Billie Eilish is a Different Kind of Pop Star (ft. FINNEAS)
On this episode, we examine how Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas crafted a cultural phenomenon, why their message speaks to this generation, and we speak with Finneas about the creation of their hit song “Bad Guy.”
How to "Make Me Feel" with Lizzo
Lizzo and Janelle Monáe both collaborated with Prince, making Lizzo uniquely qualified to unwind his influence on Monáe’s song “Make Me Feel.” We also discuss Lizzo’s song “Truth Hurts” and her podcast “Good As Hell” where she talks to the queens of hip hop.
808s & Havana Heartbreak
In Camila Cabello’s “Havana” we hear both her Cuban roots and the modern sounds of Atlanta. Though the singer and featured guest Young Thug reference these two geographic identities, the song says so much more through its core musical elements.
Kendrick Lamar's HUMBLE deconstructed w. guest Amber Mark
With Charlie off the grid, Nate sits down with singer/producer Amber Mark to explore the different levels of Kendrick’s hit HUMBLE.
What's to Love About Ed Sheeran? (guest Ross Golan)
Songwriter Ross Golan comes over to start up a conversation, encouraging us to follow his lead and give Ed Sheeran’s chart-annihilating record “Shape of You” a chance.
The Puzzle of Ariana Grande's "Into You" (with K. Flay)
With 2016’s “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.
Hotline Hello: Drake and Adele
Drake and Adele are two megastars who may not seem to share much in common on the surface, but their recent hits exhibit some surprising parallels. Both revisit past relationships over the phone and both conceal inner anguish beneath subtle musical shifts.
Taylor Swift’s Beethovian Blank Space
Taylor Swift’s Blank Space is about emptiness of the heart. This motif of Blank Space is contained through the entire piece: from the drums, to the melody, to the lyrics. We pull away the sonic structures to show how Taylor recreates that empty feeling and explores the predictable devolution of fiery romance
Mini Series
The French duo’s anti-utopian disco-rock record makes us question, are they robot, or are they human?
On their second album Discovery, Daft Punk fully lean into the artificial – singing through robotic vocoders that correspond with their now-iconic robot helmets.
On their first album, Homework, Daft Punk stretched the boundaries of electronic music and began wiring the circuits that would become their robot alter-egos, asking a fundamental question: where does the human end and the machine begin?
How Bollywood strings, surf guitar, and Britney’s ethereal vocals add up to pop perfection
“I realized that Classic Soul can exist with everything and somehow not lose its potency.”
“They're all these little secrets and surprises that pop up...it's like bespoke, maximalist, power pop.”
When we listen closely to the Fifth, we hear that's it more than a museum piece, it’s a living testament to self-expression and determination.
Before Beethoven’s time, classical music culture looked and sounded quite different. In episode III 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.
In movements II , III and IV, Beethoven keeps trying to overcome his dark fate with bright major melodies, and keeps getting defeated.
The first four notes of the piece are more than a modern meme, they’re the main character in a drama life and death.
Cultural critic Ivie Ani breaks down how Missy Elliott broke into the pantheon of anthems, and how she changed the scope of who could belong.
How “All Star” became an anthem played in sports arenas, soundtracked by Hollywood, and embedded into seemingly every internet meme.
n 1995, ESPN launched Jock Jams Volume 1, a compilation record that would define the sound of sports for the next quarter century.
Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles’ album “Something To Say” makes you want to get up and dance as much as it makes you want to take action.