Summer Hits: Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u (with Jessica Hopper)
Olivia Rodrigo’s summer breakup anthem “good 4 u” is filled with the kind of ebullient angst that makes us want to spontaneously dance around our house and belt the lyrics out with abandon. Whether it...
13 Jul 202135min
Modern Classics: Labrinth's "Sexy MF" (with Sam Sanders)
Modern Classics is the new series where Charlie and Nate invite their favorite musicians, journalists, and friends of the show to wax lyrical about a song that's important in their life. In the first ...
6 Jul 202130min
Growing Pains with Lucy Dacus
Growing up is never easy. But pop songs about adolescence too often gloss over the complicated moments. The “teenage dream” archetype is just a pop culture fantasy. And no one really wants to be 17 fo...
2 Jul 202132min
Summer Hits: BTS - Butter (with Jenna Andrews)
In summer 2020, BTS released “Dynamite,” their first single recorded entirely in English. The song shot up the charts, became one of the most successful YouTube videos in history, and won over pop rad...
29 Jun 202136min
Pop’s Worst Kept Secret ft. Emily Warren
In 1974 country music, singer songwriter, Dolly Parton got wind that Elvis Presley wanted to record her new song, “I Will Always Love You.“ According to Dolly, the deal fell through when Elvis's manag...
22 Jun 202128min
40 Years Later, Japanese City Pop is Still Crashing the Charts (with Cat Zhang)
If you listen to a lot of music on YouTube, you may have been recommended a video. The thumbnail image is a striking black-and-white photo of a Japanese singer named Mariya Takeuchi. The song, “Plasti...
15 Jun 202131min
J Cole’s The Off Season and the Power of the 12/8 Shuffle
J Cole is one of the most successful rappers of his generation, someone who racks up hits while sustaining critical acclaim. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Cole’s sixth studio album “The Off...
8 Jun 202131min
ICYMI Rina Sawayama Reimagines the 00s
One of our favorites artists right now is Rina Sawayama. She works with her producer Clarence Clarity to make this mash up of sounds from the late 90s and early aughts. She in particular recasts Max M...
1 Jun 202120min
