Switched on Pop New York Magazine

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.

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


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For the first time in 2023, a rap song is at number one on Billboard's Hot 100: Doja Cat's “Paint the Town Red.” It’s her second number one single after the disco inspired “Say So.” But the ubiquitous and lighthearted bop didn’t accurately reflect Doja’s divisive persona, an extremely online meme lord, and sometimes troll, with a history of riling up internet controversy. 

Doja Cat recently called out her fans for their parasocial obsessiveness, losing 250k instagram followers in the process. Simultaneously, religious conservatives have accused her of Satanism for her playful use of illuminati imagery at her 27th birthday bash. But rather than recoil, Doja Cat is clapping back at criticism by embracing the devil. 

On “Paint the Town Red” she’s following the playbook of Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” all of which use demonic imagery to spark religious controversy while also commenting on artists’ indiscretions and the hellish nature of the attention economy. In her satanic suite — “Paint The Town Red,” “Demon,” and “Attention” — Doja Cat’s turns online flame wars into musical gold. 

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Songs Discussed:

Doja Cat - Paint The Town Red

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Lil Nas X - MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)

Sam Smith - Unholy (feat. Kim Petras)

Doja Cat - Say So

Doja Cat - Kiss Me More (feat. SZA)

Doja Cat - Woman

Doja Cat - Demons

Daddy Yankee - Gasolina

Kelis - Milkshake

Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

Bernard Herrmann - A Narrative for String Orchestra (From "Psycho") [Arr. J. Mauceri]

John Williams - Main Title/John Williams/Jaws - From The "Jaws" Soundtrack

Lil Nas X - MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)

Doja Cat - Attention

808 State - Pacific 202

Nicki Minaj - Anaconda

Calvin Harris - Prayers Up (feat. Travis Scott & A-Trak)

Dionne Warwick - Walk on By

Doja Cat - Paint The Town Red - Slowed Down & Sped Up

Doja Cat - Vegas (From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ELVIS)

Beyoncé - Naughty Girl


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When Jimmy Buffett died on the first day of September, 2023, musicians from Paul McCartney to Pitbull mourned the death of the "Margaritaville" singer. This surprised Nate and Charlie, because frankly, they had never listened deeply to Buffett's work before, and viewed him more as a branding genius than a great musician. How wrong were your faithful podcast hosts. Jimmy Buffett was no novelty act or one-hit wonder. He found a precise combination of yearning lyrics, hip modulations, and singable melodies that produced a collection of songs that questioned the fantasy of Island Life as much as they celebrated it. Journey with us across the seas of Buffett's artistry as we listen for everything we might have missed about this unique musical icon.
Songs Discussed
Jimmy Buffett - Margaritaville, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Why Don't We Get Drunk, Come Monday, Fins, A Pirate Looks at 40, My Gummie Just Kicked In
Harry Belafonte - Will His Love Be Like His Rum?
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In case you missed it, Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance is one of her most ambitious albums yet. On this week’s episode of Switched On Pop, we discuss Renaissance with beloved guest Sam Sanders, host of the new Vulture podcast Into It. In Sanders’ words: “it’s trying to do a lot” – but in the best way. The album incorporates seemingly every decade of contemporary popular dance music from Chic’s “Good Times” to Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.”

Much of the early discourse surrounding the album was marred by a confusing controversy over a small sample (we try to resolve the issue musicologically) – but the references on Renaissance are worth listening closely to, acting as a guide through essential dance music. The album is an homage to the black and queer innovators of dance; with samples and interpolations of songs both niche and mainstream flying by, like a DJ set curated by house music pioneers. 

On Renaissance, Beyoncé goes out of her way to cite, credit and compensate her influences, resulting in a triumph of musical curation. Just look at “Alien Superstar”: the song credits twenty-four people, largely due to Beyoncé’s musical nods, rather than an exercise in boardroom style songwriting. Sanders says “the liner notes themselves are showing you that this woman and her team have a PhD in music history.”

Listen to Switched On Pop to hear how Renaissance honors dance music innovators and finds new modes of expression in the genre. 

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Everyone seems to be getting Olivia Rodrigo wrong. She's one of the few pop stars who has made it big in the current era of fragmented music streaming, but so much of the narrative has been about whose songs she's stealing from, whether it be Taylor Swift, Elvis Costello or Paramore. Rodrigo's new album Guts arrives next Friday: while we wait patiently, we take a close listen to her new singles "vampire" and "bad idea right?" to subvert the narrative. These songs show that she isn't stealing from pop music, but rather uses a deep repertoire of musical predecessors to write very crafty music.

Songs discussed:

Olivia Rodrigo – vampire

Olivia Rodrigo – bad idea right?

Olivia Rodrigo – driver's license

Olivia Rodrigo – brutal

Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Pump It Up

Olivia Rodrigo – good 4 u

Paramore – Misery Business

Olivia Rodrigo – deja vu

Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer

Radiohead – Creep

Scala & Kolacny Brothers – Creep

Lana del Rey – Get Free

David Bowie – Space Oddity

Elvis Presley – That's When Your Heartaches Begin

Roy Orbison – Oh, Pretty Woman

Talking Heads – And She Was

The Breeders – Cannonball

Liz Phair – Supernova

Wet Leg – Chaise Longue

The Beatles – Twist And Shout

Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name


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In 2003, amidst a bunch of bleak alternative rock bangers like “Numb” by Linkin Park and “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence, a rock song stood out on the charts for its fantastic hooks and juvenile sense of humor. “Stacy’s Mom” turned the New Jersey band Fountains of Wayne into MTV mainstays and Grammy nominees. But while they continued to release music, tour the country, and maintain a devoted fanbase, they never reached the same level of fame again.
Most people never looked further than the raunchy music video, but Fountains of Wayne released six albums across two decades, each filled with tracks of quirky, clever, and undeniably catchy power pop. And the writer of that song, FOW bassist Adam Schlesinger, had a rich and fascinating career behind the scenes in film, TV, and more. In this episode of Switched on Pop, we explore the history of “Stacy’s Mom”, a perfectly crafted pop song that stands as a testament to the brilliance of a musician whose career was cut tragically short.
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