A culture that rewards easily consumable individual identities produces plenty of pop stars and almost no bands. A significant exception: MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. MUNA treats the band as a structure that grounds identity beyond the ego and makes any success feel shared among the three. Their new album, Dancing on the Wall, wraps that conviction in blaring, unapologetic '80s production: slap bass, brightness pushed to the front, and everything connected in one time and place.
Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

• MUNA, "It Gets So Hot"
• MUNA, "Dancing on the Wall"
• Lionel Richie, "Dancing on the Ceiling"
• MUNA, "Eastside Girls"
• Yello, "Oh Yeah"
• Dead or Alive, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
• Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls"
• Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"
• Charli XCX, "365"
• MUNA, "Wannabeher"
• Bikini Kill, "Rebel Girl"
• Peaches, "Boys Wanna Be Her"
• Le Tigre, "Deceptacon"
• MUNA, "Big Stick"
• MUNA, "Anything But Me"
• Flobots, "Handlebars"
• MUNA, "I Know a Place"

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Canada’s favorite export Drake is back! This month, the Toronto singer-rapper extraordinaire released three albums simultaneously: the long-anticipated return to form Iceman, the sultry, R&B Habibti and the pop-focused, clubby Maid of Honour. All three albums have much different vibes, and are Drake’s first official solo efforts since his seismic beef with Kendrick Lamar back in 2024.

There’s a lot of music to talk about. As a result, Reanna argues that we are living in an era of “Drake Slop” – low-effort, mass-produced dumps of music, often with confused intentions. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Reanna, Charlie, and Nate explore all that these three albums have to offer, and try to figure out exactly what is going on in the twisted mind of Aubrey Graham. 

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:

• Drake – Shabang
• Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
• Drake – Circadian Rhythm
• Drake, Central Cee – Which One
• Drake – NOKIA
• Drake – Make Them Cry
• Drake – Janice STFU
• Drake – Make Them Pay
• Drake, Future, Molly Santana – Ran To Atlanta
• Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar – Like That
• Drake – 2 Hard 4 The Radio
• YG, Slim 400 – Word Is Bond
• Mac Dre – 2 Hard 4 the Fuckin' Radio
• Drake – Rusty Intro
• Rihanna, Kanye West, Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
• Drake – High Fives
• Drake – Tuscan Leather
• Drake – Classic
• Drake – Teenage Fever
• Drake, Sexyy Red – Cheetah Print
• Drake, Sexyy Red, SZA – Rich Baby Daddy
• Afrika Bambaataa, The Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock
• Drake – BBW
• Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
• Drake – Princess
• A$AP Rocky – PUNK ROCKY
• Drake – Find Your Love

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Kacey Musgraves' album Middle of Nowhere finds the country outlaw taking a break from exploring her inner life to look outward, back to her roots: the regional stylings of Texas. She says the album was inspired by a sign in her hometown that read “Golden, TX: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” The album’s sounds probe this same borderland mentality, encapsulating desert noir, Norteño, tejano, and soft rock. Plus, Willie Nelson.

The result is a collection of songs that are funny, moving, and reaching back to the sound Musgraves established in her debut record 13 years ago. But the world of country has changed since then – artists like Ella Langley have taken over the charts, cribbing Musgraves' sound while courting a more conservative audience. Can the genre encompass all these multitudes? Nate and Charlie explore this debate through Middle of Nowhere.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠

Songs discussed:

• Kacey Musgraves – I Miss You
• Kacey Musgraves – Merry Go 'Round
• Kacey Musgraves – High Horse
• Kacey Musgraves – justified
• Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
• Kacey Musgraves – Dry Spell
• Kacey Musgraves, Billy Strings – Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy
• Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson – Uncertain, TX
• Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere
• Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert – Horses and Divorces
• Miranda Lambert – Mama's Broken Heart
• Ella Langley – Choosin' Texas
• Dolly Parton, David Hidalgo – Before The Next Teardrop Falls
• Ella Langley – Be Her
• Kacey Musgraves – Rhinestoned
• Neil Young – Harvest Moon

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The pedal steel and the saz both live in the spaces between equal-tempered notes, and that gap is where Rostam built American Stories.

Rostam joined Vampire Weekend at Columbia in 2006, produced the band's first three albums, and after leaving in 2016 made records with Clairo and Haim you can identify as his within a few bars.

His solo album, American Stories, reflects his experience as an American whose family is from Iran. He came into the studio this past March, just after the United States launched military operations there. It's a record that asks us to listen between two cultures.

• SONGS DISCUSSED
• Rostam "Like a Spark"
• Wilco "What Light"
• HAIM "Summer Girl"
• Rostam "Back of a Truck"
• Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone"
• Bob Dylan "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
• The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
• Lou Reed "Perfect Day"
• Rostam "Forgive Is to Know"
• Rostam "Hardy" (ft. Clairo)
• Clairo “Sophia”
• Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam “A 1000 Times”
• David Bowie "I Can't Give Everything Away"
• Rostam "The Road to Death"
• Rostam "Come Apart"
• Rostam "Campus (Original Version)"
• Rostam "The Weight"

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The flowers are blooming and the calendar says May. That can only mean one thing: the Eurovision Song Contest is upon us once again. This year, thirty-five countries face off to determine the best song that Europe and adjacent continents have to offer. However, the competition comes with a big asterisk: while Eurovision prides themselves on being “apolitical,” the inclusion of Israel in the competition has led to a massive boycott, and the nations of Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands all withdrawing their participation.

These are very real concerns impacting the general tenor of the competition this year, and are worth deeply considering. Since  Eurovision is music news, and proves fundamental in discovering new sounds in global pop, as reporters, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna run down the top contenders according to bookmakers as of this recording. If you’re not watching this year, you’ll still know what’s going on. 

But if Eurovision isn’t of interest, it’s all good. At the end of the episode, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna also take some time to run down the current state of Switched On Pop bingo.

Get your own bingo card here.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:

• Céline Dion – Ne partez pas sans moi
• ABBA – Waterloo
• Joost – Europapa
• JJ – Wasted Love
• Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
• Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
• Ariana Grande – One Last Time
• Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper – Shallow
• Akylas – Ferto
• Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
• Linda Lampenius, Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
• Windows95man – No Rules
• Erika Vikman – ICH KOMME
• DARA – Bangaranga
• Alexandra Cǎpitǎnescu – Choke Me
• Satoshi – Viva, Moldova!
• PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson – Stateside

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How do you write a rap verse that's clever without saying so? Samara Cyn, one of the sharpest young writers in hip-hop, joins us to talk about Detour, her new EP about going analog. We get into wordplay versus narrative, the Missy Elliott blueprint behind "oooshxt!", and why she takes a knee in the vocal booth when a line won't come out.

Songs Discussed

• Samara Cyn — "Sinner"
• Samara Cyn "BUSHWICK"
• Samara Cyn — "FREE"
• Samara Cyn — "Highest"
• Samara Cyn — "oooshxt!"
• Samara Cyn — "summer's turning"
• Samara Cyn — "over influence"
• Samara Cyn — "Nomad"
• Samara Cyn — "Bad Brain"

Newsletter: https://switchedonpop.substack.com/

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Olivia Rodrigo's chart-topping new single "drop dead," the lead single from her forthcoming third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, breaks one of pop's oldest rules by abandoning the traditional second verse and replacing it with something entirely new. From Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" to Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" and Chappell Roan's "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl," a growing wave of today's biggest pop stars are ditching the verse-chorus formula listeners have been trained to expect for decades. Rodrigo didn't invent the second-verse switch-up, but on "drop dead" she may have just killed off the predictable second verse for good.

Songs Discussed

• Frank Zappa "Charlene"
• Olivia Rodrigo "drop dead"
• The Cure "Just Like Heaven"
• Jean-Baptiste Lully "The Tragey of Armide" Ryan Brown conducting Opera Lafayette
• Olivia Rodrigo "drivers license"
• Olivia Rodrigo "good 4 u"
• Olivia Rodrigo "vampire"
• Olivia Rodrigo "ballad of a homeschooled girl"
• Arnold Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire — Patricia Kopatchinskaja
• Mariah Carey "Fantasy" (ft. Ol' Dirty Bastard)
• Blackstreet "No Diggity" (ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen)
• Peter Gabriel "Don't Give Up" (ft. Kate Bush)
• Kendrick Lamar, SZA "luther"
• Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars "Die With a Smile"
• Post Malone, Swae Lee "Sunflower"
• HUNTR/X "Golden"
• Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo "Start of Something New"
• Matt Cornett, Olivia Rodrigo "What I've Been Looking For"
• Olivia Rodrigo "All I Want"
• The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You"
• Sheryl Crow "Strong Enough"
• Sabrina Carpenter "Please Please Please"
• Sabrina Carpenter "Manchild"
• Chappell Roan "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl"
• Chappell Roan "HOT TO GO!"
• Chappell Roan "Red Wine Supernova"

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Hrishikesh Hirway, host of Song Exploder, returns with his first album in fifteen years, In the Last Hour of Light, made under a premise that's almost contradictory for a podcaster built around isolated stems: session players who had never heard the songs, vocals tracked live in the room, no click track, and no overdubs. 

The layered style that defines current pop production is itself a relatively recent development. Hirway's record  reaches back to the older live-tracking tradition that shaped the 1950s and 60s Bollywood recordings he grew up listening to in his parents' house. The album is about memory and so it’s appropriate that the music is recorded whole  in all its beautiful imperfections.

Songs Discussed

• Hrishikesh Hirway "Things Change Even Now"
• Hrishikesh Hirway "Stray Dogs"
• Hrishikesh Hirway "The Ocean"
• Hrishikesh Hirway "Home Movies"
• Adrienne Lenker “Anything”
• Chuck Berry "Maybellene"
• The Beatles "Twist and Shout"
• James Brown "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
• Sidney Bechet "The Sheik of Araby"
• Les Paul & Mary Ford "How High the Moon"
• The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"
• The Beatles “A Day In The Life”
• Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody"
• Jacob Collier "With the Love in My Heart"
• Brandi Carlile "You and Me on the Rock"

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BTS is back. The best selling K Pop group of all time has been on hiatus for four years. They haven’t released an album in six. They were once the biggest band in the world. Can they regain their throne? Or has the world moved on. Leaning on traditional Korean sounds and a bevy of international producers, from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker to JPEGMafia, is their album Arirang the future or the past of K Pop? Hye Jin Lee, communications professor at USC and K Pop scholar, joins to break down the album's references and ponder how longtime fans will respond.

Songs Discussed

BTS - Body to Body

Koreana - Hand In Hand

Lee Chun-Hee - Arirang

BTS - Hooligan

Michel Magne - Yang Tse Kiang - Bande originale du film "Un singe en hiver"

ROSALÍA - MALAMENTE - Cap.1: Augurio

Prefuse 73 - The End of Biters - International

BTS - Aliens

Kim Young-gil and Yoon Ho-Se - Ajaeng sanjo - Jungmori

BTS - FYA

Junior Sanchez - Lookin 4 Love - Extended Mix

BTS - No. 29

BTS - SWIM

BTS - Merry Go Round

Tame Impala - New Person, Same Old Mistakes

BTS - NORMAL

BTS - they don’t know ’bout us

The Four Freshmen It's A Blue World

BTS - Paldogangsan

BTS - No More Dream

BTS and Zara Larsson - A Brand New Day

Agust D - Haegeum

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Ten years ago, Maggie Rogers was a senior at NYU, scrambling to finish a song for a music production class she was close to failing. The guest critic that week happened to be Pharrell Williams. She played him "Alaska," a track she'd written in about fifteen minutes. It is a bit of folk songwriting crossed with the electronic music she'd fallen for studying abroad. Pharrell told her he'd never heard anything that sounded like it. Someone was filming. The clip went viral, and it launched Maggie into pop stardom. 

Ten years later, she's released three studio albums, earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and gone back to school to pick up a master's from Harvard Divinity School, where she studied the spirituality of public gatherings. And in the last few months she's been as visible offstage as on — advocating for free speech in DC, performing for 200,000 people at a protest in Minneapolis alongside Joan Baez, and delivering a haunting performance during the final run of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which CBS is ending in May.

This week host Charlie Harding got to sit down with Maggie live at Chelsea Studios, in front of a room of current NYU students. It’s the same school, ten years later, now with Charlie in the professor's chair and Maggie as the visiting artist.

SONGS DISCUSSED

• Maggie Rogers "Alaska"
• Maggie Rogers "Better"
• Maggie Rogers "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"
• Maggie Rogers "Different Kind of World"
• Marvin Gaye "What's Going On"
• Bob Dylan "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
• USA for Africa "We Are the World"

More

Newsletter

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Train is the kind of band that some people love to hate. Songs like "Meet Virginia" and "Hey Soul Sister" gave the band huge hits, and no small amount of snark. And then there's "Drops of Jupiter." Released in 2001, the song is almost impossible not to love, no matter how many lyrics about soy lattes and Tae Bo it includes.

"Drops of Jupiter" was released 25 years ago, so there's no more perfect time to plumb the secrets of this celestial smash, and there's no more perfect guest than Train's lead singer and songwriter, Pat Monahan. Pat breaks down the origin of the song, why he thought it would flop, how Train is like a rom com, and why he'd rather his songs be more famous than him. By the end of our conversation, you might find yourself learning to love Train.

Songs Discussed

Train - Drops of Jupiter, Meet Virginia, Hey Soul Sister

Taylor Swift - Drops of Jupiter

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