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Switched on Pop

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

Vulture

For the first time in history, five country songs were at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Ella Langley, Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift and Stella Lefty all have songs that range from two-stepping hits to borderline Americana: what do these songs say about the state of country music?

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:


  Dolly Parton, “9 to 5”

  Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, “Islands In the Stream”

  Dolly Parton, “Rockstar”

  Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”

  Ronnie Milsap, “Smoky Mountain Rain”

  George Strait, “Amarillo By Morning”

  Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues”

  Brad Paisley, “Cluster Pluck (feat. James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, John Jorgenson, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert & Steve Wariner)”

  Buddy Holly, “That’ll Be The Day”

  Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Texas Flood”

  George Strait, “All My Ex’s Live In Texas”

  The Pointer Sisters, “Slow Hand”

  Conway Twitty, “Slow Hand”

  Morgan Wallen, “Been By Now”

  Ella Langley & Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore”

  Taylor Swift, “I Knew It, I Knew You (From ‘Toy Story 5’)”

  Squeeze, “Tempted”

  The Velvet Underground, “Sweet Jane”

  Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

  Taylor Swift, “cardigan”

  Stella Lefty, “Boston”

  Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”


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Questionably Country

Many of us keep a journal, but few of us are able to turn our unvarnished thoughts into cultural moments touching on love, death, and guitars quite like Phoebe Bridgers. Her new album Lost Weekend isn’t just throwing the pages of her personal life into song, it’s much more than that: A beguiling, hyper-compositional meditation on the last six years of her life. 

The genres range from bluegrass to electronic, and collaborators pepper the record – from her boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, to Americana outfit Nickel Creek, to a mysterious presence who may or may not be Geese singer Cameron Winter. The end result is one of the most immersive and heartbreaking albums of the year thus far, transforming the specificity of one person’s story and observations into a universal reflection on life’s fragility.

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:


  Phoebe Bridgers – The Outside

  Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Boys

  Phoebe Bridgers – Kill Me

  Phoebe Bridgers – The Governor’s Waltz

  Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend

  Phoebe Bridgers – Haunted

  Phoebe Bridgers – Still Standing

  Phoebe Bridgers – Never Going Back!

  Phoebe Bridgers – I Can’t Wait

  Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend (Reprise)

  Paul Lansky and Hannah MacKay – Notjustmoreidlechatter

  Phoebe Bridgers – I Know The End

  Phoebe Bridgers – Motion Sickness


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Phoebe Bridgers opens her Moleskine

Madonna has returned this summer with Confessions II: an album full of huge hooks, pounding bass, and sincere emotion. It’s the queen of pop's first record in seven years, and serves as a sequel to her 2005 smash hit, Confessions on a Dance Floor. The record ties together threads that have existed throughout Madonna’s entire discography, but it also serves a greater purpose. Confessions II is Madonna’s biopic, allowing her to tell her story on her own terms. On this episode of Switched on Pop, producer (and Madonna superfan) Reanna Cruz walks Charlie and Nate through the record, and makes the case for it being the best Madonna record of the last twenty years.

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:


  Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter – Bring Your Love

  Madonna – Express Yourself

  Madonna – Hung Up

  Madonna – Danceteria

  Madonna – Vogue

  Lou Reed – Walk On the Wild Side

  Madonna – Get Together

  Madonna – I Feel So Free

  Donna Summer – I Feel Love

  Madonna – One Step Away

  Madonna – Nothing Fails

  Madonna – Everything

  Madonna – Fragile

  Madonna – Frozen


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We have Confessions to make...

For many people – including Charlie and Nate – studying classical piano as a child always felt like a chore. Now, as adults, there’s a newfound appreciation for classical music, but the art form isn’t always accessible. One of the people trying to change that is the world-renowned pianist Lang Lang, classical piano’s greatest interpreter. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie sits down with Lang Lang at the Steinway showroom in New York City to see how taste changes over time, the different ways a master pianist can interpret a work, and ultimately, why classical music is still important.

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 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A piano lesson that will change how you listen (ft. Lang Lang)

Bridges open up the world of a song: they're a breath of fresh air and a point of contrast, typically delivered right before the final chorus. But sometimes they accomplish even more, changing the whole meaning of a song by introducing a note of doubt, or even defiance. This is what the best artists do, from Beyoncé to the Beatles to Taylor Swift, but some critics are concerned that the bridge is in danger of being demolished. On this episode, Charlie and Nate speak to songwriter and artist Tayla Parx, who's worked with everyone from Ariana Grande to Panic! At the Disco, to learn why the bridge matters more than ever — and why an artist might still want to skip it altogether.

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:


  James Brown, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"

  Led Zeppelin, "The Crunge"

  Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"

  Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow"

  "On the Sunny Side of the Street"

  The Beatles, "No Reply"

  The Beatles, “We Can Work It Out"

  The Beatles, "Something"

  Beyoncé, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

  Chappell Roan, "Good Luck, Babe!"

  Maisie Peters, "I'm Trying (Not Friends)"

  OutKast, "Hey Ya!"

  Taylor Swift, "Cruel Summer"

  Taylor Swift, "Getaway Car"

  Ariana Grande, "7 rings"

  Ariana Grande, "pov"

  JENNIE, "like JENNIE"

  Ravyn Lenae, "Saturday Night"


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IV. Take It to the Bridge (ft. Tayla Parx)

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"


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

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"


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

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"


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

We're coming to the big screen with a four part mini series starting July 14th.
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Switched On Pop on Netflix July 14th

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


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Music only the World Cup could make

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"




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

In the last episode of our feral pop miniseries, we take a look at the 22 year old rapper primed to take over the world: 2hollis. Splitting the difference between hardstyle and hip-hop while emanating an aura best described as “vampiric,” he’s been one of the most hyped musicians coming out of the underground. His music is distorted, chaotic, and over the top – literally – but he reflects a larger sentiment from younger audiences: the more sonic chaos the better.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:
 
  Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer

  underscores – Music

  2hollis – poster boy

  SUICIDAL-IDOL – ecstacy

  2hollis – flash

  2hollis – beginning

  2hollis – sidekick

  underscores, 8485 – your favorite sidekick

  2hollis – crush

  2hollis – 3

  Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites


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2hollis is the underground’s genre-hopping vampire

This week on Switched On Pop, we’re looking at all things feral pop, the microgenre that takes pop music to its most wild extremes. And no feral pop artist is more tapped into that ethos than underscores. Her music synthesizes dubstep, trance, and Timbaland with ease, and her latest album ‘U’ is filled with boundless energy. She’s already opened up for 100 gecs, PinkPantheress, and Porter Robinson; this fall, she’ll open up for Charli XCX on her upcoming Music, Fashion, Film tour. She said it best on her debut album, Fishmonger: “it’s the new wave of the future!”  

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  underscores – Music

  SOPHIE – Ponyboy

  underscores, 8485 – your favorite sidekick

  Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot Shit)

  Madonna – Music

  Madonna – American Life

  underscores – Do It

  Britney Spears – Piece of Me

  PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson – Stateside

  Justin Timberlake – SexyBack


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Pop music for an internet-pilled generation

What would it sound like if pop music was reverted to its most wild state of being? It would sound hyper-digital, influenced by the electronic vanguard of the 2010s, and speak to a post-genre audience. And while the charts have been stagnant, Gen-Z has been crafting this exact sound: one that is exciting, unpredictable, and above all else, feral.

After bubbling underground for the past few years, the subgenre we’ve coined “feral pop” is finally poised to have a breakout, best exemplified by the popularity of the computer-loving Ninajirachi, pop star underscores, and rave-rapper 2hollis. This week on Switched On Pop, Reanna, Charlie, and Nate are going to tap into all that this dubstep-influenced sound has to offer, starting with the Australian DJ Ninajirachi, and explore why everyone in pop music is finally getting feral.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠

Songs discussed:


  Ninajirachi – CSIRAC

  underscores – Music

  2hollis – girl

  Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

  Imogen Heap – Headlock

  SOPHIE – BIPP

  Ninajirachi – iPod touch

  Ninajirachi, Izzy Camina – Ninacamina

  Skrillex – Rock ’n’ Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)

  Skrillex, Sirah – Bangarang

  Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer

  Ninajirachi – London Song

  LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

  Justice – Genesis

  Justice – Civilization

  Justice – Stress


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The new wave of pop is here, and it’s feral

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
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Olivia Rodrigo has The Cure for sadness

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"
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Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say

A sci-fi ballet imagined a 2080 where AI strips people of purpose, and the day before its New York premiere, an actual dystopia arrived.



Arc Iris, the trio of Jocie Adams, Zach Tenorio and Ray Belli, built iTMRW as a concept record set in a future ruled by a mega-corporation that shares its name. In its world, AI has taken most jobs and even the thinking left inside them, so the corporation offers pods where anyone can live any dream in virtual reality. The piece premiered in Cambridge in January 2020, then its New York show collapsed the day before the lockdown.



What follows is the story of a project that outlasted its own premise. When venues closed, they left Providence for Los Angeles, rebuilt a dilapidated house, spent eight months in a 120-square-foot shed, and constructed their own studio and stage. The dystopia they wrote became, in their telling, a personal utopia.
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How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)

A culture that rewards easily consumable individual identities produces plenty of pop stars and almost no bands. A significant exception: MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. MUNA treats the band as a structure that grounds identity beyond the ego and makes any success feel shared among the three. Their new album, Dancing on the Wall, wraps that conviction in blaring, unapologetic '80s production: slap bass, brightness pushed to the front, and everything connected in one time and place.Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube


  MUNA, "It Gets So Hot"

  MUNA, "Dancing on the Wall"

  Lionel Richie, "Dancing on the Ceiling"

  MUNA, "Eastside Girls"

  Yello, "Oh Yeah"

  Dead or Alive, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"

  Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls"

  Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

  Charli XCX, "365"

  MUNA, "Wannabeher"

  Bikini Kill, "Rebel Girl"

  Peaches, "Boys Wanna Be Her"

  Le Tigre, "Deceptacon"

  MUNA, "Big Stick"

  MUNA, "Anything But Me"

  Flobots, "Handlebars"

  MUNA, "I Know a Place"


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Why bands give us purpose (ft. MUNA)

Canada’s favorite export Drake is back! This month, the Toronto singer-rapper extraordinaire released three albums simultaneously: the long-anticipated return to form Iceman, the sultry, R&B Habibti and the pop-focused, clubby Maid of Honour. All three albums have much different vibes, and are Drake’s first official solo efforts since his seismic beef with Kendrick Lamar back in 2024.

There’s a lot of music to talk about. As a result, Reanna argues that we are living in an era of “Drake Slop” – low-effort, mass-produced dumps of music, often with confused intentions. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Reanna, Charlie, and Nate explore all that these three albums have to offer, and try to figure out exactly what is going on in the twisted mind of Aubrey Graham. 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Drake – Shabang

  Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us

  Drake – Circadian Rhythm

  Drake, Central Cee – Which One

  Drake – NOKIA

  Drake – Make Them Cry

  Drake – Janice STFU

  Drake – Make Them Pay

  Drake, Future, Molly Santana – Ran To Atlanta

  Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar – Like That

  Drake – 2 Hard 4 The Radio

  YG, Slim 400 – Word Is Bond

  Mac Dre – 2 Hard 4 the Fuckin' Radio

  Drake – Rusty Intro

  Rihanna, Kanye West, Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds

  Drake – High Fives

  Drake – Tuscan Leather

  Drake – Classic

  Drake – Teenage Fever

  Drake, Sexyy Red – Cheetah Print

  Drake, Sexyy Red, SZA – Rich Baby Daddy

  Afrika Bambaataa, The Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock

  Drake – BBW

  Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls

  Drake – Princess

  A$AP Rocky – PUNK ROCKY

  Drake – Find Your Love


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Drake's Slop Era

Kacey Musgraves' album Middle of Nowhere finds the country outlaw taking a break from exploring her inner life to look outward, back to her roots: the regional stylings of Texas. She says the album was inspired by a sign in her hometown that read “Golden, TX: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” The album’s sounds probe this same borderland mentality, encapsulating desert noir, Norteño, tejano, and soft rock. Plus, Willie Nelson.

The result is a collection of songs that are funny, moving, and reaching back to the sound Musgraves established in her debut record 13 years ago. But the world of country has changed since then – artists like Ella Langley have taken over the charts, cribbing Musgraves' sound while courting a more conservative audience. Can the genre encompass all these multitudes? Nate and Charlie explore this debate through Middle of Nowhere.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠

Songs discussed:


  Kacey Musgraves – I Miss You

  Kacey Musgraves – Merry Go 'Round

  Kacey Musgraves – High Horse

  Kacey Musgraves – justified

  Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well

  Kacey Musgraves – Dry Spell

  Kacey Musgraves, Billy Strings – Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy

  Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson – Uncertain, TX

  Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere

  Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert – Horses and Divorces

  Miranda Lambert – Mama's Broken Heart

  Ella Langley – Choosin' Texas

  Dolly Parton, David Hidalgo – Before The Next Teardrop Falls

  Ella Langley – Be Her

  Kacey Musgraves – Rhinestoned

  Neil Young – Harvest Moon


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Kacey Musgraves walks country’s borderlands

The pedal steel and the saz both live in the spaces between equal-tempered notes, and that gap is where Rostam built American Stories.

Rostam joined Vampire Weekend at Columbia in 2006, produced the band's first three albums, and after leaving in 2016 made records with Clairo and Haim you can identify as his within a few bars.

His solo album, American Stories, reflects his experience as an American whose family is from Iran. He came into the studio this past March, just after the United States launched military operations there. It's a record that asks us to listen between two cultures.


  SONGS DISCUSSED

  Rostam "Like a Spark"

  Wilco "What Light"

  HAIM "Summer Girl"

  Rostam "Back of a Truck"

  Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone"

  Bob Dylan "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"

  The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On"

  Lou Reed "Perfect Day"

  Rostam "Forgive Is to Know"

  Rostam "Hardy" (ft. Clairo)

  Clairo “Sophia”

  Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam “A 1000 Times”

  David Bowie "I Can't Give Everything Away"

  Rostam "The Road to Death"

  Rostam "Come Apart"

  Rostam "Campus (Original Version)"

  Rostam "The Weight"


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Rostam reimagines American music

The flowers are blooming and the calendar says May. That can only mean one thing: the Eurovision Song Contest is upon us once again. This year, thirty-five countries face off to determine the best song that Europe and adjacent continents have to offer. However, the competition comes with a big asterisk: while Eurovision prides themselves on being “apolitical,” the inclusion of Israel in the competition has led to a massive boycott, and the nations of Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands all withdrawing their participation.

These are very real concerns impacting the general tenor of the competition this year, and are worth deeply considering. Since  Eurovision is music news, and proves fundamental in discovering new sounds in global pop, as reporters, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna run down the top contenders according to bookmakers as of this recording. If you’re not watching this year, you’ll still know what’s going on. 

But if Eurovision isn’t of interest, it’s all good. At the end of the episode, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna also take some time to run down the current state of Switched On Pop bingo.


Get your own bingo card here.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube



Songs discussed:


  Céline Dion – Ne partez pas sans moi

  ABBA – Waterloo

  Joost – Europapa

  JJ – Wasted Love

  Delta Goodrem – Eclipse

  Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem

  Ariana Grande – One Last Time

  Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper – Shallow

  Akylas – Ferto

  Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha

  Linda Lampenius, Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin

  Windows95man – No Rules

  Erika Vikman – ICH KOMME

  DARA – Bangaranga

  Alexandra Cǎpitǎnescu – Choke Me

  Satoshi – Viva, Moldova!

  PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson – Stateside


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Eurovision is back – but not without controversy

How do you write a rap verse that's clever without saying so? Samara Cyn, one of the sharpest young writers in hip-hop, joins us to talk about Detour, her new EP about going analog. We get into wordplay versus narrative, the Missy Elliott blueprint behind "oooshxt!", and why she takes a knee in the vocal booth when a line won't come out.



Songs Discussed


  Samara Cyn — "Sinner"

  Samara Cyn "BUSHWICK"

  Samara Cyn — "FREE"

  Samara Cyn — "Highest"

  Samara Cyn — "oooshxt!"

  Samara Cyn — "summer's turning"

  Samara Cyn — "over influence"

  Samara Cyn — "Nomad"

  Samara Cyn — "Bad Brain"


Newsletter: https://switchedonpop.substack.com/
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Samara Cyn is rap's best new writer

Olivia Rodrigo's chart-topping new single "drop dead," the lead single from her forthcoming third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, breaks one of pop's oldest rules by abandoning the traditional second verse and replacing it with something entirely new. From Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" to Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" and Chappell Roan's "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl," a growing wave of today's biggest pop stars are ditching the verse-chorus formula listeners have been trained to expect for decades. Rodrigo didn't invent the second-verse switch-up, but on "drop dead" she may have just killed off the predictable second verse for good.





Songs Discussed


  Frank Zappa "Charlene"

  Olivia Rodrigo "drop dead"

  The Cure "Just Like Heaven"

  Jean-Baptiste Lully "The Tragey of Armide" Ryan Brown conducting Opera Lafayette

  Olivia Rodrigo "drivers license"

  Olivia Rodrigo "good 4 u"

  Olivia Rodrigo "vampire"

  Olivia Rodrigo "ballad of a homeschooled girl"

  Arnold Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire — Patricia Kopatchinskaja

  Mariah Carey "Fantasy" (ft. Ol' Dirty Bastard)

  Blackstreet "No Diggity" (ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen)

  Peter Gabriel "Don't Give Up" (ft. Kate Bush)

  Kendrick Lamar, SZA "luther"

  Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars "Die With a Smile"

  Post Malone, Swae Lee "Sunflower"

  HUNTR/X "Golden"

  Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo "Start of Something New" 

  Matt Cornett, Olivia Rodrigo "What I've Been Looking For" 

  Olivia Rodrigo "All I Want"

  The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You"

  Sheryl Crow "Strong Enough"

  Sabrina Carpenter "Please Please Please"

  Sabrina Carpenter "Manchild"

  Chappell Roan "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl"

  Chappell Roan "HOT TO GO!"

  Chappell Roan "Red Wine Supernova"


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Olivia Rodrigo and the second verse massacre

Hrishikesh Hirway, host of Song Exploder, returns with his first album in fifteen years, In the Last Hour of Light, made under a premise that's almost contradictory for a podcaster built around isolated stems: session players who had never heard the songs, vocals tracked live in the room, no click track, and no overdubs. 



The layered style that defines current pop production is itself a relatively recent development. Hirway's record  reaches back to the older live-tracking tradition that shaped the 1950s and 60s Bollywood recordings he grew up listening to in his parents' house. The album is about memory and so it’s appropriate that the music is recorded whole  in all its beautiful imperfections.



Songs Discussed


  Hrishikesh Hirway "Things Change Even Now"

  Hrishikesh Hirway "Stray Dogs"

  Hrishikesh Hirway "The Ocean"

  Hrishikesh Hirway "Home Movies"

  Adrienne Lenker “Anything”

  Chuck Berry "Maybellene"

  The Beatles "Twist and Shout"

  James Brown "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

  Sidney Bechet "The Sheik of Araby"

  Les Paul & Mary Ford "How High the Moon"

  The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"

  The Beatles “A Day In The Life”

  Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody"

  Jacob Collier "With the Love in My Heart"

  Brandi Carlile "You and Me on the Rock"


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Hrishikesh Hirway made an album about running out of time — in no time

BTS is back. The best selling K Pop group of all time has been on hiatus for four years. They haven’t released an album in six. They were once the biggest band in the world. Can they regain their throne? Or has the world moved on. Leaning on traditional Korean sounds and a bevy of international producers, from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker to JPEGMafia, is their album Arirang the future or the past of K Pop? Hye Jin Lee, communications professor at USC and K Pop scholar, joins to break down the album's references and ponder how longtime fans will respond.



Songs Discussed

BTS - Body to Body

Koreana - Hand In Hand

Lee Chun-Hee	 - Arirang

BTS - Hooligan

Michel Magne - Yang Tse Kiang - Bande originale du film "Un singe en hiver"

ROSALÍA - MALAMENTE - Cap.1: Augurio

Prefuse 73 - The End of Biters - International

BTS - Aliens

Kim Young-gil and Yoon Ho-Se - Ajaeng sanjo - Jungmori

BTS - FYA

Junior Sanchez - Lookin 4 Love - Extended Mix

BTS - No. 29

BTS - SWIM

BTS - Merry Go Round

Tame Impala - New Person, Same Old Mistakes

BTS - NORMAL

BTS - they don’t know ’bout us

The Four Freshmen	It's A Blue World

BTS - Paldogangsan

BTS - No More Dream

BTS and Zara Larsson - A Brand New Day

Agust D - Haegeum
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BTS is back. But K Pop is not the same.

Ten years ago, Maggie Rogers was a senior at NYU, scrambling to finish a song for a music production class she was close to failing. The guest critic that week happened to be Pharrell Williams. She played him "Alaska," a track she'd written in about fifteen minutes. It is a bit of folk songwriting crossed with the electronic music she'd fallen for studying abroad. Pharrell told her he'd never heard anything that sounded like it. Someone was filming. The clip went viral, and it launched Maggie into pop stardom. 



Ten years later, she's released three studio albums, earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and gone back to school to pick up a master's from Harvard Divinity School, where she studied the spirituality of public gatherings. And in the last few months she's been as visible offstage as on — advocating for free speech in DC, performing for 200,000 people at a protest in Minneapolis alongside Joan Baez, and delivering a haunting performance during the final run of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which CBS is ending in May.



This week host Charlie Harding got to sit down with Maggie live at Chelsea Studios, in front of a room of current NYU students. It’s the same school, ten years later, now with Charlie in the professor's chair and Maggie as the visiting artist.



SONGS DISCUSSED


  Maggie Rogers "Alaska"

  Maggie Rogers "Better"

  Maggie Rogers "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" 

  Maggie Rogers "Different Kind of World"

  Marvin Gaye "What's Going On"

  Bob Dylan "The Times They Are a-Changin'"

  USA for Africa "We Are the World"




More

Newsletter
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Maggie Rogers: going viral is a trap

Train is the kind of band that some people love to hate.  Songs like "Meet Virginia" and "Hey Soul Sister" gave the band huge hits, and no small amount of snark. And then there's "Drops of Jupiter." Released in 2001, the song is almost impossible not to love, no matter how many lyrics about soy lattes and Tae Bo it includes. 

"Drops of Jupiter" was released 25 years ago, so there's no more perfect time to plumb the secrets of this celestial smash, and there's no more perfect guest than Train's lead singer and songwriter, Pat Monahan. Pat breaks down the origin of the song, why he thought it would flop, how Train is like a rom com, and why he'd rather his songs be more famous than him. By the end of our conversation, you might find yourself learning to love Train.

Songs Discussed

Train - Drops of Jupiter, Meet Virginia, Hey Soul Sister

Taylor Swift - Drops of Jupiter
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Learning to Love Train: "Drops of Jupiter" is back in the atmosphere

Going for broke turned out to be the most honest thing Slayyyter ever made. After financial losses and a depressive episode that left her ready to quit music entirely, Slayyyter entered the studio planning to make one final album. In this conversation, she traces how that desperation shaped every decision on Worst Girl in America. This conversation will leave you feeling Daddy AF. 



SONGS DISCUSSED


  Slayyyter – "Daddy AF"

  Slayyyter – "Brittany Murphy"

  Slayyyter – "Dance"

  Slayyyter – "Crank"

  Slayyyter – "Gas Station"

  Slayyyter – "Beat Up Chanels"

  Slayyyter – "Old Technology"

  Slayyyter – "Yes God"

  Slayyyter – "Unknown Lovers"

  Slayyyter – "Cannibalism"

  Slayyyter – "Actually Kind of Famous"

  Slayyyter – "What It's Like to Be Liked"

  Slayyyter – "Mine"


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Slayyyter might actually be the 'Worst Girl in America'

Charlie Puth joins Switched On Pop in Studio A at Power Station at Berklee NYC, live before a room of current students, ten days after performing the national anthem at Super Bowl 60 and weeks before releasing his fourth album, Whatever's Clever. The conversation is grounded in one question: how do you absorb the music you love and turn it into something that actually sounds like you?

Puth traces his national anthem arrangement through a lineage running from Jose Feliciano's 1968 World Series performance to Marvin Gaye's 808-driven 1983 All-Star Game version to Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl rendition. The through-line: citation is letting your influences dissolve into your hands until they become unrecognizable. That principle runs throughout the new record, from the Quincy Jones guitar tone on "Cry" to the Chick Corea quotation buried in "Boy" that Puth didn't realize was there until after writing it.

Songs Discussed

Bruce Springsteen – "Born in the USA"

Madonna – "Like a Virgin"

David Bowie – "Let's Dance"

Charlie Puth ft. Wiz Khalifa – "See You Again"

Charlie Puth – "We Don't Talk Anymore"

Charlie Puth – "Attention"

Charlie Puth – "Light Switch"

Whitney Houston – "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Babyface – "Whip Appeal"

Jose Feliciano – "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Jimi Hendrix – "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Marvin Gaye – "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Marvin Gaye – "Sexual Healing"

Soulja Boy – "Crank That (Soulja Boy)"

DeBarge – "Who's Holding Donna Now"

Charlie Puth ft. Jeff Goldblum – "Until It Happens to You"

Charlie Puth – "Changes"

Charlie Puth – "Cry"

Kenny G – "Lullaby"

SOPHIE – "It's Okay to Cry"

Michael Jackson – "Human Nature"

Johnny Hates Jazz – "Shattered Dreams"

Madonna – "Into the Groove"

Joshua Redman – "St. Thomas"

Charlie Puth – "Boy"

Chick Corea – "Spain"

Charlie Puth – "How Long (Has This Been Going On)"

Bell Biv DeVoe – "Poison"

Elton John – "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

Prince – "When Doves Cry"

Schoolly D – "PSK What Does It Mean"

Rick Astley – "Never Gonna Give You Up"

Charlie Puth – "Beat Yourself Up"

Britney Spears – "Lucky"

George Benson – "Give Me the Night"

No Doubt – "Hella Good"

Michael Jackson – "Beat It"

Michael Jackson – "Billie Jean"

Charlie Puth – "Washed Up"

Charlie Puth – "I Used to Be Cringe"

Richard Smallwood – "Center of My Joy"

Richard Smallwood – "Total Praise"
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How Charlie Puth honored Whitney Houston for 125 million people (live at Berklee NYC)

RAYE names Amy Winehouse and Edith Piaf as her artistic predecessors on the opening tracks of new album This Music May Contain Hope. Both died young, undone by the same darkness they sang about, and placing them there reads as a dare to herself. The album that follows is her attempt to find a different ending: a 17-track, 75-minute work featuring Al Green, Hans Zimmer, the London Symphony Orchestra, and over 80 collaborators, structured around the four seasons as a journey from autumn despair toward summer light. 

Every genre shift on the record, from Vivaldi's Winter to post-bop jazz combo to gospel choir, serves that arc: small emotional truths get cinematic treatment, most strikingly when the click of heels on pavement becomes the central rhythm of an anthem about getting dressed to go out with friends. The episode serves as a field guide to the album's vast musical language, and to the argument that hope is something you have to build, genre by genre, track by track.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube


  RAYE – "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!" 

  Nat King Cole – "Let There Be Love" 

  Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – "Summertime" 

  RAYE (ft. 070 Shake ) – "Escapism." 

  RAYE – "Intro: Girl Under the Grey Cloud." 

  RAYE – "I Will Overcome." 

  Edith Piaf – "La Vie en Rose" 

  RAYE – "Nightingale Lane." 

  RAYE – "Fin." 

  RAYE – "The WhatsApp Shakespeare." 

  Mark Ronson & RAYE – "Suzanne" 

  RAYE – "I Hate The Way I Look Today." 

  RAYE – "Winter Woman." 

  Vivaldi – "The Four Seasons: Winter" 

  RAYE (ft. Hans Zimmer) – "Click Clack Symphony." 

  RAYE (ft. Al Green) – "Goodbye Henry." 

  Al Green – "Love and Happiness" 

  Aretha Franklin – "Rock Steady" 

  RAYE – "Skin & Bones." 

  Fred Wesley and The J.B.'s (ft. James Brown) – "Damn Right I Am Somebody" 

  RAYE – "Beware.. The South London Lover Boy." 

  The Supremes – "You Can't Hurry Love" 

  Iggy Pop – "Lust for Life" Jet – "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" 

  Mark Ronson (ft. Amy Winehouse) – "Valerie" 

  Charles Albert Tindley – "I'll Overcome Someday" 

  Prince - “Purple Rain" 

  Beyoncé – "Love on Top" 

  RAYE (ft. Amma & Absolutely) – "Joy."


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RAYE’s maximalist masterpiece is the hope we need

On a recent podcast interview, Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow said that, to craft his new album Monica, he “got blacker.” The problem is… Jack Harlow is white. The statement, while extremely tone-deaf, speaks to his intentions with this musical pivot: musically, Monica turns to the historically Black genres of R&B and neo-soul to craft a new image designed to shed the stigma of being a “white rapper.” 

The pivot is more costume than culture, but in doing so, Harlow seems to be following in the footsteps of several white rappers over the past decade. Artists like Post Malone, MGK, and Jelly Roll have all had radical shifts in sound and image over their career, separating themselves from their roots in hip-hop. So, in response to Monica, Reanna and Charlie ask: where have all the white rappers gone? 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Jack Harlow – First Class

  Jack Harlow – Lovin On Me

  Jack Harlow – Trade Places

  Post Malone, Hank Williams Jr. – Finer Things

  Jack Harlow – Tyler Herro

  Jack Harlow, Doja Cat – Just Us

  Jack Harlow – Lonesome

  J Dilla, Common, D’Angelo – So Far to Go

  D’Angelo – Spanish Joint

  D’Angelo – Feel Like Makin’ Love

  Jack Harlow – All Of My Friends

  Led Zeppelin - Babe I’m Gonna Leave You

  Paul Wall, Big Pokey – Sittin’ Sidewayz

  Beastie Boys – Fight For Your Right

  Post Malone – White Iverson

  Post Malone – Leave

  Post Malone, Morgan Wallen – I Had Some Help

  James Taylor – Machine Gun Kelly

  MGK – LOCO

  MGK, blackbear – my ex’s best friend

  5 Seconds of Summer – She Looks So Perfect

  MGK – cliche

  Jelly Roll – F*ck What They Talkin Bout (ft. O.N.E.) 

  Jelly Roll – Need A Favor

  Bubba Sparxxx – Deliverance

  Eminem – Cleanin’ Out My Closet

  Eminem – Without Me


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Where have all the white rappers gone?

Jacob Collier is a rare musician: an expert in so many musical languages (western harmony, negative harmony, microtonalism) and a phenomenal communicator about music. He's something like an Ambassador for Music, traveling the world and getting thousands of people, musicians and non-musicians alike, to sing in his audience choirs.

Live at On Air Fest, this conversation, catches Jacob between projects. Last year he released The Light for Days, a comparatively minimalist collection of songs written on his special five-string guitar, a quiet turn after the massive Djesse quadrilogy, which featured over 50 collaborators from Herbie Hancock to Anoushka Shankar and wove hundreds of thousands of audience choir voices into the recordings.

Given that Jacob is always improvising with the best collaborators, Charlie wanted one of his own own. Five minutes before the show, Charlie spotted Sam Sanders, co-host of Vibe Check and host of the Sam Sanders Show on KCRW, and asked him onstage. Sam's a musician and one of the great interviewers, and he showed how improvising in conversation is just as essential as it is in music.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube
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Jacob Collier can make anyone sing

The dance floor is where Harry Styles does his therapy, and this album is the session notes. Four years after Harry's House, Styles returns with Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally, a record built from minimal ingredients: live drums, Moog bass, nylon guitar, and synth sequences that stretch across entire songs without a drop in sight. This is Styles' anti-drop album. Where classic disco era dance celebrated collective joy, Styles uses the dance floor as a stage for self-examination.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTubeSongs discussed:


  Harry Styles – "Aperture"

  Ice Spice – "In Ha Mood"

  PinkPantheress – "Boy's a Liar"

  Zara Larsson – "Midnight Sun"

  LCD Soundsystem – "Dance Yrself Clean"

  LCD Soundsystem – "Someone Great"

  LCD Soundsystem – "Oh Baby"

  Harry Styles – "Pop"

  Harry Styles – "Sign of the Times"

  David Bowie – "Space Oddity"

  Elton John – "Rocket Man"

  Harry Styles – "Dance No More"

  Chic – "Good Times"

  Stevie Nicks – "Edge of Seventeen"

  Simon & Garfunkel – "Keep the Customer Satisfied"

  Paul Simon – "You Can Call Me Al"

  Harry Styles – "Carla's Song"

  Paul Simon – "Kathy's Song"

  Simon & Garfunkel – "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

  Harry Styles – "Are You Listening Yet?"

  DJO – "Basic Being Basic"

  Harry Styles – "Season Two, Weight Loss"

  Sons of Kemet – "Play Mas"

  Harry Styles – "Coming Up Roses"

  Harry Styles – "American Girls"

  LCD Soundsystem – "American Scum"

  LCD Soundsystem – "Drunk Girls"

  Harry Styles – "As It Was"


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Harry Styles loses himself to dance

Bruno Mars is back with a new album called The Romantic, his first solo release since 2016’s 24k Magic. At first listen, the lead single, “I Just Might,” sounds like an outtake from 2021’s collaborative album with Anderson Paak, the Philly soul-inspired An Evening with Silk Sonic. Listen closer though and another element emerges: a fast-paced conga drum line.

The rest of Mars’s nine-track confection chases that Latin influence. This is not just another retread of 70s funk and soul. In fact, The Romantic makes the case that Mars is pop’s great counter-programmer, finding styles of the past that no one else has yet mined.

Charlie and Nate break down all the new territory covered by Mars, from Latin boleros to Cuban cha chas, Nuyorican boogaloo to a mariachi “My Way.” The results may not change your mind about Mars, but they might make you appreciate the finer points of what is sure to be an omnipresent new release. 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile

  ROSÉ, Bruno Mars - APT.

  Bruno Mars - Risk It All

  Eydie Gormé, Los Panchos - Sabor a Mí

  Frank Sinatra - My Way 

  Bruno Mars - Cha Cha Cha

  JUVENILE, Soulja Slim - Slow Motion

  Pete Rodriguez - I Like It Like That

  Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin - I Like It

  Young-Holt Unlimited - Soulful Strut

  Bruno Mars - I Just Might

  Redbone - Come and Get Your Love

  Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

  Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

  Bruno Mars - God Was Showing Off

  Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones

  Bruno Mars - Why You Wanna Fight?

  Bruno Mars - On My Soul

  Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up

  Bruno Mars - Something Serious

  Willie Bobo - Evil Ways

  Santana - Evil Ways

  Santana - Oye Como Va

  Tito Puente - Oye Cómo Va

  Bruno Mars - Nothing Left

  Bruno Mars - Dance With Me

  Stephen Sanchez - Until I Found You


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Can Bruno Mars counterprogram his way to another hit album?

Emerald Fennell's new adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic romance "Wuthering Heights" is the most talked-about film of the year. But for pop lovers, the soundtrack is the real event: Charli xcx, asked to write one song, ended up recording an entire album for the movie while in the middle of the BRAT tour. 

If BRAT gave people permission to be messy on the dance floor, this score gives permission to be messy in your souls. But Charli isn't the first artist to channel "Wuthering Heights" into music. Line up her hyperpop strings and cavernous reverb against Kate Bush's winding harmonies, a Hollywood orchestral score from 1939, and Ryuichi Sakamoto's unsettled piano, and something surprising emerges: the most operatic, passionate, Wuthering Heights-obsessed recording of them all might belong to someone you'd never expect.Songs discussed:


  
Charli xcx “Everything is Romantic”



  
Charli xcx “Always Everywhere”



  
Charli xcx “House” (feat. John Cale)



  
Hans Zimmer “Inception score”



  
Charli xcx “Wall of Sound”



  
Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High”



  
Charli xcx “Chains of Love”



  
Charli xcx “Out of Myself”



  
Charli xcx “Funny Mouth” (co-written with Joe Curie)



  
Alfred Newman “Wuthering Heights score (1939)”



  
Ryuichi Sakamoto “Wuthering Heights score (1992)”



  
Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights”



  
Celine Dion “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”




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Charli XCX’s "Wuthering Heights" fever dream

It's the middle of award season, and Ryan Coogler's ode to the Black music canon Sinners has emerged as the Oscars frontrunner and the most nominated film in Academy Awards history. The love the movie has for the Delta blues is front and center, and begs the question: will the movie's legacy help bring the blues back into popular culture? There's already been a precedent for films reviving dead genres – think The Sting and its ragtime score, or O Brother Where Art Thou's relationship to bluegrass – and on this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna and Nate talk with Vulture writer Fran Hoepfner about the times in which movie soundtracks have shifted the musical culture. 

Read Fran's piece on movie scoring, The Death of the Classic Film Score, here.

Songs discussed:


  Miles Caton – I Lied to You

  Bee Gees – Stayin' Alive

  Underworld – Born Slippy (Nuxx)

  Marvin Hamlisch – The Entertainer

  Wu-Tang Clan – Fast Shadow

  Bee Gees – More Than A Woman

  Whitney Houston – I Have Nothing

  Harry McClintock – The Big Rock Candy Mountain

  Alison Krauss – Down To The River To Pray

  The Soggy Bottom Boys – I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow

  *NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye

  The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump Jive An' Wail

  Cab Calloway – Minnie the Moocher

  Royal Crown Revue – Hey Pachuco!

  Caravan Palace – Lone Digger

  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Go Daddy O

  Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell

  Fergie, Q-Tip, GoonRock – A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

  Lana Del Rey – Young And Beautiful

  Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight

  Kavinsky – Nightcall

  College, Electric Youth – A Real Hero

  M83 – Midnight City

  The Weeknd – Take My Breath


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Will Sinners do for blues what O Brother did for bluegrass?

A$AP Rocky’s latest album, Don’t Be Dumb, is a wild ride through a cacophony of sounds — punk, industrial, drum ‘n’ bass, indie rock, and of course, hip hop. But on one track, “Robbery,” he and the rising superstar Doechii sample the world of jazz, specifically Thelonious Monk’s 1955 cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” In the process, Rocky and Doechii don’t just loop and flow, they create a whole narrative of jazz age victors and villains inspired by the rhythms and harmonies of jazz greats. The result is a song, and album, that makes the case for why hip hop matters more than ever in 2026.




  A$AP Rocky – ROBBERY (feat. Doechii)

  A$AP Rocky – STOLE YA FLOW

  A$AP Rocky – ORDER OF PROTECTION

  A$AP Rocky – PLAYA

  A$AP Rocky – STFU (feat. Slay Squad)

  A$AP Rocky – AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)

  A$AP Rocky – THE END (feat. will.i.am & Jessica Pratt)

  Kendrick Lamar - For Free? - Interlude 

  Clairo - Sinking 

  Thelonious Monk - Caravan

  A$AP Rocky - L$D

  Lou Donaldson - Ode To Billie Joe 

  Thelonious Monk - Black And Tan Fantasy

  Wu-Tang Clan - Shame On a N**** 

  Duke Ellington, John Coltrane - My Little Brown Book 

  Ghostface Killah - Malcolm 

  Thundercat - Them Changes


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Jazz is A$AP Rocky’s secret weapon

What makes Weird Al songs so indelible? Why is Bo Burnham more than just a comic? How do the biggest pop hits make us crack up in the middle of a somber ballad? Humor is always present in music, but we rarely confront it head on. Until now. With the help of Comedian Chris Duffy, author of the book Humor Me: How Laughing Can Make You More Connected, Present, and Happy, and a series of lyrical submission from our listeners, we try to answer the question once posed by Frank Zappa, once and for all: Does humor belong in music?



Songs discussed:

Sabrina Carpenter – ManchildMarcia Belsky – 100 TamponsBo Burnham – From God’s PerspectiveSnoop Dogg – Gin and JuiceThe Gourds – Gin and JuiceTaylor Swift – All Too Well (10 Minute Version)“Weird Al” Yankovic – Amish Paradise“Weird Al” Yankovic – My BolognaStevie Wonder – Pastime ParadiseCoolio – Gangsta’s ParadiseBo Burnham – That Funny FeelingBo Burnham – FaceTime With My MomElaine Stritch – Are You Having Any Fun?Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000Kendrick Lamar – Not Like UsEminem – The Real Slim Shady2 Chainz – Birthday SongLil Jon – Snap Yo FingersOlivia Rodrigo – Get Him BackChappell Roan – CasualAudrey Hobert – I like to touch peopleAudrey Hobert – Bowling alleyJensen McRae – Immune
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Does humor belong in music?

The ultimate gauntlet of popular music is upon us once again: it's Grammy season, and this year, the competition is pretty tight across the board. Big ticket A-listers like Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga occupy three of the four big categories (Song, Record, and Album of the Year), while folks like Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Leon Thomas, and Addison Rae duke it out in Best New Artist. 

On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie, Nate, and Reanna take a look at the "big four" categories, and stump for their respective frontrunners in order to predict who will be taking home a golden phonograph (or two). 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Bad Bunny – DtMF

  Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

  Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

  Kendrick Lamar – squabble up

  Olivia Dean – Nice To Each Other

  Olivia Dean – Man I Need

  Lola Young – Messy

  Addison Rae – Headphones On

  Addison Rae – New York

  Addison Rae – Fame is a Gun

  Kendrick Lamar, SZA – luther

  Billie Eilish – WILDFLOWER

  HUNTR/X – Golden

  Chappell Roan – The Subway

  Kendrick Lamar – tv off (feat. lefty gunplay)

  Justin Bieber – ALL I CAN TAKE

  Bad Bunny – NUEVAYoL

  Bad Bunny – VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR

  Bad Bunny – LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii

  Bad Bunny – LA MuDANZA


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And the Grammy goes to…

Swedish pop star Robyn emerged as a phenomenon in the mid 1990s, an ingenue whose work with Max Martin presaged the R&B crossover hits of acts like Britney and the Backstreet Boys. Since her debut, she’s released a string of albums that have shaped the sound of dance music as we know it. 

Now, Robyn is releasing her first new album in eight years, Sexistential, and she’s given us three singles made up of her signature combination of thumping bass and ethereal vocals, while innovating into new personal –and vulnerable — territory. With raps about IVF, references to Blondie, a return to her collaboration with Max Martin, and our introduction of “drum n grace” to the lexicon, this episode is manna for Robyn fans and tyros alike. 

Stick around as we unveil a new feature, “Quick Hits,” a down-and-dirty carousel ride through the most interesting new releases, from ASAP Rocky to Zach Bryan.



Songs discussed:


  Robyn – Dopamine

  Robyn – Show Me Love

  Charli XCX, Robyn, Yung Lean – 360 remix

  Jamie XX, Robyn – Life

  Robyn – Konichiwa Bitches

  Blondie – Rapture

  Robyn – Honey

  Robyn – Missing U

  Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend

  Taio Cruz – Dynamite

  Robyn – Play

  Robyn – Talk to Me

  Robyn – Do You Know (What It Takes)

  Robyn – Sexistential

  Andre 3000 – I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time

  Robyn – Cobrastyle

  Robyn – Dancing On My Own

  A$AP Rocky – PUNK ROCKY

  Zach Bryan – Plastic Cigarette

  David Byrne – Driver's License

  Moonchild – Up From Here


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Robyn’s new songs bring “drum 'n' grace” to the dance floor

Two years ago, Audrey Hobert had never written a song. She was a staff writer on a Nickelodeon series and had recently moved in with her childhood friend Gracie Abrams in Los Angeles. About six months later, a phrase spoken by a heartbroken acquaintance caught their attention; Hobert and Abrams sang it back to each other and wrote a complete song that night. Within the following year, Hobert co-wrote songs including “I Love You, I’m Sorry” and “Risk” for Abrams’s number-two album The Secret of Us. When the television show she was working on was later canceled, Hobert made a hard pivot into her own music.

What happened was Who's the Clown, a debut album where every track came from Hobert's own pen. In this live conversation recorded at NYU Steinhardt's Music and Performing Arts Professions program at Chelsea Studios, Hobert traces her path from dance classes choreographed to One Direction to eight-hour writing sessions that yield two good lines on a lucky day. She explains why she can't write in front of anyone, why she refuses to repeat a chorus three times, and why the Steve Martin documentary made her open her album with the disarmingly strange declaration: "I like to touch people."

The conversation moves from craft to confession as Hobert reflects on what it means to finally be looked at, and whether the view from inside the spotlight is everything she'd imagined.



Subscribe to the ⁠Newsletter⁠ to play along with our annual bingo predictions (last episode)



SONGS DISCUSSED


  Gracie Abrams "I Love You, I'm Sorry"

  Gracie Abrams "That's So True"

  Smash Mouth "All Star"

  One Direction "Kiss You"

  Audrey Hobert "Wet Hair"

  Audrey Hobert "Chateau"

  Audrey Hobert "I Like to Touch People"

  Audrey Hobert "Sex in the City"

  Audrey Hobert "Sue Me"

  Audrey Hobert "Bowling Alley"

  Semisonic "Closing Time"

  Audrey Hobert "Silver Jubilee"

  Audrey Hobert "Don't Go Back to His Ass"

  Audrey Hobert "Shooting Star"

  Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling"


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Audrey Hobert says the quiet part out loud

It’s a brand new year, and what better way to ring it in than with the second annual Switched On Pop bingo? Like last year, Charlie, Nate, and Reanna polish their crystal balls and play Popstradamus, each throwing out eight outlandish pop predictions for the coming months. This time, there’s piano ballads, cover songs, and what Charlie calls the impending “death of auto-tune.” 



Get your own bingo card to play along through our ⁠Newsletter⁠!

Find us on YouTube!



Songs discussed:


  The Prodigy – Firestarter

  The Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats

  Basement Jaxx – Jump ’N Shout

  Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank

  Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars – Die With A Smile

  Benson Boone – Beautiful Things

  Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne, Travis Scott – Take What You Want

  LCD Soundsystem – Losing My Edge

  Anamanaguchi, Hatsune Miku – Miku

  Crazy Frog – Axel F

  Hampton The Hamster – Hampsters Get the Blues

  K/DA – POP/STARS

  Madison Beer – make you mine

  Forrest Frank – YOUR WAY’S BETTER

  Tate McRae – Sports car

  Tata Taktumi, Timbaland – Pulse x Glitch

  PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake, Yebba – DIE TRYING

  The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get

  Maddox Batson – Tears In The River

  JAY-Z – D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)

  Adele – Someone Like You

  Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man

  Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

  Rihanna, Mikky Ekko – Stay

  Baauer – Harlem Shake

  Billie Eilish – bury a friend

  This Is Lorelei, MJ Lenderman – Dancing in the Club – MJ Lenderman Version

  WITCH – Once In A Lifetime

  MOLIY, Shenseea, Silent Addy, Skillibeng – Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix

  Geese – Bow Down

  Turnstile – LOOK OUT FOR ME

  Rebecca Black – Sugar Water Cyanide

  Bad Bunny – DtMF


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2026 Pop Predictions: big beat, animated avatars, and Bruno Mars

A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationship with silence so strange? And should we learn how to listen to it?



This is the third episode of the four-part Unexplainable series, The Sound Barrier. 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube
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The Sound of Silence from Unexplainable

Every Christmas season, pop stars far and wide throw their Santa hats into the ring to see who has the next "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and this year is no exception. It's a yearly tradition on Switched On Pop to explore the deluge of holiday hits, and 2025 sees formidable entries to the canon from folks like Kylie Minogue, Leon Bridges, and Willie Nelson.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Ariana Grande – Santa Tell Me

  Kelly Clarkson – Underneath the Tree

  Cher – Christmas Is Here

  Cher – Believe

  Kylie Minogue – Hot in December

  Zach Top – For You For Christmas

  Willie Nelson – Christmas Love Song

  Mickey Guyton – Sugar Cookie

  Meghan Trainor – Gifts For Me

  The Ronettes – Sleigh Ride

  Gwen Stefani –  Hot Cocoa

  Train – Let's Stay in Tonight

  Brenda Lee – Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

  Leon Bridges, Norah Jones – This Christmas I'm Coming Home

  Elysia Biro – The Christmas Song


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Naughty or nice? The 2025 holiday music round up

From big-ticket albums by Taylor and Gaga, to a revival of the stomp-clap revival – 2025 had it all, for better and for worse. Now that the year has come to a close, it's time to take a look back at the past twelve months: what happened in the zeitgeist, what we loved listening to, and what we missed here on the show. Reanna, Charlie, and Nate talk about it all, including a look back at our predictions from January to check off boxes for Switched On Pop bingo.

Links: Newsletter, YouTube

Songs discussed:


  Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia

  Alex Warren – Ordinary

  HUNTR/X – Golden

  Morgan Wallen – I'm The Problem

  Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga – Die With A Smile

  Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

  ROSÉ, Bruno Mars – APT.

  Olivia Dean – Man I Need

  Ravyn Lenae – Love Me Not

  Justin Bieber, Dijon – DEVOTION

  Bon Iver, Dijon, Flock of Dimes – Day One

  Dijon – Baby!

  Dijon – Yamaha

  CA7RIEL – SHIPEA2

  Paco Amoroso – Viuda Negra

  CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso – EL ÚNICO - Live at NPR MUSIC's Tiny Desk

  CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso – EL DÍA DEL AMIGO

  CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso – #TETAS

  Breaking Rust – Walk My Walk

  Jack Black – Steve's Lava Chicken

  Saja Boys – Soda Pop

  Snocaps – Coast

  Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful

  Bad Bunny – DtMF

  MOLIY, Shenseea, Silent Addy, Skillibeng – Shake It To The Max (FLY) - Remix


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The year that killed music (best and worst of 2025)

Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen joins NYU Steinhardt students live to trace her path from early pitch songs to co-writing some of the decade's defining hits. She explains why Halsey's "Without Me" needed an extended chorus but no pre-made chord loops, how Harry Styles' "Matilda" required character-driven writing for emotional safety, and what made the hypnotic groove of Tate McRae's "Greedy" demand a rare third verse. Allen also unpacks the spoken hook in Rosé and Bruno Mars' "APT" and the three-step key change powering Sabrina Carpenter's recent work. The result is a masterclass in why songs work—and why the rules worth breaking are the ones you've already learned.



SONGS DISCUSSED


  
Halsey "Without Me"



  
Harry Styles "Adore You"



  
Harry Styles "Matilda"



  
Tate McRae "greedy"



  
Rosé and Bruno Mars "ATA"



  
Sabrina Carpenter "Please, please, please"



  
Selena Gomez "Back to You"



  
Justin Timberlake "Cry Me A River" (Interpolated in "Without Me")



  
Olivia Rodrigo "Driver's License"



  
Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso"



  
Sabrina Carpenter Short and Sweet (Album)



  
Sabrina Carpenter Man's Best Friend (Album)



  
Beyoncé "Love on Top"




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Why pop songwriters break the rules (ft. Amy Allen)

Sombr went from crafting raw, reverb soaked songs alone in his Lower East Side bedroom to finding his life shifting in ways he never could have predicted across 2024 and 2025. His biggest tracks kept their imperfections even as world class players at Sound City added new layers, and a disco groove he began as a late night joke transformed into a breakout moment that changed his career’s trajectory. He explains how he writes, why distortion carries emotional weight for him, how he navigates the pull between bedroom recordings and studio polish, and what it felt like to watch childhood dreams come true on national stages. The result is a portrait of an artist whose rise has been so quick and so unlikely that even Sombr is still piecing together how it all happened.



Watch the interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Switched-On-Pop



Songs Discussed


  
Sombr “12 to 12”



  
Sombr “Back to Friends”



  
Sombr “Undressed”



  
Lizzo “About Damn Time”



  
Chic “Good Times”





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How Sombr’s bedroom recordings became his biggest hits

When it comes to improvisational loop jams, few have gone as viral as Marc Rebillet. From his 2020 lockdown-era video “How to Funk in Two Minutes,” which features him wearing nothing but a bathrobe, to unsuspecting New York street corners, and eventually the Coachella main stage, Rebillet has come to be known as “loop daddy” for his gifted ability to harness spontaneous funk.

On this episode of Switched On Pop, Charlie interviews Marc about his process, inspiration, and pandemic success, witnessing his flow state firsthand as he graces us with some live improvisation. 
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"It’s a Hail Mary every time" (ft. Marc Rebillet)

In June 2025, indie veterans Deerhoof scrubbed their entire catalog from the world’s dominant streaming platform. The catalyst wasn't low royalties, but Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek’s investment in AI military technology through his investment firm Prima Materia. Greg Saunier and Satomi Matsuzaki explain why they are prioritizing their ethics over exposure. They argue that the "convenience" of streaming traps us in harmful systems. They’d prefer listeners explore alternative paths to hear their music. That’s why the band premiered their latest single on Craigslist. And it’s they half jokingly say they "would rather our fans steal our music than stream our music at this point."



SONGS DISCUSSED

Deerhoof: Immigrant Song, Scarcity is Manufactured, Life is Suffering, Return of the Return of the Fire Trick Star



MORE

Get Zach Tenorio's synth extraveganza 'Field Trip'
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Quitting Spotify (ft. Deerhoof)

This year, there were a few records that delivered less-than-optimal returns on either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200 – and they all came from former Disney pop stars. 

Demi Lovato’s latest album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200, where it spent one week and then fell off; Selena Gomez’s record with Benny Blanco peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, but no songs cracked the top 40; and Miley Cyrus’s album is her shortest charting project to date. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Nate and Reanna try to get to the bottom of the so-called “Disney curse,” and why these artists are unable to recapture their past commercial success.

Songs discussed:


  Demi Lovato – Here All Night

  Selena Gomez, benny blanco – Sunset Blvd

  Miley Cyrus – End of the World

  Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry

  Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

  Demi Lovato – Skin of my Teeth

  Demi Lovato – Fast

  Kesha – JOYRIDE.

  Demi Lovato – Frequency

  Demi Lovato – Kiss

  Todd Terry, Martha Wash – Keep On Jumpin'

  Demi Lovato – Sorry To Myself

  Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky – Good For You

  Kygo, Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

  Selena Gomez, Marshmallo – Wolves

  Selena Gomez, benny blanco, Gracie Abrams – Call Me When You Break Up

  benny blanco, Selena Gomez, J Balvin, Tainy – I Can't Get Enough

  J Balvin, Willy William – Mi Gente

  Selena Gomez, benny blanco – Bluest Flame

  Selena Gomez, benny blanco, The Marías – Ojos Tristes

  Miley Cyrus, Big Sean – Love Money Party

  Miley Cyrus – Flowers

  Miley Cyrus – Easy Lover

  Miley Cyrus, Naomi Campbell – Every Girl You've Ever Loved


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Is there a Disney curse?: Demi, Selena, and Miley

Spanish pop star Rosalía is back with her new album, Lux. Over eighteen tracks, she trades in the dembow beats that filled her last record Motomami for maximalist orchestral sounds more in line with Björk than Bad Bunny. 

The album is dense: there's four movements, thirteen languages, arrangements by Caroline Shaw, and a wide breadth of influences – from Benedictine saints to Patti Smith. But despite (or because) all of this, Rosalía has gone on record referring to Lux as, ultimately, a pop album. 

That's where we come in. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Nate and Reanna put on their tour guide hats to talk all things Lux: its sonic genre-bending, Rosalía’s poetic lyricism, and her hyper-local flamenco influence. 



Check out Bella Freud's interview with Rosalia on Fashion Neurosis



Songs discussed:


  Rosalía – Berghain

  Rosalía – Bizcochito

  Rosalía – De Madrugá

  Rosalía – Mio Cristo

  Rosalía – La Yugular

  Björk – Joga

  Caroline Shaw, Roomful of Teeth – Partita for 8 Voices

  Rosalía – Sexo, Violencia y Llantas

  Rosalía – Divinize

  Rosalía – Porcelana

  Rosalía – Dios Es Un Stalker

  The Police – Every Breath You Take

  Rosalía – La Perla

  Johann Strauss II – The Blue Danube

  Drake – Push Ups

  Rosalía – Sauvignon Blanc

  Lady Gaga – Grigio Girls

  Adele – I Drink Wine

  Rosalía – Focu ‘Ranni

  Rosalía – Novia Robot

  Rosalía – La Rumba del Perdón


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Rosalía's 'LUX' brings the symphony to the club

They say the best revenge is living well, but if you’re a pop star going through a break up, that’s false. The best revenge is releasing a searing scorched-earth revenge banger that calls out your ex and, ideally, rides that vengeance to the top of the Billboard charts.

That’s exactly what Tate McRae and Lily Allen have done in the wake of their high profile break ups; McRae with the track “TIT FOR TAT”  and Allen with an entire album, West End Girl. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Charlie and Nate use these tracks to explore the art of the revenge song.

Songs Discussed


  Tate McRae – TIT FOR TAT

  The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber – STAY

  Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks Theme

  Fleetwood Mac – Dreams

  Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way

  Bizarrap, Shakira – Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53

  Lilly Allen — West End Girl, Madeline, 4chanstan


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Lily Allen and Tate McRae revive the revenge anthem

Charlie Puth breaks down his new single "Changes," a maximalist eighties production hiding a melancholy story about drifting friendships. As he prepares for fatherhood, the singer-songwriter reflects on how relationships evolve from deep conversations to small talk, why he listens to lyrics last, and his belief that music should offer a three-minute escape from life's exhaustion. Between demonstrating vocal techniques, championing forgotten producer Rod Temperton, and turning "You Are My Sunshine" into a minor-key lullaby, Puth makes his case for earning the title "Professor," with one simple lesson: stop overthinking and just feel the music.



Songs Discussed

Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth "See You Again"Charlie Puth "Attention"Charlie Puth "Changes"Charlie Puth "Hero"The Weeknd "Blinding Lights"Dua Lipa "Physical"Olivia Newton-John "Physical"Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight"Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"Heatwave "The Groove Line"Tamia "You Put a Move on My Heart"Heatwave "All You Do Is Dial"Michael Jackson "Thriller"Traditional "You Are My Sunshine"
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Can “professor” Charlie Puth pass our qualifying exam?

On October 14th, the visionary musician D’Angelo passed away at 51 years old. Only releasing three albums during his lifetime, he synthesized influences from gospel, jazz, rock, and hip-hop to create a singular and transcendent sound artists still try – and fail – to emulate today. 

On this special episode of Switched On Pop, Charlie and Nate are joined by producer Reanna and engineer Brandon to celebrate D’Angelo through his music, discussing one song from each of his albums and highlighting his musical genius.



Songs Discussed


  D’Angelo – Untitled (How Does It Feel)

  D’Angelo – Brown Sugar

  The Hawkins Family – What Is This?

  D’Angelo – Feel Like Makin’ Love

  Roberta Flack – Feel Like Makin’ Love

  Parliament – Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)

  D’Angelo – Cruisin’

  Smokey Robinson – Cruisin’

  D’Angelo – The Charade

  Curtis Mayfield – (Don’t Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go

  Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower


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How D'Angelo changed music, in three songs

John C. Reilly joins to discuss Mr. Romantic, his theatrical tribute to the Great American Songbook that treats Irving Berlin and Tom Waits as equals in the canon of timeless American song. Reilly recorded live in one room with his band using vintage ribbon microphones, embracing the squeaks and imperfections while layering in cinematic sound effects—crickets outside a lover's window, a collect call from prison—to transform each standard into an immersive scene. But what makes a song from the 1920s feel eternal? Music data scientist Chris Dalla Riva, author of the forthcoming Uncharted Territory and the newsletter Can't Get Much Higher, breaks down how composers like the Gershwins wrote for amateur musicians playing sheet music at home, creating universal lyrics and AABA structures where the hook comes first. That accessibility is precisely what draws Reilly to this repertoire. He sees himself in the lineage of interpreters like Sinatra, not selling his own story but passing along music that already belongs to all of us, like holding up a seashell and saying, "Isn't this one beautiful?"

More


  Get Chris Dalla Riva's book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves


  Subscribe to Chris Dalla Riva's Can't Get Much Higher



Songs Discussed


  Taylor Swift "The Last Great American Dynasty"

  George Gershwin "I Got Rhythm"

  Village People "Y.M.C.A."

  Billie Eilish "Bad Guy"

  Frank Sinatra "On the Sunny Side of the Street"

  Judy Garland "Over the Rainbow"

  Ella Fitzgerald "My Romance"

  George Gershwin "But Not for Me"

  Elvis Presley "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

  The Beatles "We Can Work It Out"

  The Beatles "Get Back"

  The Beatles "Yesterday"

  John C. Reilly "Moonlight Serenade"

  John C. Reilly "Dreams"

  John C. Reilly "Johnsburg, Illinois"

  John C. Reilly "Falling in Love Again"

  John C. Reilly "What'll I Do"

  John C. Reilly "Picture in a Frame"

  John C. Reilly "Just Another Sucker on the Vine"

  Randy Newman "Ragtime"

  John C. Reilly & David Garza "What's Not To Love"

  Harry Nilsson "Coconut"

  Judy Garland "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

  Dooley Wilson "As Time Goes By"

  The New Vaudeville Band "Winchester Cathedral"

  Andy Williams "The Days of Wine and Roses"

  Nat King Cole "The Frim Fram Sauce"


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What do John C. Reilly and Taylor Swift have in common? The Great American Songbook

Taylor Swift's twelfth album has sparked endless speculation about who each song is "really about," but that might be the wrong question entirely. The Life of a Showgirl isn’t biography, it’s polyphonic auto-fiction, where Swift writes from multiple character perspectives while blurring the lines between autobiography and theatrical performance. The album's "showgirl sound" traces from Shakespearean tragedy (Ophelia's drowning rewritten as salvation) through Golden Age Hollywood orchestration to contemporary pop production with Max Martin and Shellback. Unusual musical choices like the jarring five-measure phrase in "Fate of Ophelia" reinforce the album's central theme: the tension between public performance and private reality. By treating the album as a theatrical show rather than a celebrity tell-all, listeners can finally hear what Swift is actually saying… or can they?



Vote for Switched On Pop in this year's Signal Awards! We're nominated for ⁠Best Music Podcast⁠ and ⁠Best Original Score/Music⁠, linked here. Thank you!



Songs Discussed


  Taylor Swift "Love Story"

  Taylor Swift "Blank Space"

  Taylor Swift "The Fate of Ophelia"

  Taylor Swift "Elizabeth Taylor"

  Irving Berlin "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"

  Fred Astaire "Puttin' on the Ritz"

  Taylor Swift "Opalite"

  George Michael "Father Figure"

  Taylor Swift "Father Figure"

  Taylor Swift "Eldest Daughter"

  Taylor Swift "Tim McGraw"

  Taylor Swift "Ruined the Friendship"

  Weezer "Beverly Hills"

  Pixies "Where Is My Mind"

  Charli XCX "Sympathy Is a Knife"

  Charli XCX "Everything Is Romantic"

  Taylor Swift "Actually Romantic"

  Mean Girls "Meet the Plastics"

  Taylor Swift "Wi$h Li$t"

  Stevie Wonder "Superstition"

  The Jackson 5 "I Want You Back"

  Taylor Swift "Wood"

  Nirvana "Lithium"

  Nirvana "Something in the Way"

  Taylor Swift "Canceled"

  Taylor Swift "Honey"

  Taylor Swift feat. Sabrina Carpenter "Life of a Showgirl"


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Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Sound: How to actually listen to the album

There's no lead singer in Trousdale. The trio of Quinn D'Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones, has shared vocal duties equally since they started singing together as students at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. Since then, they've touring the world and released a sophomore album, Growing Pains, that features the trio's impeccable harmonies over 70s-inflected country-rock grooves. In this episode,  Trousdale returns to their alma mater to play acoustic versions of  "Growing Pains" and "Secondhand Smoke" and then speak to Professor Nate (plus an audience of music students) about how they forged their indivisible sound. 



Songs Discussed 

Trousdale - Growing Pains, Over and Over, Lonely Nights, Movie Star

Jackson Browne - Doctor My Eyes

MIKA - Grace Kelly
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The Power of the Trio (ft. Trousdale live at USC)

This summer, one singular artist could be heard everywhere from the new Cardi B album to the TikTok charts: Janet Jackson. The incomparable Queen of Pop has had her fingerprints all over pop music for the past few months, and it’s never been more apparent than on Doja Cat’s “Jealous Type.” The lead single from Doja’s new album Vie has all the hallmarks of the Janet Jackson sound, from breathy and percussive vocals to nods to iconic production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

This episode of Switched on Pop, we go on a journey guided by Janet, and discover the implicit connections to Doja Cat – the so-called “queen of pop-rap” – in the process.



Vote for Switched On Pop in this year's Signal Awards! We're nominated for Best Music Podcast and Best Original Score/Music, linked here. Thank you!



Songs discussed:


  Janet Jackson – Someone To Call My Lover

  Sabrina Carpenter – House Tour

  Cardi B, Janet Jackson – Principal (feat. Janet Jackson)

  Doja Cat – Jealous Type

  Janet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me Lately

  Janet Jackson – Nasty

  Janet Jackson – Feedback

  Janet Jackson – What About

  Prince – 1999

  Janet Jackson – Throb

  Janet Jackson – Control

  Janet Jackson – When I Think Of You

  Janet Jackson – Go Deep

  Doja Cat – Cyber Sex

  Doja Cat – Rules

  Doja Cat – Boss Bitch

  Doja Cat – Woman

  Doja Cat – Agora Hills

  Janet Jackson – Let’s Wait Awhile

  Janet Jackson – Escapade


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Doja Cat is the new Janet

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"


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Stockholm syndrome: Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson)

It's time. Nate and Charlie break down the K Pop Demonhunters  soundtrack to uncover the musical secrets behind its unprecedented success.  From West Side Story to Gregorian chant, Phrygian modes to  musical theater clichés,  we 'll  explain why you can't stop listening to  the sounds of Huntr/x and Saja Boys.



Songs Discussed



Huntr/x - How It's Done, Golden, What it Sounds Like

Saja Boys - Soda Pop, Your Idol

Aldred Deller and the Deller Consort - Dies Irae

West Side Story - Jet Song

Aespa - Drama

Riize - Get a Guitar


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The music theory behind K Pop Demon Hunters' chart dominance

Halfway through the opening track of Joe Keery's The Crux, a line emerges that sounds like casual conversation: "My dog is at my house again, but I live somewhere else." The song refuses to settle into predictable pop architecture, drifting from whispered confession to baroque strings that recall Pachelbel more than indie rock. Recorded live at NYU, Charlie explores how this structural restlessness reflects broader questions about authenticity in contemporary music, examining how Keery's creative process emerged from practical constraints like writing in Stranger Things trailers and stripping back arrangements to work live. The album's hotel metaphor isn't marketing concept but lived displacement: temporary rooms, fractured domesticity, the search for stability. From the snarky dismissiveness of "Basic Being Basic" to a stadium-rock anthem written for his sisters, The Crux demonstrates how eclectic influences can serve cohesive emotional architecture, trusting listeners to follow sophisticated progressions while never losing sight of why these songs matter to people finding their way back to their own hearts.

Songs Discussed

Djo - "End of Beginning"

Djo - "Lonesome is a State of Mind"

Djo - "Basic Being Basic"

Djo - "Potion"

Djo - "Charlie's Garden"

Djo - "Back On You"

Djo - "Carry the Name"

Djo - "Crux"
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The architecture of the album with Djo (Joe Keery live at NYU)

Everyone should be in a band at some point—and Finneas and Ashe prove why. The Grammy-winning producer and rising singer-songwriter discuss how their friendship evolved into The Favors, a new band debuting their album The Dream on September 19th, 2025. We explore what it means to create as a band, how stepping back from confessional songwriting freed them creatively, and why sometimes the best way forward is embracing older ways of making music.



SONGS DISCUSSED


  The Favors - "The Little Mess You Made"

  Ashe - "Moral of the Story"

  Ashe & Finneas - "Till Forever Falls Apart"

  Billie Eilish - "What Was I Made For?"

  The Favors - "Home Sweet Home"

  The Favors - "The Dream"

  The Favors - "Lake George"

  Billie Eilish - "bad guy"

  Simon and Garfunkel - "Old Friends"

  Simon and Garfunkel - "The Only Living Boy in New York"

  Simon and Garfunkel - "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"

  Simon and Garfunkel - "America"

  Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl"

  The Favors - "David's Brother"

  The Favors - "The Hudson"

  Fleetwood Mac - "Landslide"

  Fleetwood Mac - "Dreams"

  Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill"

  Olivia Rodrigo - "drivers license"

  Sabrina Carpenter - "emails i can't send"

  Miley Cyrus - "Flowers"


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Finneas and Ashe want you to start a band

Fleetwood Mac has had a phenomenal resurgence in recent years, from TikTok viral fame to Broadway plays and streaming TV series inspired by the band. Their growing fandom among a new generation has created demand for the long out-of-print album Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks recorded before they joined Fleetwood Mac. The vinyl record is a collector's item, as this pre-band album helped secure the duo their spot in Fleetwood Mac. Now after four decades, on September 19th, the album is being reissued by Rhino Records. A few months back we looked at the legacy of Fleetwood Mac and spoke with Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham about their reinterpretation of the beloved Buckingham Nicks. Given the timing, we want to share that episode with you now to help you get ready for the re-release of this adored album. I hope you enjoy it.
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Fleetwood Mac's Missing Link Album Returns After 50 Years

You've heard those shimmering disco strings in Miley Cyrus's "Flowers," the cinematic arrangements on Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher, and the orchestral flourishes across Taylor Swift's catalog, but you probably didn't know they're all the work of one person: Rob Moose. The violinist and multi-instrumentalist has contributed to nearly 1,000 albums, quietly becoming pop music's most prolific string architect. In this conversation, Moose reveals how he translates classical training into contemporary pop language, working with everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Bon Iver to create arrangements that feel both intimate and epic. We dive into his process, explore how he's reshaped what strings can do in popular music, and uncover the craft behind those arrangements you can't get out of your head.



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Songs Discussed


  
Miley Cyrus “Flowers”



  
Phoebe Bridgers “Punisher”



  
Phoebe Bridgers Copycat Killer (EP, includes re-arranged versions of “Punisher,” “Kyoto,” “Savior Complex,” “Chinese Satellite”)



  
Sufjan Stevens “Chicago”



  
Bon Iver “Everything Is Peaceful Love”



  
RINI “Miracle”



  
Bon Iver “Short Story”



  
Bon Iver “Speyside”



  
Phoebe Bridgers “Chinese Satellite”



  
Phoebe Bridgers “Savior Complex”



  
Phoebe Bridgers “Kyoto”



  
Lizzy McAlpine “Ceilings”



  
Gracie Abrams “I Love You, I’m Sorry”



  
Rob Moose “I Bend But Never Break” ft Brittany Howard



  
Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color”



  
Taylor Swift “Hoax”




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The classical rebel who infiltrated pop music

The conversation around the new music this summer has been a dour one. Some of the biggest songs in the country right now are downtempo stomp-clap anthems and wistful Cranberries pastiche. Even on this very show, Nate and Charlie have asked: where's the fun? 

As it turns out, the party (as always) is happening in hip-hop, led by a formidable influence: Pharrell.. On this episode of Switched On Pop, producer Reanna and engineer Brandon join Charlie for a tour through rap music's latest sweaty offerings, including the new album by Tyler, the Creator, Clipse's return to music, and catchphrase worthy singles by Cardi B, PLUTO, and Drake.



Songs discussed:


  Tyler, The Creator, Pharrell Williams – Big Poe

  Nelly – Hot in Herre

  Noreaga – Superthug

  Kelis – Milkshake

  Tyler, The Creator, Cole Alexander – Deathcamp

  N.E.R.D. – Rockstar

  Tyler, The Creator – Ring Ring Ring

  Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean, Steve Lacy – 911 / Mr. Lonely

  Tyler, The Creator – I THINK

  Mr. Fingers – Mystery of Love

  Michael Jackson – Off the Wall

  N.E.R.D., Nelly Furtado – Hot-n-Fun

  N.E.R.D. – Things Are Getting Better

  Pharrell, Nelly – Baby

  Clipse – So Be It

  Clipse – Virginia

  Clipse – Intro

  Talal Madah – Maza Akoulou

  Beastie Boys – Paul Revere

  Clipse – Ace Trumpets

  Clipse, John Legend, Voices of Fire – The Birds Don't Sing

  Cardi B – Outside

  Cardi B – Bodak Yellow

  Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin – I Like It

  Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion – WAP

  Cardi B – Up

  PLUTO, YK Niece – WHIM WHAMIEE

  OJ Da Juiceman, Gucci Mane – Make tha Trap Say Aye

  Roxanne Shante – Roxanne's Revenge

  Drake, Central Cee – Which One?

  Drake, Rihanna – Too Good

  Rihanna, Drake – Work


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All roads lead to Pharrell: Tyler, Clipse, and Cardi

Why do bad lyrics happen to good people? From "suckin' on a chili dog" to "making love to his tonic and gin," even the biggest hits from our favorite artists can feature lyrical turns that make us feel quizzical, offended, or even downright nauseated. With the help of Sam Sanders, brilliant host of The Sam Sanders Show, we plumb the depths of the worst pop lyrics of all time—culled from hundreds of submissions form Switched on Pop listeners—to try categorize, historicize, and, perhaps, celebrate the art of the lyrical faux pas.



Follow Sam on Instagram  and check out The Sam Sanders Show for more hot takes on entertainment and culture. We recommend you start here.



Songs Discussed

Benson Boone - Mystical Magical 

Velvet Sundown - Rebel Shout

Live - Lightning Crashes

Captain and Tennille - Muskrat Love

John Mellencamp - Jack and Diane 

Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry, London Bridge

Katy Perry - Firework

Billy Joel - Piano Man

Richard Harris - MacArthur Park

Imagine Dragons - Sharks

Des'ree - Life, You Gotta Be

One Direction - Don't Forget Where You Belong, Little Things

Taylor Swift - Willow, Anti Hero, I Hate it Here, ME!

Train - Hey Soul Sister, Meet Virginia, Drops of Jupiter
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A brief history of terrible lyrics (with Sam Sanders)

Every music critic seems to agree: 2025 has no true song of summer. Last August, Teddy Swims’s “Lose Control” dominated the charts. This year…Teddy Swims’s “Lose Control” dominates the charts. What’s going on? Why is there no new summer song to unite us in collective listening, and will there ever be again? 

Elamin Abdelmahmoud, host of the CBC’s daily culture podcast Commotion, joins Nate and Charlie to discuss the dearth of seasonal bops, and suggest some possible contenders for sleeper summer hits, from the soundtrack of the anime film KPop Demon Hunters to the latest from the Haim sisters. Despite the moribund status of the Hot 100, there is no shortage of great music to be found in the dog days of summer if you’re willing to listen closely.



More

Check out more music commentary from Elamin and Commotion, like their dive into Bruce Springsteen’s unreleased albums, or their dissection of Bieber’s latest with our very own Reanna Cruz.



Songs Discussed


  HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA - Golden 

  Tyler Childers - Eatin’ Big Time

  Haim - Relationships

  Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not

  Amber Mark - Sweet Seratonin

  Sly and the Family Stone - Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf)


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Summer Bummer (with Commotion’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud)

Justin Bieber is back with his seventh studio album: the aptly-titled SWAG. The lo-fi, reverb-laden record is a remarkably candid look inside the world of Bieber, using the palette of both underground pop and 90's R&B to accentuate lyrics about his wife, his struggles, and his "standing on business." 

Notably, it's his first album post-split with manager Scooter Braun, and the first where Bieber has been in full artistic control. On this episode of Switched On Pop, we tap into the SWAG mindset and attempt to understand Bieber's newfound vision, what it's saying, and ultimately, if it even still matters.



Songs discussed:


  Justin Bieber – DAISIES

  Justin Bieber, Daniel Caesar, Giveon – Peaches

  Justin Bieber, Sexyy Red – SWEET SPOT

  The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber – STAY 

  Justin Bieber, Druski – STANDING ON BUSINESS

  Justin Bieber – ALL I CAN TAKE

  Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes

  Justin Bieber – GO BABY

  Justin Bieber – TOO LONG

  Justin Bieber, Gunna – WAY IT IS

  Justin Bieber, Dominic Fike – Die For You

  Justin Bieber, Burna Boy – Loved By You

  Justin Bieber, Lil B – DADZ LOVE

  Mk.gee – Alesis

  Mk.gee – Are You Looking Up

  Dijon – The Dress

  Justin Bieber – WALKING AWAY

  Haim – Don't Wanna

  Justin Bieber, Dijon – DEVOTION

  Justin Bieber – One Less Lonely Girl


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Justin Bieber's Lo-fi Bedroom Swag

What if the entire sound of modern podcasting can be traced back to a single Grateful Dead song uploaded in 2001? We uncover the musical lineage that connects NPR's classical gravitas to dubstep wobbles, from the very first RSS feed experiment to the mysterious masked composer who's scored over 200 podcast themes and shaped what millions of people hear when they hit play. This deep dive reveals how podcast music evolved from classical public radio strings into today's signature blend of plinking pianos, breakbeats, and irreverent sampling—plus an exclusive interview with the enigmatic Breakmaster Cylinder, the "Hans Zimmer of podcasting" who's been hiding behind a robot helmet for over a decade.



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SONGS DISCUSSED


  Grateful Dead "Truckin'"

  Adam Curry "Daily Source Code" theme

  NPR "All Things Considered" theme

  Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" original theme (1971)

  Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" jazz funk version (1976)

  NPR "All Things Considered" orchestral version (1983/1995)

  The Daily theme

  WNYC "On the Media" theme by Ben Allison "Disposable Genius"

  Christopher Lydon "Radio Open Source" theme by Dafnis Prieto

  Disparition "The Ballad of Fiedler and Mundt," (Welcome to Night Vale theme)

  Serial theme

  Joe Rogan Experience theme

  Call Her Daddy theme

  Snap Judgment theme

  The Breakfast Club theme

  WTF with Marc Maron theme by John Montagna "Lock the Gate"

  Reply All theme by Breakmaster Cylinder

  Breakmaster Cylinder "Outside In" theme

  Breakmaster Cylinder "Bird Note" (Claire de Lune with loon calls)


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How podcasting got its sound ft. Breakmaster Cylinder

The robots have arrived, and they're making protest songs about boots on the ground. When an AI band called The Velvet Sundown fooled over a million Spotify listeners with their psychedelic folk anthems, it raised an unsettling question: have the machines gotten so good we can no longer hear the difference? Charlie puts Nate to the test with a game of "AI or Human?" featuring Wu-Tang deepfakes, phantom instruments, and songs that sound like Dire Straits and Tom Petty had a baby. Along the way, they uncover the five telltale signs that expose artificial music, from juvenile rhyming patterns to voices that shapeshift between tracks. But here's the terrifying part: just six months ago, AI music was unlistenable chaos. Now it's disturbingly competent. And it's only getting better.



Songs Discussed


  The Velvet Sundown - "Dust on the Wind"

  Post Malone - "Chemical"

  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Freedom Song"

  Kansas - "Dust in the Wind"

  The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"

  Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Where War Remains"

  Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Ash and Velvet"

  Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"

  The Velvet Sundown - "For the Ones We Couldn't Keep"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Mirrors in the Smoke"

  Pink Floyd - "Breathe"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Rebel Shout"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Smoke in Silence"

  The Velvet Sundown - "Marching Shadows"

  The Velvet Sundown - "As the Silence Falls"

  The Velvet Sundown - "How Did This Go Wrong?"



  Hip Hop Intelligence - "Bar Fight" (AI Wu-Tang)

  Hip Hop Intelligence - "Party with Me" (AI Eminem)

  Temple of the Acid Fist Records - "Woman Gone Blues" (AI)

  "Echoes of Twilight" (AI student example)

  The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"

  "Whispers of Chaos" (Charlie's AI generation)

  Mungo Jerry - "In the Summertime"

  Almost Vinyl  - "Phil Wildo's Door to Door Dildos" (AI)

  Joey Two Legs - "I Shouldn't Have Done That" (hybrid)

  Bill Evans AI track (untitled, by Nobody in the Computer)


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Is that new song you like AI? Here’s how you can tell

In which we explore the unlikely rise, and surprising backlash against, one Benson Boone.
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The Benson Boone-Doggle

Why does the economy look great on paper but feel terrible in your wallet? There might be a more revealing economic indicator hiding in your Spotify queue. "Recession Pop" first emerged during the Great Recession and exploded into playlists, radio formats, and DJ sets in 2024. From melancholy indie anthems to escapist dance tracks, the songs we gravitate toward during uncertain times might predict where the economy is headed next. Host Jonquilin Hill explores this musical phenomenon on Vox's "Explain it To Me," with Charlie joining in the second half to decode what our streaming habits reveal about financial anxiety and economic forecasting.
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Can Recession Pop predict the market?

As we've been examining over the course of Country Week, country music has found a larger audience, in part by widening its sonic palette. For the final episode of this series, we take a look at a genre on the outskirts of country – Americana music – and how it's being used to connect to the scene's musical roots.  

Historically, Americana has embraced an acoustic sound, traditional repertoire, and an appetite for virtuosic technique. In bluegrass artists like Billy Strings and roots musicians like Sierra Ferrell, Nate and Charlie see if there's an antidote to be found for the issues that plague modern, mainstream country music. 

Songs discussed:


  The Punch Brothers – Rye Whiskey

  Sierra Ferrell – In Dreams 

  Dolly Parton – Jolene

  Sierra Ferrell – I Could Drive You Crazy

  Sierra Ferrell, Zach Bryan – Holy Roller

  Billy Strings – Dust in a Baggie

  Billy Strings, Willie Nelson – California Sober

  Tyler Childers – In Your Love

  Tyler Childers – Phone Calls and Emails

  Tyler Childers – Rustin' In The Rain

  Don Gibson – Oh, Lonesome Me

  Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson – Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

  The Chicks – Long Time Gone

  The Steeldrivers – Higher Than the Wall

  Beyoncé – Texas Hold'em

  I'm With Her – Espresso


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How Americana helped mainstream country find its soul

More often than not, country music is seen as an "American" genre – meaning that the music is seen as strictly from the United States. In some ways, that's true; but the genre's iconography, sound, and ethos can actually be traced to the south of the border, in Mexican regional music. 

The worlds have been more intertwined than you would think, and in musica mexicana, we find the closest comparison to what we traditionally call "country music." In this episode of Switched On Pop, in honor of country week, we take a look at the cumbia-corrido hybrid "Me Jalo" from Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera, two U.S. based acts performing Mexican regional music, to see what ties the cultures together. 



Songs discussed: 


  George Strait – El Rey

  Carín León – Necesito Encontrarte

  Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – ME JALO

  Fuerza Regida – TQM

  Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny – un x100to

  Fuerza Regida – SECRETO VICTORIA

  Grupo Frontera, Grupo Firme – EL AMOR DE SU VIDA

  Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – Bebe Dame

  Shania Twain – Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under

  Hank Williams – Your Cheatin' Heart


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Country music is Mexican (Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera)

There's often an unspoken (and deeply misogynistic) rule on country music radio: never play two female artists back to back. In this episode of Switched On Pop's country week, we aim to do just that. Looking at two artists on opposite ends of the country music spectrum – traditionalist Lainey Wilson, and genre-bending Jessie Murph – Nate and Charlie try to understand the state of female country through their respective songs "4x4xU" and "Blue Strips."



Songs discussed:


  Lainey Wilson – 4x4xU

  Jessie Murph – Blue Strips

  Lainey Wilson – Country's Cool Again

  Lainey Wilson – Heart Like A Truck

  HARDY, Lainey Wilson – wait in the truck

  Jessie Murph – Gotta Hold

  Jessie Murph – Gucci Mane

  Jessie Murph, Sexyy Red – Blue Strips (Remix)

  Zach Top – I Never Lie

  Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats


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The Ballad of Lainey Wilson and Jessie Murph

One of the biggest country hits of the year has been "All The Way," by Texas rapper BigXthaPlug and country rocker Bailey Zimmerman, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is a perfectly mixed cocktail of trap sonics with country melodies, held together by a shared southern drawl between the two artists. 

As the genre of "country" expands and morphs to include different sounds, artists, and styles, "All The Way" serves as an exemplary example of the country-rap hybrid done right. But the song isn't the first to feature an unlikely collaboration across the genre aisle. This episode of Switched On Pop, we go deep on this collab and others, to see what works and what doesn't when the gates that keep the country music industry separate are swung wide open.



Songs Discussed:


  BigXthaPlug, Bailey Zimmerman – All The Way

  BigXthaPlug – Texas

  War – Slipping Into Darkness

  BigXthaPlug – The Largest

  Bailey Zimmerman – Where It Ends

  Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road

  Eminem, Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie

  Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot Shit)

  Nelly, Tim McGraw – Over And Over

  Florida Georgia Line, Nelly – Cruise - Remix

  Ernest, Snoop Dogg – Gettin' Gone

  Lil Durk, Morgan Wallen – Broadway Girls


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The hick hop renaissance (BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman)

Country music stands at a crossroads between tradition and evolution, and no artist embodies this tension better than Morgan Wallen. His song "I'm the Problem" opens with beautiful bluegrass guitar before hitting you with hard-hitting 808 basslines, creating a sonic reflection of country's current identity crisis. Wallen has this uncanny ability to turn his endless personal problems into undeniably catchy hooks that somehow make him more relatable, not less. Despite having every reason to write him off, there's something about his gritty voice and imperfect persona that keeps drawing listeners back. What makes him so compelling, and why his 37-track album dominated the charts, reveals something deeper about what country music is becoming.
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Is Morgan Wallen the problem with country music?

Looking for relationship advice? Skip the self-help books and turn to Sabrina Carpenter's latest single "Manchild" instead. This deep dive into the art of musical insults reveals how pop's newest sensation joins a legendary lineage of women artists who've perfected the craft of calling out incompetent men through song. From Dolly Parton's subversive "Dumb Blonde" to TLC's iconic "No Scrubs," there's an entire musical tradition of witty takedowns that  reclaim power through clever wordplay, genre-hopping arrangements, and lyrical traps that expose male vanity.



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Songs discussed


  Sabrina Carpenter "Manchild"

  Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso"

  Olivia Rodrigo "Driver's License"

  The Beatles "Get Back"

  Heart "Barracuda"

  Dolly Parton "Dumb Blonde"

  Sabrina Carpenter "Please Please Please"

  TLC "No Scrubs"

  Destiny's Child "Bills, Bills, Bills"

  Destiny's Child "Independent Women Part 1"

  Shania Twain "That Don't Impress Me Much"

  Carly Simon "You're So Vain"



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"Manchild" and other songs about male incompetence

What if the Chairman of the Board's biggest contribution to music wasn't his voice, but the blueprint he created for modern pop stardom? Frank Sinatra didn't just sing songs: he invented the concept album, injected his full personality into every performance, and created a template for artistic control that today's biggest stars still follow. His influence runs deeper than you think: Amy Winehouse titled her debut Frank as tribute, Jay-Z calls himself "the new Sinatra," and Frank Ocean borrowed his name from both Sinatra and Ocean's Eleven. That influence extends to unexpected places too: Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, has been championing Sinatra's orchestral style for years, and through his friendship with the Sinatra family gained access to over 1,200 boxes of never-recorded arrangements. His new album Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements features songs that arranged for Sinatra but never performed, uncovering musical treasures that reveal new insights into how the Chairman of the Board's innovations still shape the sound of pop music today.



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Songs Discussed


  Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon"

  Frank Sinatra "All the Way"

  Frank Sinatra "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"

  Frank Sinatra "Something" (Beatles cover)

  Amy Winehouse "Halftime"

  Jay-Z "Empire State Mind"

  Frank Sinatra "Strangers in the Night"

  Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra "Something Stupid"

  Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"

  Frank Sinatra "My Way"

  Sonny and Cher "I Got You Babe"

  Frank Sinatra "Laura"

  Seth MacFarlane "How Did She Look"

  Seth MacFarlane "Lush Life"

  Seth MacFarlane "Give Me the Simple Life"

  Seth MacFarlane "Shadows"

  Seth MacFarlane "Who's in Your Arms Tonight"


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Frankly, Sinatra still matters (with Seth MacFarlane)

The UK outfit Sleep Token has done what we once thought impossible: Found commercial success playing heavy metal music in 2025 AD.

Their fourth studio album, Even in Arcadia, went to number one on the Billboard 200 upon its release, with all ten of its tracks charting on the Hot 100—this despite the fact that the band has been entirely masked and anonymous through their nine year existence.

Sleep Token's willingness to inject their brand of heavy metal with autotuned pop vocals, reggaeton beats, and hop hop inflected rhythms has widened their audience, but in the process had galvanized scathing criticism. Pitchfork gave the album a withering review calling Even in Arcadia "schmaltzy and dull," while Anthony Fantano dubbed the band "metal music for Disney adults." 

We get to know Sleep Token—the music and the controversy—by listening deeply to the ways they toy with the genre conventions of metal, and ask whether they are changing the sound of pop in the process. 



AUDIENCE SURVEY 2025: https://switchedonpop.typeform.com/survey2025



Songs Discussed


  Sleep Token - Thread the Needle, Emergence, Caramel, Damocles

  Ghost - Satanized 

  Metallica - Hero of the Day

  Nickelback - How You Remind Me


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Is the future of pop...heavy metal?!

Five years ago, Charli XCX released the track "party 4 u," a melancholic ode to throwing a function for that one specific person. Now, in 2025, the song has gotten a renewed life – motivated by a foolproof cocktail of TikTok trends, the Billboard Hot 100, and a post-Brat Summer clamor for Charli.

It's rare for pop songs like this to get a second wind. So, on this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna, Nate, and Charlie put on our detective hats on to dissect the five-minute song's vocals, textures, and structures to understand just why people are reconnecting with it, half a decade later.



Songs discussed:


  Charli XCX – party 4 u

  Charli XCX – claws

  Charli XCX – 4 in the Morning

  Charli XCX – anthems

  Lesley Gore – It's My Party


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Charli XCX threw this party 4 us

The 808 is arguably the most iconic drum machine ever made. Even if you’ve never heard of it, you’ve definitely heard it. It’s in dozens of hit songs -- from Usher to Marvin Gaye, Talking Heads to The Beastie Boys -- and its sounds have quietly cemented themselves in the cultural lexicon. In this episode, we try to understand how that happened and follow the unlikely path of the 808. Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and Paul McCabe from Roland.


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808: The drum machine that changed music forever (Twenty Thousand Hertz)

What happens when worship anthems climb the charts alongside soul revivals and nostalgia-driven comebacks? The May 2025 Billboard charts reveal a fascinating musical landscape where Drake performs a strategic reset after his epic battle with Kendrick, worship-adjacent pop dominates the mainstream, and The Marias reject conventional song structures with dreamy success. From the bizarre 34-second Minecraft soundtrack hit to the rise of "voice audition pop," we're exploring how these competing visions of pop music reflect our collective anxieties and cultural shifts. Is this beautiful chaos the new normal?
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Chartbreakers: Lorde & Drake reboot, Worship Pop, and the shortest song ever

We rarely cover movies here at Switched On Pop. But after seeing Ryan Coogler's new vampire musical Sinners, we knew we had to make an exception. 

The movie is an ode to Black music. Throughout its over two hour runtime, the film pays tribute to the blues: nodding to the musicians, instruments, and melodies that make it a foundational genre in the American musical canon. There's also Irish folk vampires, original music from Ludwig Göransson, and a whole lot of history – perfect for Charlie and Nate to sink their teeth into.

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‘Sinners’ summons the demons of American music

It's that time of year again: Eurovision Song Contest is upon us. And with the competition comes a tradition at Switched On Pop, where Charlie and Nate look at the songs (and countries) that have the best odds to take home the title. This year, we have an ode to the sauna, soaring operatics, and a feast of food-themed tunes – including the Estonian entrant Tommy Cash's ode to the "Espresso Macchiato." 

This episode of Switched On Pop, we take a sonic trip to Basel, Switzerland – and in the back half of the episode, talk to Tommy Cash himself about his entry and more. 
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Eurovision feast: Poison Cake, Milkshake Man, and Espresso Macchiato (featuring Tommy Cash)

Despite TikTok defining this decade's music landscape, the app hasn't spawned a bonafide pop superstar – yet. 24-year-old Addison Rae is trying to be the first.

She's already had cosigns from Arca, Charli XCX, and Benny Blanco; critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Elle; and is cultivating a fervent fanbase with a slew of breathy, ethereal, and inspiration-laden singles. But how does one translate TikTok celebrity into pop success? 

On this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna, Nate, and Charlie put their "Headphones On" to understand how one of the biggest Gen-Z celebrities is trying to parlay her allure into pop princess-dom. 



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SONGS DISCUSSED


  Addison Rae – Diet Pepsi

  Addison Rae – Aquamarine

  Addison Rae – High Fashion

  Addison Rae – Headphones On

  Addison Rae – Obsessed

  Charlie Puth – The Way I Am

  Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal

  Addison Rae – I got it bad

  Addison Rae – Nothing On (But The Radio)

  Addison Rae – it could've been u

  Addison Rae – 2 die 4 (feat. Charli XCX) 

  Charli XCX, Addison Rae, A. G. Cook – Von dutch a. g. remix 

  Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans

  Lana Del Rey – Cherry

  Lana Del Rey – Diet Mountain Dew

  Lana Del Rey – Bartender

  Lana Del Rey – Cola

  Madonna – Nothing Really Matters

  Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky – Good For You

  Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am



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Put your headphones on for TikTok's Addison Rae

Taylor Swift isn't just a world-conquering pop star at the top of her game, her approach to songwriting has also proven massively influential for an up-and-coming generation of singer-songwriters. Gracie Abrams, Maisie Peters, and Phoebe Bridgers—all of whom opened for Swift during her Eras Tour—each owe a debt to Swift's hyperspecific lyrics, minimal melodies, and bombastic bridges. We break down the key aspects of Swift's songcraft and how we can hear them manifest in the work of her young acolytes, and we speak to another burgeoning artist, the brilliant Jensen McRae, to learn firsthand why Swift's style has been so resonant. 

Songs Discussed

Taylor Swift - All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)
Gracie Abrams - That’s So True
Maisie Peters - There It Goes
Taylor Swift - Style (Taylor's Version)
Taylor Swift - You're On Your Own, Kid
Phoebe Bridgers - Motion Sickness
Taylor Swift - Our Song
Beyoncé - Sandcastles
Katy Perry - Unconditionally
Taylor Swift - cardigan
Dua Lipa - Levitating
Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift - Dear John (Taylor's Version)
Jensen McRae - Praying For Your Downfall
Jensen McRae - Savannah
Jensen McRae - Immune
Taylor Swift - Would've, Could've, Should've

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Generation Taylor: Gracie, Maisie, Phoebe (with Jensen McRae)

Specialized platforms and social media have empowered musicians to tap into niche audiences, igniting a quiet revolution in the music industry. Despite the dominance of viral hits, a new wave of artists, labels and businesses are redefining success by building dedicated fanbases with focused, niche strategies. This conversation, live from SXSW, features Charlie leading a conversation with: 

LP Giobbi, a producer, jazz-trained pianist, and activist who spends 300 days a year touring between festival stages, club floors, and studios.

Nabil Ayers, president of Beggar's Group, home to multiple indie labels including 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade, and XL Recordings.

Dani Deahl, a DJ, producer, and head of communications and creator insights at BandLab, the most popular digital audio workstation worldwide.

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Music's New Success Model

Miley Cyrus just released three singles from her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful. Inspired by Pink Floyd's The Wall—specifically the 1982 feature film based on the album—Cyrus is not just sharing new music but a whole visual album, each song accompanied by a music video shot by director Panos Cosmatos. We last heard from Cyrus in 2023 with her massive smash "Flowers," which found the industry veteran finding some kind of inner peace. With her new songs, Cyrus is turning from healing herself to healing the world. She described the project as "a concept album that’s an attempt to medicate somewhat of a sick culture through music." What does such an endeavor sound like? For one, a lot of surprising textures and collaborators: Shoegaze guitarists, jazz saxophonists, indie rock producers. At least, sounds that are surprising to those who only know Cyrus from "Flowers," "Wrecking Ball," and "Party in the USA." The true Miley stans expect the unexpected from an artist who, it turns out, has always been weird. 

Songs Discussed
Miley Cyrus - Flowers, Prelude, Something Beautiful, End of the World, Dooo It!, Malibu, Cattitude (feat. RuPaul), Plastic Hearts
Blank Banshee - Eco Zones
Caroline Polachek, Oneohtrix Point Never - Long Road Home
D'Angelo - Send It On
Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders - Journey In Satchidananda
Whitney - Forever Turned Around
ABBA - Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen
Alvvays - Easy On Your Own?
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Miley Cyrus goes avant-garde

Why was Chappell Roan's band dressed like an 80s hair metal act during her Grammy performance? The answer unlocks the surprising secret behind her #1 country hit "The Giver." This musical detective story connects glam rock aesthetics to modern country through an unexpected lineage involving AC/DC's producer, Shania Twain's revolution, and men who inadvertently dressed in drag. Between fiddle licks and gated reverb drums lies a brilliant subversion of country traditions that proves the genre has always been about musical drag while revealing what "rhinestone cowgirl" really means.

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Songs Discussed:

Chappell Roan – "The Giver"

Chappell Roan – "Pink Pony Club"

Big & Rich – "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"

Bon Jovi – "Living on a Prayer"

Guns N' Roses – "Sweet Child of Mine"

AC/DC – "Back in Black"

Def Leppard – "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

Nirvana – "About a Girl"

Bryan Adams – "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)"

Shania Twain – "Any Man of Mine"

Shania Twain – "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!"

Toby Keith feat. Willie Nelson – "Beer for My Horses"

Carrie Underwood – "Before He Cheats"

Trace Adkins – "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk"

Glen Campbell – "Rhinestone Cowboy"


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Chappell Roan is giving country... and hair metal?

The Who's "My Generation" wasn't born from inspiration—it was commissioned. In a rare interview, Pete Townshend reveals how six fans at London's Goldhawk Club in 1965 directly asked him to write an anthem for their post-war generation. This conversation uncovers how a simple request transformed into rock's definitive youth statement, complete with its rebellious stutter and blues foundations. As Townshend releases his solo anthology during our own era of generational flux, the story behind rock's most famous declaration of youth proves more relevant than ever.


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Songs Referenced

"My Generation" by The Who

"Can't Explain" by The Who

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" by The Who

"Smokestack Lightning" by Howlin' Wolf

"For Your Love" by The Yardbirds

"Pinball Wizard" by The Who

"I'm a Boy" by The Who

"Pictures of Lily" by The Who

"I Can See for Miles" by The Who

"Stuttering Blues" by John Lee Hooker


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Writing The Who’s ‘My Generation' With Pete Townshend

In 2022, Lady Gaga embarked on The Chromatica Ball – a stadium tour featuring a stage that Gaga herself referred to as her "museum of brutality." Three years later, this idea of a brutalist enshrining of all things Monster can come to represent her new studio album MAYHEM. 

Over the course of fourteen tracks, Gaga is "unafraid to reference or not reference," invoking not just the pop weirdos of a past era like Prince and Bowie, but also her contemporaries, in this gothic and chaotic web of a record. This episode of Switched On Pop, Little Monster-in-residence Reanna takes Charlie and Nate on a tour through the Gaga-seum, showcasing Gaga's ability to pay tribute to her inspirations, her imitators, and her biggest icon: herself. 

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SONGS DISCUSSED

Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande – Rain On Me

Lady Gaga – Disease

Lady Gaga, Gesaffelstein – Killah

David Bowie – Watch That Man

David Bowie – Fame

Queen – Killer Queen

Prince – Kiss

Prince – Sign O' The Times

Talking Heads – Psycho Killer

Nile Rodgers, CHIC, Lady Gaga – I Want Your Love

Lady Gaga – Perfect Celebrity

Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

Lady Gaga – The Fame

Lady Gaga – Applause

Nine Inch Nails – Closer

Depeche Mode – Mercy in You

Lady Gaga – Vanish Into You

Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

The Weeknd – In Your Eyes

Lady Gaga – How Bad Do U Want Me

Taylor Swift – Style

Taylor Swift – Gorgeous

Yaz – Only You

Lady Gaga – Zombieboy

Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl

Lady Gaga – Summerboy

Lady Gaga – Beautiful, Dirty Rich

Lady Gaga – Shadow Of A Man

Lady Gaga – Nothing On But the Radio

Lady Gaga – Garden of Eden

Lady Gaga – Bad Romance

Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

Lady Gaga – Government Hooker

Lady Gaga – Bloody Mary

Lady Gaga – Swine


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Lady Gaga's Monster Return

When the song “Get Ur Freak On” hit radio in 2001, it set the world of popular music on fire. Missy Elliott and Timbaland’s first crossover hit sounded nothing like the chart-topping bluesy rock of Aerosmith or Lenny Kravitz, or the smooth R&B of Joe or Jagged Edge. It was a song that compelled you to dance - literally, with Missy issuing repeat commands to “get ur freak on” and encouraging crowds to gather ‘round in what we’ve only ever experienced as a hot slick mess of bodies, cheering and vibing as one pretzeling mass. But this song was years in the making. Timbaland and Missy had been hard at work on the sound for nearly a decade before “Get Ur Freak On” was heard by anyone.

This week, in yet another segment of our Modern Classics miniseries, our guest host and former producer Megan Lubin shares the story of the sound that made “Get Ur Freak On” a pop music phenomenon, and transformed Timbaland into one of the most ubiquitous producers of the aughts.  

Songs Discussed

Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
Tweet - Oops (Oh My)
Jay-Z - Dirt off Your Shoulder
Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around... Comes Around
2Pac - Me Against The World
TLC - Creep
Ginuwine - Pony 
Aaliyah - One in a Million
Jay-Z ft. UGK - Big Pimpin’
Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me a River
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous
Justin Timberlake ft. T.I. - My Love
Timbaland ft. One Republic - Apologize
Sports Car - Tate McRae
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How Missy Elliott and Timbaland Freaked the World

It may be hard to believe it in this technology-driven day and age, but one of the most pervasive sounds in popular music came about when a computer STOPPED working. In 2005, artist and innovator Imogen Heap released "Hide and Seek," a mysterious and emotional song featuring just her voice and a digital harmonizer. In this episode, Nate and Reanna dissect a song that launched a thousand memes and gave the world one of the defining sonic textures of our time.

Songs Discussed
Imogen Heap - Headlock
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight 
Daft Punk - Around the World
Imogen Heap - Getting Scared
Frou Frou - Let Go
Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say
Bon Iver - Woods
Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven
Kacey Musgraves
gracias a la vida
Frank Ocean - Close To You 
Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey - The Middle
Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings
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Playing "Hide and Seek" with Imogen Heap

In 2007, a 19-year-old Barbadian pop singer released the lead single off her third album. By doing so, she didn't just give us a timeless, undeniable banger -- she changed the way pop music is made, and became the global superstar that we know Rihanna to be today. In this episode we go back in time to unearth the origins of "Umbrella," and how the song blossomed as a result of many shifting currents in the music industry, the democratization recording technology, and the persistence of Rihanna and her team to record the song instead of the artist for whom it was intended.

SONGS DISCUSSED

James Brown "Funky Drummer"

Funkadelic "Get Off Your Ass and Jam"

Soft Cell "Tainted Love"

N.W.A. "100 Miles and Runnin"

Mya "Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do?)"

Britney Spears featuring Madonna "Me Against the Music"

Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds"

Rihanna "Pon de Replay"

Rihanna "S.O.S."

Shakira "Hips Don't Lie"

Rihanna "Umbrella"

Justice "Stress"

Usher "Love in This Club"

Childish Gambino "Bonfire"

A$AP Rocky featuring Skepta "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)"

Asher Monroe "Synergy"

Justin Bieber & Lil Dicky "Running Over"

Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso"


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The Umbrella Effect: How Rihanna’s Breakout Hit Changed Pop Music Forever

Tate McRae's billions of streams and perfectly crafted hits can feel almost algorithmic, like an AI trained on 20 years of pop music. In anticipation of McRae’s third album So Close to What, out this Friday, we dissect McRae’s "SimplePop" formula, from her strategic, indescript vocal delivery to expert "vibe snatching" of Y2K sounds. 
Through singles like "exes” and “sports car,” Charlie and Reanna trace her sonic lineage and discover why pop music needs artists who refine sounds as much as those who revolutionize them, seeing if there’s room to love her music in the process. This dancer-turned-singer might not be the next Britney Spears, but she could be this generation's Paula Abdul.

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Songs Discussed

Tate McRae - "sports car"

Tate McRae - "greedy"

Tate McRae - "you broke me first"

Tate McRae - "One Day"

Tate McRae - "exes"

Lisa - "Money"

Halsey - "100 Letters"

Cardi B - "I Like It"

Beyoncé - "Drunk in Love"

Ariana Grande - "7 Rings"

Ariana Grande - "thank u, next"

Tate McRae - "it's okay im okay" 

Ying Yang Twins - "Wait (The Whisper Song)"

The Lonely Island - "Bing Bong Brothers"

The Pussycat Dolls - "Buttons"

Missy Elliott - "Get Your Freak On"

Missy Elliott feat. Ludacris - "Gossip Folks"

Britney Spears - "Toxic"

Britney Spears - "Gimme More"

Cassie - "Me & U"

Paula Abdul - "Straight Up"


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Learning to love: Tate McRae

In last month's episode predicting the coming year in pop, one of the team's predictions was that trance music – the ethereal, dreamy subgenre of electronic music popular around the turn of the century – would make a comeback on the charts in 2025. And even though we're less than two months into the year, we're already seeing the tides of nostalgia bring this club-oriented music come back into fashion. This episode of Switched On Pop, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna take a look at trance music: where it came from, what it sounds like, and if we can hear it in two of the year's most anticipated records: The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow and FKA Twigs's EUSEXUA. Does it trance?

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Songs Discussed

KLF "What Time is Love? (Pure Trance Mix)"

Sven Väth "L'Esperanza"

Robert Miles "Children"

Paul van Dyk "For an Angel"

Ian Van Dahl "Castles in the Sky"

Tiësto "Adagio for Strings"

Darude "Sandstorm"

Charlotte De Witte "Universal Consciousness"

FKA twigs "Two Weeks"

FKA twigs "Cellophane"

FKA twigs "Tears in the Club" feat. The Weeknd

FKA twigs "EUSEXUA"

FKA twigs "Drums of Death"

FKA twigs "Perfect Stranger"

FKA twigs "Room of Fools"

FKA twigs "Childlike Things"

The Weeknd "Wake Me Up" feat. Justice

The Weeknd "Open Hearts"

The Weeknd "The Abyss" feat. Lana Del Rey

The Weeknd "Timeless" feat. Playboi Carti

The Weeknd "Give Me Mercy"

The Weeknd "Red Terror"

The Weeknd "Sao Paulo" feat. Anitta

The Weeknd "Reflections" feat. Travis Scott & Florence + The Machine

The Weeknd "Enjoy the Show"

The Weeknd "I Can't Wait to Get There"

The Weeknd "Hurry Up Tomorrow"

The Weeknd "Blinding Lights"

The Weeknd "Save Your Tears"

The Weeknd "Until I Bleed Out"

The Weeknd "Take My Breath"

The Weeknd "Out of Time"


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Does It Trance? The Weeknd & FKA Twigs

Behind Spotify's promise of infinite music lies a carefully engineered system that shapes not just what we hear, but how music itself gets made. Journalist Liz Pelly's explosive new book "Mood Machine" rips away the curtain on streaming's biggest player, revealing how its algorithms and backroom deals dictate the soundtrack to our lives. With major labels controlling 70% of streams and Spotify commanding over 600 million users, the stakes couldn't be higher. As artists like Björk decry streaming as "the worst thing that's happened to musicians," Pelly uncovers the true cost of our perfect playlists - and what we're really sacrificing for the illusion of endless choice.

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