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.
Latest episodes
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30 min
The 'bummer hope' of midwest emo (ft. Yvette Young and Mike Kinsella)
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, st…
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49 min
The rise of surrealist pop: KATSEYE and ADÉLA
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 in…
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1 h 01
Why we need bad music
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? Th…
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48 min
Has Taylor Swift jumped the shark?
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 critic…
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49 min
Carly Rae Jepsen’s pop pedagogy
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…
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38 min
Tove Lo wants her music to sound out of control (ft. Tove Lo)
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,…
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58 min
Lizzy McAlpine summons Nick Drake & Joni Mitchell
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 McAl…
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41 min
The power of singing together (ft. Tiny Habits)
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 whe…
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35 min
Questionably Country
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 fro…
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36 min
Phoebe Bridgers opens her Moleskine
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 al…
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39 min
We have Confessions to make...
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 serv…
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37 min
A piano lesson that will change how you listen (ft. Lang Lang)
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, bu…
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42 min
IV. Take It to the Bridge (ft. Tayla Parx)
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 mo…
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50 min
III. Preaching to the Chorus (ft. Cypress Hill and Trevor Horn)
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 Ho…
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34 min
II. Justice for the verse (ft. Audrey Hobert)
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 songwr…
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41 min
I. Let's get it started (ft. Aaron Dessner)
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 wh…
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1 min
Switched On Pop on Netflix July 14th
We're coming to the big screen with a four part mini series starting July 14th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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38 min
Music only the World Cup could make
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 relevan…
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44 min
Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson) ICYMI
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…
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32 min
2hollis is the underground’s genre-hopping vampire
In the last episode of our feral pop miniseries, we take a look at the 22 year old rapper primed to take over the world: 2hollis. Splitting the difference between hardstyle and hip…