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What the 63rd Grammys say about the state of pop
Episode 210
The 63rd Grammys was as unprecedented and unusual as last year. Backdropped by the pandemic, the show was delayed and had to be taped in multiple loc…
5 years ago
Kimbra reflects on a song we used to know
Episode 209
Ten years ago the Australian artist Gotye asked New Zealand musician Kimbra to feature on his song “Somebody I Used To Know.” At the time Kimbra had …
5 years ago
Kaytranada's Journey from Basement Beat-making to the Grammys
Episode 208
Kaytranada has what every producer strives for: an in demand signature sound. His records glide fluidly between four-to-the-floor house beats, hip ho…
5 years, 1 month ago
If The World Was Ending We’d Talk to JP Saxe About Songwriting
Episode 207
JP Saxe wrote the song “If the World was Ending” with acclaimed songwriter Julia Michaels in 2019 about a fictional cataclysm. The record was release…
5 years, 1 month ago
Adrian Younge's new project sounds like James Baldwin meets Marvin Gaye
Episode 206
Adrian Younge is a producer for entertainment greats ranging from Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar to the Wu Tang clan, a composer for television shows such …
5 years, 1 month ago
The Scandalous Sounds of Bridgerton (w Kris Bowers)
Episode 205
The Netflix series Bridgerton has hooked audiences with its bodice-ripping sex scenes, a colorblind approach period drama casting, and a soundtrack f…
5 years, 1 month ago
How The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” used retro sounds and modern bass to break every record
Episode 204
This Sunday, The Weeknd will perform his distinctly dark brand of pop at the Super Bowl halftime show. On the surface, the alter-ego of Abel Tesfaye …
5 years, 2 months ago
Epik High is our gateway into Korean hip hop (with Tablo)
Episode 203
Epik High are elemental to Korean hip hop. DJ Tukutz, Mithra Jin and Tablo’s underground style boom bap beats with dexterous rapping helped bring thi…
5 years, 2 months ago
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is a full throttle power ballad
Episode 202
Power ballads used to top the charts regularly, from 80s rock to 90s R&B. But then in the 2000s, the formula of constant escalation gradually fell of…
5 years, 2 months ago
D.O.C. (Death of the Chorus) with Emily Warren
Episode 201
Listen to Top 40 pop over the last decade and you’ll notice something weird is happening. The chorus—the emotional apotheosis of a pop song, its dizz…
5 years, 2 months ago