Pop Pantheon
224 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 444 ratingsThe podcast where DJ Louie XIV and guests completely overanalyze all your favorite pop stars, then rank them in the official Pop Pantheon.
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Episodes
MICHAEL JACKSON PT. 1: THE JACKSON 5 (with Emily Lordi)
July 11, 2024 07:01 - 2 hours - 111 MBFor the first of our four-part series on the King of Pop, writer, professor and critic Emily Lordi joins Pop Pantheon to help us begin to untangle one of the most knotty legacies in pop history: the story of Michael Jackson. Emily and DJ Louie discuss Michael’s extremely strict upbringing, sadistic abuse at the hands of his father Joe, and the creation of The Jackson 5, from playing the Chitlin' Circuit to landing a Motown deal and kicking off one of the greatest single runs in hist...
Megan Thee Stallion Reps for the South— and Herself— on Megan (with Taylor Crumpton) (Patreon Preview)
July 08, 2024 07:00 - 10 minutes - 9.88 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Megan Thee Stallion's third studio album, Megan, her first as an independent artist and since her infamous beef with Nicki Minaj, dropped last week. Taylor Crumpton is here to help Louie and Russ break down the record's inherent regionality, Megan's new and old poses and themes and what this record might portend for the future of her career. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop...
Megan Thee Stallion Reps for the South— and Herself— on Megan (with Taylor Crumpton)
July 08, 2024 07:00 - 10 minutes - 9.88 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Megan Thee Stallion's third studio album, Megan, her first as an independent artist and since her infamous beef with Nicki Minaj, dropped last week. Taylor Crumpton is here to help Louie and Russ break down the record's inherent regionality, Megan's new and old poses and themes and what this record might portend for the future of her career. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop...
The Winners and Losers of the Touring Boom (with Matthew Perpetua, Zach Schonfeld & Emily Stewart)
July 04, 2024 07:01 - 58 minutes - 53.6 MBAfter the pandemic, fans wanted to see their favs (and even their less favs) so much that the concert touring industry boomed, breaking records and culminating in astronomically expensive blockbuster stadium treks from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. But more recently, the live show gambit has gone bust for superstars like Jennifer Lopez, The Black Keys, Justin Timberlake and more. What changed? Fluxblog's Matthew Perpetua, writer Zach Schonfeld and Business Insider's Emily Stewart are he...
The Chaos and Calculations of Camila Cabello's C,XOXO (with Omri Rolan) (Patreon Preview)
July 01, 2024 23:33 - 9 minutes - 8.79 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Is Camila Cabello's fourth studio album, C, XOXO, a cold-hearted Single White Female-ing of other, cooler pop stars? Or is it an earnest— if chaotic— attempt by the former girl group star to find her authentic voice as a grown up pop diva? Louie, Russ and Friend of the Pod Omri Rolan are here to figure it out. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Di...
KATE BUSH (with Mic the Snare)
June 27, 2024 07:01 - 2 hours - 112 MBMic The Snare joins Pop Pantheon to unpack the wild, unbridled genius of pop’s ultimate enigma, Kate Bush. Louie & Mic The Snare dig into Kate’s teenage record deal and her debut single, 1978’s “Wuthering Heights.” From there they discuss her debut album The Kick Inside, her legendary first – and only – full live tour and her early, pre-MTV adoption music videos for singles like “Babooksha.” Then they work through her gloriously sprawling career, from her 1982 debut on the U.S. albu...
Ranking the Main Pop Girl Albums of 2024 (So Far) (with Ira Madison III)
June 20, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBIt seems like every single Main Pop Girl has dropped an album this year: Ariana, Kacey, Beyoncé, Taylor, Dua, Billie and Charli. And we're only six months in! It's been a whole lot of new music to process but now that we've had a minute to sit with these records, Keep It's Ira Madison III joins DJ Louie to reflect on all of these records, what they have common, what makes each stand out, and debate which they liked and disliked. Ira and Louie give each of the girlie's albums a "Pitc...
Normani's Album is Good. Now What? (with Rolling Stone's Larisha Paul) (Patreon Preview)
June 18, 2024 21:51 - 11 minutes - 10.1 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Normani's debut solo album has been over five years in the making. Now that Dopamine is finally here, was it worth the wait? And with the heat having died down on her career, does it matter? Rolling Stone's Larisha Paul joins the show to help break it all down. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop P...
FRANK OCEAN (with Tre Johnson)
June 13, 2024 07:01 - 2 hours - 115 MBTre Johnson returns to Pop Pantheon for a special Pride episode about one of pop's greatest disruptors, Frank Ocean. Louie and Tre discuss Frank’s first foray into the industry, writing for artists like Brandy and Justin Bieber and his rapturous breakthrough mixtape, 2011’s Nostalgia Ultra, which instantly turned Frank into a critical darling and rewrote the aesthetic and commercial rules of pop. Then they tackle his major label debut, 2012’s Channel Orange, which was accompanied by...
Charli XCX Breaks New Ground on Brat (Patreon Preview)
June 10, 2024 19:58 - 8 minutes - 8.09 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, which dropped Friday, was posited as a dance album. What we actually got was something quite a bit more complicated. On this week's episode, Louie and Russ break the whole thing down. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You...
Queer Women are Taking Over Pop (with Trish Bendix & Mel Woods)
June 06, 2024 07:01 - 55 minutes - 51.3 MBTo kick off Pride Month, Freelance Music Writer Trish Bendix and Senior Editor at Xtra Magazine Mel Woods join Louie to track the conspicuous rise of sapphic-ness in mainstream pop. From BoyGenius to Chappell Roan to Billie Eilish, girls who like girls and make that a huge feature in the music are crossing over onto the top of the Billboard charts. How did we get here? When did this story begin to happen? And what does it say about our culture that this is finally allowed to happen...
PINK (with Molly Mary O'Brien)
May 30, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 102 MBMolly Mary O’Brien returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the unlikely longevity of Pink. Louie and Molly chart Pink’s emergence in Philadelphia clubs as a teenager through to her brief girl group career and her pop debut as a blue-eyed R&B product at the turn of the millennium with 2000’s Can’t Take Me Home. From there they discuss “Lady Marmalade,” Pink’s rocker image overhaul with 2001’s Linda Perry-assisted juggernaut Missundaztood, 2006’s hit-filled I’m Not Dead and 2008’s Funhouse,...
Why are Music Biopics so Bad? (with Keith Phipps)
May 23, 2024 07:01 - 52 minutes - 48 MBThe most recent in a long lineage of music biopics, Back to Black, which purports to chronicle the life of the late great Amy Winehouse came out in the US last week. The film received mostly negative reviews and underperformed at the box office. So why are these movies, generally speaking, so unsuccessful and why do we keep making then? Movie Critic Keith Phipps join DJ Louie to discuss Back to Black, the history of music biopics, why the good ones are good and why most of them are ...
Love Hits Hard, Soft & Everything in Between on Billie Eilish's New Album (with the LA Times' Mikael Wood) (Patreon Preview)
May 20, 2024 23:36 - 9 minutes - 8.89 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Billie Eilish released her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, last Friday. The LA Times' Mikael Wood joins DJ Louie to chronicle the latest evolution in Billie and Finneas' ongoing collaboration and how it fits into the broader glut of Main Pop Girl releases in 2024. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to ...
TINA TURNER (with Yale University's Dr. Daphne Brooks)
May 16, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 93.9 MBYale University’s Dr. Daphne Brooks returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack one of the foundational blueprints for pop stardom as we know it, Tina Turner. Dr. Brooks and Louie trace Tina’s roots in Tennessee, her debut as a nightclub act in St. Louis and her early work with Ike Turner, from their hit single “A Fool in Love” to their string of R&B hits, fiery live revue and work with Phil Spector. They recount Tina’s influence on the major white rock acts of the period, Ike and Tina’s 1971...
Anitta's Global Pop Takeover (with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd) (Patreon Preview)
May 13, 2024 07:01 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Brazilian pop sensation Anitta's most recent recored, Funk Generation, dropped a few weeks ago. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd joins Louie and Russ to break down her rise to global stardom, this record's celebration of Brazilian Baile Funk and put us all on to a couple more rising Brazilian superstars we should all be paying attention to. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheo...
Mariah, Nirvana & The Story of MTV Unplugged (with Rob Tannenbaum & Craig Marks)
May 09, 2024 07:01 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBAfter recent episodes on Mariah and Nirvana, two artists who had massive career-defining moments on MTV's iconic live showcase Unplugged, Louie invited authors of the book I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum to chronicle the history of the series: how it started, why it was important, and which pop stars gave the most indelible performances. Listen to our other MTV-centric episodes on the history of Total Request Live a...
Dua Lipa Disappears on Radical Optimism (with Owen Myers) (Patreon Preview)
May 07, 2024 15:45 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Dua Lipa returned with her much anticipated third album Radical Optimism on Friday. Music writer Owen Myers joins Louie and Russ to parse out the messy rollout and framing, underperforming singles and, after so much hype, how this music actually sounds and who exactly Dua Lipa is on it. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much...
HILARY DUFF (with Legends Only's T. Kyle)
May 02, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 91.4 MBLegends Only co-host T. Kyle makes his Pop Pantheon debut to discuss Hilary Duff’s brief ascension from Disney starlet to massive pop diva. Louie and T. Kyle discuss Hilary’s origins via the Disney assembly line with the early 2000s juggernaut The Lizzie McGuire Show and how it helped launch her pop career, from her debut album of holiday songs to 2003’s The Matrix-crafted Metamorphosis, which includes her most indelible hit, “Come Clean.” Then they unpack Hilary’s 2004 self-titled ...
Is the Music Video Dead? (with Michael Cragg)
April 25, 2024 07:01 - 56 minutes - 51.3 MBIn the past few years, we've seen a serious decline in the centrality of and views for music videos across the board, even for the biggest pop stars. Journalist Michael Cragg recently chronicled this phenomenon in his piece for The Guardian, "'This is an Art Form— and We're Losing it': Is the Music Video Dying?" and today, he joins DJ Louie to discuss the piece and the general state of the music video in 2024. Is the music video format still vital? Why has viewership declined? What ...
Pop Pantheon Live! Tortured Poets & the State of Taylor Mania (with Brittany Spanos, Nora Princiotti & Hunter Harris) (Patreon Preview)
April 23, 2024 13:27 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, last night in front of a live audience at The Bell House in Brooklyn, Pop Pantheon gathered Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos, Every Single Album's Nora Princiotti and Hung Up's Hunter Harris to discuss Taylor Swift's 11th studio album(s?) The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. Louie and the crew dissect the new music from every angle: major themes, aesthetics, writing styles, the Jack Antonoff of it all and more. Ne...
NIRVANA (with Bandsplain's Yasi Salek)
April 18, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBBandsplain’s Yasi Salek joins DJ Louie to trace Nirvana's brief, iconoclastic trail through pop's mainstream in the early 1990s. Louie and Yasi unpack the group's origins in Aberdeen, Washington, their time on famed indie label Sub Pop, known for popularizing the "grunge" sound, and their bleak, sparse debut in 1989, Bleach, which garnered them a cult following. Next, they tackle Nirvana's breakthrough smash, the generational anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and 1991’s unexpected b...
Listener Mailbag! Taylor, Pop Pet Peeves & a *Very* Special Guest
April 11, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBIt's listener mailbag time! Louie and Russ are answering all your questions about their expectations for Taylor's The Tortured Poets Department, their personal pop pet peeves, the formula for following up a blockbuster album, why there are no more male pop stars and so much more. Plus, stay tuned until the end of the episode for a very special surprise guest appearance :-). Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More Shop Merch in Pop Panth...
BRANDY (with Naomi Zeichner)
April 04, 2024 07:01 - 2 hours - 111 MBCritic and writer Naomi Zeichner joins Pop Pantheon to explore the career of the “vocal bible,” Brandy. Louie and Naomi unpacked Brandy’s self-titled 1994 debut, released when she was just 15, her landmark acting roles as Moesha and Cinderella, and 1998’s Darkchild-assisted Never Say Never, which reimagined her at the vanguard of R&B futurism and became one of the signature blockbusters of the decade. They then discuss 2002 adventurous electropop-R&B fantasia Full Moon, 2004’s deepl...
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is a Genre Explosion (with Danielle Amir Jackson) (Patreon Preview)
April 01, 2024 21:59 - 10 minutes - 10 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Beyoncé eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, dropped last Friday. Once perceived as a foray into country music, this sprawling 80 (!!) minute epic turned out to be so much more than that and, as with any Bey project, begs for some serious unpacking. DJ Louie, Russ and Oxford American's Danielle Amir Jackson are here to do just that, breaking down the music, themes, references, history and breadth of the expansive second in...
Beyoncé, Black Country & the Long Road to Cowboy Carter (With Dr. Francesca Royster & Taylor Crumpton)
March 28, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 61 MBTonight, Beyoncé will drop her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, her first explicit full-length foray into country music. As with every Bey project, there's a ton of meaning and history to unpack. DePaul University professor and author of Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions, Dr. Francesca Royster, and writer and editor Taylor Crumpton, author of TIME piece Beyoncé Has Always Been Country, join the show to explain the long and often under-sung history of Black women in...
Finding Bliss in Existentialism on Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well (with Jewly Hight) (Patreon Preview)
March 26, 2024 14:10 - 10 minutes - 9.7 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, music critic Jewly Hight joins DJ Louie for a wide-ranging discussion about Kacey Musgraves' fifth studio album, Deeper Well, which dropped last week. Louie and Jewly discuss how this record fits in the broader narrative arc of Kacey's music and career trajectory, her influences from across the folk rock spectrum and the themes on this music from break-ups to death to the meaning of life itself, all filtered through Kacey...
CALVIN HARRIS & DAVID GUETTA (with Lina Abascal)
March 21, 2024 07:01 - 2 hours - 121 MBCulture writer and author Lina Abascal returns to Pop Pantheon to revisit the fleeting early 2010s moment when EDM DJs utterly consumed American popular music via two of the genre’s most emblematic figures, David Guetta and Calvin Harris. Louie and Lina trace David’s roots in the Paris club scene through to his breakthrough in the U.S. with hits like "When Love Takes Over", "Sexy Bitch" & "Memories", "Where Them Girls At?", "Titanium" and "Turn Me On", his big pop collaborations wit...
Britney and Janet Aren’t Justin Timberlake’s Only Problem (with Vox's Kyndall Cunningham) (Patreon Preview)
March 19, 2024 14:51 - 10 minutes - 9.53 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Justin Timberlake put out his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was, last Friday. But is it possible to hear this music— or appreciate Justin's talents— outside of the narrative nosedive his career has taken in the last decade? Vox's Kyndall Cunningham joins Louie and Russ to discuss. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and...
Do You Still Listen to Kanye West and Michael Jackson? (with Tre Johnson & Kemi Olivia Alemoru)
March 14, 2024 07:01 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBHost and culture writer for Dazed, Vogue and more, Kemi Olivia Alemoru, and writer on race, culture and politics and author of the upcoming book Black Genius, Tre Johnson, join the show to discuss how we as critics and the public interface with the work of famous pop stars who have done awful things. Kemi, Tre and Louie dig into the complex legacies of Kanye West and Michal Jackson in particular, parsing apart how darker revelations about each of their characters have impacted how t...
The Novel & Familiar Thrills of Ariana Grande's Eternal Sunshine (with Bustle's Nolan Feeney) (Patreon Preview)
March 11, 2024 19:24 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode and as a capstone to our latest series on Ariana Grande, Bustle's Nolan Feeney joins DJ Louie to discuss Ari's seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which dropped on Friday. Louie and Nolan dig into all the record's themes, aesthetics, how it toys with her public narrative, the impact of collaborator Max Martin, absence of long-time songwriting aces Victoria Monet and Tayla Parx and so much more. To hear the rest of the...
ARIANA GRANDE: PART 2 (with Pitchfork's Anna Gaca)
March 07, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 106 MBFor part two of our Ariana Grande series, Pitchfork senior editor Anna Gaca is here to discuss the aesthetic pivot of 2018’s Sweetener, the superstar's first album following the horrific bombing of her Manchester concert and which found her reaching for light amidst unthinkable darkness. From there, Louie and Anna tackle the tabloid frenzy of Ari's relationship with comedian Pete Davidson and how their break-up, along with the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, turned 2019’s than...
ARIANA GRANDE: PART 1 (with the LA Times' Mikael Wood)
February 29, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 97.3 MBPop music critic at the LA Times, Mikael Wood, joins Pop Pantheon for our first ever full re-examination of the first ever artist we ever ranked in the official Pop Pantheon: Ariana Grande. In Part 1, Louie and Mikael trace Ariana’s roots as a performer, from her start on Broadway as a teenager to her Nickelodeon years and her bubblegum debut single through to her first studio album, 2013’s Babyface-assisted Yours Truly. Then they tackle 2014’s My Everything, which ensconced Arian...
NYC Live Show! Talking Taylor at the Bellhouse on 4/22
February 26, 2024 08:01 - 2 minutes - 1.98 MBWhen was the last time a single pop star dominated culture like Taylor Swift? From her blockbuster re-recordings, which brought a new generation of fans into the Swiftie fold, to her world-conquering Eras Tour, record-breaking 4th Album of the Year Grammy for 2022’s Midnights and the endless fascination with her personal life and new relationship with Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift has become the biggest music superstar of the millennium. In the wake of her eleventh studio album, The To...
JLo, Beyoncé & the Surprisingly Long History of the Visual Album (with Sydney Urbanek)
February 22, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBJennifer Lopez might not have stopped the world when she released her new self-financed visual album, This is Me... Now: A Love Story, last week. But she certainly drummed up a lot of conversation, much of which most certainly would not have been happening had she simply dropped a new record. After watching the film, DJ Louie got together with writer Sydney Urbanek, who is currently developing a series for her newsletter Mononym Mythology on the history of the visual album, to tal...
Can We Justify Justin Timberlake's Justified? (with Rachel Brodsky) (Patreon Preview)
February 19, 2024 08:01 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, as we gear up for Justin Timberlake's sixth studio album Everything I Thought I Was, due in March, DJ Louie and writer Rachel Brodsky gather to reflect on his debut, 2002's Justified. The two parse out how Justin's public profile nosedive has impacted the public's experience of this music, whether it's possible to enjoy this album in vacuum, and If perhaps there's been an overcorrection on Timberlake in recent years that ...
SHERYL CROW (with Natalie Weiner)
February 15, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 90 MBWriter Natalie Weiner joins Pop Pantheon to unpack Sheryl Crow’s “winding road” to pop superstardom. Natalie and Louie trace back Sheryl’s early days in the music business, from her gig singing backup on Michael Jackson's blockbuster Bad Tour to writing songs for Celine Dion and Tina Turner, then discuss the roots rock infused pop of 1993's Tuesday Night Music Club that made Sheryl a star and won her Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. From there, they break down her signature 199...
Beyoncé's Surprise Singles + Usher's Halftime Show + New Music Speed Round (with Variety's Steven J. Horowitz) (Patreon Preview)
February 12, 2024 23:13 - 10 minutes - 9.2 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Beyoncé dropped two singles plus announced her new album! Usher performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show! Variety's Steven J. Horowitz joins Louie and Russ to discuss it all, plus a new music speed round featuring Justin Timberlake, Kacey Musgraves & Ice Spice. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop P...
Second Spin: USHER (with Rawiya Kameir)
February 10, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 96.6 MBIn anticipation of Usher's Super Bowl Halftime performance on Sunday, we're re-sharing our episode on him from September 2022. Music writer and Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, Rawiya Kameir, is back on the show to discuss the career and confessions of the great Usher. DJ Louie and Rawiya break down Usher’s musical origins singing in the church, the failed boy band he fronted in the early ‘90s, Nu Beginnings, and how his deal with the storied LaFace Records and subseque...
N*cki, M*gan & Why it's Time to Rethink Stan Culture (with Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh)
February 08, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBThe long-simmering beef between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion recently exploded from our streaming services with the release of their respective diss tracks "Big Foot" and "Hiss" and onto social media, where Nicki vented her ire for her rival for days, then, thanks to the rapper's most ardent fans, onto some people's front doorsteps and even to the gravesite of Megan's mother. This beef is yet another moment where the ferocity of stan armies and their relentless defense of t...
The Grammys Still Have a Problem with Black Women (with Variety's Chris Willman) (Patreon Preview)
February 05, 2024 21:08 - 7 minutes - 7.24 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, it’s been 25 years since a Black woman won Album of the Year. If neither Beyonce or SZA can do it, who can? Louie + Russ ponder that question with Variety’s Chris Willman as they walk through the good, the bad + the infuriating from the 2024 Grammys. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All ...
FERGIE (with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd)
February 01, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 89.4 MBFor part two of our Black Eyed Peas series, writer and critic Julianne Escobedo Shepherd returns to Pop Pantheon to dissect the brief but remarkable reign of the Duchess of Pop, Fergie. Louie and Julianne break down Fergie’s brushes with child stardom via Peanuts and Kids Incorporated and her failed 90s girl group, Wild Orchid. Then they explore the sonic melange of her debut solo album, 2006’s The Dutchess, which traded in everything from camp pop-rap to 80s hip house, mid-century...
THE BLACK EYED PEAS (with The Ringer's Rob Harvilla)
January 25, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 106 MBRinger music critic and host of 60 Songs That Explain the '90s Rob Harvilla returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss one of the most derided – and successful – pop acts of the 21st Century, The Black Eyed Peas. Louie and Rob trace the group’s roots as an optimistic, politically progressive “conscious rap” crew, starting with their first two pre-Fergie records, 1998’s Behind The Front and 2000’s Bridging the Gap. Then they tackle the Peas’ reinvention as a garish, craven, operatically tack...
How Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia Made Her a Main Pop Girl (with Pitchfork's Anna Gaca) (Patreon Preview)
January 22, 2024 08:01 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, when it came out in 2020 at the height of Covid19 lockdown, Dua Lipa's sophomore album Future Nostalgia made her a superstar. Now, nearly four years later and on the eve of a new Dua era, Senior Editor at Pitchfork Anna Gaca, who reviewed the album when it dropped, is here to talk about the record, how it's held up, how Dua's dance revival set the terms for pop and where it all positions her in the pop landscape as she ve...
Why Can't Pop Stars Score Two Hits Off One Album? (with Andrew Unterberger & Eric Bennett)
January 18, 2024 08:01 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBOlivia Rodrigo's Guts, Harry Styles' Harry's House, Lizzo's Special, Adele's 30, Miley Cyrus' Endless Summer Vacation. What's one thing all of these albums have in common? They're each major releases by pop superstars in the last few years that churned out one massive hit single and then struggled to find a second to match it. They also serve as slightly counterintuitive representations of the state of the modern pop blockbuster in which, unlike past eras, putting together a string ...
Ariana Returns! Plus New Music from Lil Nas X & Jennifer Lopez (Patreon Preview)
January 15, 2024 23:12 - 10 minutes - 9.41 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, the year is major pop star releases kicked off late last week with three singles from three stars of three different pop generations: Ariana Grande's "Yes, And?", Lil Nas X's "J. Christ" & Jennifer Lopez' "Can't Get Enough". Louie and Russ gather to break each of them down, share their thoughts on their quality and parse out how each of these superstars are attacking the idea of the lead single in the fractured, center-le...
DEMI LOVATO (with Molly Mary O'Brien)
January 11, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 110 MBHost of the And Introducing podcast Molly Mary O'Brien returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss the often harrowing and sometimes triumphant life and career of Demi Lovato. Molly and Louie unpack Demi’s squeaky clean debut on Barney at 10 and her induction into the Disney machine, from her starring role in Camp Rock to her Hollywood Records efforts, including 2008’s well-made but anodyne Don’t Forget and 2009’s Kidz-Bop-Kelly-Clarkson Here We Go Again. Then they discuss Demi’s very publ...
What Pantheon Rankings Did I Get Wrong in 2023?: Shakira, The Simpson Sisters, Lana & More!
January 04, 2024 08:01 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBBefore we launch all our exciting new content for 2024, Louie and Russ look back on every single Pop Pantheon ranking from 2023 and discuss whether we got it right or wrong, take calls and emails from listeners with their ranking disputes and adjust some of our decisions. Does Shakira move from Tier 2 to Tier 1? Does Jessica Simpson really deserve to be in Tier 5?? And should the Niche Legend tier exist at all?!?! It's all on the table. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon...
Hard Candy is a Sweet Spot in Madonna's Late Period (with Miles Marshall Lewis) (Patreon Preview)
January 03, 2024 08:01 - 8 minutes - 7.35 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and guest Miles Marshall Lewis look back Madonna's 11th studio album, 2008's Hard Candy, an album where the Queen of Pop uncharacteristically played catch-up with her pop star progeny, enlisting Timabland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell to help get her music back in American radio's good graces. The gambit only minorly paid off. The album received mixed reviews and while lead single "4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberla...
How Has Lady Gaga's Chromatica Held Up? (with Matthew Perpetua & Molly Mary O'Brien) (Patreon Rerun)
December 28, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 56 MBMerry Christmas & Happy New Year! In a rerun of an episode from Pop Pantheon: All Access published back in May, Fluxblog's Matthew Perpetua & host of the And Introducing podcast Molly Mary O'Brien join DJ Louie to look back on three years of Chromatica: How they absorbed it when it dropped in the context of May 2020, how it sounds to them now, what's happening aesthetically and thematically on the songs, where it stacks up against in Gaga's catalog and what it says about her statu...