Music fans in 2019 are gobsmacked that the No. 1 song in America is not only a Christmas song but a 25-year-old recording: Mariah Carey’s holiday perennial “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Even more amazingly, it’s the first Christmas song to top Billboard’s Hot 100 in 61 years, since “The Chipmunk Song” in December 1958. This leads to so many “whys”: Why ... Show More
Nov 15
Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 1
When you hear the term “superproducer,” names like George Martin, Quincy Jones, Max Martin, Pharrell Williams or Missy Elliott might come to mind. But … Robert “Mutt” Lange? Probably not. Yet Lange was by some measures the biggest hitmaker—the producer of more top-selling albums ... Show More
1h 3m
Nov 12
The Slate Culture Gift Guide
Hark, the holiday season is upon us—and with it, the most solemn of festive traditions: a gift guide! In this video and podcast special, Slate hosts Dana Stevens, Chris Molanphy, and Willa Paskin beam in from their collective hearths to deliver unto the internet their favorite gi ... Show More
49m 39s
Oct 31
If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition Part 2
Walk into any store or flip on a radio, and you’ll probably hear the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” sooner or later. Thanks to that ubiquity, the swooning, menacing megahit’s songwriter—Sting—is a very wealthy man. Now his former bandmates, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, ar ... Show More
55m 27s
Dec 2024
All I Want for Christmas Is You vs. Last Christmas
Which new classic has become the best Christmas song of all time: All I Want for Christmas Is You or Last Christmas? Writer, journalist, and poet Kyla Marshell is here to argue for Mariah Carey while radio host, music journalist, and documentary producer Jenny Eliscu takes the si ... Show More
31m 18s
Dec 2024
This Moment in Music History for 12-25-2024
On December 25, 1954, the iconic song "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin became the first single in history to reach 30 million sales. The song, originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, quickly became a holiday classic and has been covered by numerous artists over the years.<b ... Show More
2m 14s