switched on pop
Aug. 30, 2023
Olivia the Alchemist Does It Again On “vampire” and “bad idea right?,” Olivia Rodrigo cleverly refashions her influences into something unique.
switched on pop
May 5, 2023
Let’s Give a Close Listen to Eurovision 2023’s Six Front-runners All of the song contest’s odds-on favorites are over-the-top, but only one of them is way, way over.
switched on pop
Mar. 14, 2023
‘Kiss From a Rose’ Wasn’t Made to Be a Classic “It shouldn’t really work, if you start to get analytical about it. But somehow it does,” says Seal. “It’s kind of against all odds.”
switched on pop
Nov. 1, 2022
You Haven’t Heard ‘Stayin’ Alive’ Like This Before Scary Pockets and Lizzy McAlpine show how they put a distinct spin on the Bee Gees classic.
switched on pop
Oct. 27, 2022
How Midnights Sonically Convinces Us That Taylor Swift Actually Broke Curfew Hint: With the help of “a very low, almost boiling bass patch that adds an air of discomfort to whatever it accompanies.”
switched on pop
Oct. 5, 2022
Santigold Was Combusting From the Pressures of Life Creating her new album, Spirituals , was “my way to escape and create some beauty and light to grasp onto and move toward.”
switched on pop
July 28, 2022
Doja Cat’s ‘Vegas’ Is a ‘Hound Dog’ History Lesson Her single borrows from Big Mama Thornton, Elvis, and others who have recorded the classic.
switched on pop
July 19, 2022
How Abortion-Rights Chants Became an Anthem The moment the singer MILCK heard “We won’t go back” during a protest, she knew she had the makings of a song.
Harry’s House Is Powered by Harry’s HornsHarry Styles’s recent album taps into the 1980s and the percussive, full-bodied horn sections of that era.
switched on pop
June 28, 2022
The House Music That Beyoncé Built Her new single, “Break My Soul,” taps into the genre’s long, vibrant history.
switched on pop
June 21, 2022
The Point Guard of Winning Time ’s Score Sees Jazz in Basketball Nicholas Britell brought charts to record the show’s score. Robert Glasper, his co-composer, doesn’t get down like that: “I was like, ‘Hell no.’”
switched on pop
June 14, 2022
Kate Bush, Running Up Those Charts A deal with God, a vortex of nostalgia, and Stranger Things ’ needle drop for the ages.
switched on pop
June 7, 2022
So Your Song Went Viral on TikTok. What’s Next? While stars see the platform as a chore, it’s a lifeline for new acts.
switched on pop
May 31, 2022
Latto and Mariah Carey’s Big ‘Genius’ Energy Exploring the post-punk origins of a fantasical pop smash.
switched on pop
May 25, 2022
Mr. Morale & the Big SamplesBreaking down the sonic bread crumbs of Kendrick Lamar’s latest album.
switched on pop
May 17, 2022
PJ Morton Made Nas’s Dream Come True After the rapper name-dropped Stevie Wonder on a panel, a fortuitous beat slid his way.
switched on pop
May 10, 2022
Will Ukraine Win Eurovision This Year? Its entry, written before the Russian invasion, has become a beacon of national pride and is the odds-on favorite to take home the glass microphone.
switched on pop
May 5, 2022
Belle and Sebastian Fear Accordions But Not Their Reputation Band leader Stuart Murdoch: “We might be deeply uncool and a little bit fey, but we ain’t going anywhere.”
switched on pop
Apr. 26, 2022
Batman Isn’t the Only Person Brooding to ’90s Alternative Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” recently hit the Hot 100 alongside songs that are clearly borrowing grunge-era sounds.
switched on pop
Apr. 21, 2022
6 Steps to Writing a Buzzy Single Allison Ponthier gives a tour of her songwriting journal and the process she used to write her new song, “Autopilot.”
switched on pop
Apr. 12, 2022
Slow Build, Fast Rise With a Gospel-tinged sound and collective of contributors, Maverick City Music has released 17 genre-spanning albums in 4 years.
switched on pop
Mar. 29, 2022
The Vocal Turbulence of Britney’s ‘Gimme More’ The thick manipulation of her singing matched what was happening in her personal life.
switched on pop
Mar. 22, 2022
switched on pop
Mar. 16, 2022
When Britney Needed a New Sound, the Neptunes Delivered “I’m a Slave 4 U” marked the beginning of a new Spears era.
switched on pop
Mar. 9, 2022
switched on pop
Feb. 16, 2022
‘I’m a Big Fan of Uncomfortable Space on Records’ Khruangbin and Leon Bridges took a less-is-more approach when making their latest EP, Texas Moon.
switched on pop
Feb. 8, 2022
Enjoying Emotional Overload With Sylvan Esso The Grammy-nominated duo discuss their intoxicating, body-moving sound.
switched on pop
Feb. 1, 2022
We Just Had to Talk About ‘Bruno’ Figuring out why everyone loves the doomy-gloomy Encanto song that became Disney’s first chart-topper in 19 years.
switched on pop
Jan. 25, 2022
Elvis Costello’s Aim Remains True, 32 Albums In Plus, riffs on everything from Olivia Rodrigo’s songs being “how rock and roll works” to passing on a chance to write for Adele.
switched on pop
Jan. 19, 2022
Behold the Indie K-pop Star With his new album There and Back Again, Eric Nam searches for footing outside the industry machine.
switched on pop
Jan. 11, 2022
The Weeknd’s Dawn FM Is a Dirge, a Mirror, and an Echo, Echo, Echo The pop star compellingly regurgitates past hits to soundtrack the grim present and future of celebrity.
switched on pop
Dec. 21, 2021
Which New-Gen Christmas Songs Have Us Shouting Out With Glee? Making a list of recent holiday tracks and checking it twice to find out what we’ll be singing in December for years to come.
switched on pop
Dec. 14, 2021
Tai Verdes Started From the Bottom (of His Building, Literally the Basement) Now the TikTok star is here, selling out a tour and performing at Lollapalooza.
switched on pop
Dec. 7, 2021
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, ‘Beautiful Nugget’ Hunters The Grammy-decorated duo reflects on the wide array of influences at work on their latest album Raise the Roof .
switched on pop
Dec. 1, 2021
How Many Let It Be Reissues Does It Take for the Beatles to Get the Vibe Right? Fifty years and two documentaries later, it looks like the answer is “at least four.”
switched on pop
Nov. 16, 2021
Snotty Nose Rez Kids Revel in a Beautiful Blend of Rap and Indigenous Culture As Young D from the First Nations hip hop duo explains, “In hip hop, you have the MC. Well, we have our storytellers.”
switched on pop
Nov. 2, 2021
New ABBA, Just Like the Old ABBA (and Then Some!) Figuring out what makes the band tick on the occasion of Voyage, their first album in 40 years.
switched on pop
Oct. 26, 2021
The Healing Power of Pop We know that music gets us through hard times, but let’s look a little into the science and craft of why.
switched on pop
Oct. 19, 2021
The Escapist Male Fantasy of the James Bond Theme Song Exploring the superspy’s musical underpinnings as the Daniel Craig era draws to a close.
switched on pop
Oct. 12, 2021
James Blake Has Come to Terms With His Underrated Influence Therapy and reaching his 30s have helped the artist-producer focus on simply having fun.
switched on pop
Sept. 21, 2021
Why Does Olivia Rodrigo Keep Giving Up Songwriting Credits? Copyright lawsuits are making musical interpretation an increasingly costly endeavor.
switched on pop
Sept. 14, 2021
John Carpenter’s Influence Is Inescapable on Chvrches’ Screen Violence The synthpop revivalists even got the horror master to remix one of the songs on their new album, which prods the dark depths of online abuse.
switched on pop
Sept. 7, 2021
The ‘Weird, Swampy Alchemy’ Behind Big Red Machine’s New Album Aaron Dessner recalls the kinetic energy of working with Taylor Swift, Sharon Van Etten, and Robin Pecknold, among others, all at once.
switched on pop
Aug. 31, 2021
What Makes Cat Power’s ‘Manhattan’ a Classic NYC Anthem Most songs about New York are pop songs, as the singer’s 2012 track perfectly exemplifies.
switched on pop
Aug. 24, 2021
What’s Your Best Music-Festival Moment? Switched on Pop Listeners Swap Stories “Suddenly everything coalesces and ratchets up, and everyone’s kind of flying.”
switched on pop
Aug. 17, 2021
The Beauty and the Horror of Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos Converted fan Nathan Rabin explains the appeal of a group once derided as a “magnet for ignorance.”
switched on pop
Aug. 13, 2021
How Coachella Copped the Woodstock Look Breaking down the commercialization of festival fashion with some special guests from The Cut .
switched on pop
Aug. 3, 2021
Mark Ronson Is Still in Awe of Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ and Its Influence on Music He’s also grateful for the time Paul McCartney snapped him out of his laziness.
summer hits
July 30, 2021
How Jack Antonoff Found That Magical Moment of Musical Clarity “One day you wake up and you’re like, Oh my God, we’re in this .”
switched on pop
July 27, 2021
Childish Gambino’s ‘Redbone’ and the Unending Relevance of ’70s Soul Yola discusses the song’s influence on her work as well as “the Mary Poppins philosophy of music.”
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