Freaking out about songwriting with Nile Rodgers
There is no contemporary pop music without Nile Rodgers. Born in 1952, Rodgers grew up playing classical music on flute and clarinet before picking up jazz guitar. And at age 20, alongside bass player...
11 Kesä 202435min
Begging songs and basketball's musicality (with Hanif Abdurraqib)
There's no music writer like the essayist and poet Hanif Abdurraqib: whether he's narrating the beautiful awkwardness of a Carly Rae Jepsen concert or talking jazz and eastern spirituality with Andre ...
4 Kesä 202429min
Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist (with Charlie Puth)
On her latest album, Taylor Swift “declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” No one was more surprised by this than Charlie Puth himself: the singer, pianist, and songwriter whose career has a...
28 Touko 202439min
Billie Eilish hits both hard and soft
On Billie Eilish’s third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, Eilish finally graduates from her signature anti-pop persona into full blown pop stardom. This record finds Eilish experimenting on the themes fro...
21 Touko 202443min
Gastropod: Why are restaurants so loud? Plus the science behind the perfect playlist
When you go out for a meal, it’s not just what's on your plate that matters, it's what's in your eardrums, too. From dining rooms so loud you have to shout to be heard, to playlists that sound like a ...
17 Touko 202444min
Is pop music just fast food? (with Gastropod)
Where were you when you learned that the McDonald's jingle "I'm lovin' it" was originally part of a full-fledged pop song by Justin Timberlake and Pharrell that flopped on the charts but found staying...
14 Touko 202439min
Rosie Tucker's unending bliss
Tongue twisters that mock techno-optimism and cite critical theory don’t usually make for catchy song lyrics. But indie rocker Rosie Tucker’s Utopia Now! finds beauty in the dross of late capitalism. ...
10 Touko 202423min
Eurovision 2024: from Baby Lasagna to Windows95Man
It’s that time of year again when the entirety of Europe (and a few other countries) come together to celebrate kitschy, bombastic songwriting through the Eurovision Song Contest! This year’s competit...
7 Touko 202433min
