Switched on Pop

Latest Episodes:

Justin Timberlake's Identity Crisis Jan 11, 2018

Show notes

What's up with Justin Timberlake? Two years ago he gifted us the ebullient family-friendly jam "Can't Stop the Feeling," now he's on the cusp of a deeply serious new record called "Man of the Woods," whose first single, strangely, is a bit of electro-funk snarl expertly produced by long-time collaborators Timbaland and Danja. What's going on here—who is JT trying to be? We listen deep to his latest, "Filthy," to try and understand its creator's conflicting musical worlds.

Featuring:

Justin Timberlake - Filthy

Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

Bernard Hermann - Psycho

Ken Nordine - My Baby

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Dua Lipa's Minor Mantra (w Emily Bootle) Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

Charlie talks laments, Baroque opera, and gender politics in Dua Lipa's sleeper hit "New Rules" with writer Emily Bootle.

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All I Want for Xmas is a Year in Review Episode Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

Charlie and Nate breakdown Mariah Carey's classic "All I Want for Christmas is You" and revisit their favorite tracks of 2017. Sleigh bells abound.

Featuring

• Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas

• Laura Marling - Semper Femina

• Lorde - Melodrama

• Khalid - Location

• Dua Lipa - New Rules

• Logic - Everybody / 1-800-273-8255

• Childish Gambino - Redbone

• Sampha - (No One Knows Me) Like the piano in my mothers house

• Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

• Jay-Z: 4:44

• Perfume Genius - No Shape

• Aimee Mann - Mental Illness

And more...

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Björk's Emotional Landscapes Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

Björk is uniquely both a pop star and avant-garde composer. Though her music often challenges our ears, underneath her records you'll find more in common with today's pop music than you'd expect. Pieced together, you'll hear that she paints emotional landscapes composed of all the complexities of human experience. We give you a way to enjoy listening to her music. Using this hybrid pop/modernist method, we deconstruct her latest album Utopia. Plus Nate & Charlie fall in love all over again.

Featured Clips

Björk - Losss

Björk - Human Behaviour

Björk - It's Oh So Quiet

Björk - Hyperballad

Björk - Joga

Björk - Thunderbolt

Björk - Lionsong

Björk - Arisen My Senses

Björk - Stonemilker

Björk - Quicksand

Björk - Notget

Björk - Utopia

Björk - Blissing Me

Björk - The Gate

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Taylor Constructs A Darker Reputation Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

Taylor Swift unveils a new, darker identity on her latest album "Reputation," and many have read the lyrics on her latest as not-so-subtle volleys in an ongoing celebrity feud. Still, a question remains: how does Swift cast this dark personality in music? Two songs offer evidence. Melodic drops and temporal gaps in "I Did Something Bad" signal the album's themes of descent and decay. On "Getaway Car," however, some of Swift's old songwriting tricks may betray her new persona.

We also dug into Reputation and other great listener questions in our Reddit AMA.

Featuring:

Taylor Swift:

• I Did Something Bad

• Getaway Car

• Trouble

• Love Story

• You Belong With Me

• Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - Away Out There

• Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

• The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face

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Unlikely Mashups: Taylor + Cardi B | Clean Bandit + Berlioz Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

At the top of the pop charts, Taylor Swift and Cardi B, two artists with seemingly little in common, exploit the same compositional technique to hook listeners in. Meanwhile, across time and space, electro producers Clean Bandit ft. Julia Michaels, channel the thematic tricks of French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz in his 1830 Symphonie Fantastique.

FeaturingTaylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do Cardi B - Bodak YellowRight Said Fred - I'm Too SexyClean Bandit ft. Julia Michaels - I Miss YouBerlioz - Symphonie Fantastique performed by Berliner PhilharmonikerBerlioz - Symphonie Fantastique performed by DuPage Symphony Orchestra

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Kendrick Lamar's HUMBLE deconstructed w. guest Amber Mark Oct 19, 2017

Show notes

With Charlie off the grid, Nate sits down with singer/producer Amber Mark to explore the different levels of Kendrick's hit HUMBLE.. Then, they turn to the diverse influences (including house music, Carnatic samples, and autodidactic piano chords) behind Mark's own track "Lose My Cool."

Featuring:

Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

Amber Mark - Lose My Cool

Amber Mark - SPACE

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Demi Lovato is Not Sorry Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

Demi Lovato's latest, "Sorry Not Sorry" is at once an unapologetic anthem of defiance and a super catchy mashup of multiple genres. As we'll see, every small musical choice is here for a reason, together fostering Lovato's message of ascension—or even, transcendence. And as we pick apart "Sorry Not Sorry," we'll go to some surprising places ourselves including: Klezmer melodies, spiritual pretzels and musical dementors.

Featuring:

•Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry

•Cardi B - Bodak Yellow

•Dave Tarras - Freilach Yidelach

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How to 'Feels' the Groove Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

How does a song with nonsense lyrics capture our attention, making us want to move? It is called the groove. Enter Calvin Harris' "Feels" (ft. Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean). Known for mainstreaming EDM, Harris throws out the software and picks up hardware instruments on this track. Upon first listen, this might seem like a sleeper hit, but as the loop repeats, you're going to want to move your feet. With intricate rhythmic interplay, the bass, drums, keys and guitar seem to talk to each other. Listen closely to hear how he does it. Also, we'll reveal why Katy Perry is so into going fishing.

FeaturingCalvin Harris - Feels (ft. Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean)James Brown - I Got The FeelingJames Brown - Get Up Offa That ThingDNCE - Cake By The OceanGeorge & Ira Gershwin - Blah Blah Blah (performed by 2012 Original Broadway Cast)

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Anthems of Resilience - Kesha and Imagine Dragons [LIVE] Sep 07, 2017

Show notes

This episode of Switched on Pop comes at you live from Block Island, RI, recoded in front of an audience of friends and family following a solar eclipse. Fittingly, the two songs discussed that day formed their own kind of syzygy. Kesha's "Praying" and Imagine Dragon's "Believer" are inverse anthems of resilience. Both tracks seek catharsis - one through prayer, the other through pain.

FeaturingKesha - Tik TokKesha - PrayingMozart - The Queen of the Night AriaWhitney Houston - I Will Always Love YouMariah Carey - EmotionsLalah Hathaway - SomethingImagine Dragons - RadioactiveImagine Dragons - Believer

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