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Pop Pantheon — Music
Pop Pantheon

The podcast where DJ Louie XIV and guests completely overanalyze all your favorite pop stars, then rank them in the official Pop Pantheon.

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Copyright: © 741598

Latest Episodes:

Beyoncé, Black Country & the Long Road to Cowboy Carter (With Dr. Francesca Royster & Taylor Crumpton) Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

Tonight, Beyoncé will drop her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, her first explicit full-length foray into country music. As with every Bey project, there's a ton of meaning and history to unpack.

DePaul University professor and author of Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions, Dr. Francesca Royster, and writer and editor Taylor Crumpton, author of TIME piece Beyoncé Has Always Been Country, join the show to explain the long and often under-sung history of Black women in country: from the birth of many of the genre's core aesthetics and tenants during slavery, to 20th century recording artists who have attempted to break Nashville's white and male mass co-option, to recent breakthroughs from stars like Mickey Guyton.

Dr. Royster, Taylor & DJ Louie attempt to position Cowboy Carter in this long and arduous lineage, unpack the details and gestures of singles "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages", and parse how Beyoncé's country pivot is tapping into a much larger story than may appear at first blush.

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Come to Pop Pantheon Live: Tortured Poets & The State of Taylor Mania on 4/22 at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents: Taylor Mania at Parkside Lounge on 4/19

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on 4/20 at Los Globos

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Finding Bliss in Existentialism on Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well (with Jewly Hight) (Patreon Preview) Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, music critic Jewly Hight joins DJ Louie for a wide-ranging discussion about Kacey Musgraves' fifth studio album, Deeper Well, which dropped last week. Louie and Jewly discuss how this record fits in the broader narrative arc of Kacey's music and career trajectory, her influences from across the folk rock spectrum and the themes on this music from break-ups to death to the meaning of life itself, all filtered through Kacey's singular lens of blissful wonderment.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

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CALVIN HARRIS & DAVID GUETTA (with Lina Abascal) Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

Culture writer and author Lina Abascal returns to Pop Pantheon to revisit the fleeting early 2010s moment when EDM DJs utterly consumed American popular music via two of the genre’s most emblematic figures, David Guetta and Calvin Harris. Louie and Lina trace David’s roots in the Paris club scene through to his breakthrough in the U.S. with hits like "When Love Takes Over", "Sexy Bitch" & "Memories", "Where Them Girls At?", "Titanium" and "Turn Me On", his big pop collaborations with artists like Sia, Kelly Rowland and Nicki Minaj. They then tackle Calvin’s bloghouse-y origins through to his peak-era work, from 2011’s “We Found Love” with Rihanna to smashes like "Feel So Close", "Sweet Nothing", "One Kiss" and "This is What You Came For". Finally, Louie and Lina discuss how the EDM bubble burst, how Guetta and Harris adapted, and rank both David Guetta and Calvin Harris in the Official Pop Pantheon.

Send your mailbag questions to PopPantheonPod@Gmail.com!!

Listen to Pop Pantheon's Calvin Harris & David Guetta Essentials

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Come to Pop Pantheon Live: Tortured Poets & The State of Taylor Mania on 4/22 at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents: Taylor Mania at Parkside Lounge on 4/19

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on 3/23 at Los Globos

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Britney and Janet Aren’t Justin Timberlake’s Only Problem (with Vox's Kyndall Cunningham) (Patreon Preview) Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Justin Timberlake put out his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was, last Friday. But is it possible to hear this music— or appreciate Justin's talents— outside of the narrative nosedive his career has taken in the last decade? Vox's Kyndall Cunningham joins Louie and Russ to discuss.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

Follow Russ on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do You Still Listen to Kanye West and Michael Jackson? (with Tre Johnson & Kemi Olivia Alemoru) Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Host and culture writer for Dazed, Vogue and more, Kemi Olivia Alemoru, and writer on race, culture and politics and author of the upcoming book Black Genius, Tre Johnson, join the show to discuss how we as critics and the public interface with the work of famous pop stars who have done awful things. Kemi, Tre and Louie dig into the complex legacies of Kanye West and Michal Jackson in particular, parsing apart how darker revelations about each of their characters have impacted how they think about their legacies, how cultural commentators should talk about them and their own personal listening habits. They also attempt to figure out a universal rubric for how and when we should separate art from artist.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

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Come to Pop Pantheon Live: Tortured Poets & The State of Taylor Mania on 4/22 at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents: Taylor Mania at Parkside Lounge on 4/19

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on 3/23 at Los Globos

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Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

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The Novel & Familiar Thrills of Ariana Grande's Eternal Sunshine (with Bustle's Nolan Feeney) (Patreon Preview) Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode and as a capstone to our latest series on Ariana Grande, Bustle's Nolan Feeney joins DJ Louie to discuss Ari's seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which dropped on Friday. Louie and Nolan dig into all the record's themes, aesthetics, how it toys with her public narrative, the impact of collaborator Max Martin, absence of long-time songwriting aces Victoria Monet and Tayla Parx and so much more.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

Follow Russ on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ARIANA GRANDE: PART 2 (with Pitchfork's Anna Gaca) Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

For part two of our Ariana Grande series, Pitchfork senior editor Anna Gaca is here to discuss the aesthetic pivot of 2018’s Sweetener, the superstar's first album following the horrific bombing of her Manchester concert and which found her reaching for light amidst unthinkable darkness. From there, Louie and Anna tackle the tabloid frenzy of Ari's relationship with comedian Pete Davidson and how their break-up, along with the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, turned 2019’s thank u, next into a once-in-a-career deluge of public fixation and artistic revelation. Finally, they consider 2020’s ode to stay-a-home pandemic sex, Positions, discuss their hopes for her imminent seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, due tonight, and re-address Ariana Grande's ranking in the official Pop Pantheon.

Join us on Pop Pantheon: All Access next week for our review of Ariana’s seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine.

Listen to Pop Pantheon's Ariana Grande Essentials Playlist

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

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Come to Pop Pantheon Live: Tortured Poets & The State of Taylor Mania on 4/22 at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 3/8 at Sultan Room

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on 3/23 at Los Globos

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Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

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ARIANA GRANDE: PART 1 (with the LA Times' Mikael Wood) Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

Pop music critic at the LA Times, Mikael Wood, joins Pop Pantheon for our first ever full re-examination of the first ever artist we ever ranked in the official Pop Pantheon: Ariana Grande.

In Part 1, Louie and Mikael trace Ariana’s roots as a performer, from her start on Broadway as a teenager to her Nickelodeon years and her bubblegum debut single through to her first studio album, 2013’s Babyface-assisted Yours Truly. Then they tackle 2014’s My Everything, which ensconced Ariana as pop’s newest superstar, and 2016’s Dangerous Woman, which marked her rite of passage from child starlet to sexually-embodied adult pop star. Finally, they discuss the 2017 terrorist attack at her concert in Manchester; an international tragedy that forever altered the course of Ariana’s persona, narrative, music and career.

Join us next week for Part 2 where we'll explore 2018's Sweetener, 2019's Thank U, Next and 2020's Positions and join our Patreon for our album review of Ariana’s upcoming seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, due March 8.

Listen to Pop Pantheon's Ariana Grande Essentials Playlist

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Come to Pop Pantheon Live: Tortured Poets & The State of Taylor Mania on 4/22 at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 3/8 at Sultan Room

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on 3/23 at Los Globos

Follow Mikael Wood on Twitter

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Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter

Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

Follow Russ on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JLo, Beyoncé & the Surprisingly Long History of the Visual Album (with Sydney Urbanek) Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

Jennifer Lopez might not have stopped the world when she released her new self-financed visual album, This is Me... Now: A Love Story, last week. But she certainly drummed up a lot of conversation, much of which most certainly would not have been happening had she simply dropped a new record.

After watching the film, DJ Louie got together with writer Sydney Urbanek, who is currently developing a series for her newsletter Mononym Mythology on the history of the visual album, to talk This is Me... Now, how it fits into the broader lineage of visual albums and serves as just the latest in a long history of pop musicians turning to film as a way to flesh out the world of their music.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 3/8 at Sultan Room

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Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can We Justify Justin Timberlake's Justified? (with Rachel Brodsky) (Patreon Preview) Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, as we gear up for Justin Timberlake's sixth studio album Everything I Thought I Was, due in March, DJ Louie and writer Rachel Brodsky gather to reflect on his debut, 2002's Justified. The two parse out how Justin's public profile nosedive has impacted the public's experience of this music, whether it's possible to enjoy this album in vacuum, and If perhaps there's been an overcorrection on Timberlake in recent years that ignores some of delights of his peak work.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier.

Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More

Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store

Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

Follow Russ on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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