Musical Architecture in Charlie Puth + HAIM
Two new songs have captured the attention of your hosts—Charlie Puth’s “Attention” and HAIM’s “Want You Back.” On the surface, these two songs appear to have little in common. A closer look, though, reveals the subtle musical architecture undergirding each track.
The End Of Pop Music As We Know It: Fall Out Boy & Charli XCX
Is it true that all pop music sounds the same today? For the past year the “pop-drop” has dominated the airwaves.
Harry Styles, Eschatology and Teen Girl Fandom
One Direction wunderkind Harry Styles has just released his first ever single, “Sign of the Times,” and it’s a doozy. Strap in for a discussion of the apocalypse, late Beatles, teen wisdom, and the amen cadence—among other demons exorcised in this most peculiar pop tune.
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.
Zedd + Alessia Cara - Stay (w special guest Grey)
Charlie and Nate sit down with up-and-coming producer duo Grey—fresh off their hit “Starving” with Zedd and Hailee Steinfeld—to uncover the secrets behind Alessia Cara and Zedd’s dramatic dance track “Stay” and Grey’s own deep cut “I Miss You” (ft Bahari).
Chained to the Green Light: Katy Perry + Lorde
Two artists who haven’t released new music since 2013 recently remerged into the limelight: Katy Perry, with her dystopian disco banger “Chained to the Rhythm” and Lorde, with the melodramatic-yet-uplifting anthem “Green Light.”
Oscar Week!: La La Land ft. Genevieve Koski
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.”
Zayn, Taylor Swift & The Grammys
“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.
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.
Seduced by the Sound: The Weeknd + Daft Punk
“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.
Dreaming Of A White Christmas
White Christmas holds the Guinness World Record for most singles sold and has been covered over 500 times. We use our scientific formula for holiday hit success to break down what makes this song so timeless.
Playing it Cool: How Tove Lo Aims High
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.
Made In America: Toby Keith & Jay-Z
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.
How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps
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™.
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal
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.
The Most Popular Song In The World
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 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.
Lady Gaga Is A Perfect Illusion
On first listen, Lady Gaga’s songs may sound like just another catchy pop tune and this is intentional. Gaga lures us close with the sound of pop fame and then hooks us and reels us into into her dungeon of monstrous sounds.
How Beyoncé to The Beatles Modulate Your Emotions
From Beyoncé to Johnny Cash, savvy pop songwriters know a well-placed harmonic modulation can leave listeners reeling. But what is this mysterious musical trick, and how does it work?
Pop Drops and Chipmunk Soul
As dance music takes over the charts and new software grants vocal manipulation at the click of a button, this uncanny production technique has become nearly ubiquitous. But is this ultramodern sound really that new?
The Gideon and Hubcap Show
With Charlie away, host Nate, aka “Hubcap,” takes us on a home-show tour of the Scottish Highlands with his traveling minstrel act, The Gideon and Hubcap Show. It’s an entirely different kind of summer music spectacle.