Switched on Pop

Why Does Every Intro Sound Like It's Underwater? (Live)

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ever notice that wobbly, drunken and underwater sound common in so many contemporary pop songs? In an era of pristine recording quality, music produce...

The Man Behind the Rocketman with Giles Martin

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rocketman is a spectacle the size of Elton John, four films in one. It contains a biopic, jukebox musical, addiction recovery story and a romance betw...

The Greatest Pop Stories Never Told (with Jessica Hopper)

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On the KRCW series Lost Notes, Jessica Hopper plumbs pop music history for the most important stories never told. She brings us a bevy of lost gems, f...

Should You Care About Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber?

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A pop star collaboration is a foolproof way to grab the attention of two audiences at once. But do more collaborators actually make a better song? Ed ...

The Smooth Sound of NPR Morning News

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What do Bach and smooth jazz have in common? Both score the unmistakable theme song for NPR's flagship show Morning Edition, listened to by millions a...

Is There An Indie Rock Conspiracy? (Featuring Joywave)

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Many people write us with musical maladies and conspiracies. A recent one caught our attention. Daniel Armbruster, lead vocalist of indie band Joywave...

Lizzo And The End of Genre (with Sam Harris of X Ambassadors)

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On her new album, Cuz I Love You, Lizzo shows off her genre bending musicality. We speak with X Ambassadors lead singer, Sam Harris, who helped co-wri...

Taylor Swift Causes a PANIC!

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When a listener asked us about the "sorcery" behind Taylor Swift's new song "ME!" we knew we had to investigate. And because the track features Brendo...

Sounds Like Teen Spirit (with Elle Fanning)

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pop is inseparable from reality TV singing competitions. From Eurovision to American Idol, scores of stars got their start in singing competitions. We...

Lil Nas X: Country at the Crossroads

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lil Nas X currently holds the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his surprise hit “Old Town Road.” But though the song is dripping with c...

Billie Eilish is a Different Kind of Pop Star (ft. FINNEAS)

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On a trajectory to be one of the biggest pop stars for this generation, seventeen year old Billie Eilish is not, however, your typical pop star. Her m...

BONUS: Bhi Bhiman's 'Peace of Mind' Episode 1

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Switched on Pop is pleased to present Episode 1 of Peace of Mind -- the new album (released as a podcast) by singer/songwriter Bhi Bhiman. In this epi...

Bhi Bhiman Puts the Music Before the Message

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bhi Bhiman joins to explain the "nerd punk rock" behind releasing his new album Peace of Mind with an accompanying podcast. Since Bhiman explores issu...

Comeback Kids: The Jonas Brothers are Back

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After a six year hiatus, Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas are back with a new single and the stakes couldn't be higher. With each brother attaining a higher...

Lost & Found: The Drama of Pop Form with Emily King

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Live from SXSW: Grammy nominee songwriter Emily King didn’t set out to write a perfect pop song with “Remind Me.” Instead, she bent the rules of...

How Streaming Changed the Sound of Pop

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Streaming hasn't just changed the way we listen to music, it's changed the way that pop music sounds. After years of losses due to the death of the CD...

Top 40 Activism with Justin Tranter

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Can political protest exist within the confines of commercial popular music? Songwriter Justin Tranter is equal parts songwriter and activist. You've ...

What Makes An Award Winning Song?

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What if music awards were given out for only musical qualities? It may seem like celebrity and spectacle are more important than ever at the 61st Gram...

What Makes a Song Sexy?

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author Courtney Smith joins to offer her expertise on an urgent topic in advance of Valentine's Day: Can we abstract the sexiest songs of all time int...

The Deep History of '7 Rings'

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"7 Rings" is Ariana Grande's latest smash, a glittering banger that owes much to Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 classic "My Favorite Things." 60 years...

Do You Believe in Life After Autotune?

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Auto-Tune may be the most divisive effect in music. Artists have protested it publicly at the Grammys, and critics have derided the effects for its in...

Slay Bells, All Year Long

26 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This winter season unwrap a deep dive through a pop subgenre of monumental importance: non-holiday songs that feature sleigh bells, from Bonnie Tyler ...

Look What You Made Us Do

11 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Four years into Switched On Pop, Charlie and Nate finally reveal what was behind the entire series. We may have not been totally honest with you from ...

Entering Beard Phase with Mike Posner

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Posner has written hits for himself like "I Took a Pill in Ibiza," and for stars from Justin Bieber ("Boyfriend") to Maroon 5 ("Sugar"), so he ha...

How Dirty Projectors Make You Feel Energy (with David Longstreth)

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dirty Projectors are known for their kaleidoscopic soundscapes. They make strange bedfellows of music techniques like 14th vocal harmonies and Africa...

Stairway To Hell: Greta Van Fleet’s Scorching Album Review That Went Viral

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Classic rock climaxed a half century ago, yet it still survives in two places: FM radio & Greta Van Fleet. The later are an upstart of four boys from ...

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Love the 90s

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan conjure late 90s nostalgia in their latest banger. "1999" drips with lyrical nostalgia for the last decade of the millenniu...

Sicko Rap and Drunk Country

03 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Four songs on the Hot 100 pop chart reveal the new directions in which music is headed. Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" boasts an unprecedented formal str...

The Side Effects of Pop Music with Emily Warren

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Warren is one of the great rising stars of contemporary songwriting. Her song "Side Effects" with The Chainsmokers is currently rising up the ch...

Drake vs Drake

06 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Drake, per usual, has been inescapable this summer. "In My Feelings" and "Nice For What" top the charts, but there's depth to these bangers. We argue ...

Summer Heat of the 2000s: Beyoncé and Black Eyed Peas (Pt. II)

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The final episode of our Switched on Summer throwback series finds us deconstructing more early aughts bangers. Under consideration: two of the bigges...

Summer Heat of the 2000s: Nelly + Katy Perry (Pt. 1)

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What made summer jams of the aughties like Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" so hot? The answer: big, sweaty, doses of harmoni...

Why is 90s Pop so Bizarre?

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Switched on Pop Summer Throwback Series continues! This time, with a deep dive into the musical detritus of the 1990s. In true 90s fashion, our ep...

The Resistance is Dancing in the Streets

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Our Switched on Summer Throwback Series continues with "Dancing in the Street," the 1964 Motown hit by Martha and the Vandellas that was co-written by...

Switched on Summer: Getting Around with the Beach Boys

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Our Switched on Summer throwback mini-series begins in the heart of the 1960s, with the Beach Boys' perennial school's-out jam "I Get Around." We expl...

The Pure Pop of Charlie Puth + Carly Rae (ft Hanif Abdurraqib)

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part I: The Doctors Are In! We diagnose a listener's musical malady, namely: "why does Charlie Puth's new jam 'BOY' make us feel so weird?!" Part II: ...

Afrofuturism in Kali Uchis & Clipping (with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes)

31 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament Funkadelic has had waves of influence on popular music. Their Afrofuturist message and infectious grooves built the backbone of 70s funk, w...

Finding Equanimity In 'No Tears Left To Cry'

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ariana Grande has returned with a track that is jarring yet simultaneously catchy. She uses sophisticated musical techniques to tell a story of healin...

Can AI 'Algorhythms' Write Pop Songs? (With Taryn Southern)

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There is a lot of scare about the impending future of artificial intelligence making humans irrelevant. Musician Taryn Southern examines this narrativ...

Listening Differently to Lorde | with MARIAN HILL

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd are songwriting duo Marian Hill and they are here to share their annoyingly sharp insights on music. They come bearin...

Kacey Musgraves Gives Us Butterflies

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On her single 'Butterflies,' Kacey Musgraves demonstrates a tour de force of songwriting. This song is a wild success because it incessantly reinforce...

Gucci Gang and the Neural Substrate of Subjective Time Dilation

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In which Nate tries to convince Charlie that Lil Pump's SoundCloud Rap hit "Gucci Gang" warps the perceptual present. Featuring: Lil Pump - Gucci Gang...

How to 'Make Me Feel' with Lizzo

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Make Me Feel," is the first hit from Janelle Monáe's upcoming album Dirty Computer. It is a sensual song about the fluidity of desire. In the pre-ch...

808s & Havana Heartbreak

22 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In Camila Cabello's "Havana" we hear both her Cuban roots and the modern sounds of Atlanta. Though the singer and featured guest Young Thug reference ...

My My My! Troye Sivan + Queer Pop (w Gina Delvac, Darryl Bullock)

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Gina Delvac of the Call Your Girlfriend podcast and Darryl W Bullock, author of David Bowie Made Me Gay, join Nate and Charlie to dig into the poetry ...

90s Nostalgia in Bruno Mars and Charlie Puth

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The 90s are back. It is as if pop music entered a black hole and came out 25 years in the past. Today's artists are reviving the new jack swing and vo...

Justin Timberlake's Identity Crisis

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What's up with Justin Timberlake? Two years ago he gifted us the ebullient family-friendly jam "Can't Stop the Feeling," now he's on the cusp of a dee...

Dua Lipa's Minor Mantra (w Emily Bootle)

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie talks laments, Baroque opera, and gender politics in Dua Lipa's sleeper hit "New Rules" with writer Emily Bootle. Learn more about your ad cho...

All I Want for Xmas is a Year in Review Episode

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie and Nate breakdown Mariah Carey's classic "All I Want for Christmas is You" and revisit their favorite tracks of 2017. Sleigh bells abound. Fe...

Björk's Emotional Landscapes

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Björk is uniquely both a pop star and avant-garde composer. Though her music often challenges our ears, underneath her records you'll find more in co...

Taylor Constructs A Darker Reputation

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift unveils a new, darker identity on her latest album "Reputation," and many have read the lyrics on her latest as not-so-subtle volleys in ...

Unlikely Mashups: Taylor + Cardi B | Clean Bandit + Berlioz

02 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

At the top of the pop charts, Taylor Swift and Cardi B, two artists with seemingly little in common, exploit the same compositional technique to hook ...

Kendrick Lamar's HUMBLE deconstructed w. guest Amber Mark

19 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

With Charlie off the grid, Nate sits down with singer/producer Amber Mark to explore the different levels of Kendrick's hit HUMBLE.. Then, they turn t...

Demi Lovato is Not Sorry

06 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Demi Lovato's latest, "Sorry Not Sorry" is at once an unapologetic anthem of defiance and a super catchy mashup of multiple genres. As we'll see, ever...

How to 'Feels' the Groove

22 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How does a song with nonsense lyrics capture our attention, making us want to move? It is called the groove. Enter Calvin Harris' "Feels" (ft. Katy Pe...

Anthems of Resilience - Kesha and Imagine Dragons [LIVE]

07 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of Switched on Pop comes at you live from Block Island, RI, recoded in front of an audience of friends and family following a solar eclip...

The Many Worlds of "Despacito"

10 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What has catapulted Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" to the top spot on the Billboard charts? Sorry, typo—to its status as the biggest song...

Selena Gomez: Bad Liar, Psycho Songwriter

13 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar" stands out on the charts by doing things a little differently: it's a subtle, at times even awkward, summer surprise. Breaki...

Breaking Down Alanis Morissette (and our own Preconceptions) with guest Andrea Warner

29 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Author, critic and podcaster Andrea Warner joins for a throwback episode exploring politics in Lilith Fair, harmonic anger in Alanis Morissette's icon...

Morgan Page Reveals the Rule of 3 in Julia Michaels and Maroon 5

16 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Your brain can only hear three things at the same time. What you may not know is that musicians use this cognitive limitation to guide your listening ...

DJ Khaled - I'm The One... six... four... five

01 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo from Migos and Lil Wayne have allied for a new smash hit: "I'm The One." Despite the star power pre...

Musical Architecture in Charlie Puth + HAIM

18 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Two new songs have captured the attention of your hosts—Charlie Puth's "Attention" and HAIM's "Want You Back." On the surface, these two songs appea...

The End Of Pop Music As We Know It: Fall Out Boy & Charli XCX

04 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is it true that all pop music sounds the same today? For the past year the “pop-drop” has dominated the airwaves. This new form of EDM infused pop...

Harry Styles, Eschatology and Teen Girl Fandom

20 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

One Direction wunderkind Harry Styles has just released his first ever single, "Sign of the Times," and it's a doozy. Strap in for a discussion of the...

What's to Love About Ed Sheeran? (guest Ross Golan)

06 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Songwriter Ross Golan comes over to start up a conversation, encouraging us to follow his lead and give Ed Sheeran's chart-annihilating record "Shape ...

Zedd + Alessia Cara - Stay (w special guest Grey)

23 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie and Nate sit down with up-and-coming producer duo Grey—fresh off their hit "Starving" with Zedd and Hailee Steinfeld—to uncover the secret...

Chained to the Green Light: Katy Perry + Lorde

10 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Two artists who haven't released new music since 2013 recently remerged into the limelight: Katy Perry, with her dystopian disco banger "Chained to th...

Oscar Week!: La La Land ft. Genevieve Koski

24 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

With the Academy Awards around the corner, Charlie and Nate try something new: a break down of the movie musical La La Land through two of its key son...

Zayn, Taylor Swift & The Grammys

09 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"I Don't Wanna Live Forever," the new track from Zayn and Taylor Swift, finds two members of the pop pantheon joining forces with producer Jack Antono...

The Puzzle of Ariana Grande's "Into You" (with K. Flay)

27 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"Into You" was one of the biggest hits of 2016, the stellar production of reclusive legend Max Martin combining with the acrobatic vocals of Ariana Gr...

Seduced by the Sound: The Weeknd + Daft Punk

12 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"I Feel it Coming" might be the slowest burning jam to hit the charts in ages, in which the Weeknd enlists the robotic hum of Daft Punk to help craft ...

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

16 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

White Christmas holds the Guinness World Record for most singles sold and has been covered over 500 times. Pop stars from Elvis to Ella have recorded ...

How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps

01 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

50 episodes in, hosts Charlie and Nate take a step back to think about how they listen to music and try to define what might be called The Switched on...

Playing it Cool: How Tove Lo Aims High

17 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On the surface, Tove Lo's new hit "Cool Girl" boasts a snappy, earworm chorus and an empowering message of self-reliance. Beneath its chill exterior, ...

Made In America: Toby Keith & Jay-Z

03 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Back in 2011, two pop songs dropped with the same patriotic title: "Made in America." But the similarities pretty much end there. Toby Keith's country...

Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal

20 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Host Charlie spent the last two weeks listening to every song on the Billboard Hot 100. What did he discover? That the sonic similarities of most char...

The Most Popular Song In The World

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Nokia ringtone used to be heard more than a billion times per  day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. We tend to  consider c...

Lady Gaga Is A Perfect Illusion

22 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Lady Gaga's new single "Perfect Illusion" is the apotheosis of her artistic statement. She is well known for her visual style that too often overshado...

How Beyoncé to The Beatles Modulate Your Emotions

09 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Certain pop songs have that moment, when everything seems to change but still remain the same, when the drama gets ratcheted up, when the tension incr...

Pop Drops and Chipmunk Soul

25 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A strange syndrome is wreaking havoc on the voices of our biggest pop stars. From Rihanna to Justin Bieber, no one is safe from having their beautiful...

The Gideon and Hubcap Show

15 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This episode marks something of a departure from the norm. With Charlie away, host Nate, aka "Hubcap," takes us on a home-show tour of the Scottish Hi...

Breaking Down The House

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The fingerprints of house music are all over mainstream pop, but much of its sound has been whitewashed. That ubiquitous four-to-the-floor kick and sy...

Around The World With Drake

14 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do you create a hit that both breaks sound barriers and chart records? Drake has done this with a unique mix of international sounds from Africa, ...

When Good Music Happens To Bad People

30 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We have more information about pop stars lives than ever before, but this transparency is not always uplifting for music lovers. Just as we may enjoy ...

Justin Timberlake Goes Medieval

16 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Summer heat is upon us and so are the jams. Our ears are hooked on Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling." What you may not know is that this so...

All About Those Baseline Assumptions About Femini$m in Pop

06 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

With Meghan Trainor's new singles "No" and "Me Too" ubiquitous on the radio dial, a larger discussion about the uneasy relationship between social mov...

Jonas vs. Jonas: Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Boy Band

19 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A battle between brothers is playing out on the pop charts, a sibling rivalry the likes of which the music industry hasn't seen since 1987, when Micha...

Purple Lemonade: Prince & Beyoncé

05 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It has been a period of musical loss and celebration. On the same week we lost Prince, the world was gifted Beyoncé’s Lemonade. Both artists contai...

Pablo And The Wolves

22 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Life Of Pablo is Kanye West’s latest album. Despite its lack of hits, it has been at the fulcrum of pop music for months. With its gradual onlin...

The Populist Pop of Twenty One Pilots

06 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Out of nowhere, Twenty One Pilots has rocketed to the top of the charts with their surprise hit "Stressed Out." Charlie and Nate pull this millennial ...

American Oxygen

23 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do you collaborate with five people to write a song that captures that national temperature? The stakes may seem high with stars like Alex Da Kid,...

Say Hey

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Listen carefully to almost any hit song these days and you’ll hear musicians screaming “Hey!” What’s the matter with them? Do they really need...

Now I Sia, Now I Don't

26 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest voices in pop music has no face: Sia. She started her career as a ghostwriter for stars like Rihanna and Beyoncé. Recently she fou...

B Side: Singing With Mama Jan

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What do Usher, The Band Perry and Bieber have in common? They all sing with Mama Jan, one of the best vocal coaches and producers in the music busines...

Call Your Girlfriend

12 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Is it a love song or is it a breakup song? Charlie joins the women of the Call Your Girlfriend podcast to break down their namesake song by Robyn. Als...

Click With Dick And Other Campaign Anthems

29 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What do presidential candidates, professional wrestlers and improv comics have in common? Walk on theme music. As the primary season heats up we dig i...

The Life Changing Magic of Music in 2015

17 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Charlie and Nate reveal the life changing magic of how to tidy up the music you missed from last year. Annually, hundreds of publications release best...

Linus & Lucy

17 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Celebrate 50 years of A Charlie Brown Christmas and his eponymous holiday album. If you’re feeling worn out on holiday music, this one never wears o...

Same Here

02 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Two unlikely anthems of individuality are rocketing up the charts: Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love” and Alessia Cara’s “Here.” One is from a...

Searching for Max Martin

19 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The most omnipresent figure in pop music is also the most elusive: Karl Sandberg, AKA Max Martin, the mad Swedish genius who’s ruled the charts for ...