Switched on Pop

Mickey Guyton spent a decade of fits and starts trying to make a career in country music. But now in recent months she’s having a country music moment releasing vulnerable songs that use her experiences of rejection, exclusion and racism as inspiration. Charlie speaks with Guyton about her breakout songs “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” and “Black Like Me,” as well as what it took for her to make it onto one of country musics most beloved stages, the American Country Music Awards.Songs DiscussedMickey Guyton - What Are You Gonna Tell HerDolly Parton, Kenny Rogers - Islands In the StreamDolly Parton - Coat of Many ColorsMickey Guyton - Safe (Acoustic)Mickey Guyton - Heartbreak SongMickey Guyton - Why Baby WhyMickey Guyton - Better Than You Left MeMickey Guyton - Black Like Me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Howard and Guy Lawrence, the brothers behind Disclosure, found global acclaim in 2012 with their song “Latch” ft. Sam Smith which blended house and dubstep in a doo-wop time signature. Since, they have collaborated with many of pop’s most sought after vocalists (The Weeknd, Lore and Khalid to name a few) in an ever evolving vision of dance music. On their latest album release, “Energy,” Disclosure channels sounds and samples from the global south. Listen to find out how they make the energy flow. SurveyWe are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here: voxmedia.com/podsurvey.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When we listen closely to the Fifth, we hear a testament to self-expression and determination. Which means that we get to decide how to honor this symphony today, whether that means taking a break from Beethoven to commission new works from underrepresented composers, bringing new audiences into the fold by staging concerts in communities outside of the concert hall, or re-writing Beethoven’s works to make them reflect our present moment. Featuring:Anthony McGill, ClarinetAndrea Moore, MusicologistDeborah Borda, CEO and PresidentDavid Lang, ComposerJaap van Sweden, ConductorLeelanee Sterett, HornSherry Sylar, OboeMusic Featured:Carlos Simon, LoopTania Léon, StrideDavid Lang, Prisoner of the StateRecoding of Beethoven Symphony 5 by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Sweden used by permission from Decca Gold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Beethoven’s time, classical music culture looked and sounded quite different. When Mozart premiered his Symphony 31 in the late 1700s, it was standard for audiences to clap, cheer, and yell “da capo!” (Italian for “from the beginning!”) in the middle of a performance. After Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony debuted in the early 1800s, these norms changed — both because the rising industrial merchant class took ownership of concert halls and because of shifts in the music itself.As we explored in episodes I and II of the Switched On Pop podcast series The 5th, the musical complexity of Beethoven’s symphony required a different kind of listening. The Fifth’s four-note opening theme occurs and recurs in variations throughout the symphony, slowly shifting from minor to major keys and mirroring Beethoven’s experience with deafness. The Fifth’s creative rule-breaking — subverting the classical sonata form in the first movement, for example — requires close listening to fully grasp. Over time, these norms crystallized into a set of etiquette rules (e.g., “don’t clap mid-piece”) to enhance the new listening experience. In the third episode of The 5th, we explore how Beethoven’s symphony was used to generate the strict culture of classical music — and the politics that undergird those norms of behavior.Music DiscussedRecording of The New York Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Jaap van Zweden used by permission from Decca Gold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first movement of his famous symphony, Beethoven sets up a battle between hope and despair. The dark side of that spectrum is represented by the anguished opening notes of the first movement: DUN DUN DUNNN. Over the course of the next three movements, Beethoven keeps trying to overcome his dark fate with bright major melodies, and keeps getting defeated.With each high and low, we begin to understand that this battle isn't just about major and minor keys, it's about the will to live in the face of adversity. How do you perform such an emotional rollercoaster? We talk to the members of the New York Philharmonic about what it's like to sound a symphony whose stakes are life and death.Jaap van Zweden, ConductorLeelanee Sterrett, HornKyle Zerna, PercussionFrank Huang, ViolinAnthony McGill, ClarinetSherry Sylar, OboeRecording of The New York Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Jaap van Zweden used by permission from Decca Gold.Hear new episodes of our four-part miniseries The 5th every Tuesday and Friday starting September 8th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. You’ve heard it in films, advertisements, parodied in Saturday morning cartoons and disco-ized in Saturday Night Fever. The Fifth Symphony is a given, so much so that it blends into the background. You know this piece, but how well? Of all the symphonies of the bewigged classical "greats," why is this one still stuck in our heads over two centuries later?To answer these questions, we’re giving Beethoven’s famous symphony the same treatment we give to pop songs. And we’re doing so with the help of an orchestra that’s been performing this piece since 1842, the New York Philharmonic.In Movement I, we hear how the famous opening notes of the symphony aren't just melody: they’re the main character in a drama that will unfold over four movements.Featuring:Frank Huang, ViolinAnthony McGill, ClarinetSherry Sylar, OboeRecording of The New York Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Jaap van Zweden used by permission from Decca Gold.New episodes of our four-part miniseries The 5th drop every Tuesday and Friday starting September 8th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.SPONSORWe use Reason Studios to make music on Switched On Pop. You can use Reason too free for 30 days: http://reasonstudios.com/onpopSONGS DISCUSSEDMartha 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does it feel to become a global pop star under lockdown? Benee’s “Supalonely” had been out for over 5 months when in March of 2020, it quickly became the second most popular song on TikTok. The song’s hook “I’ve been lonely… Supalonely” clearly reflected a global collective malaise about the pandemic—and people wanted to dance to it. She wrote this “sad banger” to help get over a breakup. And now the song changed her life. Not along before she’d dropped out of college to make music while working at a pizza place. Her first EP had found an audience in her home country, New Zealand. Now, with her TikTok success Benee has ascended the top 100 in 30 countries. All of this happened from the solitude of her childhood bedroom, where like so many people, she’s taking zoom calls all day. She tells Switched On Pop about using levity to overcome personal difficulty and what’s like to achieve global recognition from home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Daniels, editor of the publication The Pudding, wanted to find out what songs from his youth would last into the future. So he designed a study that would test if Gen-Z had a grip on 90s culture. Hundreds of thousands of participants provided over 3 million data points. Daniels parsed through the data for insights. Sadly, the majority of his most beloved songs have not survived even one generation. Though most had been forgotten, he found that just a few songs had staying power across generations — what he defined as the emerging 90s music canon. Find out what songs make it and which have fallen to the wayside. MOREThe Pudding’s study on Defining the 90s CanonTake The Pudding’s quiz yourselfSONGS DISCUSSEDSpice Girls - Wannabe Mariah Carey - Fantasy!Lou Bega - Mambo #5Los Del Rio - MacarenaBoys II Men - Motown PhillyWhitney Houston - I Will Always Love YouSavage Garden - I Want YouThe Barenaked Ladies - One WeekJewel - You Were Meant For MeJennifer Lopez - If You Had My LoveCeline Dion - My Heart Will Go OnBritney Spears - Baby One More TimeSmash Mouth - All StarNirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bruno Major blends old song structures from The Great American Songbook with contemporary production on his new album “To Let A Good Thing Die.” The result is a nostalgic, yet contemporary collection of love songs for the Netflix and chill generation. We speak with Bruno Major about how he draws inspiration from the past to craft something new. He breaks down his songs "Nothing," "To Let A Good Thing Die," and "The Most Beautiful Thing," which he wrote with Finneas. And we unpack how Bruno Major found success only after being dropped from his record label.SONGS DISCUSSEDBruno Major - NothingAutumn Leaves - Nat King ColeFly Me to The Moon - Frank SinatraStella By Starlight - Tony BennettThere Will Never Be Another You - Nat King ColeLike Someone in Love - Chet BakerDeep in a Dream - Frank SinatraAll The things you are - Ella FitzgeraldPaul Simon - Still Crazy After All These YearsWes Montgomery - In Your Own Sweet WayBruno Major - Wouldn't Mean A ThingBruno Major - Bad Religion (Live)Bruno Major - I'll Sleep When I'm OlderJ Cole - KODJ Dilla - La La LaBruno Major - The Most Beautiful ThingBruno Major - To Let A Good Thing Die Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices