Switched on Pop

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Country music is Mexican (Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera) Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

More often than not, country music is seen as an "American" genre – meaning that the music is seen as strictly from the United States. In some ways, that's true; but the genre's iconography, sound, and ethos can actually be traced to the south of the border, in Mexican regional music.

The worlds have been more intertwined than you would think, and in musica mexicana, we find the closest comparison to what we traditionally call "country music." In this episode of Switched On Pop, in honor of country week, we take a look at the cumbia-corrido hybrid "Me Jalo" from Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera, two U.S. based acts performing Mexican regional music, to see what ties the cultures together.

Songs discussed:

George Strait – El Rey
Carín León – Necesito Encontrarte
Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – ME JALO
Fuerza Regida – TQM
Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny – un x100to
Fuerza Regida – SECRETO VICTORIA
Grupo Frontera, Grupo Firme – EL AMOR DE SU VIDA
Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – Bebe Dame
Shania Twain – Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under
Hank Williams – Your Cheatin' Heart

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The Ballad of Lainey Wilson and Jessie Murph Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

There's often an unspoken (and deeply misogynistic) rule on country music radio: never play two female artists back to back. In this episode of Switched On Pop's country week, we aim to do just that. Looking at two artists on opposite ends of the country music spectrum – traditionalist Lainey Wilson, and genre-bending Jessie Murph – Nate and Charlie try to understand the state of female country through their respective songs "4x4xU" and "Blue Strips."

Songs discussed:

Lainey Wilson – 4x4xU
Jessie Murph – Blue Strips
Lainey Wilson – Country's Cool Again
Lainey Wilson – Heart Like A Truck
HARDY, Lainey Wilson – wait in the truck
Jessie Murph – Gotta Hold
Jessie Murph – Gucci Mane
Jessie Murph, Sexyy Red – Blue Strips (Remix)
Zach Top – I Never Lie
Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats

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The hick hop renaissance (BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman) Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

One of the biggest country hits of the year has been "All The Way," by Texas rapper BigXthaPlug and country rocker Bailey Zimmerman, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is a perfectly mixed cocktail of trap sonics with country melodies, held together by a shared southern drawl between the two artists.

As the genre of "country" expands and morphs to include different sounds, artists, and styles, "All The Way" serves as an exemplary example of the country-rap hybrid done right. But the song isn't the first to feature an unlikely collaboration across the genre aisle. This episode of Switched On Pop, we go deep on this collab and others, to see what works and what doesn't when the gates that keep the country music industry separate are swung wide open.

Songs Discussed:

BigXthaPlug, Bailey Zimmerman – All The Way
BigXthaPlug – Texas
War – Slipping Into Darkness
BigXthaPlug – The Largest
Bailey Zimmerman – Where It Ends
Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road
Eminem, Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie
Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot Shit)
Nelly, Tim McGraw – Over And Over
Florida Georgia Line, Nelly – Cruise - Remix
Ernest, Snoop Dogg – Gettin' Gone
Lil Durk, Morgan Wallen – Broadway Girls

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Is Morgan Wallen the problem with country music? Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

Country music stands at a crossroads between tradition and evolution, and no artist embodies this tension better than Morgan Wallen. His song "I'm the Problem" opens with beautiful bluegrass guitar before hitting you with hard-hitting 808 basslines, creating a sonic reflection of country's current identity crisis. Wallen has this uncanny ability to turn his endless personal problems into undeniably catchy hooks that somehow make him more relatable, not less. Despite having every reason to write him off, there's something about his gritty voice and imperfect persona that keeps drawing listeners back. What makes him so compelling, and why his 37-track album dominated the charts, reveals something deeper about what country music is becoming.

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"Manchild" and other songs about male incompetence Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Looking for relationship advice? Skip the self-help books and turn to Sabrina Carpenter's latest single "Manchild" instead. This deep dive into the art of musical insults reveals how pop's newest sensation joins a legendary lineage of women artists who've perfected the craft of calling out incompetent men through song. From Dolly Parton's subversive "Dumb Blonde" to TLC's iconic "No Scrubs," there's an entire musical tradition of witty takedowns that reclaim power through clever wordplay, genre-hopping arrangements, and lyrical traps that expose male vanity.

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Songs discussed

Sabrina Carpenter "Manchild"
Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso"
Olivia Rodrigo "Driver's License"
The Beatles "Get Back"
Heart "Barracuda"
Dolly Parton "Dumb Blonde"
Sabrina Carpenter "Please Please Please"
TLC "No Scrubs"
Destiny's Child "Bills, Bills, Bills"
Destiny's Child "Independent Women Part 1"
Shania Twain "That Don't Impress Me Much"
Carly Simon "You're So Vain"

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Frankly, Sinatra still matters (with Seth MacFarlane) Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

What if the Chairman of the Board's biggest contribution to music wasn't his voice, but the blueprint he created for modern pop stardom? Frank Sinatra didn't just sing songs: he invented the concept album, injected his full personality into every performance, and created a template for artistic control that today's biggest stars still follow. His influence runs deeper than you think: Amy Winehouse titled her debut Frank as tribute, Jay-Z calls himself "the new Sinatra," and Frank Ocean borrowed his name from both Sinatra and Ocean's Eleven. That influence extends to unexpected places too: Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, has been championing Sinatra's orchestral style for years, and through his friendship with the Sinatra family gained access to over 1,200 boxes of never-recorded arrangements. His new album Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements features songs that arranged for Sinatra but never performed, uncovering musical treasures that reveal new insights into how the Chairman of the Board's innovations still shape the sound of pop music today.

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Songs Discussed

Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon"
Frank Sinatra "All the Way"
Frank Sinatra "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"
Frank Sinatra "Something" (Beatles cover)
Amy Winehouse "Halftime"
Jay-Z "Empire State Mind"
Frank Sinatra "Strangers in the Night"
Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra "Something Stupid"
Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"
Frank Sinatra "My Way"
Sonny and Cher "I Got You Babe"
Frank Sinatra "Laura"
Seth MacFarlane "How Did She Look"
Seth MacFarlane "Lush Life"
Seth MacFarlane "Give Me the Simple Life"
Seth MacFarlane "Shadows"
Seth MacFarlane "Who's in Your Arms Tonight"

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Is the future of pop...heavy metal?! Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

The UK outfit Sleep Token has done what we once thought impossible: Found commercial success playing heavy metal music in 2025 AD.

Their fourth studio album, Even in Arcadia, went to number one on the Billboard 200 upon its release, with all ten of its tracks charting on the Hot 100—this despite the fact that the band has been entirely masked and anonymous through their nine year existence.

Sleep Token's willingness to inject their brand of heavy metal with autotuned pop vocals, reggaeton beats, and hop hop inflected rhythms has widened their audience, but in the process had galvanized scathing criticism. Pitchfork gave the album a withering review calling Even in Arcadia "schmaltzy and dull," while Anthony Fantano dubbed the band "metal music for Disney adults."

We get to know Sleep Token—the music and the controversy—by listening deeply to the ways they toy with the genre conventions of metal, and ask whether they are changing the sound of pop in the process.

AUDIENCE SURVEY 2025: https://switchedonpop.typeform.com/survey2025

Songs Discussed

Sleep Token - Thread the Needle, Emergence, Caramel, Damocles
Ghost - Satanized
Metallica - Hero of the Day
Nickelback - How You Remind Me

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Charli XCX threw this party 4 us May 27, 2025

Show notes

Five years ago, Charli XCX released the track "party 4 u," a melancholic ode to throwing a function for that one specific person. Now, in 2025, the song has gotten a renewed life – motivated by a foolproof cocktail of TikTok trends, the Billboard Hot 100, and a post-Brat Summer clamor for Charli.

It's rare for pop songs like this to get a second wind. So, on this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna, Nate, and Charlie put on our detective hats on to dissect the five-minute song's vocals, textures, and structures to understand just why people are reconnecting with it, half a decade later.

Songs discussed:

Charli XCX – party 4 u
Charli XCX – claws
Charli XCX – 4 in the Morning
Charli XCX – anthems
Lesley Gore – It's My Party

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808: The drum machine that changed music forever (Twenty Thousand Hertz) May 25, 2025

Show notes

The 808 is arguably the most iconic drum machine ever made. Even if you’ve never heard of it, you’ve definitely heard it. It’s in dozens of hit songs -- from Usher to Marvin Gaye, Talking Heads to The Beastie Boys -- and its sounds have quietly cemented themselves in the cultural lexicon. In this episode, we try to understand how that happened and follow the unlikely path of the 808. Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and Paul McCabe from Roland.

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Chartbreakers: Lorde & Drake reboot, Worship Pop, and the shortest song ever May 20, 2025

Show notes

What happens when worship anthems climb the charts alongside soul revivals and nostalgia-driven comebacks? The May 2025 Billboard charts reveal a fascinating musical landscape where Drake performs a strategic reset after his epic battle with Kendrick, worship-adjacent pop dominates the mainstream, and The Marias reject conventional song structures with dreamy success. From the bizarre 34-second Minecraft soundtrack hit to the rise of "voice audition pop," we're exploring how these competing visions of pop music reflect our collective anxieties and cultural shifts. Is this beautiful chaos the new normal?

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