Switched on Pop

Latest Episodes:

Chained to the Green Light: Katy Perry + Lorde Mar 10, 2017

Show notes

Two artists who haven't released new music since 2013 recently remerged into the limelight: Katy Perry, with her dystopian disco banger "Chained to the Rhythm" and Lorde, with the melodramatic-yet-uplifting anthem "Green Light."

Listening carefully, a fact becomes apparent, despite Lorde's insistence that she "hears new sounds" in her mind: there's something familiar lurking beneath both these tracks. And indeed, both were co-written and produced by key figures of the modern pop music firmament. Who are they, and how do we detect their fingerprints on the latest from these two low-voiced chanteuses? Tune in and test your acumen in a high-stakes game of musical forensics.

Featuring:

Katy Perry - Chained to the Rhythm

Lorde - Green Light

...and some secret songs

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Oscar Week!: La La Land ft. Genevieve Koski Feb 24, 2017

Show notes

With the Academy Awards around the corner, Charlie and Nate try something new: a break down of the movie musical La La Land through two of its key songs, "City of Stars" and "Start a Fire." These numbers, one by composer Justin Hurwitz, the other by Hurwitz and John Legend, might represent the two poles of the film's dramatic structure. But a deep dive into their musical construction reveals leitmotifs and left turns that leave us staggered at the different levels to La La Land's score. Special guest Genevieve Koski, deputy culture editor for Vox and co-host of the film podcast The Next Picture Show, joins to help our hosts journey through the uncharted terrain of cinema.

Featuring:

• Start a Fire - John Legend

• City of Stars - Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

• John Legend - Ordinary People

• Backstreet Boys - Everybody

• Ariana Grande - Side To Side

• Die Walkure, The Ring Cycle - Richard Wagner

• Engagement, Planetarium, Epilogue, Mia + Sebastian's Theme - Justin Hurwitz

• Générique, Dans le magasin de parapluies, Final - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

• Tie Fighter Theme - John Williams

Check out Genevieve Koski's writing on Vox and her great podcast on La La Land here.

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Zayn, Taylor Swift & The Grammys Feb 09, 2017

Show notes

"I Don't Wanna Live Forever," the new track from Zayn and Taylor Swift, finds two members of the pop pantheon joining forces with producer Jack Antonoff to craft an inexorable hit song. But this duet—between a former One Direction heartthrob aiming to avert the sophomore slump and a megastar returning to the limelight—is far from triumphant. Instead, "Forever" delves into themes of loss and separation—emotions in turn embedded in the very structure and melody of this most unusual duet. Also, Charlie and Nate discuss what upcoming Grammy nominations have them most excited, From Chance the Rapper to Radiohead, Bowie to Solange, there's much to celebrate from 2016. Musically speaking, that is.

Featuring:

• Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever

• Giovanni Gabrieli - Symphoniae Sacrae II

• Solange - Cranes in the Sky

• Chance the Rapper - All We Got

• David Bowie - Lazarus

• Radiohead - Burn the Witch

• Tycho - Glider

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The Puzzle of Ariana Grande's "Into You" (with K. Flay) Jan 27, 2017

Show notes

"Into You" was one of the biggest hits of 2016, the stellar production of reclusive legend Max Martin combining with the acrobatic vocals of Ariana Grande to create an undeniable, ubiquitous earworm. With "Into You" still burning up the charts, we dive deep to uncover the insane puzzles, Trompe-l'oiel tricks and Baroque games that lie under the surface of this morsel of pop perfection.

PLUS, brilliant rocker and rapper K. Flay joins to discuss the mysteries of Ariana Grande and takes us through the composition of her own, bass-heavy anthem of catharsis, "Blood in the Cut."

Featuring

• Ariana Grande - Into You

• K Flay - Blood in the Cut

• Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive

• J.S. Bach - A little hocket example

• Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman

• The Chainsmokers - Closer

• The Rolling Stones - Can't Get No Satisfaction

• The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

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Seduced by the Sound: The Weeknd + Daft Punk Jan 12, 2017

Show notes

"I Feel it Coming" might be the slowest burning jam to hit the charts in ages, in which the Weeknd enlists the robotic hum of Daft Punk to help craft a perfectly calibrated climate of desire. Brilliant, sexy songs don't just appear out of thin air, though, so we reveal how this song's perpetual excitement is hard-won through references to past stars of sultriness like Michael and Marvin while employing its own bag of tricks to turn up the heat.

Featuring:

•The Weeknd + Daft Punk - I Feel it Coming

•Marvin Gaye - Let's Get it On

•Michael Jackson - Rock With You

•Chic - Good Times

•Ike and Tina Turner - Doin' It

For an excellent playlist of listener-submitted sexy songs, direct your dirty self here:

http://spoti.fi/2ieEeul

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Dreaming Of A White Christmas Dec 16, 2016

Show notes

White Christmas holds the Guinness World Record for most singles sold and has been covered over 500 times. Pop stars from Elvis to Ella have recorded it, with interpretations from doo-wop to country to punk rock. With new covers each year, it seems listeners have not grown tired of this Tin Pan Alley chestnut. We use our scientific formula for holiday hit success to break down what makes this song so timeless.

FeaturingBing Crosby - White ChristmasThe Beatles - Christmas Time Is HereWhitney Houston - Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasJackson 5 - Santa Clause Is Coming to TownThe Beatles - In My LifeFrank Sinatra - White ChristmasKenny G - White ChristmasNashville Cast - White ChristmasLady Gaga - White ChristmasThe Drifters - White ChristmasElvis - White ChristmasElla Fitzgerald - White ChristmasBeach Boys - White ChristmasDean Martin - White ChristmasKaty Perry - White ChristmasKelly Clarkson - White ChristmasRascal Flatts - White ChristmasMichael Bolton - White ChristmasMichael Bublé and Shania Twain - White ChristmasCarol Of The Bells by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Deck the Hall, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Angels We Have Heard by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=004&page=1Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

50 episodes in, hosts Charlie and Nate take a step back to think about how they listen to music and try to define what might be called The Switched on Method™. "Hallelujah," by the late, great Leonard Cohen, acts as a perfect test case for breaking down listening into four key layers: 1) The Liner Notes, 2) The Needle Drop, 3) The Scratch, and 4) The Remix. Through this patented process, artistic revelations are all but guaranteed, with Cohen's opus no exception — his modern classic is not all it appears to be.

Featuring:

•Leonard Cohen - "Hallelujah"

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Playing it Cool: How Tove Lo Aims High Nov 17, 2016

Show notes

On the surface, Tove Lo's new hit "Cool Girl" boasts a snappy, earworm chorus and an empowering message of self-reliance. Beneath its chill exterior, though, Lo's song burns with a passion bordering on rage, and sinister sonic undertones suggest an unreliable narrator who doesn't always mean what she says. The more layers one pulls back from this song, the more Lo's source material—the novel and film "Gone Girl"—comes to the fore, turning "Cool Girl" into the kind of pop smash that sticks in your head in more ways than one.

Featuring:

Tove Lo - Cool Girl

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster

Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful

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Made In America: Toby Keith & Jay-Z Nov 03, 2016

Show notes

Back in 2011, two pop songs dropped with the same patriotic title: "Made in America." But the similarities pretty much end there. Toby Keith's country smash and Jay Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean's soulful hip hop anthem have little in common except a firm conviction that each song knows what it really means to be American. Five years later, these tracks have a lot to tell us about the role music plays in shaping our national identity, and begs the question: does music truly bring us together?

FeaturingToby Keith - Made In AmericaJay Z and Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean - Made in AmericaSisqo - Thong SongUsher - Yeah!Beyoncé - Daddy LessonsJimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No. 9Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - Ida Red Likes to Boogie

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Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal Oct 20, 2016

Show notes

Host Charlie spent the last two weeks listening to every song on the Billboard Hot 100. What did he discover? That the sonic similarities of most chart-toppers sound closer than ever. Except for the #1 song in America, as of this episode's release - "Closer" by The Chainsmokers, ft. Halsey. This one is different than the rest...or is it? We dive into the styles of the moment to re-learn the old maxim that "great artists steal" - whether that artist is a 2016 DJ duo or an 18th century Classical master.

Featuring:

•Tory Lanez - LUV

•Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better

•Frenship - Capsize

•Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know

•Cheat Codes - Sex

•The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey - Closer

•Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez - We Don't Talk Anymore

•Jack U ft. Justin Bieber - Where Are U Now

•Drake - Know Yourself

•Amine - Caroline

•MO - Final Song