Listen closer to pop music, and hear how it moves us. Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Jhayco, the artist formerly known as Jhay Cortez, feels different from the rest of the Latin music machine. He considers himself a “melody freak,” has a wide variety of influences – “Alternative music, indie music, deep house, rap, trap, salsa, bachata, scores for music” – and is intimately involved in every step of the creative process, writing, producing, and performing his brand of glossy, melancholic reggaeton.
Since his breakout hit “No Me Conoce” in 2019, the Puerto Rican multihyphenate has become one of the most listened to artists in the world, thanks to collaborations with superstars including Bad Bunny and J Balvin — which have amassed several billion streams on Spotify —, along with writing credits on smash hits like Cardi B’s “I Like It” and Natti Natasha’s “Criminal.”
Jhayco's newest record, Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) is out September 6th, and is a three-part, 29-track behemoth highlighting Jhayco's globalist production style, his keen eye for melody, and his unique tastemaker status in the industry. “There's only a few people I know who do this,” he says, “and thank God I'm one of those people.”
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Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars bring back the duet
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 • Duration 44:57
It seemingly a terrible time to launch an over-the-top sentimental duet. This style of production peaked in the 80s and has had few chart topping success since. But as a sort of counter programming, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' duet "Die With A Smile" is an unexpected smash. This oddity from two beloved legacy artists may be more than a stand alone hit hit to promote Mars' Vegas residency and Gaga's upcoming film role in Joker: Folie à Deux. "Die With A Smile" more than hints at being interwoven to that film's universe, while also adhering to a forgotten musical traditional: the devotional duet in the style of Sonny & Cher. In the movie, Joker and Gaga's character Harley Quinn, have shared musical delusions about performing in a murderous Sonny & Cher like TV duo. But does this single come credit sequence song stand up to the best duets from the past? Listen to find out.
Songs Discussed
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - "Die With A Smile"
Sonny & Cher - "I Got You Babe"
Bread - "Make It On Your Own"
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway - "The Closer I Get To You"
Lionel Richie & Diana Ross - "Endless Love"
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton - "Islands in the Stream"
Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald - "On My Own"
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Switched-On Wendy Carlos
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 • Duration 37:36
The synthesizer was invented in the 1890s. But for people to really start using it, it took half a century, a musician named Wendy Carlos, and an album called Switched-On Bach.
Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan of Switched On Pop tell Phoebe why Wendy Carlos is “the most significant figure in 20th century music that the least people know about.”
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Wonders: Bobby McFerrin
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 • Duration 34:49
In 1988, Bobby McFerrin recorded a song a cappella with a simple message: not to worry, and just enjoy life. That song, aptly titled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” topped the charts and become one of the most well known one-hit wonders of all time.
In doing so, it also propelled McFerrin into the spotlight, winning him three Grammy awards and an eternal place in pop culture. His career, though, is more than just the Big Mouth Billy Bass: a deep dive reveals an incredible career in jazz, folk, and classical music as well as a remarkable command of his own voice. This episode of Switched on Pop, we explore the history behind "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and the ensuing legacy of Bobby McFerrin.
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The New Wave of Paramore
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 • Duration 34:23
Six years after their last record, Paramore is back with new music, and their upcoming record seems to have an uncanny connection to the era of new wave. But what is “new wave” anyway? Is it just a period of time in music or something more?
In this episode of Switched on Pop, we explore some of the tracks from This is Why, out February 10th, and connect them to the works of everyone from Talking Heads to Joy Division.
Songs Discussed
Paramore – C’est Comme Ça
Olivia Rodrigo – good 4 u
Paramore – Misery Business
Paramore – Ain’t It Fun
Paramore – Pool
Paramore – This Is Why
Talking Heads – I Zimbra
Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Happy House
The B-52’s – Dirty Back Road
Gang of Four – Cheeseburger
Oingo Boingo – Just Another Day
DEVO – Uncontrollable Urge
Paramore – Hard Times
Les Rita Mitsouko – C’est comme ça
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
Paramore – The News
Joy Division – Disorder
Blondie – The Thin Line
Blondie – The Tide Is High
The Police – So Lonely
Paramore – Pressure
Paramore – Told You So
Boy Harsher – LA
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Taylor Swift and the music industry's next $20
Friday, January 20, 2023 • Duration 01:22:24
Streaming feels like it's both at its height and on a precipice. Musicians are fed up at getting paid fractions of a penny, and the whole business model seems precarious. Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding was talking about the challenges for streaming future with my friend Nilay Patel, editor in chief of The Verge and host the podcast Decoder - a show about big ideas. And they taped a conversation about what’s next for streaming through the case study of Taylor Swift who has deftly navigated the transition from CDs to streaming, and whose era tour may mark the end of an era in music.
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SZA's Endless Melody
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 • Duration 29:51
Why does SZA's latest album SOS hit different? It's the way her melodies don't repeat where you expect them to, defying all the rules of pop songwriting. We break down how her endless melodies echo the intimate themes of her most recent release, and how they connect to genres ranging from gospel to Wagnerian opera.
Songs Discussed
SZA - Kill Bill, SOS, Shirt, Notice Me, Seek & Destroy, Gone Girl, Low, Smoking on My Ex Pack, Ghost in the Machine (ft Phoebe Bridgers), F2F
Sam Smith & Kim Petras - Unholy
Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero
Jazmine Sullivan - Girl Like Me (ft H.E.R.)
Summer Walker - No Love (ft. SZA)
Jessye Norman - Isoldes Liebestod
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Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phenomenon
Tuesday, January 10, 2023 • Duration 27:52
Over the past few months, you may have heard your favorite song pop up on the Internet – just slightly faster. You’re not alone: the phenomenon of the “sped-up” remix has taken over social media, with everyone from Lady Gaga to Thundercat getting the tempo treatment. The popularity of the craze has led to millions of TikTok videos, Billboard number ones, and songs becoming relevant again, decades after release. Ever since the proliferation of these “remixes,” the big questions remain: where did these songs come from and why are they here?
On this episode of Switched on Pop, we explore this exact phenomenon, tracing its roots from Thomas Edison to Cam’ron to vaporwave to nightcore.
Songs Discussed:
“Dream On” – Aerosmith (sped up)
“Escapism” – RAYE, 070 Shake (sped up)
“Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy (sped up)
“Miss You” – Oliver Tree (sped up)
“Say It Right” – Nelly Furtado (sped up)
“Bloody Mary” – Lady Gaga (sped up)
“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals (slowed down)
“Juicy” – Notorious B.I.G.
“Juicy” – DJ Screw
“Jolene” – Dolly Parton (slowed down)
“リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |” – Macintosh Plus
“In Da Club Before Eleven O’ Clock” – DJ Rashad
“Monster [Nightcore]” – Meg & Dia, remixed by Barren Gates
“Concrete Angel” – Hannah Diamond
“Witch Doctor” – David Seville
“Oh Boy” – Cam’ron, Juelz Santana
“Cool for the Summer” – Demi Lovato (sped up)
“Them Changes” – Thundercat (sped up & Chopnotslop remix)
“That’s All” – Genesis
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ICYMI 90s Music Canon
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 • Duration 37:04
Matt Daniels, editor of the publication The Pudding, wanted to find out what songs from his youth would last into the future. So he designed a study that would test if Gen-Z had a grip on 90s culture. Hundreds of thousands of participants provided over 3 million data points. Daniels parsed through the data for insights. Sadly, the majority of his most beloved songs have not survived even one generation. Though most had been forgotten, he found that just a few songs had staying power across generations — what he defined as the emerging 90s music canon. Find out what songs make it and which have fallen to the wayside.
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The Pudding’s study on Defining the 90s Canon
Take The Pudding’s quiz yourself
SONGS DISCUSSED
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Mariah Carey - Fantasy!
Lou Bega - Mambo #5
Los Del Rio - Macarena
Boys II Men - Motown Philly
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
Savage Garden - I Want You
The Barenaked Ladies - One Week
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love
Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On
Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Smash Mouth - All Star
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
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ICYMI: We *do* talk about Bruno
Tuesday, December 27, 2022 • Duration 26:49
The number one song on the charts is a bit of a mystery. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is the unlikely hit from Disney’s sleeper animated musical Encanto. Set in a mountainous village in Colombia, the film was a middling commercial success when it was released in Nov 2021. But in recent months it has become a pop culture phenomenon for a confluence of reasons: an expansive discourse on Colombian representation in media, fan videos on TikTok, and of course it's ear-wormy hits.
The musical is yet another notch in the belt for Lin Manuel Miranda (the auteur behind Hamilton and In The Heights) who wrote the now chart-topping song book. While Disney certainly commands vast commercial success, its musicals rarely see such crossover attention. The last #1 Disney musical number was “A Whole New World” from the animated Aladdin back in 1993. Where that song was literally uplifting, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is quite the opposite.
Bruno is the uncle of the Madrigal family, whose skill for seeing the future portends gloom and sends him into exile. In his namesake song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” an ensemble cast trade verses about his ghostly presence (Bruno haunts the family home, living inside its walls). It is an odd ball song, with dark and bizarre lyrics. Sure it starts with a story about rain on a wedding day (which is not ironic), but then it takes a hard left into tales of dead fish, middle aged weight gain, and creeping rats. So then what makes it a hit? A distinctive concoction of salsa piano rhythms, familiar Lin Manuel Miranda-isms, and contemporary pop connections to Camila Cabello, Britney Spears, J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Cardi B.
Listen to Switched On Pop to solve the mystery of what makes “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” a hit.
SONGS DISCUSSED
Lin Manuel Miranda - We Don’t Talk About Bruno, In The Heights, Helpless, Satisfied, My Shot, Wait For It, Say No To This
Cardi B, J Balvin, I Like It
Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee - Despacito
Camila Cabello, Young Thug - Havana
Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
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