Switched on Pop

The Weeknd’s deliriously funky chart topper “Can’t Feel My Face” has sparked sweat-soaked dance sessions across the country, but dark notes lurk at the outskirts of this ebullient jam. Chromatic intrusions and Classical laments crowd the scene and invite more clandestine interpretations. What’s this song really about? The secret lies in the scale. FEATURING The Weeknd – Wicked Games The Weeknd – Earned It The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face L’Arpeggiata – Monteverdi ‘s Amor (Lamento Della Ninfa, Rappresentativo) Skrillex & Diplo – Where Are Ü Now (with Justin Bieber) * You can find more deceptively addictive songs in our Spotify playlist. **Alex Ross’s great chapter on the long lineage of the Lament is indispensable. Find it in his book Listen to This and a précis of it at his blog The Rest is Noise.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The sax is back. This surprisingly funky reed keeps popping up in pop hits from Derulo to Grande. But where did the sax come from? And where did it go? Tighten your embouchure, because we journey to the center of sax in this week’s episode. Also, songs featured in this episode and other great sax tracks are in our Spotify Playlist. *In this episode we incorrectly identified Mr. Sax’s home country as Germany (face palm). He was a native of Belgium. Our apologies to the Sax family. FEATURING Katie Perry – Last Friday Night John Coltrane – Giant Steps M83 – Midnight City Bill Clinton on Arsenio Hall Ariana Grande – Problem Flo Rida – GDFR WAR – Low Rider Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street George Michael – Careless Whisper George Gershwin – Rhapsody In Blue conducted by Leonard Bernstein Jules Demersseman – Fantasie Sur On Theme Original Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five – Muskrat Rumble Fletcher Henderson – Stampede Duke Ellington – Prélude To A Kiss King Curtis – Sister Sadie Sonny Rollings – St. Thomas Jason Derulo – Talk Dirty The Klezmer Lounge Band – Hava Nag ila Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna – Bhajare Sriramam – Vakulabharanam Sami Shawa – Jordan – Mawam Bayati Selim Sesler & Orchester – Saniye’m Spanish Tapas Bar, Vol. 2 – Malaguena Balkan Beat Box – Hermetico Fifth Harmony – Worth It Too Many Zooz – To The Top The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you be a country star and critical of the country at the same time? Grammy Award Winner, Kacey Musgraves, has two hit albums that challenge the small-town clichés of modern country music. Is she bucking the trend of big trucks and dirt roads, or embracing an old tradition of transgressing social norms? To answer […]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first-ever LIVE edition of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate enter an epic debate over what track should be crowned 2015’s definitive Song of Summer. Charlie’s candidate is the retro anthem “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon, while Nate argues for Jason Derulo’s hot and heavy “Want to Want Me.” Meanwhile, the studio audience on Block Island has their own ideas about what makes a true Song of Summer, raising the stakes even higher. Who will emerge victorious? Only one song can beat the heat and rule the dog days of August. You don’t want to miss this epic Summer Jam Showdown.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen is an unlikely contender for the top 10. It straddles genres between hip-hop and pop in subtle yet mesmerizing ways. Is it a drug song? Is it a love song? Or is it both at the same time? Join us to find out why you can’t get this ear worm out of your head. FEATURING Fetty Wap – Trap Queen Dr. Dre – Still Dre Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One Direction is one of the biggest bands in pop, but unless you’re a preteen or the parent of one, like us you’ve probably never heard a second of their music. Until now. Let’s see if we’ve been missing out, on the latest from Switched on Pop. FEATURING One Direction – Story Of My Life One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful One Direction – Live While We’re Young One Direction – You And I One Direction – Night Changes The Wanted – Glad You Came Alessandro Moreschi (The Last Castrato) – Ave Maria  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a good pop song end? With a bang, right? As it turns out, explosive endings are kinda over. Songwriters are instead opting to end with a final dropout. Even the biggest pop anthems close with a quiet final moment. In this musical short, Nate, our resident musicologist, offers some theories as to why. FEATURING Taylor Swift – Blank Space One Republic – Counting Stars One Direction – Kiss You Rihanna – Don’t Stop the Music Mozart – Symphony No.41 in C K.551 “Jupiter” 4. Motto Allegro Taylor Swift – Trouble Lady Gaga – Alejandro  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FourFiveSeconds is one of the more surprising collaborations in recent pop history. Rhianna, Kanye, Sir Paul McCartney. The motley lineup doesn’t dissapoint, serving up one of the most unexpected songs of the year—though not for the reason you’d think. Tune in and wile out while we wax on this whale of a power ballad. FEATURING Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds Kanye West – Gone Rihanna – We Found Love Rihanna – Don’t Stop the Music The Beatles – Revolution 9 & I’m So Tired (in reverse)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carly Rae Jepsen might be the patron saint of Switched on Pop, the show first hatched by Charlie and Nate on a trip down CA-1 while the stereo blasted “Call Me Maybe.” So when we heard she had a new single out we knew we had to stop everything, put off our taxes for one more day, and dig into “I Really Like You” to see if Saint Jepsen could ward off the beguiling sophomore slump. You’ll really really really really really really like this one. Special thanks to the high school students from Nate’s “Why Music Matters” course at Stanford University Summer Institutes, who helped develop the analysis of “Call Me Maybe.” FEATURING Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe The Cardigans – Lovefool Don Henley – The Boys of Summer  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Written in the Hozier family basement, Take Me To Church has risen up to be one of the biggest pop hits of the year. But this is not a typical pop song. The unsettling music and provocative lyrics about faith and relationships irk many listeners. But this marriage of form and content also strikes a chord with our own foibles of faith. FEATURING Hozier – Take Me to Church Wintley Phipps – Amen  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices