EAR LODER

On this MOST commemorative of days, the day of Normani's debut album release "Dopamine" - galt presents the second of our 2-part, 2-year-old series tracking her early career. In today's vintage episode, we chart(ed) the course from Normani's first solo single, Love Lies, through her then-latest, Wild Side, and explicate the growing pattern of false starts, fumbles, and questionably burned bridges seeming to build in Normani's wake. What we know today, we didn't then - that at least she'd get the album out!!!!

Well hey y'all. Galt took most of May off while traveling to visit and support family and friends. While we reboot over here for a bigger and better next chapter of Galt's Radio, I REALIZED that a long ... long ... LONG awaited landmark is, somehow, finally upon us: Normani's debut album release. Any Normani fan thought this day would come 4-5 years ago, and yet ... here we are. Back in the infancy of this pod, Alex and Alec recorded some trial episodes, and this very one was surfaced today from the dust of early 2022 - one of the MANY times we thought we'd soon be enjoying Normani's debut. In this two part VINTAGE EPISODE SERIES (go easy on us .... we were still working out the kinks!), Alec walks us through Normani's very first entrance onto the scene: her audition for X Factor - through the collapse of Fifth (Fourth...) Harmony.

Alec Mac is back!!!! and, apparently, so is Jess Glynne! It's ok to admit, you didn't know she was, or wasn't, or wasn't-but-now-is-again releasing music. But let's take a dive, because the pop world (at least our 2020 + 2021) may well not have been, or be, Dua Lipa's disco kingdom without her. WHAT IS JESS' ORIGIN STORY? From where did she come? Who are Alex Newell, Louisa Johnson, Becky Hill, Ella Henderson, Clean Bandit, and did Jess G kick down the door for all of them (especially the queers??) to bring disco back to pop? AND.... IS TRACK 11 ON HER NEW ALBUM LITERALLY CALLED, “Chair” ????? Join us for all of this and more, including some of Jess' messier moments, and a first listen-and-a-half to two new tracks from Jess' third album, "Jess."

Music is always better metabolized. You've heard my predictions, you've heard (and watched) my initial reactions, now here are the takes on Ariana Grande's Eternal Sunshine that took a week+ of listening to brew, stew, chew and now spew ;) 

How a piece of music hits isn't always how it lands. Did the sun shine all the more through the cracks after a week of living with this record? Have I told strangers 'we can't be friends, but I'd like to just pretend?' Is AG7 giving wheat, or is it giving chaff? And does Pitchfork agree? Join me in this week's episode of THE VOCAL.

JLo . Ariana . Kacey . Bey . Taylor . Jess Glynne . Dua . Normani . Maren . Lana . Shakira . Charli . Camila . Selena . Clairo . St. Vincent . 

Gaga ? Katy ? Billie ? Sia ? Lorde ? 

We're already exhausted!

a THRILL this week to welcome back to the pod...... co-conspirator, college bestie, music and culture maven...... the reason I became a Jazmine Sullivan fan...... the one and only, Alec M! 

The earliest sketches of The Vocal were Alec and Alex on Zoom -- and while better audio days still await given the current latitudes of separation, we couldn't wait any longer to have Alec back on the now-official Pod... 

...ESPECIALLY in the calm before the veritable 2024 STORM / AVALANCHE / DEULGE / ATMOSPHERIC RIVER / NOR'EASTER / non-problematic other form of extreme weather that is the forthcoming 10 months of MAIN POP GIRLIE ALBUM RELEASES

Today, we overview them all, and dive into the first half of March's offerings UPON their imminent respective releases: Ariana Grande , and Kacey Musgraves.

We also take a Pitchfork-first approach and guestimate numerical rankings of the forthcoming LPs. 

Audio only this week; join us!

Follow along on insta at: hes_galt

galt's FIRST TAKE :: @beyonce act ii // countrYoncé

my inevitable, official thoughts SO FAR 🧠🧐

1) Why was Bey's announcement mid-Superbowl more palatable than Taylor's mid-Grammys?
2) Why do all pop girls end up "going West"?
3) Bey's done this before -- what happened to countrYoncé then, and how it might inform her return to the genre NOW.

All views are my own except the ones that bother you and those are a you thing

#beyonce #actii #texasholdem #16carriages #daddylessons #lemonade

video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEIumlgyR4

follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/hes_galt/

It's always a Kelly day // We have SO much content when covering a career like hers. @kellyclarkson #kellyclarkson

@adrewcarrnameddesire // Drew Carr is BACK 

CHAPTER 1 : Kelly's first era // THE DREW CARR 9 YEAR OLD DEMO LEAK EXCLUSIVE - before he, some would say, BROKE AWAY

CHAPTER 2 : Kelly’s husky belt // hidden gems from the pop rock pioneer that never gets enough credit

CHAPTER 3 : Country Kelly •• We’re ready and waiting for the Kelly Clarkson Country LP // AND the Kelly Clarkson Musical !!!

#breakaway #walkaway #missindependent #thetroublewithloveis #mydecember #neveragain #oneminute #sober #yeah #allieverwanted #cry #dontletmestopyou #alreadygone #letmedown #dontyouwannastay #thedance #silentnight #highwomen #goodgoesthebye #behindthesehazeleyes

video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkuH0-DSIyE

follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/hes_galt/

On this week's THE VOCAL ... where do all these Beyoncé songs come from?

Also : bedtime magic w Galt??

beyoncebeyoncebeyonce

LP3 [I AM / SASHA FIERCE] -- Smash Into You

LP4 [4] -- I Care , Rather Die Young

LP5 [BEYONCÉ] -- Standing on the Sun , Pretty Hurts

LP6 [Lemonade] -- Pray You Catch Me

fingers crossed copyright doesn’t peel it down for playing a couple snippets of Ms Yoncéeeeeee

@jonmclaughlin #jonmclaughlin @jeffbhasker #jeffbhasker @kevinogarrett #kevingarrett @siamusic #sia

video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GompdDmhgCc

follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/hes_galt/

FIRST GUEST FEATURE — PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE @adrewcarrnameddesire !!! // Drew Carr!

Chapter 1 : HAVE U HEARD OF RENEE RAPP THO?
Chapter 2 : It’s giving vocal technique, it’s giving technician , it's giving vocal prowess
Chapter 3 : white girls and rnb? // vocal affecting // why do most theatre singers NOT successfully ford the river to pop? // IS THERE BEEF BETWEEN GEN Z’S POP ROCK GIRLIES OR NAH?

Say it with us:

1) maybe I’m not the right person to be saying that
2) don’t fact check me

STAY TUNED FOR MORE FROM THE GIRLS

video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBsylie9Oms

follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/hes_galt/

✨🔆 the FINAL BJÖRK chapter 🔆✨

her …. masterwork?! 2015’s Vulnicura

In the final installment of our Björk retrospective, I share why I think Björk hit the heartstone in 2015, and why her whole career led her to that point.

Video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh_Qc1jk1Ok

Follow me on insta: https://www.instagram.com/hes_galt/