Switched on Pop

For the 500th(!) episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate try to answer the question that has stumped critics and philosophers since the dawn of sound: does bad music exist? Their quest to answer something so nebulous leads them through the annals of taste, and in the process, they recruit several other critics and journalists to give their two cents on the topic. Can things actually be bad, and if so, how do we define them?

CREDITS

Reanna Cruz: Producer

Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator

Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer

Dion Lee: Art Director

Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer

Nick Ripps: Video Editor

Nate Sloan: Host

Lissa Soep: Editor

Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

Songs discussed:

Kristin Chenoweth, “Taylor the Latte Boy”

Komar and Melamid & Dave Soldier, “The Most Unwanted Song"

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, "Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo"

Johann Strauss II, The Blue Danube"

Johann Sebastian Bach, "The Well-Tempered Clavier No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in C minor"

Pete Rock & CL Smooth, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"

Lil Yachty, "1 Night"

Sam Laxton, Lonskii, “Adagio For Strings”

Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, “Get Lucky”

Florence Foster Jenkins, "Queen of the Night’s Aria"

BB King, Eric Clapton, “Riding With the King”

Paul McCartney, "Temporary Secretary"

The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun"

Paul McCartney, "Wonderful Christmastime"

Lou Reed, "Who Am I? (Tripitena’s Song)"

Insane Clown Posse, "Miracles"

Primus, "DMV"

Iggy Azalea ft. Charli xcx, "Fancy"

The Killers, "Human"

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One year after the release of her twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift is back with an encore. Specifically, The Encore, four tracks that have polarized critics and Swifties alike, from the country-esque number one hit “Patient Zero” to her ode to married Ohioan bliss, “Cleveland!” For some, the new songs lean into Swift’s worst writing impulses. But for others, including our hosts (and resident Swiftologists) Charlie and Nate, the tracks call back to earlier eras of Swift’s songwriting, and perhaps evoke more nuanced discussion about what it means to release music as the biggest artist in the world. The question is: are we ready for it?

CREDITS

Reanna Cruz: Producer

Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator

Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer

Dion Lee: Art Director

Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer

Nick Ripps: Video Editor

Nate Sloan: Host

Lissa Soep: Editor

Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

Songs discussed:

Taylor Swift, “Patient Zero”

Taylor Swift, “Cleveland!”

Taylor Swift, “Pink Clouding”

Taylor Swift, “Babylon”

Taylor Swift, “Red”

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Five years after her first appearance on Switched on Pop, Carly Rae Jepsen returns to the podcast to talk all things Day and Night, her latest album. Born out of Swedish disco, big emotion, and substantive life change – including becoming a wife and a mother – the double album is a tour through the organic and the synthetic, both in equal measure. For Charlie and Nate, this is a full circle moment, and along with discussing the record, the two talk to Jepsen about the origins of the show, her songwriting process, and what it means to be such an important champion of pop music.

CREDITS

Reanna Cruz: Producer

Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator

Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer

Dion Lee: Art Director

Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer

Nick Ripps: Video Editor

Nate Sloan: Host

Lissa Soep: Editor

Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

Songs discussed:

Carly Rae Jepsen, “After All”

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Versailles”

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Don’t Leave Me on the Dance Floor”

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Near or Far”

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Motivation”

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Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo’s new album ESTRUS can be summarized in the opening lyrics of the album’s closing track, “source of life”: “Feral, fragile, numb, ecstatic / sad, euphoric, catatonic / Horny, repulsed, proud and shameful / Good, demonic, contradictions.”

A songwriter with a string of multi-platinum hits in the 2010s, Tove Lo has crafted a career founded on musical contradiction, with songs that straddle the line between messy and controlled. Her lyrics tend to skew both horny and sensitive, and her latest record features both of those vibes in equal measure. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate sit down with her to talk all things ESTRUS.

CREDITS

Reanna Cruz: Producer

Iris Gottlieb: Illustrator

Charlie Harding: Host, Executive Producer

Dion Lee: Art Director

Brandon McFarland: Audio Engineer

Nick Ripps: Video Editor

Nate Sloan: Host

Lissa Soep: Editor

Zach Tenorio & Jocie Adams: Theme Composers

Switched On Pop is a co-production of Vox Media Podcast Network, Vulture, and Rock Ridge Productions.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠

Songs discussed:

Tove Lo, “a lot of feelings, no solutions”

Tove Lo, “I’m your girl right?”

Stromae, “Alors on danse”

Tove Lo, “des fleurs x Stromae”

Tove Lo, “DNH”

Tove Lo, “F.A.M.T”

Tove Lo, “are we on a break”

Tove Lo, “idiot”

Tove Lo, “source of life”

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Lizzy McAlpine opens up about her 4th album Angel alongside collaborators Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall. Recorded live at Power Station at Berklee NYC.

Songs Discussed

Lizzy McAlpine "Anybody's Fool"

Lizzy McAlpine "A Car Wash and a New Pair of Pants"

Nick Drake "One of These Things First"

Lizzy McAlpine "Two Elevens"

Adam Guettel "Through the Mountain"

Lizzy McAlpine "Our Strange Ways"

Joni Mitchell "Hejira"

Lizzy McAlpine "Soldier of the Road"

Lizzy McAlpine "Peach"
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