In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Olivia Horn reviewed Chappell Roan's debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in Pitchfork when it dropped last September. Back then, she was a fringy pop upstart with some nice critical notices and a small cult audience. Now, she's one of the biggest new pop superstars of the year in the midst of a zeitgeisty swirl the likes of which we haven't seen for a new pop girlie in years. So how does the actual music hold up? Oli...
Jul 22, 2024•11 min
Joe Vogel, author of Man in the Music: The Creative Life of Michael Jackson , joins Pop Pantheon for the second in our four-part series on the King of Pop. DJ Louie and Joe dig into MJ’s early solo work, from his 1972 debut Got to Be There to his first solo number one, “Ben,” his changing voice as grew older and his final Motown album, 1975’s Forever Michael – released when Michael was just 16. From there, they discuss Michael’s starring role as Scarecrow in the 1975 cult classic The Wiz and his...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 51 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Katy Perry's much anticipated new single, the Dr. Luke-produced "Woman's World", finally dropped on Friday along with it's music video and the response has been.... not so great. Louie and Russ talk all things Katy before pivoting to new songs from Kesha, Lana and Tinashe and a Taylor Swift-related game that may drive Louie even more insane than "Woman's World". To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes o...
Jul 15, 2024•12 min
For 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 history, beginnin...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 59 min
In 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 Pantheon, gain...
Jul 08, 2024•11 min
After 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 here to discu...
Jul 04, 2024•57 min
In 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 Discord channel ...
Jul 01, 2024•10 min
Mic 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. album charts...
Jun 27, 2024•2 hr 1 min
It 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 "Pitchfork rating...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In 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 Pantheon: All Ac...
Jun 18, 2024•11 min
Tre 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 his versio...
Jun 13, 2024•2 hr 4 min
In 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 can also subs...
Jun 10, 2024•9 min
To 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? Read Trish's...
Jun 06, 2024•55 min
Molly 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 , which...
May 30, 2024•1 hr 51 min
The 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 so bad. Joi...
May 23, 2024•52 min
In 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 Pop Pantheon: ...
May 20, 2024•10 min
Yale 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 hit “Pro...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 42 min
In 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 Pantheon, gain access...
May 13, 2024•11 min
After 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 and the VMAs ....
May 09, 2024•55 min
In 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 more, subscrib...
May 07, 2024•13 min
Legends 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 album, her h...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 39 min
In 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 do we lose i...
Apr 25, 2024•55 min
In 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. Next, they di...
Apr 23, 2024•15 min
Bandsplain ’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 blockbuster N...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 35 min
It'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 Pantheon's Store Come...
Apr 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Critic 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 deeply ...
Apr 04, 2024•2 hr
In 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 installment in ...
Apr 01, 2024•11 min
Tonight, 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 country: fr...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In 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's singular ...
Mar 26, 2024•10 min
Culture 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 with artists...
Mar 21, 2024•2 hr 11 min
