Switched on Pop

Latest Episodes:

"It's About Damn Time" for Another Lizzo #1 Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

In the middle of a long, hot summer 2022, the people have spoken, and the people want to dance. Lizzo's "About Damn Time" just replaced Harry Styles's "As It Was" to become the top song on the Billboard Hot 100. Powered by retro instrumentation, a propulsive groove, meme-worthy lyrics, and a generous dose of slash chords (not the Guns 'n Roses guitarist, the harmonic voicing), Lizzo's hit song marks a deepening of the sound she established in past tracks like "Juice." But on other tracks from her latest album Special, Lizzo aims for new aesthetics. "Coldplay"—featuring a rare Chris Martin vocal sample—opts for emotional honestly over pithy affirmations. With the upbeat "Grrrls," Lizzo found herself in an online controversy: she had used a ableist slur in the song's lyrics. Taking the criticism as an opportunity to learn, Lizzo chose to replace the offensive line—but have other artists of pop's past always followed suit when met with fan feedback?

Songs Discussed

Lizzo - About Damn Time, Juice, Coldplay, Grrrls

Daft Punk, Pharrel Williams - Lose Yourself to Dance

Michael Jackson - Rock With You, They Don’t Care About Us

Quelle Chris, Chris Keys - Sudden Death

Coldplay - Yellow

Beastie Boys - Girls, Sure Shot

Taylor Swift - Picture to Burn

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Orville Peck - Born This Way

Ella Fitzgerald - How Long Has This Been Going On

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Elvis, Big Mama Thornton, Doja Cat, and the Long Legacy of “Hound Dog” Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

Baz Luhrmann’s hit box office hit biopic Elvis has spurred new interest in the music of The King. Elvis Presley’s streaming subscribers has grown by two million listeners on Spotify since the film’s release according to ChartMetric, and if you’re hearing a lot more “Hound Dog” these days, it might be partially due to the success of Doja Cat’s hit song “Vegas,” which updates – and interpolates – the song for contemporary listeners.

Doja Cat’s version samples from the original 1953 “Hound Dog,” sung by Big Mama Thornton and written by acclaimed songwriter team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (whose credits also include Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” and Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”). The original is a sauntering blues song with a raunchy tale about a two timing man; Presley, who is frequently said to have stolen the song from Thorton, instead sings a tepid lyric about an actual dog, and radically changes the groove.

But in an interview with Rolling Stone, Stoller says Presley didn’t steal the song at all. Rather, he adapted one of many covers of the song, specifically the version performed by the Las Vegas lounge act Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. Their “Hound Dog” borrows its upbeat rhythm from a song responding to the original “Hound Dog,” titled “Bear Cat.” It’s a similar rhythm to the one we hear on the contemporary Doja Cat version, “Vegas,” which heavily features samples of Thornton’s original vocals: listening closely reveals a song that synthesizes a complicated music history by uniting the best parts of the many versions of “Hound Dog.”

Listen to the latest episode of Switched On Pop and uncover the long legacy of “Hound Dog.”

Songs Discussed

Big Mama Thorton - Hound Dog
Elvis - Hound Dog
Doja Cat - Vegas
Esther Phillips - Hound Dog
Jack Turner - Hound Dog
Rufus Thomas - Bear Cat
Freddie Bell and the Bellboys
T.L.C. - No Scrubs
Sporty Thievz - No Pigeons
W.C. Handy - St. Louis Blues
Duke Ellington - Conga brava
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Didn’t It Rain
Fats Domino - Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Dave Bartholomew - Country Boy
Little Richard - Slipping’ And Sliding’
Jack Harlow - Dua Lipa
Future - Puffin on Zootiez
Hitkidd, Gorilla - F.N.F. (Let’s Go)
Bad Bunny - Después de la Playa

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We Won’t Go Back: Pop Music and the Fight For Reproductive Rights (w MILCK and Ann Powers) Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

On June 24th 2022 the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v Wade and asserting that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.

The decision marked a seismic moment in politics and culture that has affected everyone’s lives, and the world of pop music is no exception. Musicians started responding immediately, from Cher to Olivia Rodrigo: on social media, at their shows, and in their music. Critic Ann Powers has been chronicling the reactions in a running list at NPR, and she joins in the second half of the episodeto talk about the long history of artists speaking out—and singing—about reproductive rights.

One artist who wasted no time responding to the Dobbs decision is the singer and songwriter Connie Lim, aka MILCK. Her song “We Won’t Go Back,” composed with Biianco, Autumn Rowe, and Ani DeFranco, came about after Politico published an article in May with the leaked draft of the Dobbs decision, telling the world in no uncertain terms that the Supreme Court was considering striking down Roe. MILCK found herself protesting in D.C., this time with her camera ready. The chants she heard there became the first sonic element of “We Won’t Go Back.”

Songs Discussed

MILCK, Biianco, Autumn Rowe, Ani DeFranco - We Won’t Go Back

MILCK - Quiet

Ani DeFranco - Play God

Poison Girls - Mandy Is Having a Baby

Cyndi Lauper - Sally’s Pigeons

Leslie Gore - You Don’t Own Me

Robyn - Giving You Back

Joni Mitchell - Little Green

L7 - Pretend We’re Dead

Everlast - What It’s Like

Madonna - Papa Don’t Preach

Lauryn Hill - To Zion

Megan Thee Stallion - Plan B

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Harry Styles and the Sledgehammer Horns Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

As we hit the dog days of summer, the artist that’s started to soundtrack pool parties across the country is former One Direction bandmate and contemporary sex symbol Harry Styles.

In May, Styles released Harry’s House, an album propelled by the number one hit “As It Was.” Despite having critical and commercial success, a barb often thrown at the album is the idea of it being inoffensive: pleasant, “easy listening” music apt for an elevator, grocery store or, perhaps, a sushi restaurant.

Fans of Styles have warmly accepted this, and have come to love his sly appreciation of different decades of pop music history. This latest album reveals an interesting connection to one era in particular: the 1980s and the percussive, full-bodied horn sections that came with it.

The first track on Harry’s House, “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” offers a whole chorus of just horns, in an homage to one of Styles’s musical touchstones, Peter Gabriel. These 80s “sledgehammer horns” connect to a deep well of 80s grooves—from Lionel Richie's "Up All Night" to Janet Jackson and Herb Alpert's "Diamonds," —as Styles's strives to achieve the same effortless funk and propulsion of his brassy icons.

MORE

Sledgehammer Horns playlist

Every Olivia Wilde reference Vulture found on Harry’s House

Songs Discussed

Harry Styles - As It Was, Music for a Sushi Restaurant, Daydreaming

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Lionel Richie - Up All Night

Donna Summer - She Works Hard for the Money

Sheila E. - The Glamorous Life

Steve Winwood - Higher Love

Janet Jackson and Herb Alpert - Diamonds

Herb Alpert - Rise

Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize

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ICYMI: The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Baz Luhrmann) Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

In 1999 filmmaker Baz Luhrmann released the song “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen,” a 7-minute-long graduation speech set to downtempo electronic music. It was a highly unlikely hit that made its way across continents and eventually into the ears of a young Avery Trufelman via the album NOW That’s What I Call Music Volume 2. For over 20 years, Trufelman has applied the song’s advice to her daily life: “wear sunscreen… be nice to your siblings… do one thing every day that scares you.” This unusual song has left a lasting impression, and yet for Trufelman, it makes no sense that “The Sunscreen Song” was commercially successful. We investigate the song’s many architects — novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich and Baz Luhrmann himself — to unpack one of the internet’s first conspiracy theories that turned into Billboard’s greatest outlier.

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Beyoncé's House Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

The world stops with a Beyoncé drop. On Monday, June 20th, our prayers were answered with “Break My Soul,” the lead single off of her upcoming album, Renaissance. The song draws from several places of inspiration: lyrically, it’s a cathartic dance-floor ode to liberation, soundtracking the current cultural moment that some have called the “Great Resignation.” Sonically, though, “Break My Soul” is Beyoncé’s foray into house music – a genre that the chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Jason King, summarizes as “a highly rhythmic dance music created by mostly Black and brown artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s,” propelled by a fanbase of queer and trans communities of color. There’s been an undeniable buzz that Beyoncé is “bringing house music back.” And from Charli XCX to Drake, it does feel like house music is currently having a moment in mainstream pop music, paralleling the original rise of the subculture from the ruins of disco. But the genre “has always been here,” in King’s words, and has decades of history. In this episode of Switched On Pop, we unpack house music – and how Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” fits into the genre.

Songs Discussed

Beyoncé - “BREAK MY SOUL”

Beyoncé - “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”

Drake - “Falling Back”

Thelma Houston - “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

Robin S - “Show Me Love”

Bob Sinclair, Steve Edwards - “World Hold On (Children of the sky)”

Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj - “Swish Swish”

Charli XCX - “Used To Know Me”

Livin’ Joy - “Don’t Stop Movin’”

Mr. Fingers - “Can You Feel It”

Madonna - “Vogue”

Black Box - “Ride on Time”

CeCe Peniston - “Finally”

Aqua - “Barbie Girl”

Big Freedia - “Explode”

Beyoncé - “Formation”

Drake - “Nice For What”

Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers - “Get Lucky”

Destiny’s Child - “Say My Name - Maurice’s Last Days Of Disco Millennium Mix”

Beyoncè - “FIND YOUR WAY BACK”

Madonna - “Deeper and Deeper”

Janet Jackson - “Together Again”

C & C Music Factory - “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”

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Robert Glasper on jazz, basketball, and his score for "Winning Time" Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

Robert Glasper is the only artist to have an album debut in the top 10 of 4 different Billboard charts. He's a musical polymath whose resume ranges from Kendrick Lamar to Herbie Hancock. At the piano, he serves up jazz licks worthy of Mary Lou Williams before segueing into a Nirvana cover. Glasper brings his diverse skill set to bear on his latest project, the score for the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, composed in collaboration with "Succession" soundtracker Nicholas Britell. It's not just Glasper's musical chops that made him the perfect candidate for the gig: in a past life, he was a baller himself. Nate spoke with Glasper about crafting the sound of the 1980s, improvising soundtrack themes on the spot, and what jazz and basketball have in common.

Songs Discussed

Robert Glasper - Over, FTB, "Winning Time" and "The Photograph" Themes

Nicholas Britell - "Succession" and "Moonlight" Themes

Morris Day and The Time - Get It Up

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Scoring Stranger Things with Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

We recently deconstructed how Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” has found itself at the center of culture due to a placement in the Netflix, eighties, horror, sci-fi show, Stranger Things. For that episode we excerpted an interview with the composers of the show who shared great insights on how they created the iconic theme song and spooky soundscape for the most streamed show of 2022. But we want to share the full conversation with you because they have equally cheeky as well as valuable musical offerings to share. Surprisingly, this show steeped in 80s nostalgia, has a more contemporary soundtrack than you you might think.

Songs Discussed

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things, Photos in the Woods, He’s Here, Soldiers, Agents, Starcourt
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer Theme Song
John Carpenter - Night
Vangelis - Main Titles (Blade Runner)
S U R V I V E - A.H.B.
S U R V I V E - High Rise
Merzbow - Woodpecker No.1

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Kate Bush, Stranger Things, and a hit song four decades in the making Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” enters the latest season of Stranger Things during a brooding high-school hallway scene right out of the John Hughes playbook, and it has since bounded up the charts, hitting No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and performing better now than when it peaked at No. 30 upon release. Stranger Things, whose latest season has logged more viewer minutes for Netflix than any other English-language release to date, has leaned heavily on ’80s nostalgia since its premiere in 2016: Its iconic theme song is reminiscent of John Carpenter B-movies, and, in an email, used-instrument resale site Reverb.com tells us the show has boosted interest in analog synthesizers.

“Running Up That Hill,” then, is a natural fit for the show, and it plays a pivotal, spoiler-ridden plot point in the show, requiring us to hear the hook multiple times throughout the season — a perfect earworm. But its success is owed to more than just repetition. It waffles between major and minor, and the show’s composers, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, told Switched on Pop that both it and the rest of the Stranger Things score have “moments of darkness and lightness in it, constantly trading places.” Plus, they’re composed from the same set of instruments: classic synthesizers and drum machines like the LinnDrum. The song is part and parcel with the soundtrack itself: “There’s these little melodies that we always refer to as ‘And then the Kate Bush part comes in,’” Dixon says.

Listen to Switched On Pop to hear how Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is an exquisite song placement and hear how it blends seamlessly with the Stranger Things soundtrack.

MORE

Check out Reverb Machine’s sounds of Kate Bush

Reverb.com made a tutorial on the synth sounds of Stranger Things

The story of the Kate Bush renaissance from The Ringer

Songs Discussed

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie
Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling
The Weeknd - Blinding Lights
Prince - When Doves Cry
Phil Collins - Sussudio
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer Theme Song
John Carpenter - Night
S U R V I V E - A.H.B.
S U R V I V E - High Rise
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Eggo in the Snow
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - She Wants Me to Find Her
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Starcourt
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Eight Fifteen
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Boys and Girls
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - The Ceiling is Beautiful
Kate Bush - Waking the Witch
Kate Bush - Hammer Horror

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So your song went viral on TikTok. What’s next? Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

On TikTok, pop stars — Halsey, FKA Twigs, and Florence Welch among them — have been complaining a lot lately about their labels forcing them to make TikToks. As people spent the early part of the pandemic staring at their phones instead of flocking to concerts, the short-form-video social-media platform upended music discovery. In many cases, it gave unknown musicians a pathway to enormous audiences and allowed them to burst into the mainstream on the backs of their TikTok hits.

It’s a story as old as the music industry itself: No-name musician gets big overnight and lands a record deal. But until recently, it’s been hard to say just how big and how overnight, so Estelle Caswell from Vox and Matt Daniels from The Pudding spent seven months manually compiling and interrogating the data of who went viral, who got signed, and whose careers dropped off. Their resulting short documentary, We Tracked What Happens After TikTok Songs Go Viral, is a definitive dive into the 2020 class of viral TikTok stars.

Although the platform is clearly a dominant force in new-music discovery, they found that streaming music is still overwhelmingly dominated by legacy artists. And since these established acts are now competing for the same eyeballs as their lesser-known colleagues on TikTok, it’s getting harder and harder for the latter to break out. So what happens after you go viral on TikTok? Listen to Switched On Pop to find out.

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