Senior Writer for Jezebel Rich Juzwiak returns to Pop Pantheon to talk The Queen of Heartbreak, Toni Braxton. DJ Louie and Rich first break down the craft of melisma, the centrality of “The Voice” in early ‘90s pop, and how Babyface’s sound helped R&B cross over in that period. They then take a journey though Toni’s emergence, the anthems of codependency on her classic debut, her singular contralto voice, her primary motifs as both the heartbroken torch singer and the sultry mid-tempo R&...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 27 min
DJ Louie answers listener questions about the difference between "pop" as popular music and Pop as a specific genre, the relevance of the Grammys, whether Britney is a Tier 1 Icon or a Tier 2 Megastar, what he thinks of Dua Lipa, whether artists can slide between tiers throughout their careers, lists his favorite songs of the year so far and more. Send your questions to PopPantheonPod@gmail.com! NYC: RSVP to See DJ Louie Play Free Afterparties for Who? Weekly's Shows at The Bellhouse 10/22 + 10/...
Sep 30, 2021•24 min
Pitchfork Contributing Editor and Asst. Professor at Syracuse University Rawiya Kameir and DJ Louie get into it about one of contemporary pop’s most divisive figures, Justin Bieber. Louie and Rawiya discuss pop’s evolution beyond the need for male pop stars in the late ‘00s and how Bieber entered to fill the void, initially as one of the first music superstars to emerge on YouTube, and later as a certified hitmaker. They then dive into what makes the Beliebers perhaps the definitive Standom of t...
Sep 23, 2021•1 hr 34 min
Senior Director of Music at Billboard Jason Lipshutz joins DJ Louie to discuss everyone’s favorite off-the-grid alt-pop icon, Lorde. First, Louie and Jason break down the EDM pop and festival boom of the late aughts and early 2010s. They then break down how Lorde’s “Royals” presented an appealing response to that escapist era of pop culture and how the success of her debut album, Pure Heroine, set the stage for an anti-pop movement that’s only gained steam since with acts like Halsey, Billie Eil...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr 21 min
DJ Louie is joined by HuffPost’s Noah Michelson to discuss Australian Queen of Pop, Kylie Minogue. Louie and Noah trace the singularity of Kylie’s two-tract pop career: In most of the world, she’s an A+ list arena-trotting superstar with more than three decades of hits and yet here in America, she’s perceived as either a one-hit-wonder or a niche gay icon. They discuss why that is, break down Kylie’s entire career from late ‘80s teenybopper to mid 90s avant boundary-pusher to her later period re...
Aug 26, 2021•1 hr 13 min
DJ Louie is joined by Pitchfork writer and author of the new book, The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip Hop, Clover Hope, to discuss one of the hottest contemporary rap and pop stars, Cardi B. First, Louie and Clover break down the history of female rappers who operate as bonafide crossover pop stars, beginning with Roxanne Shanté and Salt N Peppa in the ‘80s through Nicki Minaj’s melting of the lines between hip hop and pop star in the last decade. They then discuss Cardi’s emergence as a so...
Aug 12, 2021•1 hr 9 min
DJ Louie is joined by author of The Song Machine and New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook to discuss the greatest pop producer auteur of the modern era, Max Martin. Louie and John discuss Max’s roots in Sweden and why the country is such a historical breeding ground for world-class pop music. They then discuss Max’s initial run a hitmaker in the late ‘90s, crafting the sound of the teen pop boom with Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC, his reinvention in the mid 2000s with his protege ...
Jul 29, 2021•1 hr 15 min
DJ Louie is joined by writer and co-host of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, Aminatou Sow, to discuss the Queen of the North, Celine Dion! Louie and Amina discuss Celine’s origins in the Francophone recording industry and Amina's early connection to her French music, the different perceptions of schmaltz in French-speaking vs. American popular culture, Celine’s relationship with her husband and manager Rene Angelil, her crossover as one of the biggest divas of the ‘90s, debunk annoying critique...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 9 min
DJ Louie is joined by former Gawker and Spin writer Jordan Sargent for a reassessment of a pop star who really demands one: Justin Timberlake. Louie and Jordan break down the ways Justin’s legacy has been altered by cultural reckonings on white male privilege, cultural appropriation, and his roles both implicit and explicit in harming the careers of Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. They then break down Justin’s gold-standard transition from boy bander to credible adult star and the successful-i...
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Returning guest, writer and editor for Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety, Vulture and more, Steven J. Horowitz, joins DJ Louie to chop it up about pop revolutionary Missy Elliott. Louie and Steven discuss Missy’s entree into the music biz along with partner-in-crime Timbaland as a songwriter and producer for artists like Jodeci, Ginuwine, and Aaliyah. They then break down what makes Missy's music sound as mind-bending today as it did in the late ’90s, why her debut album, Supa Dupa Fly, caused s...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 9 min
DJ Louie is joined by New York Times Contributor Lindsay Zoladz to discuss Mother Monster herself, Lady GaGa! First, Lindsay drops some EXPLOSIVE ArtPop Hot Goss. Then, Louie and Lindsay dig into GaGa’s meteoric rise to mega-stardom, her bold queering of the pop cultural landscape, debunk some of the annoying critical narratives that plagued initial rise, chart the Pop-altering establishment of the Little Monsters, her musical, presentational, and social media innovations, whether or not ArtPop ...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 28 min
DJ Louie is joined by The New Yorker's Jia Tolentino to talk Niche Pop Icon, Robyn. Louie and Jia explore Robyn's early breakthrough during the teen pop boom of the late '90s with her Max Martin-produced hit, "Show Me Love", before going deep on her re-emergence nearly a decade later as pop's most beloved iconoclast. They break down the contours of her reinvention on her self-titled album in 2005, dig into tracks like "Be Mine!" and "With Every Heartbeat' to pinpoint what exactly constitutes a R...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 20 min
DJ Louie is joined by Wall Street Journal Magazine Digital Editor Myles Tanzer for a supersized episode about the Certified Lover Boy himself, Drake. Louie and Myles track the collapsing boundaries between pop and hip hop, Drake’s groundbreaking emergence in the late '00s as a new kind of hip-hop-star-turned-pop-icon, the innovative emotional language of his work along with his singular sonic universe, how his influence has trickled down through pop, and so so SO much more. Finally, Louie and My...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 23 min
This week, DJ Louie is joined by Jezebel Senior Writer and Pot Psychology Host Rich Juzwiak to discuss the Queen of Pop, Madonna. Their conversation focuses mainly on Madonna's latter period career, from 2008's Hard Candy through 2019's Madame X , and the ways Madonna's vice-grip on both her artistic muse and Pop writ-large have slipped after 25 years of dominance. Louie and Rich discuss Madonna's strange choice to make Hard Candy with a post-prime Timbaland and Pharrell, debate her legacy as an...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 1
In episode 3 of Pop Pantheon, DJ Louie is joined by Who? Weekly Co-Host Lindsey Weber to discuss Queen of Everything, Carly Rae Jepsen. Louie and Lindsey discuss Lindsey's pedigree as a JepFriend, including her travels across national borders to see Carly perform with a symphony in faraway Canada and her secret "Call Me Maybe" lip-sync video from 2012. They then get into why "Call Me Maybe" was Carly's only hit, if having your first song be an out-of-nowhere smash is a gift or a curse, the magic...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 3 min
In episode 2 of Pop Pantheon, host DJ Louie XIV addresses the veritable uproar from the KatyCats following last week's episode. He then briefly reviews the concept of the Pop Pantheon tiers before being joined by author and professor Chris Stedman to discuss the Princess of Crunk&B, Ciara. Louie and Chris dissect the idea of "flops" in the context of Chris' Pitchfork piece, "The Enduring Appeal of Pop Stars Who Flop", the trajectory of Ciara's career from centrist pop star to flop to critica...
Mar 25, 2021•58 min
In the debut episode of Pop Pantheon, host DJ Louie XIV briefly introduces the concept and tiers of the Pop Pantheon. He is then joined by music journalist extraordinaire Steven Horowitz- writer and editor for publications like Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety and Vulture- to discuss all things Ariana Grande: her arrival on the scene as an antidote to the EDM-pop of GaGa and Katy Perry, the benefits and pratfalls of her relationship with hip hop and R&B, where the concept of the "diva" stan...
Mar 11, 2021•56 min
Welcome to the podcast! In this mini-episode of Pop Pantheon, host DJ Louie XIV breaks down how exactly the Pop Pantheon works, tier-by-tier. In each episode of Pop Pantheon, Louie and his guests will break down the career of pop icon, from titans of the genre like Beyonce to..... lesser titans, like Nicole Scherzinger. At the end of each episode, they'll attempt to place each subject in their proper pantheon tier. Is Ariana a Tier 2 Megastar or merely a Tier 3 Superstar? Is Charlie Puth a Tier ...
Mar 09, 2021•8 min
Welcome to the podcast! In the teaser for Pop Pantheon, host DJ Louie XIV breaks down the format of the show and all the pop music over-analysis you can expect. In each episode of Pop Pantheon, Louie and his guests will break down the career of pop icon, from titans of the genre like Beyonce to..... lesser titans, like Nicole Scherzinger. At the end of each episode, they'll attempt to place each subject in their proper Pantheon Tier. Episode 1 drops this Thursday! Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagra...
Mar 08, 2021•2 min
