From time to time, it is our constitutional duty to provide an update to the people on the current state of pop. What are the sounds? Who’s making the hits? What are they singing about? We take the musical temperature by consulting the charts, the platforms, and the people.
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Cat Zhang’s review of PinkPantheress’ “Passion”
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The State of the Pop Union

A podcast all about the making and meaning of popular music. Musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding pull back the curtain on how pop hits work magic on our ears & our culture. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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There are few artists pushing the boundaries of their respective genres like Maryland rapper Rico Nasty and German-Iraqi electronic producer Boys Noize. The two have run in the same circles for over half a decade, but their joint collaboration has reached an apex with their three song EP, HARDC0RE DR3AMZ, a dance-floor ready project that owes as much to Berlin techno as it does to Dutch gabber music. Rico and Boys Noize – a.k.a. Alexander Ridha – are also incredible friends with a lot of love for one another, and for producer Reanna Cruz, all of these reasons make the duo’s EP one of the best projects of the year.

On the heels of Berlin techno being added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage for Germany, Reanna sat down with Rico and Alex for this episode of Switched on Pop.
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Berlin's Hottest Club is Rico Nasty & Boys Noize

Joe Keery is best known for his acting roles, such as the reformed jock Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" and his chilling performance in season 5 of "Fargo." But he's also a spectacular musician. Rising through the Chicago music scene in college, he has self-released two albums under the moniker 'Djo.' His latest work, "Decide" from 2022, serves as a coming-of-age story and a meditation on navigating modern life. Despite strong initial reviews, the album only gained widespread attention two years later when its breakout hit "End of Beginning" became a soundtrack for youthful nostalgia on TikTok, casting Keery as an accidental pop star. Joe Keery joined "Switched On Pop" to discuss the creation and significance of "Decide."

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Chasing old sounds: Djo's "End of Beginning" with Joe Keery

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is her foray into country music, but this isn't just dirt roads, blue jeans and whiskey. Her country music distills all of American pop: blues, gospel, R&B, soul, house, hip-hop and yes, country. If this ain't country, what is?
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Cowboy Carter: This Ain't Country

Hip-hop is in a weird place right now. Research says that the genre, in both streaming and chart performance, has declined over the last decade. And while rap artists can still get number one songs on the Hot 100, it’s a far cry from the peak of trap circa 2017, when Nielsen data named hip-hop as the most popular genre in the U.S.
So what does that mean for the future of rap? To find out, producer Reanna Cruz spent all weekend reporting from Inglewood, CA, at the California edition of the world’s largest hip-hop festival: Rolling Loud. Through talking to attendees and catching the weekend’s hottest sets, they learned about the current state of hip-hop – the good and the bad – as well as what the future may hold.
To read Reanna’s highs and lows from the festival, check out their Vulture article here. 

Special thanks to Antonio Cruz for his production help on this episode.

Songs Discussed:

OsamaSon – Pop

Nicki Minaj – BARBIE DANGEROUS

¥$, Kanye West, & Ty Dolla $ign – EVERYBODY (live)

¥$, Kanye West, & Ty Dolla $ign – BACK TO ME (live)

Junior H – Y LLORO

Natanael Cano – Pacas de Billetes

Fuerza Regida – Enculado

That Mexican OT, Lefty SM – Barrio (with Lefty SM)

That Mexican OT – Cowboy Killer (live)

KenTheMan – Not My N**** – Extended

KenTheMan – Poppin Sh!t

KenTheMan – Keep Going (live)

Kaliii – Area Codes

Action Bronson & Statik Selektah – Respect the Moustache

Drake, SZA, & Sexyy Red – Rich Baby Daddy (live)

Sexyy Red, Sukihana – Born By the River (feat. Sukihana)

Sexyy Red, Chief Keef – Skee Yee (live)

Nettspend – shine n peace (live)

Nettspend – deftones snippet (live)

Matt Ox – Overwhelming

Nettspend – What they say

SOPHIE – BIPP


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Hip-hop's Sea Change at Rolling Loud

What do Duke Ellington, United Airlines, and the K Pop group Red Velvet share in common? They've all covered George Gershwin's piano concerto, Rhapsody in Blue. First premiered in 1924, the piece became an immediate hit for the way it blended American jazz with the European symphonic tradition. Gershwin had a number of successes as a composer in his day—his aria "Summertime" from the opera Porgy and Bess is by some measures the most covered song ever—but the staying power of the Rhapsody make it a rare instrumental piece that's instantly familiar. Maybe too familiar.
In 2024, there will be many centennial performances of this iconic piece, but pianist Lara Downes wanted to do something more than just the sound the notes of Gershwin's score for the umpteenth time. Downes commissioned Puerto Rican musician Edmar Colon to create a new version of Gershwin's composition, one that brought in the full spectrum of American life in 1924: fiery improvisation, Latin percussion, and dance rhythms. The resultant piece both pays tribute to an American icon while adding a new set of modern counterpoint.
Nate sat down with Lara to ask her if she was nervous to rewrite such a canonic piece, why a concerto is like a musical kaleidoscope, and the surprising family connection to Gershwin's musical world she discovered while researching Rhapsody in Blue.

Songs Discussed
George Gershwin, Lara Downes, Edmar Colon - Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Gershwin - 3 Preludes: II. Andante con moto e poco rubato
Sarah Vaughan - Nice Work if You can Get It
Sam Cooke - Summertime
Chet Baker - But not For ME
Louis Armstrong - Aint Misbehavin
Ella Fitzgerald - Blue Skies
Red Velvet - Birthday
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The State of the Pop Union

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