Switched on Pop

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 WilliamsCheck out Genevieve Koski's writing on Vox and her great podcast on La La Land here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"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' ItFor an excellent playlist of listener-submitted sexy songs, direct your dirty self here:http://spoti.fi/2ieEeul Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 GirlDaft Punk - Harder, Better, FasterAlessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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•Mike Posner - I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb remix)•The Weeknd - I Can't Feel My Face•The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan - All We Know•Antonio Vivaldi - "La Primavera" Concerto•Vivaldi - Giustino•Vivaldi - Dorilla in Tempe•Vivaldi - Orlando Furioso Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Nokia ringtone used to be heard more than a billion times per day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. We tend to consider cellphone rings as somewhat antithetical to music. There is a whole subset of YouTube videos dedicated to the perverse thrill of watching a delicately beautiful musical moment ruined by the harsh cry of a default ringtone. In this episode, we zoom in on one of these annoying melodies to see if there's not some hidden musical craft present in the ubiquitous bleeps and bloops that envelop us. Later, Charlie shares a piece made solely of this sonic detritus, and a data scientist locates surprising musical patterns in a most unexpected source.Featuring:The Nokia TuneThe Beatles - She's So HeavyOne Direction - Live While We're YoungFrancisco Tarrega - Gran ValsLinks:Charlie Harding - Bowl ArrowJonathan Berger's Article in Nautlius: How Music Hijacks our Perception of TimeFamous Cell Phone Rings Played on the Piano by Tony AnnGreg Hochmuth's work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices