Pop Pantheon

Former Editor in Chief of Jezebel and famed author of The Rihanna RihPort, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, joins DJ Louie for part one of a two-part  discussion about one of the biggest and most dynamic pop icons of the 21st Century, Rihanna. Louie and Julianne get into detail about what exactly the ethereal "Rihanna Thing" is and what allows her to be so versatile with genre before discussing the state of pop and R&B prior to her emergence in 2005 and breaking down the dancehall and reggaeton explosion of the mid-aughts. They then trace Rihanna's discovery by Evan Rogers, her famed audition for Jay-Z, her breakthrough smash with "Pon De Replay", and how her artistry and persona came into full-form on her second and third albums, 2006's A Girl Like Me and 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad. Louie and Julianne dive into Rihanna's penchant for songs about love as tragedy, why her voice was distinctly suited to deliver on the promise of "Umbrella" and what makes it so instantly addictive and recognizable, how she began to establish her singular personal style, the abuse she faced at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown, and the ways she dealt with that on her fourth studio album, 2009's hip hop, rock, and dubstep-inflected Rated R. Join us in two weeks for part two of this discussion, where Louie and Julianne cover the second half of Rihanna's career, rank all of her albums, and debate whether she belongs in Tier 1 of the Pop Pantheon!Ready Julianne's column, The Rihanna RihPort, in JezebelJoin the Pop Pantheon Discord Tonight (12/2) at 8PM ET / 5PM PT! Check Out Louie's Rihanna Essentials PlaylistFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Julianne Escobedo Shepherd on Twitter

Rolling Stone Senior Writer Brittany Spanos joins DJ Louie for a conversation about British boyband, One Direction. First, Louie and Brittany break down how generational waves of boybands have riffed on a similar formula in their performance styles, musical tropes, and teen fandemonium over the last 50 years. They discuss how One Direction both stands in that lineage and break from it, beginning with their formation on the reality show X Factor, use of newly emergent social media platforms to galvanize their massive stan army, The Directioners, and their aesthetic reliance on rock signifiers rather than American r&b. Louie and Brittany then tackle all of One Direction's albums, the culture of Directioner-ism, trace the heavily referential nods they makes towards moments in rock 'n roll history, common subjects of their songs, the bombshell departure of Zayn Malik, and their impact on both boyband and pop history. Finally, Louie and Brittanny rank One Direction in the official Pop Pantheon. Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Tonight (11/18) at 8PM ET / 5PM PT! Check Out Louie's One Direction Essentials PlaylistFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Brittany Spanos on Twitter

DJ Louie answers a slew of listener questions about Charli XCX: When will she have her next hit? What does her new single "New Shapes" tell us about the sound of her new record? Who are Louie's dream future collaborators for Charli? And more! He then gives some quick fire answers on Hailee Steinfeild, Katy Perry, Tinashe, Girl and Boy Groups as Pop Stars and one question that's a little more.... personal. Send your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com!Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexivFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPod

Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan of the podcast Switched on Pop join DJ Louie to talk one of pop’s great agitators, Charli XCX. Charlie, Nate and Louie parse out the dueling instincts in Charli’s career between her chart-topping ambitions and her impulse to disrupt the boundaries of pop. They situate her debut album True Romance amongst a slew of early ‘10s records treading the line between indie rock and pure pop while tracking what makes her first hit as a writer and feature, Icona Pop’s EDM masterpiece “I Love It”, such a quintessential example of Charli’s strengths as a songwriter, performer and student of popular music. They then ponder why Charli’s second album Sucker underperformed commercially while she simultaneously topped the charts with her A Fault in Our Stars OST single “Boom Clap” and her feature on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, discuss what makes Charli such a great fit in the world of PC Music, how her established pop persona affected the aesthetics of hyperpop, what makes her ongoing collaboration with A.G. Cook and others from his collective singular, and where her new single “Good Ones” signals she may go next. Finally, Charlie, Nate and Louie rank Charli XCX in the official pop pantheon.Send your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com!Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Tonight (11/4) at 8PM ET / 5PM PT! Check Out Louie's Charli XCX Essentials PlaylistFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Switched On Pop on TwitterCheck out Switched on Pop

Editor, writer and author of the newsletter Last Donut of the Night, Larry Fitzmaurice, joins DJ Louie as the two attempt to understand “pop’s most suffocating presence”, Post Malone. First, Larry and Louie break down Post’s emergence with his debut hit, the post-Drake lament “White Iverson'', his incoherent and often baffling dismissal of criticisms that he appropriates Black musical signifiers and icky attempts to distance himself from the hip hop sounds on which he made his name. They then discuss Post’s ascent to the top of the streaming ecosystem with his blockbuster second record, Beerbongs and Bentleys, how his genreless dirge of music has come to define this era of pop and effectively ended the idea of The Album, his secret strengths as an emo rock, grunge, and nu-metal practitioner, how exactly this unlikely superstar became one of the most listened to artists in the modern pop ecosystem, and whether or not Post Malone actually has fans. Louie and Larry then rank Post in the official Pop Pantheon.Read Larry's Piece "How Post Malone Became Pop's Most Suffocating Presence" in ViceSend your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com!Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Tonight (10/21) at 8PM ET / 5PM PT! Check Out a Playlist of All the Music From This Week's EpisodeNYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/23!LA: RSVP to Come See DJ Louie play the Who? Weekly X Pop Pantheon Party on 10/28!Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Larry Fitzmaurice on Twitter

DJ Louie answers listener questions about whether Gen Z is more familiar with Tamar or Toni Braxton, the Aaliyah rollout on streaming, how Pop Stars having (or not having) obvious musical descendants affects their legacy, what we should call Pop Pantheon listeners, iconic artists whose first single is still their best OR whose first single is their worst, and more.Send your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com!NYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/23!LA: RSVP to Come See DJ Louie play the Who? Weekly X Pop Pantheon Party on 10/28!Check out Pop Pantheon Graphic Designer Juan Pilar's Work and Hire Him!Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexivFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPod

Senior Writer for Jezebel Rich Juzwiak returns to Pop Pantheon to talk The Queen of Heartbreak, Toni Braxton. DJ Louie and Rich first break down the craft of melisma, the centrality of “The Voice” in early ‘90s pop, and how Babyface’s sound helped R&B cross over in that period. They then take a journey though Toni’s emergence, the anthems of codependency on her classic debut, her singular contralto voice, her primary motifs as both the heartbroken torch singer and the sultry mid-tempo R&B chanteuse, the agony of “Unbreak My Heart” and the ecstasy of “You’re Makin Me High”, the financial troubles which derailed her career in the late ‘90s, her comeback with “He Wasn’t Man Enough”, and the ups and downs of her discography since. Finally, Louie and Rich rank Toni Braxton in the official Pop Pantheon.Check out Louie's Playlist of Toni Braxton Essentials on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2cthF6qdsqr2BeldVZyQLP?si=8fe757c5209f4927Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Chat w/ DJ Louie on 10/7 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT!: https://discord.gg/HxjdKSTUhfSend your questions for next week's Minisode to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com!NYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/23!LA: RSVP to See DJ Louie play the Who? Weekly X Pop Pantheon Party on 10/28!Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexivFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPodFollow Rich Juzwiak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichJuz

DJ Louie answers listener questions about the difference between "pop" as popular music and Pop as a specific genre, the relevance of the Grammys, whether Britney is a Tier 1 Icon or a Tier 2 Megastar, what he thinks of Dua Lipa, whether artists can slide between tiers throughout their careers, lists his favorite songs of the year so far and more. Send your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com! NYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/23!LA: RSVP to Come See DJ Louie play the Who? Weekly X Pop Pantheon Party on 10/28! Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexivFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPod

Pitchfork Contributing Editor and Asst. Professor at Syracuse University Rawiya Kameir and DJ Louie get into it about one of contemporary pop’s most divisive figures, Justin Bieber. Louie and Rawiya discuss pop’s evolution beyond the need for male pop stars in the late ‘00s and how Bieber entered to fill the void, initially as one of the first music superstars to emerge on YouTube, and later as a certified hitmaker. They then dive into what makes the Beliebers perhaps the definitive Standom of the internet era, the numerous ways Bieber attempted to pivot to credible adult star in the first part of ‘10s, the implicit racial dynamics in his passion for R&B music as well as attempts by the powers that be to moderate that, how he became the most loathed celebrity on earth before mounting a massive comeback with his 3rd album Purpose, his ongoing knotty relationship to fame and latest incarnation as a chilled-out, proudly devout Wife Guy. Finally, Louie and Rawiya have a thorny debate about where Bieber belongs in the official Pop Pantheon. Check out Louie's Playlist of Bieber Essentials on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Gx2Fa46woFqHkJ0LTqiPY?si=5036fcedb6b74a57 Join the Pop Pantheon Bieber Discord Chat w/ DJ Louie on 9/23 at 9PM ET / 6PM PT!: https://discord.gg/xqVe5bsE Read Rawiya's Review of Justice on Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/justin-bieber-justice/ NYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/23! Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/ Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexiv Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/ Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPod Follow Rawiya Kameir on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rawiya

Senior Director of Music at Billboard Jason Lipshutz joins DJ Louie to discuss everyone’s favorite off-the-grid alt-pop icon, Lorde. First, Louie and Jason break down the EDM pop and festival boom of the late aughts and early 2010s. They then break down how Lorde’s “Royals” presented an appealing response to that escapist era of pop culture and how the success of her debut album, Pure Heroine, set the stage for an anti-pop movement that’s only gained steam since with acts like Halsey, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo, the critical triumph and commercial underperformance of her sophomore album, Melodrama, and how it purposefully de-centered her pop stardom, and they give early opinions on her latest album, last month’s Solar Power. Finally, Louie and Jason rank Lorde in the official Pop Pantheon. Check out Louie's Playlist of Lorde Essentials on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vfnoV3z77iXG1SlrKduZn?si=b2cb2233b6524a4e  Join the Pop Pantheon Lorde Discord Chat w/ DJ Louie on 9/9 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT!: https://discord.gg/e43UF2MZ Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlouiexiv/ Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlouiexiv Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppantheonpod/ Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopPantheonPod Follow Jason Lipshutz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonlipshutz