Switched on Pop
Episodes
Newcomers: Magdalena Bay
23 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Few pop groups are making music as imaginative as Magdalena Bay. The Los Angeles-based duo of singer Mica Tenenbaum and multi-instrumentalist Matthew ...
Tinashe’s “Nasty” takes on Janet and Beyoncé + Are songs getting simpler?
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you've spent any time on the internet this summer, you may have encountered a certain refrain accompanying particularly fierce dance videos—"I've...
Kesha v Katy + Tayla Parx on pop’s obsession with eras
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On June 17 the pop world was rocked by three letters: LOL. Kesha tweeted the acronym immediately after Katy Perry announced her new single "Woman's Wo...
Introducing One Song
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you like how Switched On Pop breaks down songs, you’re going to love the show One Song hosted by Diallo Riddle and Luxxury. They play you the ste...
brat but it's a podcast about the album by CharliXCX
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CharliXCX's latest album, brat, has created an internet fever dream. This club record celebrating messiness, partying, and brutal honesty has created ...
Why Chappell Roan is the sound of 2024
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For months, listeners have been peppering us with the same question: “When are you going to cover Chappell Roan?” We genuflect, then respond, “W...
Is country the new hip hop?
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, hip hop has been the most successful genre on the charts. Then, in 2023, a shift occurred. For the first time, the country songs outnumbe...
The music industry's AI fight
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Verge's Nilay Patel and David Pierce chat with Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding about the RIAA lawsuit against Al music startups Udio and Suno. L...
Switched-On Wendy Carlos
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 albu...
The song of the summer is DEAD with Today Explained
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long live the song of the summer with Today Explained. But wait! Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding disagrees. And Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos says...
Lawrence: the kick-ass eight-piece family band reshaping the music business
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s volatile music industry, many artists struggle to navigate the pitfalls of touring, the whims of social media, and the inequity of exploi...
The Imperfect Feminine: Camila, Charli, and Sabrina
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The first half of 2024 has been for the “pop girlie.” It seems like every major artist who’s dominated the discourse this year has been a woman,...
Empress Of asks for your consideration (with Empress Of)
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s many things to love about Los Angeles: low-rider cars, roadside taco stands, and, come awards season, the omnipresent “For Your Considerat...
Bootsy Collins is gonna funk you up (with Bootsy Collins)
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bootsy Collins is, perhaps, the funkiest man of all time. Over the course of his nearly six decade career, Collins has given up the funk in the iconic...
Freaking out about songwriting with Nile Rodgers
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is no contemporary pop music without Nile Rodgers. Born in 1952, Rodgers grew up playing classical music on flute and clarinet before picking u...
Begging songs and basketball's musicality (with Hanif Abdurraqib)
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's no music writer like the essayist and poet Hanif Abdurraqib: whether he's narrating the beautiful awkwardness of a Carly Rae Jepsen concert or...
Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist (with Charlie Puth)
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On her latest album, Taylor Swift “declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” No one was more surprised by this than Charlie Puth himself: ...
Billie Eilish hits both hard and soft
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Billie Eilish’s third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, Eilish finally graduates from her signature anti-pop persona into full blown pop stardom. This...
Gastropod: Why are restaurants so loud? Plus the science behind the perfect playlist
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you go out for a meal, it’s not just what's on your plate that matters, it's what's in your eardrums, too. From dining rooms so loud you have t...
Is pop music just fast food? (with Gastropod)
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Where were you when you learned that the McDonald's jingle "I'm lovin' it" was originally part of a full-fledged pop song by Justin Timberlake and Pha...
Rosie Tucker's unending bliss
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tongue twisters that mock techno-optimism and cite critical theory don’t usually make for catchy song lyrics. But indie rocker Rosie Tucker’s Uto...
Eurovision 2024: from Baby Lasagna to Windows95Man
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s that time of year again when the entirety of Europe (and a few other countries) come together to celebrate kitschy, bombastic songwriting throu...
Justice is never-ending
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay of the French electronic duo Justice speak with cohost Charlie Harding about their new album Hyperdrama. Song Disc...
Best of 2024 so far: hip hop feuds, Hozier’s pop surprise and espresso shots
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The beginning of 2024 has brought new music aplenty. Some big releases are in the form of big-ticket albums by the world’s biggest superstars (shout...
Taylor Swift's Literary Era
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, finds the songwriter in the world of literature. She interweaves personal romance wit...
Lost Notes: How Fela Kuti Found Afrobeat in LA
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lost Notes by KCRW explores how Fela Kuti’s time in LA in 1969 was instrumental in the creation of his legendary Afrobeat sound. Hosted by Michael...
Berlin's Hottest Club is Rico Nasty & Boys Noize
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are few artists pushing the boundaries of their respective genres like Maryland rapper Rico Nasty and German-Iraqi electronic producer Boys Noiz...
Chasing old sounds: Djo's "End of Beginning" with Joe Keery
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Keery is best known for his acting roles, such as the reformed jock Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" and his chilling performance in season 5...
Cowboy Carter: This Ain't Country
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is her foray into country music, but this isn't just dirt roads, blue jeans and whiskey. Her country music distills all of Am...
Hip-hop's Sea Change at Rolling Loud
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hip-hop is in a weird place right now. Research says that the genre, in both streaming and chart performance, has declined over the last decade. And w...
Rhapsody in Blue, Reimagined
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What do Duke Ellington, United Airlines, and the K Pop group Red Velvet share in common? They've all covered George Gershwin's piano concerto, Rhapsod...
Eternal Sunshine of Ariana Grande's Mind
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sidestep the gossip and focus on the music in Ariana Grande’s latest album Eternal Sunshine. The music is an exercise in nostalgia: 70s Disco, 90s R...
How to DIY a Music Career (with Amelia Meath and David Gray at SXSW)
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a landscape where the music industry seems designed to stifle creativity and independence, Amelia Meath stands as a beacon of resistance. Through h...
Is Beyoncé's music #sponcon? And other mysteries LIVE in Brooklyn
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Live from On-Air Fest in Brooklyn, Nate and Charlie investigate listeners’ burning musical mysteries, such as: Is Beyoncé’s reference to Lexus in...
Jacob Collier unites the world
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most inventive and gifted musicians working today is none other than Jacob Collier. Maybe you know him from his YouTube videos, or co-writi...
Beyoncé's Country
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Renaissance Act II truthers, your time has come: There’s new music from Beyoncé, and boy, is it country. Her two new singles dropped two weeks ago,...
Adult Contemporary, but make it cool (with CHROMEO)
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Canadian Electro-Funk duo CHROMEO have made consistently funky, highly danceable music for twenty years. They’ve released five studios albums, d...
The Star Spangled Banger!
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who is the biggest Diva of them all? The U.S. National Anthem, which borrows its melody from a historic British drinking song, has undergone enormous ...
Brittany Howard's Chaos Theory (with Brittany Howard)
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to powerful artistry, few can match the intensity of Brittany Howard. Over the past decade, we’ve seen her bring her signature Souther...
The b*tch of loving musical theater (with Bridger Winegar)
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to musical theater, everyone has an opinion. And Bridger Winegar, host of the very funny podcast I Said No Gifts!, is no exception. In t...
Kali Uchis takes on the world
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis has cemented herself as something of a vibe curator; her signature genre fusion has brought forward everything fr...
Soundalikes: Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We live in an age of musical nostalgia where artists wear influences on their sleaves. Case in point, two established artists who are drawing from est...
The case of the missing vocals, and other listener questions
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All throughout the year, Switched on Pop gets a litany of musical questions that need answering. To kick off 2024, hosts Charlie and Nate answer some ...
Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phenomenon - ICYMI
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed it, last January, we published this story on the rising trend of sped-up music. It seems like the tempo-shifting isn't going anywhe...
Wham! Op. 84 “Last Christmas” with Chilly Gonzales - ICYMI
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed it, Wham’s 1984 contribution to the holiday cannon, “Last Christmas,” has surprising staying power. When Grammy-winning piani...
"Did I mention that it's Christmas in this club?" (w Matt Rogers)
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holiday album releases sometimes have a sense of pandering to them. "I'm a pop star. Here's me singing the nineteen-millionth cover of 'Jingle Bell Ro...
Nicki Minaj's Roman Empire
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nicki Minaj is one of the most unique rappers of all time. She’s given us numerous iconic guest verses from “Monster” to “Flawless (Remix),”...
Hear the Year: The music we loved in 2023
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sign up for the Switched On Pop Newsletter When you make a weekly podcast about pop music, there’s some things that, naturally, slip through the cr...
Behind the Scenes of Switched on Pop on Harman Audio Talks
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nate and Charlie were recently featured on Harman Audio Talks. While our team takes the week off, we wanted to share that conversation with you as we ...
Noah Kahan’s Folk Pop Revival
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Noah Kahan is having a banner year. Between his Best New Artist nomination at the Grammys, his debut SNL performance, and collaborations with everyon...
Why Country Music Dominated 2023's Charts
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Country music's had a massive year. Seriously, not since 1958 have we seen so many country tunes topping the Hot 100 in a single year – and it's not...
The Beatles: "Now and Then" and Forever
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Paul McCartney announced that he and Ringo Starr had produced a new Beatles song with the aid of AI, many music pundits were skeptical. Was this ...
Rerecording Taylor Swift's 1989, Dark Side of the Moon, and Demi Lovato
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three big artists have rerecorded their most hallowed musical material. Taylor Swift, Roger Water and Demi Lovato each have different intentions in pa...
Chartbreakers: Mitski tops the TikTok chart
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for another edition of our series Chartbreakers, where we take a look at the trends and shakeups happening on the Billboard Hot 100. This ...
How Talking Heads reinvented the concert film (with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz)
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Talking Head's concert film Stop Making Sense first came out forty years ago, and it’s just been rereleased in theaters in a 4k remaster by A24. The...
Feeling Fine with Faye Webster
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The past two episodes of the show have been in Atlanta, and this week, we’re staying there with a look at singer-songwriter Faye Webster. Her music ...
Metro Boomin Wants Some More
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few producers have had such a demonstrated impact on the the last decade of music as Metro Boomin. Described by GQ as the “architect of Atlanta rap,...
In Defense of Crunk
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years ago, the song "Get Low" by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and Ying Yang Twins was released; in the years since, the song has managed to sta...
Made In America: Jay-Z & Toby Keith ICYMI
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed it rerun from 2016. Back in 2011, two pop songs dropped with the same patriotic title: "Made in America." But the similarities pret...
The Art of Flow (with DJ Jazzy Jeff) ICYMI
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In hip-hop, what draws us to an artist is not just the content of their lyrics but how they deliver them. Along with tapping your foot to the rhythm, ...
Doja Cat’s Satanic Suite
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time in 2023, a rap song is at number one on Billboard's Hot 100: Doja Cat's “Paint the Town Red.” It’s her second number one sing...
Jimmy Buffett: Next Year in Margaritaville
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Jimmy Buffett died on the first day of September, 2023, musicians from Paul McCartney to Pitbull mourned the death of the "Margaritaville" singer...
Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' Era ICYMI
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed it, Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance is one of her most ambitious albums yet. On this week’s episode of Switched On Pop, we dis...
Olivia Rodrigo’s Good Ideas
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone seems to be getting Olivia Rodrigo wrong. She's one of the few pop stars who has made it big in the current era of fragmented music streaming...
Wonders: "Stacy's Mom" and Adam Schlesinger
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2003, amidst a bunch of bleak alternative rock bangers like “Numb” by Linkin Park and “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence, a rock song stood ...
The mid-career crises of Travis Scott and Post Malone
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Right now, the two biggest records in the country come to us from two of hip-hop’s biggest superstars: Travis Scott and Post Malone. Both artists ha...
Song Camp 2: Electric Boogaloo! (with Alex Tumay, Wolftyla, Nicholas Petricca, Grace VanderWaal)
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of the secret world of song camps looks at the different roles in a songwriting session. There are producers who sit behind a console desk or...
The secret world of songwriting camps
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beginning in the nineties, pop songwriters have traveled to a 13th-century castle in the south of France for what’s come to be known as a “song ca...
Your cursive singing is tearing this family apart!
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recently while scrolling twitter we saw a clip from American Idol of judge Katy Perry admonishing an auditioner on the show to “Enunciate!” The v...
Barbie and the plasticity of pop
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This past week, the film Barbie opened nationwide to massive success – and with it came a soundtrack, executive produced by Mark Ronson. Functionin...
How Louis Armstrong invented the modern pop star
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1964, Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts with his recording of “Hello, Dolly!” becoming, at age 62, the oldest artis...
Speak Now (about Taylor's versions)
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Taylor Swift is currently the most streamed artist in the world as she’s commandeered the media as she embarks on her Eras tour around the globe. It...
My Beyoncé Ticket Cost $4,000: Why the Touring Industry Might Be Broken – Into It with Sam Sanders
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Us at Switched On Pop are off on vacation, but don't fret – this week we're still bringing you an episode, courtesy of the Vulture podcast Into It w...
What makes a gay anthem?
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vulture might have killed the song of the summer back in 2016, but if you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it’s hard to argue against “Padam...
Switches Brew: blink-182, Kate Bush, BewhY, The Pointer Sisters, Saint Levant
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another installment of Switches Brew the show where you get to hear from the larger team Switched On Pop team and community about what we're listening...
Chartbreakers: Mexican regional y más
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As summer comes upon us, it’s time for some Billboard shake ups. On this week’s edition of Chartbreakers, we’re looking at the recent iterations...
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the song "Touch" from Daft Punk's final studio album, 2013's Random Access Memories, featured artist Paul Williams sings a line that augured the en...
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Human After All / Alive 2007
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout their legendary career, Daft Punk continued to prove that the more robotic their music became, the more human they sounded. This dichotomy ...
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Discovery
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daft Punk’s first album laid the groundwork for their robot personas, with four to the floor beats, programmed drum machines, and sequenced synthesi...
Listening 2 Daft Punk: Homework
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years ago, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories gave life back to music. The world-beating smash “Get Lucky” broke streaming records, forged a...
The Jonas Brothers' Yacht Rock Revival
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After nearly two decades as a band the Jonas Brothers are staking their claim to a magnum opus by calling their next album, quite simply, The Album (o...
From Westeros-techno to trance metal: Eurovision 2023
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s May, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Eurovision Song Contest. This year’s edition of the international-but-primarily-in...
Who killed the key change in pop music?
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When trouble strikes in music town, there’s one guy who gets the call. That’s me, Joe Treble, forensic musicologist. This week, I've got one of th...
A.I. Drake has put music in a tailspin
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have an emergency podcast drop because the biggest and fastest moving story on the internet right now is about a song called “Heart On My Sleeve....
BTS goes solo together
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The South Korean idol group BTS is one of the biggest musical sensations in history. They're constantly breaking records and they have one of the most...
This Generation's Caroline Polachek
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From the first seconds of her latest album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, Caroline Polachek asserts that she is truly a once-in-a-generation artist...
The Shakira Conspiracy
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shakira is back on the Billboard Hot 100 – thanks to the help of Argentinian producer Bizarrap. Together, their song “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions...
Reinventing Bach
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever learned classical piano, you probably tried to play one of Bach’s Inventions. The composer wrote fifteen pieces containing the most...
100 gecs and the new sound of hyperpop
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone will describe the music of 100 gecs differently. To some, Dylan Brady and Laura Les make deeply satisfying earworms, tracks able to scratch t...
Switches Brew
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every week the Switched On Pop team gets together and everybody shares one song they’re loving right now. It is one of our favorite conversations ea...
Modern Classics: Seal - Kiss From a Rose
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Kiss From a Rose” is one of the most unusual number one hits of all time. Seal’s song can’t decide if it’s in minor or major, it uses an ol...
How John Denver got huge in Asia
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song about West Virginia, but its message of homecoming has resonance far beyond Appalachia. Songwriter and pro...
Chartbreakers: Jersey Club, Complicated Country, and 50s Crooners
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Currently on Billboard’s hot 100 there is an unexpected UK Garage / Jersey House mashup, a disgraced country star making a questionable comeback, an...
Five years later, the legacy of Nipsey Hussle's "Victory Lap"
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle released Victory Lap, his only full length album. It was the high point of a career stretching back t...
“Flowers” and the art of the response song
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus is spending another week on top of the Billboard 100 – quite fitting for Valentine’s Day. The disco-country track ha...
Rihanna Party! ICYMI
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed it, “Rihanna Is The 21st Century’s Most Influential Musician” according to NPR. Millions and millions of fans the world over ...
The L.A. guitar shop that reinvented indie folk
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, a photographer named Reuben Cox moved to Los Angeles to start Old Style Guitar Shop. In the years since, the instruments that he continues to...
A History of Whammies at the Grammys - Into It with Sam Sanders
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Grammys weekend and Sam Sanders, host of Vulture's Into It podcast, is ready for disappointment! Sam is joined by Switched on Pop's Charlie Har...
Wonders: Bobby McFerrin
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
The New Wave of Paramore
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 wa...