Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network
Vox Media Podcast Network
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Listen closer to pop music, and hear how it moves us. Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

  1. 1 day ago

    III. Preaching to the Chorus (ft. Cypress Hill and Trevor Horn)

    The chorus was once the part of the song that brought us together, the place we gathered to sing. Now it's the most engineered thirty seconds in music. Legendary producer Trevor Horn and hip-hop icon B-Real of Cypress Hill help Charlie and Nate answer the question on their minds: when everything's a hook, is anything a chorus? CREDITS  Reanna Cruz: Producer  Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator  Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer  Dion Lee: Art Director  Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer  Nick Ripps: Video Editor  Nate Sloan: Host  Lissa Soep: Editor  Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers  Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions. Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠  Songs discussed: Whitney Houston, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the U.S.A." Handel, "Hallelujah Chorus" (from Messiah) Pete Seeger, "Oh! Susanna" Odetta, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, “Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Handel, "Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted" (from Messiah) Joan Morris & William Bolcom, "After the Ball"  Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow" Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode" The Beatles, “Yesterday" The Beatles, "Getting Better" Otis Redding, "Respect" Aretha Franklin, "Respect" Dolly Parton, "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You" The Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star" Prince, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" Katy Perry, "Roar" Calvin Harris, “I Need Your Love" (ft. Ellie Goulding) Britney Spears, "(You Drive Me) Crazy" Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream" Maroon 5, "Payphone" (ft. Wiz Khalifa) Bad Bunny, “Si Veo a Tu Mamá" Drake, "Janice STFU" Lykke Li, "I Follow Rivers" Charli xcx, "Rock Music" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    III. Preaching to the Chorus (ft. Cypress Hill and Trevor Horn)

  2. 21 Jul

    II. Justice for the verse (ft. Audrey Hobert)

    Everybody sings the chorus, but superfans quote the verse. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate trace the verse from Shakespeare through opera to TikTok, and songwriter Audrey Hobert shares her philosophy of specific verses and anthemic choruses: you can't have the payoff without the setup. CREDITS Reanna Cruz: Producer Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer Dion Lee: Art Director Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer Nick Ripps: Video Editor Nate Sloan: Host Lissa Soep: Editor Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions. Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠ Songs discussed: Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Edward Meeker, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" Third Eye Blind, "Semi-Charmed Life" Zara Larsson, "Lush Life" John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up" William Smith, Choir of New College, Oxford, Edward Higginbottom, "Opening Versicles and Responses" Georges Bizet, Michel Plasson, Angela Gheorghiu, Les Éléments, Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse, "Bizet: Carmen, WD 31, Act 1: Habanera. "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Carmen, Chœur)" Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Built to Spill, "Joyride" The Killers, "Mr. Brightside" Gracie Abrams, "That's So True" Audrey Hobert, "Sue me" Lizzo, "About Damn Time" Audrey Hobert, "Drive" Audrey Hobert, "Bowling alley" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    II. Justice for the verse (ft. Audrey Hobert)

  3. 14 Jul

    I. Let's get it started (ft. Aaron Dessner)

    Research says you judge a song in under half a second. So why write an intro at all? On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate kick off their Netflix launch and probe what an intro means in today's musical landscape, alongside special guests like Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, The National, Gracie Adams), who helps build the case for intros and reveals the surprising sources that form the opening sounds of Taylor Swift's “cardigan.” CREDITSReanna Cruz: ProducerIris Gottlieb: IllustratorCharlie Harding: Host, Executive ProducerDion Lee: Art DirectorBrandon McFarland: Audio EngineerNick Ripps: Video EditorNate Sloan: HostLissa Soep: EditorZach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme ComposersSwitched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions. Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠ Black Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started" Shawn Colvin, “Sonny Came Home” Smashing Pumpkins, “Tonight Tonight” The Cranberries, "Zombie" The Cranberries, "Linger" Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe" Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On" Britney Spears, "Toxic" Miles Davis, "Freddie Freeloader" Robyn, "Call Your Girlfriend" The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love" Led Zeppelin, "Over the Hills and Far Away" Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable" Deee-Lite, "Groove Is in the Heart" Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On" Missy Elliott, "Work It" Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee, "Despacito" Kendrick Lamar & SZA, "Luther" Mariah Carey, "Fantasy" The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again" Stevie Wonder, "Superstition" The Temptations, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up" Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" The Supremes, "Baby Love" The Kinks, "Sweet Lady Genevieve" The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows" Erik Satie, "Je te veux" D'Angelo and the Vanguard, "Back to the Future (Part I)" The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, "Closer" Sabrina Carpenter, "Taste" Benson Boone, "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" Stella Lefty, "Boston" Taylor Swift, "Cardigan" The National, "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" Taylor Swift, "So Long, London" Gracie Abrams, "Hit the Wall" Noah Kahan, "End of August" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    I. Let's get it started (ft. Aaron Dessner)

  4. 14 Jul

    Switched On Pop on Netflix July 14th

    We're coming to the big screen with a four part mini series starting July 14th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Switched On Pop on Netflix July 14th

  5. 30 Jun

    Music only the World Cup could make

    The quadrennial soccer (or fútbol, depending who you talk to) competition is upon us again: it's the FIFA World Cup! And while the World Cup is a sporting event, it's still relevant to the folks at Switched On Pop, because every four years a new crop of songs gets commissioned to drum up excitement for the games. This year, the official song is by Shakira and Burna Boy, but offerings from IShowSpeed and a madcap collaboration between Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, EJAE, and Megan Thee Stallion also play the field. On this episode, Charlie and Nate explore them all – including the Shakira and Ricky Martin songs of World Cups past. Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube Songs discussed: Shakira, Burna Boy – Dai Dai K'NAAN – Wavin' Flag Tears For Fears, Lil Baby – The World Is Yours To Take Jelly Roll, Carin León – Lighter LISA, Anitta, Rema – Goals Jung Kook, BTS – Dreamers Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, EJAE, Megan Thee Stallion – DNA (More Than A Game) IShowSpeed – Champions (WC 26) Ed Sheeran – Shape of You Shakira, Carlinhos Brown – La La La (Brasil 2014) Shakira, Freshlyground – Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) Zangalewa – Zangalewa Ricky Martin, Pablo Flores – The Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida) Ricky Martin – Livin' La Vida Loca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Music only the World Cup could make

  6. 23 Jun

    Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson) ICYMI

    In case you missed it: How does a country of 10 million people dominate the global pop charts? From ABBA's Eurovision breakthrough to Max Martin's methodical hit-making, Sweden has quietly engineered a kind of musical Stockholm Syndrome: we've all become captives to their sound without realizing it. Listen to the crystalline vocal production and deceptively simple chord progressions in tracks by Lisa, Childish Gambino, and Addison Rae, and you're hearing Sweden's sonic fingerprint so embedded in pop's DNA that it now defines the genre itself. We sit down with pop star Zara Larsson to explore her love letter to home, "Midnight Sun." As she puts it, "I can't really leave Sweden; it's just something that's like a part of who I am," a sentiment that captures how Swedish pop's unique blend of melancholy and euphoria, mirroring the country's extreme seasons, has made us all willing prisoners of Stockholm's musical empire. Songs Discussed Lisa ft. Rosalia: "New Woman" Childish Gambino: "Lithonia" Addison Rae: "Fame Is a Gun" Bleachers: "Tiny Moves" Zara Larsson: "Midnight Sun" Robyn: "Show Me Love" Robyn: "Dancing on My Own" Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Brad Mehldau: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson) ICYMI

  7. 15 Jun

    Olivia Rodrigo has The Cure for sadness

    Olivia Rodrigo is back with her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl in love. As the title might suggest, it’s a deeply personal affair, with moody soundscapes supporting hyper-detailed lyrics of soul-wrenching depth. This album is a meditation on desire, and intriguingly, the letdown that can occur when desire is fulfilled. Each track is haunted by a band that basically invented the idea of unfulfilled longing, The Cure, who receive multiple direct shout-outs and numerous subtle references. But the album isn’t a tribute, or a rip-off. It’s a continuation of the voice Rodrigo has been developing ever since she debuted “drivers license” in 2021. It’s a sound distinctly her own, with signature techniques to match. The “re-verse” in “Drop Dead,” which we discussed in a prior episode, and a spiraling structure that keeps listeners waiting and waiting for the final word. Tune in to hear how Olivia channels her gothic predilections and fastidious lyrical craft into a powerful emotional payoff.  Songs discussed: Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead, stupid song, u + me = 3, purple, the cure, begged, what’s wrong with me, less, expectations, cigarette smoke, drivers license, vampire The Cure - Just Like Heaven, Friday I’m in Love David Byrne - drivers license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Olivia Rodrigo has The Cure for sadness

  8. 9 Jun

    Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say

    Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney's collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, arrived when McCartney was 83 and and he came out swinging: the opening track greets listeners with a dissonant, unresolved guitar chord that sets the album's tone. Harmonic instability runs through the entire record: chromatic mediants, deceptive cadences, and persistent pedal tones prevent even the most nostalgic songs from settling into comfort. The album's lyrics focus on McCartney's pre-Beatles Liverpool youth, territory unfamiliar even to long-time fans. The songs pay deliberate sonic tribute to specific Beatles recordings: Mellotron strings echoing "Strawberry Fields Forever," a backwards laugh tape loop answering "Tomorrow Never Knows," a first-ever McCartney/Starr vocal duet so close in timbre the two voices are nearly indistinguishable. Songs discussed:Paul McCartney – "Mull of Kintyre"Paul McCartney – "As You Lie There"The Beatles – "Blackbird"The Beatles – "Helter Skelter"The Beatles – "You Never Give Me Your Money"Paul McCartney – "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey"Paul McCartney – "Band on the Run"Paul McCartney – "Live and Let Die"Paul McCartney – "Mountaintop"The Beatles – "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"The Beatles – "For No One"The Beatles – "Because"The Beatles – "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"The Beatles – "Octopus's Garden"Paul McCartney – "Down South"The Beatles – "Two of Us"Paul McCartney – "We Two"The Beatles – "Strawberry Fields Forever"Paul McCartney – "Never Know Those"The Beatles – "Tomorrow Never Knows"Paul McCartney – "Salesman Saint"John Lennon – "Working Class Hero"John Cougar Mellencamp – "Small Town"Paul McCartney – “Home to Us” (with Ringo Starr)Paul McCartney – "The Days We Left Behind"The Beatles – "When I'm Sixty Four" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say
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Listen closer to pop music, and hear how it moves us. Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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