Switched on Pop

50 episodes in, hosts Charlie and Nate take a step back to think about how they listen to music and try to define what might be called The Switched on Method™. "Hallelujah," by the late, great Leonard Cohen, acts as a perfect test case for breaking down listening into four key layers: 1) The Liner Notes, 2) The Needle Drop, 3) The Scratch, and 4) The Remix. Through this patented process, artistic revelations are all but guaranteed, with Cohen's opus no exception — his modern classic is not all it appears to be. 

Featuring:

•Leonard Cohen - "Hallelujah"

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On the surface, Tove Lo's new hit "Cool Girl" boasts a snappy, earworm chorus and an empowering message of self-reliance. Beneath its chill exterior, though, Lo's song burns with a passion bordering on rage, and sinister sonic undertones suggest an unreliable narrator who doesn't always mean what she says. The more layers one pulls back from this song, the more Lo's source material—the novel and film "Gone Girl"—comes to the fore, turning "Cool Girl" into the kind of pop smash that sticks in your head in more ways than one. 

Featuring:

Tove Lo - Cool Girl

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster

Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful

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Back in 2011, two pop songs dropped with the same patriotic title: "Made in America." But the similarities pretty much end there. Toby Keith's country smash and Jay Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean's soulful hip hop anthem have little in common except a firm conviction that each song knows what it really means to be American. Five years later, these tracks have a lot to tell us about the role music plays in shaping our national identity, and begs the question: does music truly bring us together?

FeaturingToby Keith - Made In AmericaJay Z and Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean - Made in AmericaSisqo - Thong SongUsher - Yeah!Beyoncé - Daddy LessonsJimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No. 9Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - Ida Red Likes to Boogie

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Host Charlie spent the last two weeks listening to every song on the Billboard Hot 100. What did he discover? That the sonic similarities of most chart-toppers sound closer than ever. Except for the #1 song in America, as of this episode's release - "Closer" by The Chainsmokers, ft. Halsey. This one is different than the rest...or is it? We dive into the styles of the moment to re-learn the old maxim that "great artists steal" - whether that artist is a 2016 DJ duo or an 18th century Classical master. 

Featuring:

•Tory Lanez - LUV

•Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better

•Frenship - Capsize

•Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know

•Cheat Codes - Sex

•The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey - Closer

•Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez - We Don't Talk Anymore

•Jack U ft. Justin Bieber - Where Are U Now

•Drake - Know Yourself

•Amine - Caroline

•MO - Final Song

•Mike Posner - I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb remix)

•The Weeknd - I Can't Feel My Face

•The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan - All We Know

•Antonio Vivaldi - "La Primavera" Concerto

•Vivaldi - Giustino

•Vivaldi - Dorilla in Tempe

•Vivaldi - Orlando Furioso

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The Nokia ringtone used to be heard more than a billion times per 

day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. We tend to 

consider cellphone rings as somewhat antithetical to 

music. There is a whole subset of YouTube videos dedicated to the perverse thrill of 

watching a delicately beautiful musical moment ruined by the harsh cry 

of a default ringtone. In this episode, we zoom in on one of these 

annoying melodies to see if there's not some hidden musical craft 

present in the ubiquitous bleeps and bloops that envelop us. Later, 

Charlie shares a piece made solely of this sonic detritus, and a data 

scientist locates surprising musical patterns in a most unexpected 

source.

Featuring:The Nokia TuneThe Beatles - She's So HeavyOne Direction - Live While We're YoungFrancisco Tarrega - Gran ValsLinks:Charlie Harding - Bowl ArrowJonathan Berger's Article in Nautlius: How Music Hijacks our Perception of TimeFamous Cell Phone Rings Played on the Piano by Tony AnnGreg Hochmuth's work

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Lady Gaga's new single "Perfect Illusion" is the apotheosis of her artistic statement. She is well known for her visual style that too often overshadows her music. But when taken together, it is evident that Lady Gaga is playing all of us because the non-conformity of her outward appearance is reflected back in her compositions. On first listen, her songs may sound like just another catchy pop tune and this is intentional. Gaga lures us close with the sound of pop fame and then hooks us and reels us into into her dungeon of monstrous sounds.

FeaturingLady Gaga - Perfect IllusionLady Gaga - Just DanceLady Gaga - Government HookerQueen - Radio GagaLady Gaga - Love GameLady Gage - ScheisseMichael Jackson - ThrillerPhantom Of The Opera - OvertureJohn Carpenter - Halloween Theme (Main Title)Lady Gaga - Bad RomanceLady Gaga - AlejandroAce Of Bass - I Saw The SignLady Gaga - SpeechlessQueen - Don’t Stop Me NowLady Gaga - So Happy I Could DieNatasha Bedingfield - Pocket Full of SunshineLady Gaga - Born This WayMadonna - Express YourselfLady Gaga - TeethLady Gaga - Bloody MaryLady Gaga - Dance In The DarkTony Bennett and Lady Gaga - Anything GoesTony Bennett - I Wish I Were In Love Again

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Certain pop songs have that moment, when everything seems to change but still remain the same, when the drama gets ratcheted up, when the tension increases and our emotions take an elevator ride to the heavens. From Beyoncé to Johnny Cash, savvy pop songwriters know a well-placed harmonic modulation can leave listeners reeling. But what is this mysterious musical trick, and how does it work? Tune in and let us take you higher, and higher, and higher, as we explore the wild world of modulation.

FeaturingOne Direction - Night ChangesTaylor Swift - Love StoryBackstreet Boys - I Want it That WayStevie Wonder - Knocks Me Off my FeetBeyonce - Love On TopWhitney Houston - I Will Always Love YouMozart - Queen of the Night AriaMichael Jackson - Man in the MirrorThe Beatles - Penny LaneJohnny Cash - Walk the Line

Hear more of Dru Cutler's work at www.drucutler.com

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A strange syndrome is wreaking havoc on the voices of our biggest pop stars. From Rihanna to Justin Bieber, no one is safe from having their beautiful vocals chopped up, screwed down, repitched and repurposed. As dance music takes over the charts and new software grants vocal manipulation at the click of a button, this uncanny production technique has become nearly ubiquitous. But is this ultramodern sound really that new? We dig deep into the roots of the sound of the moment.

Featuring:

• Kiaara - Gold

• Coldplay - Hymn for the Weekend (Seeb remix)

• Hailee Steinfeld ft. Grey & Zedd - Starving

• Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna - This is What You Came For

• Mike Posner -I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb remix)

• DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You

• Cold Crush Brothers - MC Battle (Live)

• Cerrone - Rocket in the Pocket

• Wu Tang Clan - Tearz

• Wendy Rene - After Laughter

• Kanye West - School Spirit

• Whistle - Just Buggin

• Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait

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This episode marks something of a departure from the norm. With Charlie away, host Nate, aka "Hubcap," takes us on a home-show tour of the Scottish Highlands with his traveling minstrel act, The Gideon and Hubcap Show. It's an entirely different kind of summer music spectacle. 

Featuring:

•13,000 Miles - Gideon Irving

•Oh Wow - Gideon Irving

•Ida Done - Gideon and Hubcap

•Safe Word - Gideon and Hubcap

•Hebrides Overture – Felix Mendelssohn

•Mouth Music - From the Smithsonian Folkways Collection, Scottish Drinking and Pipe Songs

•Breabach - Gig Face

•Cuyahoga - Gideon and Hubcap

Check out www.mynameisgideon.com and www.gideonandhubcap.com for more.

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