Switched on Pop

Latest Episodes:

The (murder) Ballad of Joe Exotic “Tiger King” (with Robert Moor) Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

Scandal and intrigue surround Joe Exotic, the central character of the new Netflix documentary Tiger King. Among the many bizarre traits of this zoo keeper, Exotic tries his hand at country music. Interspersed throughout the series, Joe sings about his love of big cats as well as his hatred for his nemesis in a gruesome murder ballad. But it turns out that amongst his many lies, Exotic’s country career may be yet another fabrication. Charlie speaks with journalist Robert Moor, host of the podcast Joe Exotic: Tiger King about who’s really behind the music.

Songs Discussed

Joe Exotic - I Saw A Tiger
Vince Johnson Band - He’s Loving You
Jake Owen - Down To The Honkytonk
Lonestar - My Front Porch Looking In
Joe Exotic - Here Kitty Kitty
Spindrift - Speak To The Wind
Johnny Cash - Long Black Veil
Joe Exotic - This Is My Life
George Straight - Living For The Night
Sean Watkins - I Saw A Tiger

More

Robert Moor’s Twitter Thread on what Tiger King left out
NY Mag: Tiger King Joe Exotic and His American Animals
Podcast: Joe Exotic: Tiger King

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D’Angelo and the Legacy of Voodoo (with Faith Pennick) Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

In the year 2000, D'Angelo released Voodoo—with some help from Questlove, Angie Stone, Raphael Saadiq, and a band of jazz veterans—an album that has cast a long shadow with its unique sound of stripped-down soul, Faith Pennick, who literally wrote the book on the record, joins to break how D'Angelo broke the "shiny suit" regime of R&B, explore how he conjured the spirits of J Dilla, Prince, and Roberta Flack, and consider how one video almost derailed his career.

Check out D'Angelo's Voodoo by Faith Pennick, from Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 Series

Songs discussed:

D'Angelo - The Line, The Root, Spanish Joint, Chicken Grease, Untitled (How Does it Feel)
Rev JC Burnett - Amazing Grace
Prince - Kiss
Justin Timberlake - Damn Girl
Thundercat - Them Changes
Slum Village - CB4
Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola - There Used to be a Nightclub There
Roy Hargrove - Strasbourg / St. Denis
Solange - Cranes in the Sky

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"Happy Birthday" is the Worst (with Anne-Marie) Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

With Nate’s birthday around the corner, it’s time to admit that our go-to birthday song is actually the worst to sing to someone. There are reasons both musicological and cultural why this wooden celebratory number needs to go, ranging from funereal rhythms to Wagnerian opera to the Wizard of Oz. Tune in to uncover the horror of “Happy Birthday” and consider some of the alternatives on offer, including a recent Anne-Marie hit that takes birthday wishes and turns them around 180º.

Songs Discussed

Frédéric Chopin - Piano Sonata No 2 in B-Flat Minor, III

John Williams - The Imperial March

Judy Garland - Over the Rainbow

Richard Wagner - Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

The Beatles - Birthday

Anne-Marie - Birthday

Fetty Wap ft. Monty - Birthday

Stevie Wonder - Happy Birthday

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Bad Bunny Has A Message For Your Mom Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

Latin Trap megastar Bad Bunny may be best known to American audiences for his feature on Cardi B’s #1 “I Like It’, but the Puerto Rican native is known to music-lovers worldwide for more than just those few bars. Bunny started off as a student in Universidad de Puerto Rico studying audio visual communications. He was bagging groceries at a supermarket in PR when he posted his song ‘Diles’ on SoundCloud. That moody, 808-fueled track turned into a record deal, as well as huge feature opportunities with bigger acts like Becky G, and of course--Cardi. His newest project, YHLQMDLG (an acronym that stands for the Spanish translation of “I do what I want”) is currently smothering the Hot Latin Billboard Chart. The albums opening track, "Si Veo a Tu Mamá" had us listening to the origins of Bossa nova, and investigate how elevator music-sounding samples and overused chord progressions add up to latin trap magic for El Conejito Malo.

Special thanks to Bad Bunny super fan and listener Maita, for never giving up hope :)

Songs discussed:

Bad Bunny - Diles

Becky G ft. Bad Bunny - Mayores

Cardi B ft. Bad Bunny, J Balvin - I Like It

Bad Bunny ft. Drake - MIA

Bad Bunny - Si Veo a tu Mamá

Antônio Carlos Jobim - The Girl From Ipanema

Bad Bunny - Soliá

Bad Bunny ft. Kendo Kaponi, Arcangel - P FKN R

Bad Bunny ft. Jowell & Randy, Nengo Flow - Safeara

Missy Elliot - Get Ur Freak On

Bad Bunny - <3

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The Fire & Fury Of Overcoats Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Gone are the days of a clear dividing line between “mainstream pop” and “conscious” music. Many of the world’s highest-grossing pop stars are climbing the charts with lyrics that seem to get right at the very weight of human existence. They’re tackling climate change, and drug addiction, crippling anxiety, inequality, sexism and racism. It’s a fascinating shift to witness.

That’s why this week, we’re especially thrilled to be chatting with folk-pop duo Overcoats. JJ Mitchell and Hana Elion are known for otherworldly harmonies that sound more like a single voice diverging in two rather than the other way around. We discuss two singles off their new album “The Fight” (out now), and reflect on how seemingly small decisions about a song’s arrangement can make things like anxiety and microaggressions feel a bit easier to carry. Here’s a teaser quote from the episode that we’ll be thinking about for a while:

“We often use repetition as a way of saying something until you believe it...that’s very true for this song as well. We’re singing ‘There’s a fire / There’s a fury’...it feels apocalyptic. But the more you say ‘We’ll get through it’ and the more voices join in, it starts to feel true, and starts to feel hopeful.”

SONGS DISCUSSED

Overcoats - The Fool

Overcoats - Fire & Fury

The Supremes - Stop In The Name Of Love

LCD Soundsystem - Watch The Tapes

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Can't Help Falling in Lauv (the interview) Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

This week, Charlie talks to Lauv, the singer, songwriter and producer behind unfailingly catchy tracks such as “Mean It” and “I Like Me Better.” Lauv’s a master at making the sad feel fun—masking themes of anxiety and betrayal with upbeat, percussive production. He even does a bit of the opposite, too, by infusing his joyful songs with vulnerability and emotional complexity. You’ll soon be able to hear all of that and more on his debut studio album, ~how I’m feeling~, out later this week. Our conversation explores Lauv’s song-making process and touches on everything from T Swift (Lauv counts himself a fan), “mind” rhymes, and the particular nuances of loneliness in the internet age. Today’s episode also features the voices of some of our wonderful listeners--special thanks to Katy, Sadie, Robert, Genevieve, Keen and everyone else who wrote in with questions for Lauv.

Songs Discussed:

Lauv with Anne-Marie - fuck, i'm lonely
Lauv & LANY - Mean It
Lauv - I Like Me Better
Lauv & Troye Sivan - i’m so tired...
Lauv - Changes
Lauv - Modern Loneliness

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What Happens When Justin Bieber Samples Your Music Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

When Bristol-based producer Laxcity logged onto Twitter to find out that Justin Bieber sampled his music, he was at first unphased. The sampled material came from a royalty-free sample pack on Splice.com, free for Splice users to add to their track. Then accusations of theft started rolling in. Another artist, Asher Monroe, had used the same sample just a few weeks earlier and he accused Bieber of copying the idea. Laxcity inserted himself into the argument to show that the so-called offending sound, was in fact his, but not limited to anyone’s use.This mixup led to Bieber shouting out Laxcity, giving the nascent producer a career boost. On his episode we speak with Laxcity, Splice CEO Steve Martocci, PEX COO Amadea Choplin and Verge reporter Dani Deahl (who first reported the story) to unpack how sampling works in today’s music. Then we hear how Beiber’s new album, “Changes,” interprets the sample to convey Bieber’s personal evolution in the public eye.

Songs Discussed

Laxcity - Good Morning (Splice Sample)

Asher Monroe - Synergy

Justin Bieber - Running Over, Sorry, Available, Yummy, Intentions

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Return Of The Guitar: Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer, Joji Feb 18, 2020

Show notes

In 2019 guitar made a comeback in the top 10. According to analysis from Hit Songs Deconstructed, about a third of all songs featured the electric guitar, a nearly 10% jump from the year before. In 2020 this trend isn’t stopping. Recent releases by Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer and Joji all prominently feature electric guitars tones. They reference 90s nu-metal, grunge and metal genres. More than a nostalgic nod, these songs draw from an era that was self-consciously “alternative” to convey disaffection, frustration and longing.

SONGS DISCUSSED

Khalid, Normani - Love Lies
Juice WRLD - Lucid Dreams
Halsey - Without Me
Joji - Slow Dancing In The Dark
Joji - Run
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Santo & Jonny - Sleep Walk
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
Buddy Holly - That’ll Be The Day
LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge
5 Seconds Of Summer - No Shame
Nirvana - Come As You Are
Halsey - Experiment On Me
Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade
Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff

MORE

Listen to our conversation about MIA’s “Paper Planes” and Drake’s “God’s Plan” with Sam Sanders on NPR’s It’s Been A Minute

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Look At Selena Gomez Now with Justin Tranter & Ian Kirkpatrick Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

Selena Gomez has her first #1 song on the Hot 100. “Lose You To Love Me” is a confessional look at her past five years of heartbreak and health challenges. By contrast, her single “Look At Her Now” is a testament to moving on and moving up. Each of these songs inhabits a different musical and lyrical world and we were lucky to get to speak with her collaborators on the songs to take us behind the scenes of how they came to be. Justin Tranter and Ian Kirkpatrick are two of today’s most in-demand writers. They walk us through how Selena takes her personal emotions and translates them into public catharsis on her album “Rare.”

Songs Discussed

Selena Gomez - Vulnerable, Lose You To Love Me, Look At Her Now
Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmmm
Dua Lipa - New Rules

More

Watch Selena Gomez interviewed by Zane Lowe on Beats One.

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Five Directions: How do the solo efforts of One Direction stack up? Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

The boy band One Direction has been on hiatus for nearly five years, yet only now have all of the members of the group released a solo album. But how do these efforts from Niall, Liam, Harry, Louis and Zayn stack up? Vox Writer (and One Direction fan) Alexa Lee compares albums as a challenge for each member to rise to their greatest artistic potential.

SONGS DISCUSSED