The State of the Pop Union

FromSwitched on Pop

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The State of the Pop Union

FromSwitched on Pop

ratings:

Length:

36 minutes

Released:

Nov 9, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

From time to time, it is our constitutional duty to provide an update to the people on the current state of pop. What are the sounds? Who’s making the hits? What are they singing about? We take the musical temperature by consulting the charts, the platforms, and the people.
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Released:

Nov 9, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

What makes pop songs so catchy? Musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding pull back the curtain on how pop hits work their magic on our ears & our culture. You’ll fall in love with music you didn’t even know you liked.

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Radio Africa: Reporting live from Kenya, we search for African pop that is making its way into global dance music. The barriers to producing high quality audio are reduced to merely owning a laptop. Now, regional artists are reaching a global audience.We speak to ... by Switched on Pop
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Kacey Musgraves: Transgressing Country: Can you be a country star and critical of the country at the same time? Grammy Award Winner, Kacey Musgraves, has two hit albums that challenge the small-town clichés of modern country music. Is she bucking the trend of big trucks and dirt roads, or em... by Switched on Pop
27 min listen
A Cappella Dreams: A cappella, Italian for in the style of the church, refers to music for unaccompanied voices. Just a decade ago it was nowhere near the radio dial. Now it’s everywhere: college campuses, Hollywood blockbusters, prime time reality television, and the Gr... by Switched on Pop
48 min listen
The Oeuvre of Taylor Swift: We uncover the common songwriting techniques and chart the musical evolution of Taylor Swift. Featuring songs from her early country period, transitional indie period and her latest pop album, 1989. by Switched on Pop
34 min listen
Heartbreak: Why do we love listening to heartbreak songs? What do songwriters do to emote such strong feelings?FEATURINGAdele – Someone Like YouKacey Musgraves – I Miss YouCeeLo Green – F*** You! by Switched on Pop
27 min listen
Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You: Carly Rae Jepsen might be the patron saint of Switched on Pop, the show first hatched by Charlie and Nate on a trip down CA-1 while the stereo blasted “Call Me Maybe.” So when we heard she had a new single out we knew we had to stop everything, put off... by Switched on Pop
23 min listen
Taylor Swift’s Beethovian Blank Space: Taylor Swift’s Blank Space is about emptiness of the heart. This motif of Blank Space is contained through the entire piece: from the drums, to the melody, to the lyrics. We pull away the sonic structures to show how Taylor recreates that empty feeling... by Switched on Pop
17 min listen
Anthems of Resilience - Kesha and Imagine Dragons [LIVE] by Switched on Pop
44 min listen
Boom Bang Pow: We look at the Rhythms that make us dance, those primal beats, the “Boom Bang Pow” that make us want to move. We’ll ask what makes them work and why is that we’re hearing that untz untz everywhere we go from the dance floor, to the coffee shop, to the ... by Switched on Pop
30 min listen
To Be Young: Pop music and youth go together like peanut butter and pickles. The music we hear when we’re young shapes our identities forevermore. In this episode we take three songs that promise an eternal adolescence and put them under microscope to see what make... by Switched on Pop
33 min listen
The Imperative Jingle Bells: You’ve heard it a million times, you know how to sing it, its ubiquitous during the holiday season, but you’ve never heard a definitive recording. Where does it come from, why is it so catchy, and why of all holiday songs is Jingle Bells the most widel... by Switched on Pop
32 min listen
Hozier’s Waffling of Faith in Take Me To Church: Written in the Hozier family basement, Take Me To Church has risen up to be one of the biggest pop hits of the year. But this is not a typical pop song. The unsettling music and provocative lyrics about faith and relationships irk many listeners. But t... by Switched on Pop
18 min listen
Star Spangled: Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega pop-stars. Our understanding of how this song sounds... by Switched on Pop
29 min listen
Song of Summer: LIVE!: In the first-ever LIVE edition of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate enter an epic debate over what track should be crowned 2015’s definitive Song of Summer.Charlie’s candidate is the retro anthem “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon, while Nate argue... by Switched on Pop
31 min listen
Mark Ronson: Funk Politics: Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega pop-stars. Our understanding of how this song sounds... by Switched on Pop
35 min listen
Can’t Get You Out Of My Head: As much as we might have crazy love for pop music, pop music also loves to drive us crazy. Earworms that grab you and won’t let go; cookie-cutter compositions that bedevil in their unoriginality; strange new sounds that vex, rankle, confound. How does ... by Switched on Pop
37 min listen
The Dual Meaning of Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen: Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen is an unlikely contender for the top 10. It straddles genres between hip-hop and pop in subtle yet mesmerizing ways. Is it a drug song? Is it a love song? Or is it both at the same time? Join us to find out why you can’t get this... by Switched on Pop
22 min listen
Linus & Lucy: 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 old. Its gone triple platinum and charts almost every year on the holiday Billboard. Join us as we dive d... by Switched on Pop
34 min listen
The Most Popular Song In The World: In this episode, we zoom in on one of the most annoying melodies to see if there's not some hidden musical craft present in the ubiquitous bleeps and bloops that envelop us. by Switched on Pop
41 min listen
The Weeknd: Dance of Deception: The Weeknd’s deliriously funky chart topper “Can’t Feel My Face” has sparked sweat-soaked dance sessions across the country, but dark notes lurk at the outskirts of this ebullient jam. Chromatic intrusions and Classical laments crowd the scene and invi... by Switched on Pop
27 min listen
Demi Lovato is Not Sorry by Switched on Pop
38 min listen
Why is 90s Pop so Bizarre?: The Switched on Pop Summer Throwback Series continues! This time, with a deep dive into the musical detritus of the 1990s. by Switched on Pop
50 min listen
Pablo And The Wolves: The Life Of Pablo is Kanye West's latest album, but it may not resemble one. From its gradual online release to its changing track lists, this shape shifting album is difficult to grasp. To understand this shapeshifting album, we recruited Andrew Maran... by Switched on Pop
38 min listen
Hidden Sounds in FourFiveSeconds: FourFiveSeconds is one of the more surprising collaborations in recent pop history. Rhianna, Kanye, Sir Paul McCartney. The motley lineup doesn’t dissapoint, serving up one of the most unexpected songs of the year—though not for the reason you’d think.... by Switched on Pop
22 min listen
The Life Changing Magic of Music in 2015: 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 of lists. These lists are supposed to make it easier to discover and celebrate the year in music. But... by Switched on Pop
33 min listen
Morgan Page Reveals the Rule of 3 in Julia Michaels and Maroon 5 by Switched on Pop
46 min listen
DJ Khaled - I'm The One... six... four... five by Switched on Pop
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Justin Timberlake's Identity Crisis by Switched on Pop
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Seduced by the Sound: The Weeknd + Daft Punk by Switched on Pop
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Oscar Week!: La La Land ft. Genevieve Koski by Switched on Pop
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The State of the Pop Union

The State of the Pop Union

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Switched on Pop

Related podcast episodes