Switched on Pop

Latest Episodes:

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Love the 90s Oct 16, 2018

Show notes

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan conjure late 90s nostalgia in their latest banger. "1999" drips with lyrical nostalgia for the last decade of the millennium — but does the music follow suit? We think the pair are missing prime opportunities to bring back some neglected musical tricks from the early oeuvre of Britney Spears.

The 90s bug goes beyond Charli and Troye. Anne-Marie and Lauren Alaina also pine for the Clinton era in their millennial bops. Which makes one ask: is the present so bad that we miss the paranoia of Y2K? As usual, Prince has the answer.

Featuring:

Charli XCX ft Troye Sivan - 1999

DJ Bobo - Somebody Dance with Me

Real McCoy - Another Night

Paradisio - Bailando

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears - Oops! I Did it Again

Anne-Marie - 2002

Lauren Alaina - Ladies in the 90s

Prince - 1999

Check out Megan Lavengood's examples of the complementary chorus.

Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body" from 1986 might be the ur-source of the ubiquitous 90s house piano. Jefferson recorded the original in his Chicago prophet on a Prophet 2000, but never got the rights to the song and saw little proceeds from its success.

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Sicko Rap and Drunk Country Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

Four songs on the Hot 100 pop chart reveal the new directions in which music is headed. Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" boasts an unprecedented formal structure that points to the future of hip hop. Meanwhile, in the world of country, Jason Aldean, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Dan + Shay are putting a modern spin on one of the style's oldest tropes: drinking bourbon. Together these tracks make up the vanguard of their respective genres, but are fans willing to take the plunge?

Featuring:

Travis Scott - Sicko Mode

Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

John Zorn - Cat o Nine Tails

Jason Aldean ft Miranda Lambert - Drowns the Whiskey

Mitchell Tenpenny - Drunk Me

Adele - Hello

Justin Bieber - Sorry

Dan + Shay - Tequila

Recommend Reading: Kathryn Schulz on Chris Janson's "Drunk Girl"

Recommended Viewing: Rich Redmond's studio drumming

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The Side Effects of Pop Music with Emily Warren Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

Emily Warren is one of the great rising stars of contemporary songwriting. Her song "Side Effects" with The Chainsmokers is currently rising up the charts. You’ve also heard her writing on Dua Lipa’s "New Rules." She’s collaborated with many of the best performers in music earning her a Grammy and multi-platinum success with “Don’t Let Me Down.” She's also recently released her single "Paranoid." Emily is a real songwriters songwriter. Her process is as much therapy as art. Together we break down her latest work and uncover her creative process. Her album "Quiet Your Mind" is out on October 5th.

Songs discussedThe Chainsmokers - Side EffectsBach - Prelude in F# Minor from the Well Tempered ClavierEmily Warren - Paranoidbülow - You & JenniferTeyana Taylor - Gonna Love MeNick Jonas - Touch

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Drake vs Drake Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

Drake, per usual, has been inescapable this summer. "In My Feelings" and "Nice For What" top the charts, but there's depth to these bangers. We argue for hearing one as a meditation on fragile masculinity, the other as a paean to NOLA Bounce.

Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and Twitter: @SwitchedOnPop

Songs discussed:Drake - In My FeelingsDrake - Nice For WhatLauryn Hill - Ex FactorThe Showboys - Drag Rap (Triggaman)Cameron Paul - Brown BeatCheeky Blakk - Let Me Get That OutchaBeyonce ft. Big Freedia - FormationBig Freedia - Karaoke ft Lizzo

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Summer Heat of the 2000s: Beyoncé and Black Eyed Peas (Pt. II) Aug 23, 2018

Show notes

The final episode of our Switched on Summer throwback series finds us deconstructing more early aughts bangers.

Under consideration: two of the biggest hits since Y2K, Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and the Black Eyed Peas' "I Got a Feeling." Tune in to dig how these tracks keeps the temperature rising through harmonic suspension, and to ask if will.i.am cribbed "Chopsticks."

Switched On Summer Winner: Slow Dance

Congrats to Slow Dance for winning our Switched On Summer contest with their song "I'm Your Guy Tonight." Listen to the whole track here: https://soundcloud.com/slowdancemusic/im-your-guy-tonight

You can get all of our song of summer chord loops, song packs and listen to the awesome entires to our Splice Firestarter competition on <a href="https://splice.com/">Splice</a> here: http://splice.com/onpop

Songs Discussed:

• Beyoncé - Crazy in Love

• The Chi-lites - Are You My Woman

• Jay Z - 99 Problems

• Black Eyed Peas - I Got a Feeling

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Summer Heat of the 2000s: Nelly + Katy Perry (Pt. 1) Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

What made summer jams of the aughties like Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" so hot? The answer: big, sweaty, doses of harmonic tension. Specifically, each track relies on the Baroque technique of the ground bass. Wait, we mean: the Baroque technique of PEDAL POINT! When the chords in these songs don't match up with their bass notes, the ratcheting tension adds heat—fueling both dance moves, and controversy.

Featuring:

Nelly - Hot in Herre

Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

All summer Switched On Pop & Splice have been diving into the DNA of summer hits, and now we want you to show us what you’ve learned. Get inspired by sound packs and chord progressions created by Switched on Pop and share your best song of summer with us and the world. Hosts Nate & Charlie will be listening and will choose their favorite submission to win a year of Splice Sounds and have their track played on the podcast.

Check out all the details at http://splice.com/onpop-fire

And, read Owen Pallett's excellent article on the use of harmonic tension in Teenage Dream.

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Why is 90s Pop so Bizarre? Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

The Switched on Pop Summer Throwback Series continues! This time, with a deep dive into the musical detritus of the 1990s.

In true 90s fashion, our episode is inspired by a pair of classic VH1 shows; "Behind the Music" and "Where Are They Now?"

Our subjects are two songs representing the lunatic fringe of 90s culture, "Cotton Eyed Joe" and "How Bizarre."

In the course of our musicological investigation, we uncover dark truths about these seemingly anodyne hits that will make you question everything you know about pop music.

And in the end, we reach a definitive answer to a perennially vexing question: "WTF was 90s music so weird?"

Songs Discussed

Rednex:

Cotton Eye Joe

Pop in an Oak

The Way I Mate

Cotton Eyed Joe:

Fiddlin John Carson

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys

Karen Dalton

Chieftains

Nina Simone

OMC:

How Bizarre

Right ON

Start making your summer hit track on Splice and check out our chord pack at splice.com/onpop-chords

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The Resistance is Dancing in the Streets Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

Our Switched on Summer Throwback Series continues with "Dancing in the Street," the 1964 Motown hit by Martha and the Vandellas that was co-written by none other than Marvin Gaye.

Over 50 years and countless covers later, we explore how this song still manages to get people off their feet and onto the streets—not just to dance, but also to raise their voices in joy, catharsis, and protest.

Also, start making your own summer hits with our Switched On Summer repack on Splice at www.splice.com/onpop-pack and use promo code ONPOP for a 1 month free trial.

Featuring:Martha and the Vandellas - Dancing in the StreetMarvin Gaye - Stubborn Kind of FellowThe Mamas and the Papas - Dancing in the StreetThe Grateful Dead - Dancing in the StreetVan Halen - Dancing in the StreetMick Jagger and David Bowie - Dancing in the StreetKendrick Lamar - AlrightPharrell Williams - Happy

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Switched on Summer: Getting Around with the Beach Boys Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

Our Switched on Summer throwback mini-series begins in the heart of the 1960s, with the Beach Boys' perennial school's-out jam "I Get Around."

We explore how every aspect of Brian Wilson's two-minute-long masterpiece is perfectly calculated to literally "get around"—harmonically, melodically, and lyrically—creating that unbeatable feeling of cruising all over town with the top down on a hot summer's night.

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The Pure Pop of Charlie Puth + Carly Rae (ft Hanif Abdurraqib) Jun 14, 2018

Show notes

Part I: The Doctors Are In! We diagnose a listener's musical malady, namely: "why does Charlie Puth's new jam 'BOY' make us feel so weird?!"

Part II: Guest Hanif Adburraqib, author of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, helps break down Carly Rae Jepsen's epic "Cut to the Feeling" to understand why CRJ is a different kind of pop star.

Featuring:

•Charlie Puth - BOY

•Ismael Miranda - Recordando

•Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Nobody's Baby

•The Beatles - She's a Woman

•The Cars - Since You're Gone

•Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No 5 in C Minor, I

•Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling

Check out more of Hanif's work at his website.

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