Switched on Pop

On her eighth studio album Popstar, the criminally underrated multihyphenate Tinashe finally asserts herself as a Main Pop Girl, crafting a record about what it means to be a celebrity in the modern era. For her, it’s about grinding for years, living in the fantasy, and connecting herself to an artistic lineage – asserting a compelling thesis on stardom. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna and Charlie talk all things Tinashe, and do some serious uplifting in the process.

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:

• Tinashe – Sunglasses
• Tinashe – Nasty
• Tinashe – 2 On (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
• Tinashe – Melatonin
• Tinashe – I’d Rather Be Alone
• Disco Lines, Tinashe – No Broke Boys
• Tinashe – Too Easy
• Tinashe – Popstar
• Tinashe – The Show Must Go On
• Britney Spears – Circus
• Britney Spears – Piece of Me
• Tinashe – Empty Stadium
• Janet Jackson – Empty
• Tinashe – Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore
• Nine Inch Nails – Closer
• Nine Inch Nails, Boys Noize – Closer - Nine Inch Noize
• Miley Cyrus – Gimme What I Want
• Rihanna – Kiss It Better

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A few months ago, Nate came across a glittering guitar riff unlike anything he had ever heard before; it managed to perfectly balance careful optimism with plaintive melancholy, stirring the spirit. That melody, played by guitarist Yvette Young, was a shining example of the “midwest emo” sound, a genre pioneered by bands like American Football, Gauge, and Braid. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Nate introduces Charlie to all things midwest and emo, speaking with Young and American Football frontman Mike Kinsella in the process.

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:

• Gauge – Blunchlox
• Braid – Never Will Come For Us
• Joan Of Arc – The Hands
• American Football – Never Meant
• American Football – Stay Home
• Covet, San Holo – shibuya (ft. San Holo)
• Tiny Moving Parts – Always Focused
• Oliver Houston – The Dork Ages
• American Football – Man Overboard
• American Football – Bad Moons

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The music of global girl group KATSEYE might be confusing on first listen. A less-generous read might consider their songs to be rudimentary: the lyrics are mostly nonsense, the instrumentals evoke lesser 2010s pop songs, and the aesthetic can’t decide whether it’s targeted to children or adults. However, maybe the nonsensical nature of KATSEYE is also… the point? And maybe that point is tethered to early surrealist movements of the early twentieth century?

On this episode of Switched on Pop, producer Reanna makes the case to Nate that KATSEYE and ADÉLA are indicative of a larger shift in pop music, one that tethers itself to Marcel Duchamp and the dada movement.

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.

Link to Charlie and Nate’s live event with Jensen McRae at USC!

Songs discussed:

• The Lonely Island, Emma Stone – Turn Up The Beef
• KATSEYE – Gnarly
• KATSEYE – Animal
• KATSEYE – Hootie Frutti
• KATSEYE – PINKY UP
• Fifth Harmony – I’m In Love With a Monster
• Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still
• Britney Spears – Toxic
• Britney Spears – Circus
• Da Hool – Meet Her at the Loveparade
• Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
• ADÉLA – Ain’t In La
• Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop
• ADÉLA – Nicole Kidman

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For the 500th(!) episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate try to answer the question that has stumped critics and philosophers since the dawn of sound: does bad music exist? Their quest to answer something so nebulous leads them through the annals of taste, and in the process, they recruit several other critics and journalists to give their two cents on the topic. Can things actually be bad, and if so, how do we define them?

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:

• Kristin Chenoweth, “Taylor the Latte Boy”
• Komar and Melamid & Dave Soldier, “The Most Unwanted Song"
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, "Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo"
• Johann Strauss II, The Blue Danube"
• Johann Sebastian Bach, "The Well-Tempered Clavier No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in C minor"
• Pete Rock & CL Smooth, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"
• Lil Yachty, "1 Night"
• Sam Laxton, Lonskii, “Adagio For Strings”
• Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, “Get Lucky”
• Florence Foster Jenkins, "Queen of the Night’s Aria"
• BB King, Eric Clapton, “Riding With the King”
• Paul McCartney, "Temporary Secretary"
• The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun"
• Paul McCartney, "Wonderful Christmastime"
• Lou Reed, "Who Am I? (Tripitena’s Song)"
• Insane Clown Posse, "Miracles"
• Primus, "DMV"
• Iggy Azalea ft. Charli xcx, "Fancy"
• The Killers, "Human"

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One year after the release of her twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift is back with an encore. Specifically, The Encore, four tracks that have polarized critics and Swifties alike, from the country-esque number one hit “Patient Zero” to her ode to married Ohioan bliss, “Cleveland!” For some, the new songs lean into Swift’s worst writing impulses. But for others, including our hosts (and resident Swiftologists) Charlie and Nate, the tracks call back to earlier eras of Swift’s songwriting, and perhaps evoke more nuanced discussion about what it means to release music as the biggest artist in the world. The question is: are we ready for it?

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:

• Taylor Swift, “Patient Zero”
• Taylor Swift, “Cleveland!”
• Taylor Swift, “Pink Clouding”
• Taylor Swift, “Babylon”
• Taylor Swift, “Red”

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

Five years after her first appearance on Switched on Pop, Carly Rae Jepsen returns to the podcast to talk all things Day and Night, her latest album. Born out of Swedish disco, big emotion, and substantive life change – including becoming a wife and a mother – the double album is a tour through the organic and the synthetic, both in equal measure. For Charlie and Nate, this is a full circle moment, and along with discussing the record, the two talk to Jepsen about the origins of the show, her songwriting process, and what it means to be such an important champion of pop 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:

• Carly Rae Jepsen, “After All”
• Carly Rae Jepsen, “Versailles”
• Carly Rae Jepsen, “Don’t Leave Me on the Dance Floor”
• Carly Rae Jepsen, “Near or Far”
• Carly Rae Jepsen, “Motivation”

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Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo’s new album ESTRUS can be summarized in the opening lyrics of the album’s closing track, “source of life”: “Feral, fragile, numb, ecstatic / sad, euphoric, catatonic / Horny, repulsed, proud and shameful / Good, demonic, contradictions.”

A songwriter with a string of multi-platinum hits in the 2010s, Tove Lo has crafted a career founded on musical contradiction, with songs that straddle the line between messy and controlled. Her lyrics tend to skew both horny and sensitive, and her latest record features both of those vibes in equal measure. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate sit down with her to talk all things ESTRUS.

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:

• Tove Lo, “a lot of feelings, no solutions”
• Tove Lo, “I’m your girl right?”
• Stromae, “Alors on danse”
• Tove Lo, “des fleurs x Stromae”
• Tove Lo, “DNH”
• Tove Lo, “F.A.M.T”
• Tove Lo, “are we on a break”
• Tove Lo, “idiot”
• Tove Lo, “source of life”

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

Lizzy McAlpine opens up about her 4th album Angel alongside collaborators Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall. Recorded live at Power Station at Berklee NYC.

Songs Discussed

Lizzy McAlpine "Anybody's Fool"

Lizzy McAlpine "A Car Wash and a New Pair of Pants"

Nick Drake "One of These Things First"

Lizzy McAlpine "Two Elevens"

Adam Guettel "Through the Mountain"

Lizzy McAlpine "Our Strange Ways"

Joni Mitchell "Hejira"

Lizzy McAlpine "Soldier of the Road"

Lizzy McAlpine "Peach"

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

Throughout pop history, groups from The Ink Spots to the Beach Boys to Fleetwood Mac all forged their sound in the alchemy of vocal harmonies, harnessing the magic that happens when different voices join as one. Then suddenly, right around the 1980s, vocal harmonies started to wane in pop. Whether it was Michael Jackson creating a new model of the solo star, music technology making the voice more like an instrument, or simply audiences wanting a new sound, today the art of vocal harmony is hard to find on the charts. But bands like Tiny Habits, whose originals and covers showcase intricate and delicate harmonies, are bringing the sound back to the people, with a message that everyone needs to sing more, and to sing together.

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:

• Fleetwood Mac – The Chain
• The Roches – Hammond Song
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
• Pérotin, The Hilliard Ensemble – Viderunt omnes
• Mbuti men – Elephant Hunting Song
• Bulgarian State Television Female Choir – Pilentze Pee
• The Golden Gate Quartet – Stormy Weather
• The Jackson 5 – Who’s Lovin’ You
• Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – C’mon Marianne
• The Beach Boys – Barbara Ann
• Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough
• Tiny Habits – Right In Front Of Me
• Tiny Habits – Anything He Was
• Tiny Habits – one more (live acoustic)

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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”

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

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

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

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

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

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 https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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"

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

The chorus was once the part of the song that brought us together, the place we gathered to sing. Now it's the most engineered thirty seconds in music. Legendary producer Trevor Horn and hip-hop icon B-Real of Cypress Hill help Charlie and Nate answer the question on their minds: when everything's a hook, is anything a chorus?

CREDITS

• Reanna Cruz: Producer
• Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator
• Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer
• Dion Lee: Art Director
• Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer
• Nick Ripps: Video Editor
• Nate Sloan: Host
• Lissa Soep: Editor
• Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

Songs discussed:

• Whitney Houston, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
• Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the U.S.A."
• Handel, "Hallelujah Chorus" (from Messiah)
• Pete Seeger, "Oh! Susanna"
• Odetta, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, “Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
• Handel, "Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted" (from Messiah)
• Joan Morris & William Bolcom, "After the Ball"
• Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow"
• Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode"
• The Beatles, “Yesterday"
• The Beatles, "Getting Better"
• Otis Redding, "Respect"
• Aretha Franklin, "Respect"
• Dolly Parton, "I Will Always Love You"
• Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You"
• The Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star"
• Prince, "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
• Katy Perry, "Roar"
• Calvin Harris, “I Need Your Love" (ft. Ellie Goulding)
• Britney Spears, "(You Drive Me) Crazy"
• Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream"
• Maroon 5, "Payphone" (ft. Wiz Khalifa)
• Bad Bunny, “Si Veo a Tu Mamá"
• Drake, "Janice STFU"
• Lykke Li, "I Follow Rivers"
• Charli xcx, "Rock Music"

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

Everybody sings the chorus, but superfans quote the verse. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate trace the verse from Shakespeare through opera to TikTok, and songwriter Audrey Hobert shares her philosophy of specific verses and anthemic choruses: you can't have the payoff without the setup.

CREDITS

Reanna Cruz: Producer

Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator

Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer

Dion Lee: Art Director

Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer

Nick Ripps: Video Editor

Nate Sloan: Host

Lissa Soep: Editor

Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠

Songs discussed:

• Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
• Edward Meeker, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
• Third Eye Blind, "Semi-Charmed Life"
• Zara Larsson, "Lush Life"
• John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
• Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"
• William Smith, Choir of New College, Oxford, Edward Higginbottom, "Opening Versicles and Responses"
• Georges Bizet, Michel Plasson, Angela Gheorghiu, Les Éléments, Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse, "Bizet: Carmen, WD 31, Act 1: Habanera. "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Carmen, Chœur)"
• Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"
• Built to Spill, "Joyride"
• The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"
• Gracie Abrams, "That's So True"
• Audrey Hobert, "Sue me"
• Lizzo, "About Damn Time"
• Audrey Hobert, "Drive"
• Audrey Hobert, "Bowling alley"

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

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.”

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

• 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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We're coming to the big screen with a four part mini series starting July 14th.

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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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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

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Lisa ft. Rosalia: "New Woman"

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Childish Gambino: "Lithonia"

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Addison Rae: "Fame Is a Gun"

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Bleachers: "Tiny Moves"

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Zara Larsson: "Midnight Sun"

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Robyn: "Show Me Love"

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Robyn: "Dancing on My Own"

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Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

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Brad Mehldau: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

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