’ll ever need. Every year pop stars drop countless holiday-themed album.
But despite the annual glut of Christmas releases, few of these new songs join the rotation of holiday classics. On Billboard's Holiday Hot 100 chart right now, there's only four songs from the past ten years that have made it to the top fifty.
We listen to each of these holiday hits—from Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and the Jonas Brothers—and and ask if these songs can go the distance and become the 21st century members of the Christmas music canon. Lees meerSongs Discussed - Playlist
Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree
Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me
Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
Jonas Brothers - Like It's Christmas
The Bird and the Bee - You and I at Christmas Time
Loretta Lynn - White Christmas Blue
Woody Goss - One for One
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - 8 Days of Hannukah
Jenny Owen Youngs, Tancred, John Mark Nelson - Fireside
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The Art of Flow
22 november 2022 · 36 min
In hip-hop, what draws us to an artist is not just the content of their lyrics but how they deliver them. Along with tapping your foot to the rhythm, understanding something called “flow” is essential to understanding hip-hop as a whole. Lees meer
In this episode of Switched On Pop, we interview genre icon DJ Jazzy Jeff on the concept of flow: what it is, how it applies to all music – not just hip-hop – and how any rapper’s flow can be analyzed under his guidelines. Taking his word for it, we put our magnifying glasses on to look at the bars of our favorite rappers, from Megan thee Stallion to Babytron.
Songs Discussed:
The Notorious B.I.G. - Big Poppa
Mary J. Blige - Family Affair
A Tribe Called Quest - The Hop
Danger Mouse, Black Thought - Aquamarine
BabyTron - Crocs & Wock’
RXKNephew - Take Three
JID - Better Days (feat. Johnta Austin)
Megan Thee Stallion - Not Nice
Megan Thee Stallion - Cocky Af
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Willow Smith rocks harder
15 november 2022 · 25 min
Coping Mechanism, Willow's new album, is her heaviest music yet. Charlie and Willow chat about the making of the new record and the many multitudes of rock music. Lees meer
Music Discussed
The Anxiety - Meet Me At Our Spot
Willow - Maybe It's My Fault, UR Town, Human Leach, PrettyGirlz, Lipstick, Why, Breakout, Hover Like a Goddess, Curious/Furious, Ur A Stranger
Yungblood - Memories (with Willow)
Deftones - Sextape
Radiohead - I Will
Straight Line Stitch - What You Do To Me
Killswitch Engage - My Curse
Lamb of God - Redneck
Primus - Lacquer Head
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
The Sound of Sapphism
8 november 2022 · 33 min
Tegan & Sara and King Princess have found themselves placed under the banner, "sapphic pop," a term recently coined referring to music by and/or for sapphics (a.k.a. women or femme folks attracted to other femme folks). Journalist Emma Madden defines the folk-inspired sound as having a “soft tactile approach” that’s “more sensual than it is sexual.” This umbrella folds in everyone from indie pop veterans Tegan & Sara to nonbinary artists like King Princess; even artists like Hozier and Sufjan Stevens are, improbably, considered sapphic pop, with their music having the same sonic qualities of other songs dedicated to feminine yearning.
From articles popping up in multiple news outlets to the majority of Taylor Swift’s openers for this upcoming tour (looking at MUNA, girl in red, and Phoebe Bridgers, specifically), the terminology of “sapphic pop” has come to define a scene almost out of nowhere.
This week on Switched On Pop, we explore exactly what sapphic pop is, where it came from, and how artists feel about it – even asking Tegan & Sara and King Princess directly. You can listen wherever you get podcasts. Lees meerSongs discussed
Clairo – Sofia
King Princess – Talia
girl in red – i wanna be your girlfriend
Hozier – Cherry Wine (live)
Alex G – Sarah
The Velvet Underground – I Found A Reason
Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You
Cris Williamson – Shine On Straight Arrow
Jaylib, Madlib, J Dilla – The Red
Taylor Swift – betty
Brittany Howard – Georgia
MUNA, Phoebe Bridgers – Silk Chiffon
Tegan & Sara – Call It Off
Tegan & Sara – Smoking Weed Alone
King Princess – 1950
King Princess – I Hate Myself, I Want To Party
King Princess – Pussy is God
Kate Bush – Why Should I Love You?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Scary Pockets funkify pop classics (with Lizzy McAlpine)
1 november 2022 · 34 min
Scary Pockets is the musical collective that has been transforming pop classics into funk anthems for over half a decade. Each week they release a new cover on YouTube featuring razor-sharp instrumentalists and a rotating cast of virtuosic lead singers. Amazingly, each of their 200-plus covers is arranged on the fly, in a span of about 90 minutes—capturing the talent and spontaneity of a group of musicians at the top of their game. We here at Switched on Pop were struck by the band's ability to infuse familiar songs with syncopation and backbeat, and rack up millions of views in the process, so we reached out to Scary Pockets's leaders—guitarist Ryan Lerman and keyboardist Jack Conte—to arrange for Nate and Reanna to be flies on the wall during their creative process. After documenting the behind-the-scenes dialogue that led to a slow-burning interpretation of the Bee Gees's 1977 classic "Staying Alive," we called up Ryan, Jack, and the song's lead vocalist, Lizzy McAlpine, to hear their insights on making a song that everyone knows sound fresh and unfamiliar Lees meer
Songs Discussed
Bee Gees - Staying Alive (Scary Pockets Cover)
Paul McCartney and Wings - Arrow Through Me (Scary Pockets Cover)
Beatles - Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Coldplay - Fix You (Scary Pockets Cover)
Parcels - Tieduprightnow
Bill Withers - Just the Two of Us (Scary Pockets Cover)
Justin Bieber - Peaches (Lizzy McAlpine Cover)More on Scary Pockets
Watch the video of Scary Pockets and Lizzy McAlpine covering "Staying Alive"
See them LIVE with David Ryan Harris & John Scofield, November 16 at Echoplex in Los Angeles! Tickets
Subscribe to their YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/scarypockets
Merch Store: https://www.scarypocketsfunk.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scarypockets
Listen on Spotify: Scary Pockets
Instagram: @scarypocketsMusician Credits:
Vocals: Lizzy McAlpine
BGVs: Sophia James, Arielle Kasnetz
Guitar: Ryan Lerman, Will Graefe
Wurlitzer & Synth: Jack Conte
Bass: Travis Carlton
Dru… -
Up late with Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’
24 oktober 2022 · 38 min
A Taylor Swift album is just not a collection of new music, it’s an exploration of a theme. For the last eight years, each release has embodied a single idea. Reputation marked a turn to the dark side, Lover a return to the light, and her pair of albums Folklore and Evermore painted acoustic, fictional landscapes. Each album propels fans to find covert lyrical connections to her personal life, and easter eggs to past compositions. Lees meer
Whereas Swift's pop star contemporaries have focused their energies on becoming business moguls, Swift has gone deeper into songwriting and receiving accolades in the process. In September 2022, the Nashville Songwriting Association International awarded Swift the Songwriter of the Decade award. In her acceptance speech she says, “writing songs is my life’s work and my hobby and my never-ending thrill.”
Now she continues that thrill collaborating with her frequent producing partner and friend of the show, Jack Antonoff, on Midnights, her 10th studio album (not counting her recent “Taylor’s version” re-recordings of past releases). On Midnights Swift builds a lyrical and sonic world that takes place across “13 sleepless nights.” Nate and Charlie listen closely to hear how she constructs this late night feeling.
More
Nate’s article on “Taylor Swift and the Work of Songwriting” for the Contemporary Music Review Journal
John Hull's Soundfly course on Advanced Synths and Patch Design for Producers
Music Discussed:
Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero, Lavender Haze, Maroon, Question, Snow On the Beach, Mastermind, Bejeweled, Vigilante Shit, Labyrinth, Midnight Rain, You’re On Your Own Kid, You Belong With Me, Stay
Kevin “Reese” Saunderson - Just Want Another Chance
Ray “Renegade” Keith - Terrorist P.A. Mix
Burial - Archangel
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Steve Lacy brings bedroom pop to the Billboard top
18 oktober 2022 · 34 min
It’s the song that launched a thousand TikTok videos – or over 500,000 to be exact: Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.” Lees meer
The track is a smooth, psychedelia tinged ode to yearning, currently spending its third week on the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Lacy is an artist dedicated to shifting form and convention, from his records with alternative R&B band The Internet to his productions for artists like Mac Miller and Vampire Weekend. Even in his solo work, his songs are unpredictable, deftly moving through genre in the vein of artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder.
“Bad Habit” specifically, though, is rooted in the genre of bedroom pop, a scene slowly gaining mainstream traction. With this track, Lacy is taking the sound that’s seeped through TikTok and Spotify to the top of the charts. On this episode of Switched On Pop, we dig deep into Lacy's career and his ability to craft immaculate melodies.
Songs Discussed:
Steve Lacy, “Bad Habit”
Sam Smith, Kim Petras, “Unholy”
The Internet, “Dontcha”
The Internet, “Special Affair”
The Internet, “Palace/Curse (feat. Tyler, The Creator & Steve Lacy)
Steve Lacy, “C U Girl”
Steve Lacy, “Dark Red”
Steve Lacy, “Only If”
Steve Lacy, “Like Me”
Steve Lacy, “Playground”
Steve Lacy, “Static”
Stevie Wonder, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices