Baz Luhrmann’s “Sunscreen Song” — The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Avery Trufelman)
Switched on Pop23 Juni 2020

Baz Luhrmann’s “Sunscreen Song” — The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Avery Trufelman)

In 1999 filmmaker Baz Luhrmann released the song “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen,” a 7-minute-long graduation speech set to downtempo electronic music. It was a highly unlikely hit that made its way across continents and eventually into the ears of a young Avery Trufelman via the album NOW That’s What I Call Music Volume 2. For over 20 years, Trufelman has applied the song’s advice to her daily life: “wear sunscreen… be nice to your siblings… do one thing every day that scares you.” This unusual song has left a lasting impression, and yet for Trufelman, it makes no sense that “The Sunscreen Song” was commercially successful. We investigate the song’s many architects — novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich and Baz Luhrmann himself — to unpack one of the internet’s first conspiracy theories that turned into Billboard’s greatest outlier. SONGS DISCUSSED Baz Luhrmann - Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) Think - Once You Understand MORE The BBC documentary on “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszvtr Another speech set to music, Byron MacGregor/Gordon Sinclair’s “Americans,” peaked at #4 in 1974 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avsnitt(524)

Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

Carly Rae Jepsen might be the patron saint of Switched on Pop, the show first hatched by Charlie and Nate on a trip down CA-1 while the stereo blasted “Call Me Maybe.” So when we heard she had a new s...

15 Apr 201521min

Hozier’s Waffling of Faith in Take Me To Church

Hozier’s Waffling of Faith in Take Me To Church

Written in the Hozier family basement, Take Me To Church has risen up to be one of the biggest pop hits of the year. But this is not a typical pop song. The unsettling music and provocative lyrics abo...

2 Apr 201517min

Taylor Swift’s Beethovian Blank Space

Taylor Swift’s Beethovian Blank Space

Taylor Swift’s Blank Space is about emptiness of the heart. This motif of Blank Space is contained through the entire piece: from the drums, to the melody, to the lyrics. We pull away the sonic struct...

26 Mars 201515min

A Cappella Dreams

A Cappella Dreams

A cappella, Italian for in the style of the church, refers to music for unaccompanied voices. Just a decade ago it was nowhere near the radio dial. Now it’s everywhere: college campuses, Hollywood blo...

16 Mars 201547min

Radio Africa

Radio Africa

Reporting live from Kenya, we search for African pop that is making its way into global dance music. The barriers to producing high quality audio are reduced to merely owning a laptop. Now, regional a...

19 Feb 201530min

Star Spangled

Star Spangled

Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega ...

28 Jan 201527min

Mark Ronson: Funk Politics

Mark Ronson: Funk Politics

Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega ...

15 Jan 201533min

The Imperative Jingle Bells

The Imperative Jingle Bells

You’ve heard it a million times, you know how to sing it, its ubiquitous during the holiday season, but you’ve never heard a definitive recording. Where does it come from, why is it so catchy, and why...

20 Dec 201431min

Populärt inom Nöje

mellan-himmel-och-jord-med-jlc
filip-fredrik-svarar
mardromsgasten
badfluence
mannen-utan-spar
rss-p3-musikdokumentar
fem-i-topp
chilla-med-de-vet-du
schulman-show
hemma-hos-strage
dialogiskt
gott-snack-med-fredrik-soderholm
skandal
podme-bio-4
vardagsmysterier
karatefylla
hundaren-motgangspodden-av-tomas-andersson-wij
sexet
rss-rockpodden
rss-metalpodden