Pop Pantheon
203 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 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
PRINCE: PART 3 (with Miles Marshall Lewis)
September 21, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBFor the conclusion of our three-part series on Prince, writer and critic Miles Marshall Lewis joins Pop Pantheon to discuss the final swing of Prince's career, beginning with his tumultuous battle with Warner Bros in the early 1990s, which saw him change his name to an unpronounceable symbol and perform with “slave” written on his face. Louie and Miles then tackle the ups and downs of Prince’s wildly prolific latter career, including 1991’s genre-spanning Diamonds and Pearls, his co...
PRINCE: PART 2 (with Pot Psychology's Rich Juzwiak)
September 14, 2023 07:01 - 2 hours - 114 MBFor the second in our three-part series on Prince, Pot Psychology's Rich Juzwiak joins the show to unpack Prince’s imperial years, starting with one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1984’s Purple Rain. Louie and Rich discuss all the music from this blockbuster record as well as the accompanying Oscar-winning film, which together made Prince a cultural phenomenon for the ages, before tackling his swerve into kaleidoscopic psychedelia on 1985's Around the World in a Day, his se...
Olivia Rodrigo Makes the Sophomore Jump on Guts (with Stereogum's Tom Breihan) (Patreon Preview)
September 13, 2023 07:01 - 12 minutes - 11 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Streogum's Tom Breihan joins DJ Louie to break down Olivia Rodrigo's sophomore album Guts, which dropped Friday: What's working (more rock!), what's not, the major themes and sounds and what it all says about Olivia's place in the pop star firmament of 2023. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive at least three episodes of the show per month, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to P...
PRINCE: PART 1 (with Dr. Elliott H. Powell)
September 07, 2023 07:01 - 2 hours - 120 MBFor the first of our three-part series on the High Priest of Pop, Prince, the University of Minnesota's Dr. Elliott H. Powell joins the show to discuss the rise of perhaps pop history’s greatest enigma. Louie and Elliot unpack Prince’s upbringing in Minneapolis, his impressive 1978 debut, For You, on which he played every instrument, and mainstream breakthrough with his self-titled sophomore album in 1979 and its smash "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Then they tackle how 1980’s filthy, car...
BIG Announcement! + Britney Spears' Blackout Unlocked (with Troy McEady) (Originally Published on Patreon on 12/22/2022)
August 31, 2023 07:01 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In Pasadena A little about the live show: She’s so lucky, she’s a star. But Britney Spears has charted one of the most challenging, complex paths through the music business since the dawn of pop. Following the release of Britney’s new memoir, The Woman in Me, Pop Pantheon podcast host DJ Louie XIV (he/him) has gathered an all-star panel of guests to discuss Britney’s life and music LIVE. Louie will be join...
Jack Antonoff: Friend or Foe? (with Mitch Therieau)
August 24, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBMitch Therieau, author of the piece Dream of Antonoffication: Pop Music's Blandest Prophet which was published last month in The Drift, joins the show to talk pop music's super producer du-jour Jack Antonoff. Jack is known for his work a wide variety of female artists from Taylor Swift to Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Clairo, St. Vincent and countless others. To many, he is a hero, the anti-Dr. Luke who is happy to play a supporting role to his collaborators and work around their skills to p...
JENNIFER LOPEZ (with Billboard's Leila Cobo)
August 17, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 101 MBBillboard’s Leila Cobo joins the show to help trace the utterly unique path Jennifer Lopez blazed through popular culture. Leila and Louie chart Jennifer’s rise as a backup dancer, her star-making turn as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in 1997’s Selena and her debut album, 1999's On The 6. Then they tackle her cultural saturation after the turn of the millennium and her streak of red-hot rap collaborations that helped define the sound of the 2000s. Finally, Louie and Leila discuss JLo’s f...
Pop Punk: Past & Present (With Ryan Piers)
August 10, 2023 07:01 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBPop punk is the midst of a revival at the top of the charts so for this week's B-Side, Louie and writer for Alternative Magazine and other pubs, Ryan Piers, break down the history of the genre, how the iconoclasm of punk music and the commercialism of pop music have a strange but fruitful synergy, pop punk's first wave in the mid-90s through the early 2000s with Blink 182, Green Day, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne and others, how it's fallen in out and of fashion since, and the characterist...
Carly Rae Jepsen's New Paths on The Loveliest Time (with Brennan Carley) (Patreon Preview)
August 07, 2023 07:01 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Service 95's Brennan Carley joins DJ Louie to discuss Carly Rae Jepsen's new album, The Loveliest Time, which dropped last week and serves as a companion piece to 2022's The Loneliest Time. Louie and Brennan dig into Carly's aesthetic stasis in recent years, the swings-and-misses from Loneliest's attempts to find new avenues for her music, and how Loveliest presents her loosest and most exciting batch of songs in a very l...
GWEN STEFANI PART 2: THE SOLO YEARS (with NPR's Hazel Cills)
August 03, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 94.2 MBFor part two of our Gwen Stefani series, NPR Music editor Hazel Cills returns to Pop Pantheon to tackle Gwen's solo career. Louie and Hazel discuss Gwen striking out on her own via collaborations with Moby and Eve, then parse through her certifiably bonkers, extraordinarily controversial, hit-stacked solo debut, 2004’s Love Angel Music Baby – undoubtedly one of the mid 2000’s biggest blockbusters. Then they consider her 2006 follow-up, The Sweet Escape, and solo return a decade late...
GWEN STEFANI PART 1: NO DOUBT (with Molly Mary O'Brien)
July 27, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 102 MBAnd Introducing host Molly Mary O’Brien joins the show for part one of a double-header on Gwen Stefani! This week, Molly and Louie discuss No Doubt, a local SoCal ska band that improbably morphed into one of the world’s biggest pop rock bands and then served as a launching pad Gwen’s solo career as one of the important big-tent dance pop stars of her generation. The two dig into what made Gwen a inevitable superstar even before she took her place as the band’s front-woman, No Doubt’...
Revisiting Robyn's Honey (with Who? Weekly's Bobby Finger) (Patreon Preview)
July 24, 2023 07:01 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Who? Weekly's Bobby Finger joins Pop Pantheon: All Access to revisit Robyn's most recent album, 2018's long-awaited Honey. Bobby and Louie dig into the album's central themes of grief and loss, how it pivots from the catharsis and gratification of classic Robyn songs towards something more amorphous and even frustrating, its deconstruction of dance music genres, the journey of the title track from Girls soundtrack curio t...
Listener Mailbag: Dua, Charli, The Idol, Behind-The-Scenes & More!!
July 20, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBLouie and Russ are answering listener questions about what's next for Charli XCX, how Dua Lipa fits into the broader trend of cult-of-personality pop stars, whether The Idol will tank The Weeknd's career, why Luke Comb's "Fast Car" is such a hit, how a Canadian Pop Pantheon might differ from the American one, a slew of Niche Legends, how they make the show and so much more. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More Shop Merch in Pop Panthe...
PAULA ABDUL (with Hit Parade's Chris Molanphy)
July 13, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 100 MBHit Parade host Chris Molanphy returns to discuss one of the defining pop stars of the late 1980s, Paula Abdul. Louie and Chris discuss the virtuosic choreography that snatched Paula a ticket to pop superstardom, her three year run of signature hits beginning with 1988’s blockbuster Forever Your Girl through 1991's Spellbound, her contributions to the MTV music video boom, why her final album, 1995’s Head Over Heels, flopped, and her second act as a TV personality. Finally, they ran...
A Deep Dive into Speak Now, OG and TV (with Every Single Album's Nora Princiotti) (Patreon Preview)
July 12, 2023 07:01 - 12 minutes - 11 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Host of the Ringer's Every Single Album podcast Nora Princiotti is back on the show to talk all things Speak Now! Taylor Swift released the third in her series of album re-recordings, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), last Friday, so Louie and Nora are deep-diving on the album, its major themes and aesthetics, where it sits in the narrative arc of Taylor's career, its highlights and lowlights and reception at the time of its...
Send Us Your Questions for Our Listener Mailbag Episode!
July 08, 2023 07:01 - 46 seconds - 706 KBWe’re planning a mailbag episode that's dropping very (and we mean mean VERY) soon + we want your questions! Curious what Louie thinks of a recent trend in pop? Want to know what he thinks is coming next for a certain pop star? Or what goes on behind the scenes at Pop Pantheon? Have burning questions about upcoming album rollouts, historical pop quandaries or Louie + Russ’s personal lives? Hit us up! We want to hear from you! Voicenotes are best, simply record yourself with your...
Checking in on Taylor Swift's Re-Recordings So Far (with Charlie Harding, Larisha Paul & Nora Princiotti)
July 06, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 71 MBOn the eve of the third installment of Taylor Swift's re-recording project of her first seven studio albums, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding, Rolling Stone's Larisha Paul and Every Single Album's Nora Princiotti join DJ Louie to break down how this singularly ambitious endeavor has gone so far. Has it achieved its commercial goals? What about its aesthetic ones? What are the differences? When it comes to Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's...
CHARLIE PUTH (with Steven J. Horowitz)
June 29, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBSteven J. Horowitz returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss the career of contemporary pop’s sexiest studio rat, Charlie Puth. Louie and Steven tackle Charlie’s oddball career in pop music, from his rocket into mainstream consciousness singing the saccharine hook on “See You Again” to his personality-less debut album, 2016’s 9 Track Mind. They examine the critical reevaluation he received following his criminally underrated sophomore album, 2018’s Voice Notes, his latest self-titled album...
The Bebe Rexhafication of Kim Petras on Feed the Beast (with Vulture's Jason P. Frank) (Patreon Preview)
June 27, 2023 16:00 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MBIn a preview of this week's Patreon episode, Vulture's Jason P Frank joins PP:AA to discuss Kim Petras' first major label studio album, Feed the Beast, which dropped Friday. Louie and Jason address the album's shortcomings as it attempts to find a broader audience for Kim, the few things that work on the record, how Kim's music has ended up in this disappointing place, and what they hope the failure of this record on a commercial and critical level might mean in terms of a reset for...
The Holy Bond Between Queer Men & Pop Divas (with Dr. Craig Jennex)
June 22, 2023 07:01 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBIn the final installment of our pride series, Assistant Professor of English at Toronto Metropolitan University and author of the journal article "Diva Worship and the Sonic Search for Queer Utopia" Dr. Craig Jennex joins the show to unpack the relationship between queer men and pop divas. Louie and Craig discuss how this relationship developed over the last hundred years, from the time of opera singers to Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Madonna, Britney, Gaga, Beyoncé and all the way thr...
LITTLE RICHARD (with Jason King)
June 15, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 91.9 MBIncoming Dean of the Thornton School of Music at USC Jason King returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss the life and career of the architect of rock ‘n roll, Little Richard. Louie and Jason unpack Little Richard’s breakthrough “Tutti Frutti,” which is widely credited as the genesis of rock n’ roll music, and his string of hits through the 1950s; perhaps one of the first imperial phases in modern music history. They break down what it meant for Little Richard to drop an explosive glitter ...
Does Mariah Carey's Glitter Deserve #Justice? (with Matt Jacobs) (Patreon Preview)
June 12, 2023 07:01 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, entertainment writer Matt Jacobs, who penned a piece for Vulture called "The Never-ending Story of Glitter, 20 Years On", joins DJ Louie to chronicle the twisting tale of Mariah Carey's infamous 2001 flop film and soundtrack album. Louie and Matt detail Glitter's '80s pastiche conceit, what works on the record, what doesn't, all of the Glitter's adjacent cultural accoutrement (the TRL appearance!, "I don't know her"!, 9/1...
What Makes a Great Pride Anthem? (with Canada's Drag Race Winner Priyanka)
June 08, 2023 07:01 - 51 minutes - 47 MBWinner of Season One of Canada's Drag Race Priyanka joins Pop Pantheon to chop it up about what makes the ideal pride anthem. First, Louie and Priyanka discuss Pri's new music, whether there's a difference between a drag pop song and mainstream pop song, and some of barriers between drag queens and the pop charts. Then, they break down the ingredients for the perfect pride anthem and each share a list of their five favs. Stay tuned this June for more Pride episodes. Listen to Lou...
KIM PETRAS (with Vulture's Jason P. Frank)
June 01, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBIn preparation for her major label debut, Feed The Beast, dropping later this month, Vulture’s Jason P. Frank joins Pop Pantheon to discuss a star who is perhaps the first out trans woman to be in the running as a mainstream pop aspirant, Kim Petras. Jason and Louie’s conversation, which kicks off Pop Pantheon’s Pride series, covers Kim’s career, her early attempts to break into the music business, her controversial partnership with the producer Dr. Luke, her cavalcade of sugar bomb...
New Music Speed Round: Janelle Monáe, Kylie Minogue, G-Flip & More (with Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber) (Patreon Preview)
May 29, 2023 07:01 - 8 minutes - 7.8 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access Episode, friend of the pod Lindsey Weber drops by to talk new songs from Janelle Monáe, Kylie Minogue, G-Flip & more. Subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access to get the rest of this episode, plus at least three bonus installments of the show per month, access to our Discord and lots of other fun perks.
ARETHA FRANKLIN (with Mark Bego)
May 25, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 88.6 MBAretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul author Mark Bego joins Pop Pantheon to unpack the life and career of the greatest singer in American history, Aretha Franklin. Louie and Mark follow Aretha’s story from her upbringing as a reverend's daughter to her early gospel recordings and how her cover of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’ rocketed her to superstardom. From there, they tackle Aretha’s fabled run through the late ‘60s, during which she soundtracked American life through the civil rights ...
The Best Pop Music of 2023 (So Far) (with The Wall Street Journal's Myles Tanzer)
May 18, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 82.6 MBEditor at The Wall Street Journal Myles Tanzer joins DJ Louie to break down 2023 in pop music so far. The two debate the broader state of pop this year, both aesthetically and commercially, and discuss which stars have experienced significant up-levels before each sharing their lists of their three favorite albums and five favorite songs of 2023 (so far). Listen to a Spotify Playlist of Louie & Myles' 2023 Favs Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive...
How Has Lady Gaga's Chromatica Held Up? (with Matthew Perpetua & Molly Mary O'Brien) (Patreon Preview)
May 15, 2023 07:01 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBIn a preview of this week's episode of Pop Pantheon: All Access, 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 status in the pop firmament of the 2020s. To hear the...
SHAKIRA (with Rolling Stone's Julyssa Lopez)
May 11, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 102 MBSenior Music Editor at Rolling Stone Julyssa Lopez joins Pop Pantheon to discuss chameleonic hit-maker and international pop force, Shakira. Louie and Julyssa unpack Shakira’s early success throughout Latin America with 1995's Pies Descalzos and 1998's Dónde Están los Ladrones?, her international break-through, Laundry Service (2001), her market-conquering Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), the Pharrell-driven She Wolf (2009), through to her current status as a ...
Jessie Ware's That! Feels Good! & the State of the Disco Revival (Patreon Preview)
May 08, 2023 07:01 - 10 minutes - 9.31 MBIn a preview of this week's episode of Pop Pantheon: All Access, Louie and Russ gather to discuss British pop star Jessie Ware's fifth studio album, the disco-homaging That! Feels Good!, which dropped a couple weeks ago and where it fits into the broader disco revival which began in 2020 with Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia. To hear the rest of this episode plus all of our bonus content, access to our Discord and so much more, subscribe to the Icon Tier at Pop Pantheon: All Access. ...
(Almost) One Year Of Renaissance: Where Does It Rank In Beyoncé's Catalog? (with Hunter Harris, Ira Madison III & Puja Patel)
May 04, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBBeyoncé's massive Renaissance World Tour kicks off next week in Stockholm, Sweden so DJ Louie got a veritable Beyhive of all stars— writer of the substack Hung Up Hunter Harris, Keep It! Host Ira Madison III and Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Puja Patel— in formation to reflect on (almost) one year of the stadium trek's namesake Renaissance, Queen B's seventh album which dropped last July. First, the panel discusses each of their personal journeys with the record, from elation to frustra...
How Tik Tok Has Changed Pop Stardom (with The New Yorker's John Seabrook)
April 27, 2023 07:01 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBThe New Yorker's John Seabrook joins Pop Pantheon to discuss his recent exhaustive piece, "So You Want To Be a Tik Tok Star". John and Louie discuss how the social media vlogging app rose to dominance in the music space, why it's so well-suited to the pop music ecosystem, how artists both existing and new are utilizing it and rebelling against it, how the music industry is weaponizing it and how it's changing the very nature of both pop stardom and music as we know it... for better ...
Ariana Grande's Positions (with Steven J. Horowitz) (Patreon Preview)
April 24, 2023 07:01 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBIn a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Pop Pantheon's first guest ever (!!) Steven J. Horowitz is back to revisit the first artist ever featured on the show, Ariana Grande. Since Louie and Steven last spoke in early 2021, Ariana has done... not much. But since they didn't really get to dig into it back then, the two go long on her latest album, 2020's sex-fest Positions, a dreamy, minor work that somehow both produced two smash singles and felt weirdly slight ...
FIFTH HARMONY (with Service 95's Brennan Carley)
April 20, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBIn the third episode of our girl group trilogy, US Editor and Culture Director of Service 95 Brennan Carley joins the show to discuss the (very) brief rise and fall of the last major American girl group of note, Fifth Harmony. Louie and Brennan discuss 5H's assembly by Simon Cowell on the reality singing competition show X-Factor, how they discovered their signature brand of 2010s female empowerment and borderline goofy ethos on their very good debut, 2015's Reflection, the trop-hou...
What's Gone Wrong for Chlöe Bailey? (Patreon Preview)
April 17, 2023 07:01 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBIn a preview of the latest episode of Pop Pantheon: All Access, Louie and Russ discuss the rollout for Chlöe Bailey's debut solo album, In Pieces, which debuted last week at #119 on the Billboard 200 selling just ten thousand copies. What happened? Why didn't Chlöe- who'd previously has success with her sister as part of Chlöe & Halle, was supported by a major label and co-signed by Beyoncé and is clearly a gifted and ambitious vocalist, writer and performer- connect as a solo artis...
TLC (with The New Yorker's Doreen St. Félix)
April 13, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 108 MBThe New Yorker’s Doreen St. Félix returns to Pop Pantheon for the second episode in our new girl group trilogy, digging into the crazy, sexy and cool career of one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, TLC. Doreen and DJ Louie discuss the album that made TLC instant stars, 1992’s raucous Oooh, on the TLC Tip!, their pivot to slinky R&B on their classic blockbuster sophomore album CrazySexyCool (1994), their comeback with 1999’s futuristic FanMail and 2002’s 3D, released after...
THE RONETTES, THE SHIRELLES, THE MARVELETTES & THE SHANGRI-LAS (with Dr. Jacqueline Warwick)
April 06, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBAuthor of the book Girl Groups, Girl Culture: Popular Music and Identity in the 1960s, Dr. Jacqueline Warwick, joins Pop Pantheon to kick off the first of a trilogy of episodes on girl groups, starting with four acts who burned fast and bright during the 1950s and 1960s: The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Marvelettes and The Shangri-Las. Jacqueline and Louie dive into the hits, careers and legacies of these foundational outfits who not only helped invent the idea of the girl group as ...
Lana Del Rey's Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (with Shaad D'Souza)
March 30, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBAs a follow-up to last week's Lana Del Rey deep dive, music critic Shaad D'Souza returns to the show to break down her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which dropped last Friday. Shaad, who reviewed the record for The Guardian, and Louie discuss Did You Know...'s major themes and aesthetics, the evolution of Lana's lyrical approach, how the record fits into the grander scheme of her artistic and commercial arc and more. Read Shaad's Review o...
LANA DEL REY (with Kathy Iandoli)
March 23, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 107 MBIn preparation for her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, dropping tonight, Kathy Iandoli joins Pop Pantheon to explore the enigmatic and paradigm-shifting career of pop iconoclast Lana Del Rey. Kathy, who taught a course on Lana at NYU, joins DJ Louie to discuss Lana’s myth and all of her records, from her breakthrough, 2012’s Born To Die, to her psychedelic rock homage, Ultraviolence (2014), her magnum opus, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), an...
KACEY MUSGRAVES (with Who? Weekly's Bobby Finger)
March 16, 2023 07:01 - 1 hour - 97.2 MBAuthor and Who? Weekly co-host Bobby Finger joins Pop Pantheon to unpack the career of sly country agitator turned alt pop girlie Kacey Musgraves. Bobby and DJ Louie discuss the blend of traditionalism and iconoclasm on both Kacey’s 2013 debut, Same Trailer Different Park and her sophomore effort, Pageant Material (2015). They dig into Kacey’s 2018 critical smash, Golden Hour, which profoundly expanded the scope of her work and won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and revisit her l...
Miley Cyrus' Endless Summer Vacation (with Shaad D'Souza) (Patreon Preview)
March 14, 2023 22:24 - 9 minutes - 8.43 MBMiley Cyrus just dropped her 8th studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, last Friday, so critic Shaad D'Souza- our guest for our Miley episode and who reviewed the new record for Pitchfork- is here to help break this music down: what works, what doesn't, the major themes and aesthetics, the incredible success of lead single "Flowers", what we should and shouldn't expect from Miley at this point and whether any of it impacts her ranking in the Pop Pantheon. If you enjoyed this snipp...
Do We Still Need Poptimism? (with Vulture's Jason P. Frank)
March 09, 2023 08:01 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBVulture's Jason P. Frank joins DJ Louie to discuss the idea of "Poptimism", or the movement in musical critical discourse during the mid 2000s and 2010s that allowed for pop music to be taken seriously as art. Jason and Louie discuss the circumstances that created Poptimism, how it disseminated through discourse over the last twenty years, the major albums, songs and artists that calcified the term, and how it's perhaps become irrelevant in the modern pop landscape. Read Kelefeh S...
New Music Speed Round: Sam Smith, Ava Max, Lana, Ice Spice & More! (with Main Pod Girl's AJ Marks) (Patreon Preview)
March 06, 2023 08:01 - 9 minutes - 8.64 MBMain Pod Girl's (and PP Discord fav!) AJ Marks joins DJ Louie to dissect and debate new songs from Sam Smith, Kelela, Ava Max, Ice Spice, Zara Larsson, Chloe & More! To hear the rest of this episode and so much more bonus content, along with access to our Discord, guest list at Gorgeous Gorgeous and other great perks, Subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier!
JA RULE, NELLY, LUDACRIS & 50 CENT (with Jordan Sargent)
March 02, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 105 MBWriter and A&R person Jordan Sargent returns to Pop Pantheon to explore a definitive moment in establishing hip hop’s centrism in mainstream pop music – the early 2000s. Jordan and DJ Louie explore the careers and legacies of a quartet of performers, Ja Rule, Nelly, Ludacris and 50 Cent, who hit their cultural peak during a moment when pop first fully allowed rappers to be mainstream pop stars. They discuss the sound of crossover rap in the 2000s and the biggest hits of the era from...
The State of Streaming: How It's Impacted Pop Stars, Music & Us (with Trapital's Dan Runcie)
February 23, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBTrapital Host Dan Runcie joins DJ Louie to discuss the state of the streaming ecosystem. Dan and Louie dig into how streaming has impacted the nature of pop stardom by helping to foster a dissolving monoculture and the rise of the niche superstar, financial incentives, stanning, pop music itself and us, the consumers, and how we relate to the value of music. Listen to Trapital Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!! Shop Merch in ...
FRANK SINATRA (with You Must Remember This' Karina Longworth)
February 16, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 95.5 MBCritic, author and host of the podcast You Must Remember This Karina Longworth joins Pop Pantheon to help tell the story of patient zero for the concept of a “Pop Music Icon,” the legendary crooner and American Icon Frank Sinatra. Karina and DJ Louie trace Frank's career from its origins in clubs in Hoboken to the onset of what was perhaps the first true pop star fandemonium craze of the modern era, Sinatramania. Next, they discuss Frank's cornucopia of definitive American Standards...
Was Rihanna's Halftime Show Good? (with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd) (Patreon Preview)
February 13, 2023 18:13 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBIn a preview of our new Patreon episode available in full on Pop Pantheon: All Access, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd joins DJ Louie for a Monday morning recap of Rihanna's big return to the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show last night in Glendale, Arizona, her first live show since 2018. They discuss what they liked about the performance, what they felt was missing, the pregnancy reveal, the divisive reaction from fans, the setlist, the outfits, the staging, how the crew did with t...
Rihanna Super Bowl Setlist Draft Extravaganza!! (with Lindsey Weber, Jason Lipshutz & Julianne Escobedo Shepherd)
February 07, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 70 MBFor this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by a literal Navy of Pop Pantheon All-Stars- Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz and Julianne Escobedo Shepherd- to preview Rihanna's epic return to music at Super Bowl LVII, this Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona! They talk all the big questions: Why now? What does it portend for new Rihanna music? What made her change her hard "no" to the NFL over their treatment of Colin Kaepernick? Then, the main event: Louie, Lindsey, Jas...
We Need to Talk About The Grammys... (Patreon Preview)
February 06, 2023 20:49 - 7 minutes - 6.65 MBIn a preview of the new episode of Pop Pantheon: All Access, DJ Louie and Russ break down the 2023 Grammys, from Beyoncé’s infuriating, disheartening and all-too-familiar snubs across the big three categories to Kim Petras and Sam Smith’s big win, the show’s electrifying, decades-spanning tribute to hip hop and its ever-increasing and seemingly inexorable march towards complete irrelevance. To listen to the rest of this episode and so much more bonus content, subscribe to Pop Pant...
THE WEEKND (with Anupa Mistry)
February 02, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 106 MBWriter and producer Anupa Mistry joins Pop Pantheon to dissect the career of the most enigmatic pop superstar of his generation, The Weeknd. Anupa and DJ Louie discuss The Weeknd’s genre-obliterating early mixtapes, which helped to redefine the contours of R&B in the 2010s, and his studio debut, 2013’s Kiss Land. They also walk through his string of massive successes, from his breakthrough sophomore album, 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, 2016 follow-up Starboy, 2020’s revelatory A...