Everybody sings the chorus, but superfans quote the verse. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate trace the verse from Shakespeare through opera to TikTok, and songwriter Audrey Hobert shares her philosophy of specific verses and anthemic choruses: you can't have the payoff without the setup.

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:

• Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
• Edward Meeker, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
• Third Eye Blind, "Semi-Charmed Life"
• Zara Larsson, "Lush Life"
• John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads"
• Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"
• William Smith, Choir of New College, Oxford, Edward Higginbottom, "Opening Versicles and Responses"
• Georges Bizet, Michel Plasson, Angela Gheorghiu, Les Éléments, Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse, "Bizet: Carmen, WD 31, Act 1: Habanera. "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Carmen, Chœur)"
• Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"
• Built to Spill, "Joyride"
• The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"
• Gracie Abrams, "That's So True"
• Audrey Hobert, "Sue me"
• Lizzo, "About Damn Time"
• Audrey Hobert, "Drive"
• Audrey Hobert, "Bowling alley"

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Research says you judge a song in under half a second. So why write an intro at all? On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate kick off their Netflix launch and probe what an intro means in today's musical landscape, alongside special guests like Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, The National, Gracie Adams), who helps build the case for intros and reveals the surprising sources that form the opening sounds of Taylor Swift's “cardigan.”

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

• Black Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started"
• Shawn Colvin, “Sonny Came Home”
• Smashing Pumpkins, “Tonight Tonight”
• The Cranberries, "Zombie"
• The Cranberries, "Linger"
• Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe"
• Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On"
• Britney Spears, "Toxic"
• Miles Davis, "Freddie Freeloader"
• Robyn, "Call Your Girlfriend"
• The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love"
• Led Zeppelin, "Over the Hills and Far Away"
• Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable"
• Deee-Lite, "Groove Is in the Heart"
• Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On"
• Missy Elliott, "Work It"
• Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee, "Despacito"
• Kendrick Lamar & SZA, "Luther"
• Mariah Carey, "Fantasy"
• The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again"
• Stevie Wonder, "Superstition"
• The Temptations, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
• Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"
• Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black"
• The Supremes, "Baby Love"
• The Kinks, "Sweet Lady Genevieve"
• The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows"
• Erik Satie, "Je te veux"
• D'Angelo and the Vanguard, "Back to the Future (Part I)"
• The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, "Closer"
• Sabrina Carpenter, "Taste"
• Benson Boone, "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else"
• Stella Lefty, "Boston"
• Taylor Swift, "Cardigan"
• The National, "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
• Taylor Swift, "So Long, London"
• Gracie Abrams, "Hit the Wall"
• Noah Kahan, "End of August"

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We're coming to the big screen with a four part mini series starting July 14th.

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The quadrennial soccer (or fútbol, depending who you talk to) competition is upon us again: it's the FIFA World Cup! And while the World Cup is a sporting event, it's still relevant to the folks at Switched On Pop, because every four years a new crop of songs gets commissioned to drum up excitement for the games.

This year, the official song is by Shakira and Burna Boy, but offerings from IShowSpeed and a madcap collaboration between Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, EJAE, and Megan Thee Stallion also play the field. On this episode, Charlie and Nate explore them all – including the Shakira and Ricky Martin songs of World Cups past.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:

• Shakira, Burna Boy – Dai Dai
• K'NAAN – Wavin' Flag
• Tears For Fears, Lil Baby – The World Is Yours To Take
• Jelly Roll, Carin León – Lighter
• LISA, Anitta, Rema – Goals
• Jung Kook, BTS – Dreamers
• Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, EJAE, Megan Thee Stallion – DNA (More Than A Game)
• IShowSpeed – Champions (WC 26)
• Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
• Shakira, Carlinhos Brown – La La La (Brasil 2014)
• Shakira, Freshlyground – Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)
• Zangalewa – Zangalewa
• Ricky Martin, Pablo Flores – The Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)
• Ricky Martin – Livin' La Vida Loca

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In case you missed it:

How does a country of 10 million people dominate the global pop charts? From ABBA's Eurovision breakthrough to Max Martin's methodical hit-making, Sweden has quietly engineered a kind of musical Stockholm Syndrome: we've all become captives to their sound without realizing it. Listen to the crystalline vocal production and deceptively simple chord progressions in tracks by Lisa, Childish Gambino, and Addison Rae, and you're hearing Sweden's sonic fingerprint so embedded in pop's DNA that it now defines the genre itself. We sit down with pop star Zara Larsson to explore her love letter to home, "Midnight Sun." As she puts it, "I can't really leave Sweden; it's just something that's like a part of who I am," a sentiment that captures how Swedish pop's unique blend of melancholy and euphoria, mirroring the country's extreme seasons, has made us all willing prisoners of Stockholm's musical empire.

Songs Discussed

• Lisa ft. Rosalia: "New Woman"

• Childish Gambino: "Lithonia"

• Addison Rae: "Fame Is a Gun"

• Bleachers: "Tiny Moves"

• Zara Larsson: "Midnight Sun"

• Robyn: "Show Me Love"

• Robyn: "Dancing on My Own"

• Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

• Brad Mehldau: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

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In the last episode of our feral pop miniseries, we take a look at the 22 year old rapper primed to take over the world: 2hollis. Splitting the difference between hardstyle and hip-hop while emanating an aura best described as “vampiric,” he’s been one of the most hyped musicians coming out of the underground. His music is distorted, chaotic, and over the top – literally – but he reflects a larger sentiment from younger audiences: the more sonic chaos the better.

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:

• Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer
• underscores – Music
• 2hollis – poster boy
• SUICIDAL-IDOL – ecstacy
• 2hollis – flash
• 2hollis – beginning
• 2hollis – sidekick
• underscores, 8485 – your favorite sidekick
• 2hollis – crush
• 2hollis – 3
• Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

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This week on Switched On Pop, we’re looking at all things feral pop, the microgenre that takes pop music to its most wild extremes. And no feral pop artist is more tapped into that ethos than underscores. Her music synthesizes dubstep, trance, and Timbaland with ease, and her latest album ‘U’ is filled with boundless energy. She’s already opened up for 100 gecs, PinkPantheress, and Porter Robinson; this fall, she’ll open up for Charli XCX on her upcoming Music, Fashion, Film tour. She said it best on her debut album, Fishmonger: “it’s the new wave of the future!”  

Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube

Songs discussed:

• underscores – Music
• SOPHIE – Ponyboy
• underscores, 8485 – your favorite sidekick
• Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot Shit)
• Madonna – Music
• Madonna – American Life
• underscores – Do It
• Britney Spears – Piece of Me
• PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson – Stateside
• Justin Timberlake – SexyBack

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What would it sound like if pop music was reverted to its most wild state of being? It would sound hyper-digital, influenced by the electronic vanguard of the 2010s, and speak to a post-genre audience. And while the charts have been stagnant, Gen-Z has been crafting this exact sound: one that is exciting, unpredictable, and above all else, feral.

After bubbling underground for the past few years, the subgenre we’ve coined “feral pop” is finally poised to have a breakout, best exemplified by the popularity of the computer-loving Ninajirachi, pop star underscores, and rave-rapper 2hollis. This week on Switched On Pop, Reanna, Charlie, and Nate are going to tap into all that this dubstep-influenced sound has to offer, starting with the Australian DJ Ninajirachi, and explore why everyone in pop music is finally getting feral.

Links: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠

Songs discussed:

• Ninajirachi – CSIRAC
• underscores – Music
• 2hollis – girl
• Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
• Imogen Heap – Headlock
• SOPHIE – BIPP
• Ninajirachi – iPod touch
• Ninajirachi, Izzy Camina – Ninacamina
• Skrillex – Rock ’n’ Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)
• Skrillex, Sirah – Bangarang
• Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer
• Ninajirachi – London Song
• LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
• Justice – Genesis
• Justice – Civilization
• Justice – Stress

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Olivia Rodrigo is back with her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl in love. As the title might suggest, it’s a deeply personal affair, with moody soundscapes supporting hyper-detailed lyrics of soul-wrenching depth. This album is a meditation on desire, and intriguingly, the letdown that can occur when desire is fulfilled. Each track is haunted by a band that basically invented the idea of unfulfilled longing, The Cure, who receive multiple direct shout-outs and numerous subtle references. But the album isn’t a tribute, or a rip-off. It’s a continuation of the voice Rodrigo has been developing ever since she debuted “drivers license” in 2021. It’s a sound distinctly her own, with signature techniques to match. The “re-verse” in “Drop Dead,” which we discussed in a prior episode, and a spiraling structure that keeps listeners waiting and waiting for the final word. Tune in to hear how Olivia channels her gothic predilections and fastidious lyrical craft into a powerful emotional payoff. 

Songs discussed:

Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead, stupid song, u + me = <3, purple, the cure, begged, what’s wrong with me, less, expectations, cigarette smoke, drivers license, vampire

The Cure - Just Like Heaven, Friday I’m in Love

David Byrne - drivers license

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Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney's collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, arrived when McCartney was 83 and and he came out swinging: the opening track greets listeners with a dissonant, unresolved guitar chord that sets the album's tone. Harmonic instability runs through the entire record: chromatic mediants, deceptive cadences, and persistent pedal tones prevent even the most nostalgic songs from settling into comfort.

The album's lyrics focus on McCartney's pre-Beatles Liverpool youth, territory unfamiliar even to long-time fans. The songs pay deliberate sonic tribute to specific Beatles recordings: Mellotron strings echoing "Strawberry Fields Forever," a backwards laugh tape loop answering "Tomorrow Never Knows," a first-ever McCartney/Starr vocal duet so close in timbre the two voices are nearly indistinguishable.

Songs discussed:
Paul McCartney – "Mull of Kintyre"
Paul McCartney – "As You Lie There"
The Beatles – "Blackbird"
The Beatles – "Helter Skelter"
The Beatles – "You Never Give Me Your Money"
Paul McCartney – "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey"
Paul McCartney – "Band on the Run"
Paul McCartney – "Live and Let Die"
Paul McCartney – "Mountaintop"
The Beatles – "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"
The Beatles – "For No One"
The Beatles – "Because"
The Beatles – "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
The Beatles – "Octopus's Garden"
Paul McCartney – "Down South"
The Beatles – "Two of Us"
Paul McCartney – "We Two"
The Beatles – "Strawberry Fields Forever"
Paul McCartney – "Never Know Those"
The Beatles – "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Paul McCartney – "Salesman Saint"
John Lennon – "Working Class Hero"
John Cougar Mellencamp – "Small Town"
Paul McCartney – “Home to Us” (with Ringo Starr)
Paul McCartney – "The Days We Left Behind"
The Beatles – "When I'm Sixty Four"

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A sci-fi ballet imagined a 2080 where AI strips people of purpose, and the day before its New York premiere, an actual dystopia arrived.

Arc Iris, the trio of Jocie Adams, Zach Tenorio and Ray Belli, built iTMRW as a concept record set in a future ruled by a mega-corporation that shares its name. In its world, AI has taken most jobs and even the thinking left inside them, so the corporation offers pods where anyone can live any dream in virtual reality. The piece premiered in Cambridge in January 2020, then its New York show collapsed the day before the lockdown.

What follows is the story of a project that outlasted its own premise. When venues closed, they left Providence for Los Angeles, rebuilt a dilapidated house, spent eight months in a 120-square-foot shed, and constructed their own studio and stage. The dystopia they wrote became, in their telling, a personal utopia.

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