Switched on Pop

Lil Nas X has a talent for creating productive controversy. First with “Old Town Road,” he challenged expectations about blackness in country music. Now with “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” he takes aim at anti LGBTQ+ messages propagated by the religious dogma from his youth (he came out as gay during Pride 2019). The song describes a romantic encounter without innuendo. Sure it’s raunchy, but the song doesn’t especially stand out on Billboard where explicit sexual fantasy is commonplace. But his use of religious iconography in his video and merchandise created an immediate backlash. In the video to “Montero,” Lil Nas X rides a stripped pole into hades where he gives a lap dance to Satan (also played by Lil Nas X). Despite the obvious commentary on repressive orthodoxy, religious conservatives failed to see the subtext. The song became a lightning rod. But as pundits fought on social media about the song's meaning, most critics failed to look into the song’s musical references. Produced by Take A Daytrip, the duo behind Shek Wes’ “Mo Bamba” and Lil Nas X’s “Panini,” “Montero'' mashes up genres that take the listener on a global journey, sharing his message of acceptance across cultures.

Music

Lil Nas X — Montero, Old Town Road, Panini

24kGoldn, iann dior - Mood

Dick Dale and his Del-Tones - Misirlou

Tetos Demetriades - Misirlou

Aris San Boom Pam

Silsulim - Static & Ben El

Shek Was — Mo Bamba

Lehakat Tzliley Haud

Bouzouki recording from xserra from FreeSound under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

More

Listen to Gal Kadan’s project: Awesome Orientalists From Europa on Bandcamp

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Earth Day 2021 gives us the chance to pause our usual programming and consider the role pop music plays in our deepening climate emergency. On Side A, we listen to artists who have confronted the climate crisis head-on. Side B considers the environmental cost of streaming music with Kyle Devine, author of Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music.

Songs Discussed:

George Pope Morris - Woodman, Spare That Tree!

Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi

Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)

Tower of Power - Only So Much Oil in the Ground

Various Artists - Love Song for the Earth

Anohni - 4 Degrees

The Weather Station - The Robber

DJ Cavem - Sprout That Life

Learn more about the environmental impact of NFTs

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On Switched on Pop we talk to songwriters and artists about how they make great songs. Most songs are written with two or more people in the room. Something we've never done before is pair two of the best songwriters in the business to explain how they create a successful collaboration.

Teddy Geiger is a Grammy nominated songwriter who's written countless number ones. You've likely heard her work with Sean Mendes, Leon Bridges, and Christina Aguilera, among many others. She’s also a critically acclaimed artist who's just released a single called “Love Somebody” written with Ricky Reed and Dan Wilson.

Dan Wilson is the bandleader of Semisonic, famous for the song “Closing Time,” and the co-writer of Adele's “Someone Like You” and “Ready to Make Nice” by the Chicks. Wilson recently shared his top songwriting and collaboration tips published as a deck of cards called Words and Music in Six Seconds. He shared his ground rules for collaboration from the deck, through the case study of Teddy Geiger’s “Love Somebody” as part of On Air Fest 2021.

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Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars have joined forces as the duo Silk Sonic, and their first release “Leave the Door Open” suggests that their collab is as natural as peanut butter and jelly. The song exudes throwback vibes through its lush harmonies and sensuous lyrics. But this isn’t any run-of-the-mill exercise in empty nostalgia. Silk Sonic have a very specific sound in mind that they’re reviving for 21st century audiences: Philly Soul, the sophisticated 70s sound that “put a bow tie on funk.”

Charlie and Nate aren’t the only ones trying to blow the dust out of the grooves of “Leave the Door Open.” Songwriter Tayla Parx, who’s worked with everyone from Ariana Grande to Panic! At the Disco to Anderson Paak himself, joins the hosts to help explain how Silk Sonic created such a catchy track, and why modern listeners might be ready for a blast from the past. 

Songs Discussed

Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open

Aretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer

The Temptations - My Girl

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Martha and the Vandellas - Dancing in the Street

Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness

Sam and Dave - Soul Man

Commodores - Who’s Making Love

MFSB - TSOP

O’Jays - Love Train

Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones

The Stylistics - You Are Everything

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - If You Don’t Know Me By Now

The Delfonics - Didn’t I Blow Your Mind

Seals and Croft - Summer Breeze

Smokey Robinson - Quiet Storm

Teddy Pendergrass - Close the Door

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Adam, Jack and Ryan Met, better known as AJR, started playing gigs on the streets of New York City. The sidewalk hustle taught them how to grab the attention of the least forgiving audience. Now on their fourth studio album, OK Orchestra, they’ve honed an ear-stopping sound that combines modern pop with broadway bombast. 

Their platinum-certified single “Bang” pairs a carnival-like horns section with skittering trap style hi-hats. This strange pairing worked. Peaking at No. 8 on the Hot 100, the song is their strongest commercial release so far, despite sounding like nothing else on Billboard. It is a coming of age celebration (“I’m way too old to try so whatever, come hang / Let’s go out with a bang”) with lyrics that lament the pedestrian parts of adulthood: eating healthy, paying taxes, and remembering your passwords. Like its broadway influences, “Bang” takes little moments and makes them sound larger than life. 

Switched On Pop’s Charlie Harding spoke with Jack and Ryan Met about the making of “Bang,” their latest single “Way Less Sad” and the showtune influences on OK Orchestra.

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Cory Wong is a Minneapolis native and Vulfpeck collaborator known for pushing rhythm guitar from a background instrument to the star of the show. Wong’s a walking encyclopedia of funk guitar, and he takes us through the riffs and styles—from Nile Rodgers to Quincy Jones—that power modern bops such as Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” and Jessie Ware’s “Step Into My Life.” 

For Cory, rhythm guitar isn’t just a source of propulsive joy, but a sound that’s intimately connected to different regional scenes: change one note in a riff and you’ve moved from Philadelphia to Cincinatti. Every bubble and chuck speaks to a history of musical innovation - a history Cory mines on his new album-slash-variety show, Cory and the Wongnotes. Mixing comedy sketches, massively funky performances, and interviews, Cory’s project imagines what happens when the bandleader takes over as late night host.

Songs Discussed (it’s a long one)

VULFPECK - Cory Wong

Doja Cat - Say So

Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Audio) ft. Bruno Mars

Dua Lipa - Levitating

Chic - Good Times

Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star

Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster

Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover

Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger feat. Christina Aguilera

Morris Day & The Time - The Bird

Bootsy Collins - Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band)

Gap Band - I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance (Oops Up Side Your Head)

James Payback - The Payback

Sly & The Family Stone - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Jessie Ware - Step Into My Life

Chic - Le Freak

David Bowie “Modern Love” 

Duran Duran “Notorious” 

Diana Ross - I’m Coming Out

The B52’s “Love Shack” 

Avicii “Lay Me Down” 

Diana Ross - Upside Down

Sister Sledge - We Are Family

Sister Sledge - Thinking Of You 

Sister Sledge - He’s The Greatest Dancer 

Steve Winwood “Higher Love” chorus

Stevie wonder - Higher Ground

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams)

David Bowie - Let's Dance

Madonna - Like a Virgin

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A

Stevie wonder - Higher Ground

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams)

David Bowie - Let's Dance

Madonna - Like a Virgin

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A

Cory Wong - Tiki Hut Strut

Cory and The Wongnotes - Episode 4, “Genre (ft Grace Kelly)”

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The 63rd Grammys was as unprecedented and unusual as last year. Backdropped by the pandemic, the show was delayed and had to be taped in multiple locations in front of a bare bones audience. Echoing the public cries against injustice, standout performances by Mickey Guyton, DaBaby, and Lil Baby decried racism to the nation and to the Grammys—the academy made multiple public statements throughout the night promising to do better. The more light hearted performers played best against highly produced backdrops (Silk Sonic, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, and Taylor Swift), but others fell flat, lacking an audience reaction. Not unexpectedly, the Grammy awards ranged from predictable to jaw dropping. Notably, Beyoncé broke records: she now holds more Grammys than any other singer in history. And the major four categories —Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year — were all awarded to women. While the Grammy ceremony horse race can be as much a commentary on commercial worth as musical strengths, the ceremony has much to teach us about what pop music means in 2021. 

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Ten years ago the Australian artist Gotye asked New Zealand musician Kimbra to feature on his song “Somebody I Used To Know.” At the time Kimbra had no idea it was going to be a hit. No wonder—the song lacks the trappings of a conventional pop song. The chorus shows up late and it only repeats once in a track composed of an obscure Brazilian guitar sample and nursery rhyme xylophones.  

But this slow burner about opposing sides in a relationship's bitter end found a global audience, ascending to No. 1 in more than 25 countries, and accumulating billions of plays across streaming platforms. In 2013, Prince anointed Gotye and Kimbra the Grammy for record of the year (it won best pop duo/group performance as well). The song created many opportunities for both Gotye and Kimbra, but both chose unconventional paths, resisting the industry’s desire to generate the next hit for hits sake.

Reflecting on the song a decade later, Kimbra spoke with Charlie Harding from the podcast Switched On Pop about how this unlikely song inspired her to pursue her singular musical vision, and how it feels to be yet again co-nominated for a 2021 Grammy for her collaboration with Jacob Collier and Tank and The Bangas on “In My Bones.”

SONGS DISCUSSED

Gotye - Somebody I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra)

Luiz Bonfá - Seville 

Kimbra - Miracle 

Kimbra - 90s Music 

Kimbra - Top of the World

Jacob Collier - In My Bones 

Kimbra - Right Direction

Son Lux - Lost It To Trying

MORE

Check out Kimbra’s course on Vocal Creativity, Arranging, and Production over at Soundfly

Listen to our conversation with Jacob Collier

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Kaytranada has what every producer strives for: an in-demand signature sound. His records glide fluidly between four-to-the-floor house beats, hip-hop sample-flipping, and P-Funk style 808 bass lines. He honed the technique as a teenager, and it has since grabbed the attention of some all-star collaborators: Pharrell Williams, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Anderson .Paak, and Kendrick Lamar. This year, he’s nominated for three Grammys, including Best Dance/Electronica Album for his 2019 sophomore release, Bubba, and Best New Artist. But Kaytranada is hardly new to music; at 28, he has been building a career in the industry for more than a decade. Although the recognition may be overdue, the thrill of it hasn’t worn off. “I’m Kaytranada, all the way from Montreal, Canada — been making beats since I was young. And now here I am, [one of the] Best New Artists for the Grammys. It’s really crazy and exciting,” he says. On this week’s episode of Switched on Pop, co-host Charlie Harding spoke with Kaytranada about how his DIY approach to production led him to music’s biggest stage.

SONGS DISCUSSED

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JP Saxe wrote the song “If the World was Ending” with acclaimed songwriter Julia Michaels in 2019 about a fictional cataclysm. The record was released in the before times in a way that seemed to presage lockdown. In the early months of the actual pandemic the song resonated so widely that it catapulted up the charts. It’s now been nominated for a Grammy for song of the year — an award JP Saxe could share with his grandfather János Starker who was awarded a Grammy in 1997 for a recording of Bach’s cello suites. We wanted to speak with JP not just because of the song's success, but also because he has a way of thinking about the practical implications and even morality of songwriting in this track as well as his song "Line By Line" with Maren Morris.

Songs Discussed

JP Saxe with Julia Michaels - If The World Was Ending

JP Saxe - 25 In Barcelona, A Little Bit Yours, The Few Things, Same Room

Lennon Stella - Golf on TV (with JP Saxe)

JP Saxe, Maren Morris - Line By Line

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