Switched on Pop
{{Short description|Podcast by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox podcast
| title = Switched On Pop
| image = Switched On Pop logo.jpeg
| host = Nate Sloan, Charlie Harding
| genre = Music podcast
| language = English
| began = Oct 2014
| website = {{URL|https://switchedonpop.com/}}
| updates = Weekly
| production = New York Magazine, Vox Media
| num_episodes = 364 (As of 6 June 2024)
}}
Switched on Pop is a podcast about popular music. The show was created in 2014. It is hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding.
Reception
The show has received generally very positive reviews, with acclaim from many leading media outlets. In a review for The New Yorker, music critic Alex Ross (music critic) praised Switched On Pop saying “the show’s hosts deliver charmingly rigorous dissections of Taylor Swift and Weeknd songs, slipping in a fair amount of music history and theory."{{cite magazine |last1=Ross |first1=Alec |title=The Musicological Zest of Switched On Pop |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/the-musicological-zest-of-switched-on-pop/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=1 March 2021}} Rolling Stone said “music theory class was never this fun or addictive.”{{cite magazine |title=Culture Index: Twin Peaks, Alien: Covenant and the James Bond Time Forgot |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/culture-index-twin-peaks-alien-covenant-and-the-james-bond-time-forgot-117739/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=19 May 2017}} The show was named one of The Atlantic’s Top 50 podcasts of 2019,{{cite news |last1=Standley |first1=Laura Jane |title=The 50 Best Podcasts of 2019 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/12/50-best-podcasts-2019/604165/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=The Atlantic |date=27 Dec 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114170709/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/12/50-best-podcasts-2019/604165/ |archive-date=January 14, 2024 }} one of the Guardian's best music podcasts in 2021 for its “forensic music analysis,”{{cite news |last1=Hunt |first1=Elle |title=Harmony in your head: the five best podcasts for music obsessives
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/dec/21/harmony-in-your-head-the-five-best-podcasts-for-music-obsessives/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=21 Dec 2021}} one of Time Out's best podcasts of 2022,{{cite news |last1=Kryza |first1=Andy |title=The 50 best podcasts to listen to in 2022
|url=https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-podcasts/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=Time Out |date=30 Aug 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125004111/https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-podcasts/ |archive-date=November 25, 2022 }} one of Vogue’s top podcasts of 2023,{{cite news |last1=Vogue |first1= |title=The Best Podcasts of 2023
|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-podcasts-2023/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=Vogue |date=7 Dec 2023}} and one of Esquire’s best podcasts in 2024.{{cite news |last1=Nicholson |first1=Tom |title=The 56 Best Podcasts You Can Listen to in 2024
|url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a26086091/best-podcasts/ |accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=Esquire |date=16 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419121123/https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a26086091/best-podcasts/ |archive-date=April 19, 2024 }}
Background
Nate Sloan is a musicology professor at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. Charlie Harding is a songwriter and a adjunct professor of music at New York University. Harding and Sloan started their podcast in October 2014.{{cite news |last1=Wafai |first1=Yasmeen |title=Why do the catchy lyrics always get stuck in your head? This book about pop music explains. |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/think-you-dont-like-pop-music-in-their-new-book-these-podcasters-encourage-you-to-reconsider/ |accessdate=14 August 2020 |work=The Seattle Times |date=16 January 2020}} In the podcast, which is produced in partnership with New York Magazine, the duo discuss and analyze the musical concepts behind popular music.{{cite news |last1=Hancock |first1=Amanda |title=Why Lewis Capaldi's sad banger 'Someone You Loved' has become an unlikely pop hit |url=https://gazette.com/arts-entertainment/why-lewis-capaldis-sad-banger-someone-you-loved-has-become-an-unlikely-pop-hit/article_ea1793f2-d651-11e9-814a-8f7f521d2f6d.html |accessdate=14 August 2020 |work=Colorado Springs Gazette |date=29 September 2019 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Ellen |title=Switched On Pop Hosts Charlie Harding & Nate Sloan Tell You Why You Should Care About Pop Music in New Book |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/switched-on-pop/switched-on-pop-podcast-book/ |accessdate=14 August 2020 |work=Paste |date=9 December 2019 |language=en}}
= Awards =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Award !Year !Category !Result !Ref. |
| Signal Awards
|2023 |Best Music Podcast |{{Won}} |
| PROSE Awards
|2021 |Music & The Performing Arts |{{Won}} |
| Webby Awards
|2020 |People's Voice Award for Best Arts & Culture Podcast |{{Won}} |
| People's Choice Podcast Awards
|2019 |Best Music Podcast |{{Won}} |
{{Infobox book
| name = Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters
| image = Switched on pop cover.jpg
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| author = {{unbulleted list|Charlie Harding|Nate Sloan}}
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| subject = Pop music
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| publisher = Oxford University Press
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| pub_date = 2019
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| pages = 224
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| isbn = 978-0-190-05665-0
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| congress = ML3470 .S6 2020
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Book adaptation
Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters is a 2019 nonfiction book written by Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan with illustrations provided by Iris Gottlieb.{{cite news |last1=McKenna |first1=Max |title='Switched on Pop' Schools the Academy |url=https://www.popmatters.com/switched-on-pop-2644675739.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 |accessdate=14 August 2020 |work=PopMatters |date=16 January 2020 |language=en}} The book covers pop music from a musicological perspective. The book is a literary component to the podcast Switched on Pop which is co-hosted by Harding and Sloan and similarly analyzes pop music in a more academic style.{{cite news |last1=Amar |first1=John |title=Beethoven to Beyoncé: Switched on Pop Authors and Podcast Hosts Reveal the Powers of Popular Music |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/sloan-and-harding-explore-popular-music-in-podcast-and-book-switched-on-pop-11470539 |accessdate=14 August 2020 |work=Houston Press |date=15 May 2020}} The title of both the book and podcast is a play on the debut album by the American composer Wendy Carlos Switched-On Bach. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Harding and Sloan revealed they decided to write the book because "the book allows us to think about the things we’ve learned and put them in historical context" and because listeners wanted a "comprehensive guide to how to listen more thoughtfully."{{cite news |last1=Shah |first1=Neil |title=The Secret Sauce Behind Pop-Music Hits |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-sauce-behind-pop-music-hits-11575980523 |accessdate=23 August 2020 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=10 December 2019}}
Chapters
The book contains 16 chapters. Each chapter focuses on a pop song from the previous twenty years and uses it to explain a specific musical concept. For example, "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears is used to explain counterpoint and "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. is used to highlight the historical and legal aspects of sampling. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen and "Get Enough" by Paul McCartney are also analyzed in the introduction and conclusion, respectively, without an associated musical concept.
Book reception
Switched on Pop received positive reviews from critics. Hannah Giorgis of The Atlantic praised the book, writing "Switched on Pop is a far less foreboding sensory experience than 'Swimming Pools,' but it’s no less immersive."{{cite news |last1=Giorgis |first1=Hannah |title=Diving Into Pop Music's Hidden Depths |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2019/12/switched-pop-unpacking-power-pop-music/603778/ |access-date=21 August 2020 |work=The Atlantic |date=19 December 2019}} Emily Bootle of the New Statesman noted that the "required understanding of music theory leads to necessarily laborious explanations, but also allows for the authors' most illuminating insights".{{cite news |last1=Bootle |first1=Emily |title=Switched On Pop: a nerdy appreciation of pop music |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2020/01/switched-pop-nerdy-appreciation-pop-music |accessdate=21 August 2020 |work=New Statesman |date=8 January 2020 |language=en}} Neil Shah of The Wall Street Journal lauded the book for its "sophisticated but accessible discussion" of the selected musical tracks. The book won the 2021 PROSE Award Subject Category Winner for Music & the Performing Arts.{{cite news |last1=|first1=|title=2021 Winners |url=https://publishers.org/news/association-of-american-publishers-announces-finalists-for-2021-prose-awards/|accessdate=6 June 2024 |work=PROSE Awards |date=21 January 2021 |language=en}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://switchedonpop.com/}}
Category:2019 non-fiction books
Category:Books about pop music