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Vulture

Listen closer to pop music — hear how it moves us. Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Switched on Pop

John C. Reilly joins to discuss Mr. Romantic, his theatrical tribute to the Great American Songbook that treats Irving Berlin and Tom Waits as equals in the canon of timeless American song. Reilly recorded live in one room with his band using vintage ribbon microphones, embracing the squeaks and imperfections while layering in cinematic sound effects—crickets outside a lover's window, a collect call from prison—to transform each standard into an immersive scene. But what makes a song from the 1920s feel eternal? Music data scientist Chris Dalla Riva, author of the forthcoming Uncharted Territory and the newsletter Can't Get Much Higher, breaks down how composers like the Gershwins wrote for amateur musicians playing sheet music at home, creating universal lyrics and AABA structures where the hook comes first. That accessibility is precisely what draws Reilly to this repertoire. He sees himself in the lineage of interpreters like Sinatra, not selling his own story but passing along music that already belongs to all of us, like holding up a seashell and saying, "Isn't this one beautiful?"

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Songs Discussed

 Taylor Swift "The Last Great American Dynasty"

 George Gershwin "I Got Rhythm"

 Village People "Y.M.C.A."

 Billie Eilish "Bad Guy"

 Frank Sinatra "On the Sunny Side of the Street"

 Judy Garland "Over the Rainbow"

 Ella Fitzgerald "My Romance"

 George Gershwin "But Not for Me"

 Elvis Presley "Are You Lonesome Tonight"

 The Beatles "We Can Work It Out"

 The Beatles "Get Back"

 The Beatles "Yesterday"

 John C. Reilly "Moonlight Serenade"

 John C. Reilly "Dreams"

 John C. Reilly "Johnsburg, Illinois"

 John C. Reilly "Falling in Love Again"

 John C. Reilly "What'll I Do"

 John C. Reilly "Picture in a Frame"

 John C. Reilly "Just Another Sucker on the Vine"

 Randy Newman "Ragtime"

 John C. Reilly & David Garza "What's Not To Love"

 Harry Nilsson "Coconut"

 Judy Garland "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

 Dooley Wilson "As Time Goes By"

 The New Vaudeville Band "Winchester Cathedral"

 Andy Williams "The Days of Wine and Roses"

 Nat King Cole "The Frim Fram Sauce"

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What do John C. Reilly and Taylor Swift have in common? The Great American Songbook

Taylor Swift's twelfth album has sparked endless speculation about who each song is "really about," but that might be the wrong question entirely. The Life of a Showgirl isn’t biography, it’s polyphonic auto-fiction, where Swift writes from multiple character perspectives while blurring the lines between autobiography and theatrical performance. The album's "showgirl sound" traces from Shakespearean tragedy (Ophelia's drowning rewritten as salvation) through Golden Age Hollywood orchestration to contemporary pop production with Max Martin and Shellback. Unusual musical choices like the jarring five-measure phrase in "Fate of Ophelia" reinforce the album's central theme: the tension between public performance and private reality. By treating the album as a theatrical show rather than a celebrity tell-all, listeners can finally hear what Swift is actually saying… or can they?

Vote for Switched On Pop in this year's Signal Awards! We're nominated for ⁠Best Music Podcast⁠ and ⁠Best Original Score/Music⁠, linked here. Thank you!

Songs Discussed

 Taylor Swift "Love Story"

 Taylor Swift "Blank Space"

 Taylor Swift "The Fate of Ophelia"

 Taylor Swift "Elizabeth Taylor"

 Irving Berlin "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"

 Fred Astaire "Puttin' on the Ritz"

 Taylor Swift "Opalite"

 George Michael "Father Figure"

 Taylor Swift "Father Figure"

 Taylor Swift "Eldest Daughter"

 Taylor Swift "Tim McGraw"

 Taylor Swift "Ruined the Friendship"

 Weezer "Beverly Hills"

 Pixies "Where Is My Mind"

 Charli XCX "Sympathy Is a Knife"

 Charli XCX "Everything Is Romantic"

 Taylor Swift "Actually Romantic"

 Mean Girls "Meet the Plastics"

 Taylor Swift "Wi$h Li$t"

 Stevie Wonder "Superstition"

 The Jackson 5 "I Want You Back"

 Taylor Swift "Wood"

 Nirvana "Lithium"

 Nirvana "Something in the Way"

 Taylor Swift "Canceled"

 Taylor Swift "Honey"

 Taylor Swift feat. Sabrina Carpenter "Life of a Showgirl"

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Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Sound: How to actually listen to the album

There's no lead singer in Trousdale. The trio of Quinn D'Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones, has shared vocal duties equally since they started singing together as students at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. Since then, they've touring the world and released a sophomore album, Growing Pains, that features the trio's impeccable harmonies over 70s-inflected country-rock grooves. In this episode, Trousdale returns to their alma mater to play acoustic versions of "Growing Pains" and "Secondhand Smoke" and then speak to Professor Nate (plus an audience of music students) about how they forged their indivisible sound. 

Songs Discussed 

Trousdale - Growing Pains, Over and Over, Lonely Nights, Movie Star

Jackson Browne - Doctor My Eyes

MIKA - Grace Kelly
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The Power of the Trio (ft. Trousdale live at USC)

This summer, one singular artist could be heard everywhere from the new Cardi B album to the TikTok charts: Janet Jackson. The incomparable Queen of Pop has had her fingerprints all over pop music for the past few months, and it’s never been more apparent than on Doja Cat’s “Jealous Type.” The lead single from Doja’s new album Vie has all the hallmarks of the Janet Jackson sound, from breathy and percussive vocals to nods to iconic production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

This episode of Switched on Pop, we go on a journey guided by Janet, and discover the implicit connections to Doja Cat – the so-called “queen of pop-rap” – in the process.

Vote for Switched On Pop in this year's Signal Awards! We're nominated for Best Music Podcast and Best Original Score/Music, linked here. Thank you!

Songs discussed:

 Janet Jackson – Someone To Call My Lover

 Sabrina Carpenter – House Tour

 Cardi B, Janet Jackson – Principal (feat. Janet Jackson)

 Doja Cat – Jealous Type

 Janet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me Lately

 Janet Jackson – Nasty

 Janet Jackson – Feedback

 Janet Jackson – What About

 Prince – 1999

 Janet Jackson – Throb

 Janet Jackson – Control

 Janet Jackson – When I Think Of You

 Janet Jackson – Go Deep

 Doja Cat – Cyber Sex

 Doja Cat – Rules

 Doja Cat – Boss Bitch

 Doja Cat – Woman

 Doja Cat – Agora Hills

 Janet Jackson – Let’s Wait Awhile

 Janet Jackson – Escapade

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Doja Cat is the new Janet

How does a country of 10 million people dominate the global pop charts? From ABBA's Eurovision breakthrough to Max Martin's methodical hit-making, Sweden has quietly engineered a kind of musical Stockholm Syndrome: we've all become captives to their sound without realizing it. Listen to the crystalline vocal production and deceptively simple chord progressions in tracks by Lisa, Childish Gambino, and Addison Rae, and you're hearing Sweden's sonic fingerprint so embedded in pop's DNA that it now defines the genre itself. We sit down with pop star Zara Larsson to explore her love letter to home, "Midnight Sun." As she puts it, "I can't really leave Sweden; it's just something that's like a part of who I am," a sentiment that captures how Swedish pop's unique blend of melancholy and euphoria, mirroring the country's extreme seasons, has made us all willing prisoners of Stockholm's musical empire.

Songs Discussed

 Lisa ft. Rosalia: "New Woman"

 Childish Gambino: "Lithonia"

 Addison Rae: "Fame Is a Gun"

 Bleachers: "Tiny Moves"

 Zara Larsson: "Midnight Sun"

 Robyn: "Show Me Love"

 Robyn: "Dancing on My Own"

 Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

 Brad Mehldau "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

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Stockholm syndrome: Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson)

It's time. Nate and Charlie break down the K Pop Demonhunters soundtrack to uncover the musical secrets behind its unprecedented success. From West Side Story to Gregorian chant, Phrygian modes to musical theater clichés, we 'll explain why you can't stop listening to the sounds of Huntr/x and Saja Boys.

Songs Discussed

Huntr/x - How It's Done, Golden, What it Sounds Like

Saja Boys - Soda Pop, Your Idol

Aldred Deller and the Deller Consort - Dies Irae

West Side Story - Jet Song

Aespa - Drama

Riize - Get a Guitar

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The music theory behind K Pop Demon Hunters' chart dominance

Halfway through the opening track of Joe Keery's The Crux, a line emerges that sounds like casual conversation: "My dog is at my house again, but I live somewhere else." The song refuses to settle into predictable pop architecture, drifting from whispered confession to baroque strings that recall Pachelbel more than indie rock. Recorded live at NYU, Charlie explores how this structural restlessness reflects broader questions about authenticity in contemporary music, examining how Keery's creative process emerged from practical constraints like writing in Stranger Things trailers and stripping back arrangements to work live. The album's hotel metaphor isn't marketing concept but lived displacement: temporary rooms, fractured domesticity, the search for stability. From the snarky dismissiveness of "Basic Being Basic" to a stadium-rock anthem written for his sisters, The Crux demonstrates how eclectic influences can serve cohesive emotional architecture, trusting listeners to follow sophisticated progressions while never losing sight of why these songs matter to people finding their way back to their own hearts.

Songs Discussed

Djo - "End of Beginning"

Djo - "Lonesome is a State of Mind"

Djo - "Basic Being Basic"

Djo - "Potion"

Djo - "Charlie's Garden"

Djo - "Back On You"

Djo - "Carry the Name"

Djo - "Crux"
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The architecture of the album with Djo (Joe Keery live at NYU)

Everyone should be in a band at some point—and Finneas and Ashe prove why. The Grammy-winning producer and rising singer-songwriter discuss how their friendship evolved into The Favors, a new band debuting their album The Dream on September 19th, 2025. We explore what it means to create as a band, how stepping back from confessional songwriting freed them creatively, and why sometimes the best way forward is embracing older ways of making music.

SONGS DISCUSSED

 The Favors - "The Little Mess You Made"

 Ashe - "Moral of the Story"

 Ashe & Finneas - "Till Forever Falls Apart"

 Billie Eilish - "What Was I Made For?"

 The Favors - "Home Sweet Home"

 The Favors - "The Dream"

 The Favors - "Lake George"

 Billie Eilish - "bad guy"

 Simon and Garfunkel - "Old Friends"

 Simon and Garfunkel - "The Only Living Boy in New York"

 Simon and Garfunkel - "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"

 Simon and Garfunkel - "America"

 Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl"

 The Favors - "David's Brother"

 The Favors - "The Hudson"

 Fleetwood Mac - "Landslide"

 Fleetwood Mac - "Dreams"

 Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill"

 Olivia Rodrigo - "drivers license"

 Sabrina Carpenter - "emails i can't send"

 Miley Cyrus - "Flowers"

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Finneas and Ashe want you to start a band

Fleetwood Mac has had a phenomenal resurgence in recent years, from TikTok viral fame to Broadway plays and streaming TV series inspired by the band. Their growing fandom among a new generation has created demand for the long out-of-print album Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks recorded before they joined Fleetwood Mac. The vinyl record is a collector's item, as this pre-band album helped secure the duo their spot in Fleetwood Mac. Now after four decades, on September 19th, the album is being reissued by Rhino Records. A few months back we looked at the legacy of Fleetwood Mac and spoke with Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham about their reinterpretation of the beloved Buckingham Nicks. Given the timing, we want to share that episode with you now to help you get ready for the re-release of this adored album. I hope you enjoy it.
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Fleetwood Mac's Missing Link Album Returns After 50 Years

You've heard those shimmering disco strings in Miley Cyrus's "Flowers," the cinematic arrangements on Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher, and the orchestral flourishes across Taylor Swift's catalog, but you probably didn't know they're all the work of one person: Rob Moose. The violinist and multi-instrumentalist has contributed to nearly 1,000 albums, quietly becoming pop music's most prolific string architect. In this conversation, Moose reveals how he translates classical training into contemporary pop language, working with everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Bon Iver to create arrangements that feel both intimate and epic. We dive into his process, explore how he's reshaped what strings can do in popular music, and uncover the craft behind those arrangements you can't get out of your head.

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Songs Discussed

 
Miley Cyrus “Flowers”

 
Phoebe Bridgers “Punisher”

 
Phoebe Bridgers Copycat Killer (EP, includes re-arranged versions of “Punisher,” “Kyoto,” “Savior Complex,” “Chinese Satellite”)

 
Sufjan Stevens “Chicago”

 
Bon Iver “Everything Is Peaceful Love”

 
RINI “Miracle”

 
Bon Iver “Short Story”

 
Bon Iver “Speyside”

 
Phoebe Bridgers “Chinese Satellite”

 
Phoebe Bridgers “Savior Complex”

 
Phoebe Bridgers “Kyoto”

 
Lizzy McAlpine “Ceilings”

 
Gracie Abrams “I Love You, I’m Sorry”

 
Rob Moose “I Bend But Never Break” ft Brittany Howard

 
Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color”

 
Taylor Swift “Hoax”

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The classical rebel who infiltrated pop music

It may be hard to believe it in this technology-driven day and age, but one of the most pervasive sounds in popular music came about when a computer STOPPED working. In 2005, artist and innovator Imogen Heap released "Hide and Seek," a mysterious and emotional song featuring just her voice and a digital harmonizer. In this episode, Nate and Reanna dissect a song that launched a thousand memes and gave the world one of the defining sonic textures of our time.

Songs Discussed
Imogen Heap - Headlock
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight 
Daft Punk - Around the World
Imogen Heap - Getting Scared
Frou Frou - Let Go
Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say
Bon Iver - Woods
Coldplay - Hurts Like Heaven
Kacey Musgraves
gracias a la vida
Frank Ocean - Close To You 
Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey - The Middle
Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings
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Playing "Hide and Seek" with Imogen Heap

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