Pop Unmuted

On Episode 26 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk about their latest musical obsession and the inevitable Song Of The Summer, Ariana Grande’s “Into You.” They discuss the song’s interesting rhythms, queer subtext, and intertextual connections to Elvis and Mariah Carey.

For Episode 25 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge continue their discussion of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds by breaking down the musical structure of one of the album's best-known songs, "God Only Knows," and exploring the surprisingly difficult question of what key it is in.

On Episode 24 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Missy Kyzer to celebrate and discuss the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boy's seminal album Pet Sounds.

On Episode 23 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk about choruses. They discuss the development of the modern pop chorus from the Tin Pan Alley AABA structure, look closer at some of our favorite choruses, and explore the baffling section labels of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."

On Episode 22 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge explore the popular conspiracy theory known as Larry Stylinson, which suggests that Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles from One Direction are in a romantic relationship, forced in the closet by their management. We talk to Helena Dare-Edwards, who recently received her Ph.D. in Media Studies and has written extensively about Larry and One Direction, Caitlin Foster who co-hosts the Talk Direction podcast, Jessica Leski, a documentary film-maker working on a film called I Used To Be Norma: A Boyband Fangirl Story", and MaryClare, whose tumblr Louis and the Alien has a post exploring the mysterious gay teddy bear mascots of One Direction. Scott and Kurt also talk about the sensitive subject of questioning the validity of Louis's recently born son.

On Episode 21 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge analyze 2011's most viral video, "Friday" by Rebecca Black in celebration of its fifth anniversary.

Trigger Warning: Emotional and Sexual Abuse. On Episode 20 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by MTV News writer Sasha Geffen to talk about the legal situation going on between Kesha and Dr. Luke. Then, previous guests of the show send in audio tributes to Kesha discussing her music and what she means to them. Contributors include Kira Grunenberg, Megan Lavengood, and Taylor Myers.

On Episode 19 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Ashley and Adam of the Swiftcast, "the #1 Taylor Swift Podcast," to talk about the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards.

On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge get in the mood for Valentine's Day by discussing some of their favorite love songs. Scott shares his thoughts on two older hits, "Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys and Dolly Parton's classic "I Will Always Love You" while Kurt goes with two lesser-known songs by contemporary artists in John Mayer's "City Love" and Celine Dion's French-language hit "Je t'aime Encore." The two then preview next weeks' 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards episode by predicting who will win the four major categories.

On this pop-up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge explore different types of choruses that deviate from the norm: songs with choruses and post-choruses, songs with long, multi-part choruses, and songs with two distinct choruses.