Switched on Pop

What if music awards were given out for only musical qualities? It may seem like celebrity and spectacle are more important than ever at the 61st Grammy Awards, but we believe many of this years winners earned their accolades with noteworthy music. Still, we thought the winners should be heralded by new, more musical categories. Find out howAnd The Awards Go To:Best Chord Progression: H.E.R. - "Hard Place" & "Focus"Best Throwback: Silk City & Dua Lipa ft. Diplo & Mark Ronson - "Electricity"Worst Metaphor: Lady Gaga ft. Bradley Cooper "Shallow"Best Conceptual Song: Childish Gambino - "This Is America"Best Bridge: Kacey Musgraves - "Rainbow"Also FeaturedThe Weeknd - "Often"Khalid - "Location"Alison Limerick - "Where Love Lives"Cher - "Strong Enough"Elton John - "Mellow"BonusListen to Ezra Klein's discussion with Jill Lepore on America's two revolutions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author Courtney Smith joins to offer her expertise on an urgent topic in advance of Valentine's Day: Can we abstract the sexiest songs of all time into a universal list of arousing musical qualities? We try our best by examining five decades of pop sexiness, discovering lyrical lingerie, and consider the most (and least) seductive instruments.Featuring:Nina Simone - I Want Some Sugar in My BowlDonna Summer - Love to Love You BabyINXS - Need You TonightPortishead - Glory BoxKings of Leon - Sex on FireThe Weeknd - OftenCheck out Courtney's article Let's Talk About Sex, Baby: Every Trick You Need to Seduce Someone with a Playlist on Refinery29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"7 Rings" is Ariana Grande's latest smash, a glittering banger that owes much to Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 classic "My Favorite Things." 60 years later, Grande updates the track for a modern audience, making her the latest artist to repurpose this anthem from the "Sound of Music." When it comes to Ari's flow, however, questions of appropriation arise. Author Lauren Michele Jackson joins to break down who has the right to repurpose sonic history.Featuring:• Ariana Grande - 7 Rings• Julie Andrews - My Favorite Things• John Coltrane - My Favorite Things• The Doors - Light My Fire• Lauryn Hill - Black Rage• Migos - Bad and Boujee• Princess Nokia - Mine• Two Chainz - Spend It• Soulja Boy - Pretty Boy SwagCheck out Lauren Michele Jackson's article, "To Whom Does '7 Rings' Owe its Sound?," hear more connections between Coltrane and the Doors in this NPR story, and discover the triplet Migos flow on Vox's Earworm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Auto-Tune may be the most divisive effect in music. Artists have protested it publicly at the Grammys, and critics have derided the effects for its inauthentic reproduction of the voice. And yet, nearly a decade since Jay-Z prophesied the death of Auto-Tune, the sound is alive and thriving in contemporary pop and hip-hop. Journalist Simon Reynolds has written a definitive history of Auto-Tune for Pitchfork that fundamentally changed how we hear this sound. This deep dive criss crosses geology, technology, and the evolution of pop as we know it.Songs Discussed:Cher - BelieveKaty Perry - FireworkRihanna - DiamondsFuture - F*ck Up Some CommasEmma Robinson - Stay (Cover) Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek Zapp & Roger - Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing) T. Pain - Chopped N Screwed ft. Ludacris Lil Wayne - “How To Love”Kanye - “Heartless”The Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow”Jay-Z - Death Of Auto-TuneElvis - Mystery TrainThe Beatles - Tomorrow Never KnowsWhispering Jack Smith - Baby FaceKesha - Tik Tok Bon Iver - WoodsFuture & Juice WRLD - Jet Lag ft. Young Scooter Shek Wes - Mo BambaThe Carters - ApeshitFurther Reading:Simon Reynolds - “How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music" Simon Reynolds -Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This winter season unwrap a deep dive through a pop subgenre of monumental importance: non-holiday songs that feature sleigh bells, from Bonnie Tyler to Nas, On Side B, we rebroadcast our episode on Mariah Carey's classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You"...and more sleigh bells. Featuring:•The Beach Boys - God Only Knows•Gustav Mahler - 4th Symphony, I•Michael Jackson - Jam•Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart •Miles Davis - On the Corner•Nas - Halftime•Kygo ft. Conrad Sewell - Firestone•Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Four years into Switched On Pop, Charlie and Nate finally reveal what was behind the entire series. We may have not been totally honest with you from the beginning. Back in 2014 we were more pop skeptics than fanatics. The genre was, to some degree, the sugar that made the musical analysis medicine go down. And then something happened. Just as people started to listen to the show, we too began to open our ears. Now, in our 100th episode, Charlie interviews Nate about how transforming the way you listen to pop can truly make life better. And we get raw about the constraints of pop and where we plan to go in our next 100 episodes.Songs discussed:Beethoven's 7 & 9Santana - "Smooth" Martha and the Vandellas - "Heat Wave" Zedd - "Stay" Pink Floyd - "The Great Gig in the Sky" Adelle - "Hello"  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Posner has written hits for himself like "I Took a Pill in Ibiza," and for stars from Justin Bieber ("Boyfriend") to Maroon 5 ("Sugar"), so he has insights for days on what makes a pop song work.We dig into Mike's excellent new track "Song About You," which leads to an exploration of songs that reuse the same melody for verse and chorus—from Prince to The Boss to Post Malone. Last, we consider "beard phase": a moment of artistic reinvention that every artist has in their career, whether you're Mike Posner, Ludwig van Beethoven, or Taylor Swift.Featuring:Mike Posner - Song About YouJean Ritchie - Barbary AllenOriginal Sacred Harp Singers - New Britain (Amazing Grace)Prince - I Wanna Be Your LoverPrince - Let's Go CrazyBruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.Post Malone - RockstarBeethoven - String Quartet No 1 Op. 18/1Beethoven - String Quartet No 10 Op. 74/IIIBeethoven - String Quartet "Grosse Fuge"Taylor Swift - Teardrops on My GuitarTaylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back TogetherTaylor Swift - ...Ready For It?Beatles - Strawberry Fields ForeverDennis Wilson - River SongPeaches ft. Iggy Pop - Kick It  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dirty Projectors are known for their kaleidoscopic soundscapes. They make strange bedfellows of music techniques like 14th vocal harmonies and African guitar rhythms. But in the backdrop of their obscure orchestrations you will hear the indelible marks of pop music. Longstreth has recently collaborated on songs with Solange, Rihanna, Kanye and Paul McCartney. On his new track "I Feel Energy" we can hear that pop influence shine through. Together we break down his unpredictable 808s to see what gives you energy. We also build connections between Dirty Projectors and other artists in the top 100 including Marshmello, Ella Mai and Khalid.Songs Featured:Dirty Projectors - I Feel EnergyDirty Projectors - Up In HudsonMarshmello ft. Bastille - HappierElla Mai - TripKhalid - Better Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Classic rock climaxed a half century ago, yet it still survives in two places: FM radio & Greta Van Fleet. The later are an upstart of four boys from Michigan who have found stardom by dusting off the mantle of guitar driven rock. Their latest album, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army, bares an uncanny sonic resemblance to Led Zeppelin. Jeremy D. Larson, senior editor of Pitchfork, gave the album a 1.6 out of 10 calling it "stiff, hackneyed, overly precious retro-fetishism." His vicious and hilarious takedown went viral and caused a rift amongst music fans on the internet. We ask Jeremy to join us to reveal what it means to earn such a bad review. After, we do something we've never done before: a track-by-track album breakdown. In a game of musical Pictionary, Charlie challenges Nate to find every Led Zeppelin reference on the album to answer the question: is it a copy or an homage? We have a feeling this will be a divisive episode...Songs Discussed:Greta Van Fleet - Age of ManLed Zeppelin - Rain SongLed Zeppelin - In The LightLed Zeppelin - What Is And What Should Never BeLed Zeppelin - Your Time Is Gonna ComeLed Zeppelin - Immigrant SongLed Zeppelin - KashmirGreta Van Fleet - The Cold WindLed Zeppelin - Custard PieGreta Van Fleet - When the Curtain FallsLed Zeppelin - Wanton SongGreta Van Fleet - Watching OverLed Zeppelin - Since I've Been Loving YouGreta Van Fleet - Lover, LeaverLed Zeppelin - Whole Lotta LoveSpirit - TaurusMuddy Waters - You Need LoveSmall Faces - You Need LoveWillie Dixon - I Can't Quit You BabeGreta Van Fleet - You're the OneLed Zeppelin - What Is And What Should Never BeGreta Van Fleet - The New DayLed Zeppelin - Over The Hills And Far AwayGreta Van Fleet - Mountain of the SunLed Zeppelin - Celebration DayGreta Van Fleet - Brave New WorldLed Zeppelin - Achilles Last StandGreta Van Fleet - AnthemLed Zeppelin - TangerineLover Leaver (Taker, Believer)Read the Pitchfork review of Greta Van Fleet's Anthem Of A Peaceful Army Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 - 1999DJ Bobo - Somebody Dance with MeReal McCoy - Another NightParadisio - BailandoBritney Spears - ...Baby One More TimeBritney Spears - Oops! I Did it AgainAnne-Marie - 2002Lauren Alaina - Ladies in the 90sPrince - 1999Check 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices