The 1980s jam that gave Latto and Mariah Carey Big D*** Energy
If you've heard Latto's swaggering track "Big Energy"—and after 30 weeks on the Hot 100, you probably have—you may have heard a resemblance to Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy." That's because both so...
31 Maj 202226min
Kendrick Lamar and the big samples
It’s been five years since Kendrick Lamar released his Pulitzer winning album DAMN. Having established himself as a modern rap virtuoso whose songs have become anthems fueling social movements, expect...
24 Maj 202230min
Modern Classics: PJ Morton made Nas’s Stevie Wonder dream come true
On all of his projects — Grammy-winning albums, playing keys with Maroon 5, fronting a full string section in his NPR Tiny Desk Concert — PJ Morton evinces his mastery at updating classic soul and R&B...
17 Maj 202228min
Will Ukraine win Eurovision 2022?
Greece, Spain, UK, Sweden, Italy and Ukraine are the frontrunners in the 2022 Eurovision competition. Switched On Pop analyzes the top six songs as well as some of the more oddball picks. Songs Discu...
10 Maj 202227min
Belle and Sebastian on the value of staying "young and stupid"
Belle and Sebastian released the first album Tigermilk in 1996, and they’ve released eight more since—a catalog that helped define the sound of rock and indie in the new millennium through buoyant mel...
3 Maj 202227min
The New Alternative
Last month, Nirvana entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time in nearly two decades — only their fifth time in history — thanks to a comic-book movie. The band’s 1991 track “Something in ...
26 Apr 202230min
Jump-starting the creative process with Allison Ponthier
Allison Ponthier knows the hardest part of making anything is getting started. When she was young, she “always wanted to write songs,” fanatically scribbling rhymes in a diary, but gave it up — the pr...
19 Apr 202219min
A Higher Power Ballad
The recorded version of Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” opens with a full-blast chorus alongside driving percussion and ringing guitars. But when he performed the song at this year’s Grammys, the song’s ins...
12 Apr 202226min
