We hand over the hosting duties to Constance Grady, book reviewer for Vox.com, to discuss our new book/baby - Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works and Why it Matters, and go deep on two specific concepts we haven’t touched nearly enough on the show: timbre (with the help of Sia’s “Chandelier) and sampling (via M.I.A.’s iconic “Paper Planes). The book of ... Show More
Nov 18
Is there a Disney curse?: Demi, Selena, and Miley
This year, there were a few records that delivered less-than-optimal returns on either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200 – and they all came from former Disney pop stars.
Demi Lovato’s latest album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200, where it spent one week and then fell ... Show More
48m 6s
Nov 11
Rosalía's 'LUX' brings the symphony to the club
Spanish pop star Rosalía is back with her new album, Lux. Over eighteen tracks, she trades in the dembow beats that filled her last record Motomami for maximalist orchestral sounds more in line with Björk than Bad Bunny. The album is dense: there's four movements, thirteen langua ... Show More
44m 2s
Nov 2022
Why your brain craves Despacito. Plus: books of 2022
This week, we learn why we love the music we love. Lilah speaks with Susan Rogers, who was a recording engineer for Prince on albums such as ‘Purple Rain’. Now she's a neuroscientist who has studied what music does to the brain. Her book, 'This Is What It Sounds Like', helps us m ... Show More
30m 20s
Oct 2023
we’ve reached the end of music
On this episode of Drama Mama, our host Ben is spilling all the tea on the state of the music biz, and let's just say, he's depressed! Get ready for some real talk as Ben dives into how music labels are making artists churn out TikToks, and how viral TikTok sounds are lowkey call ... Show More
35m 11s
Sep 2022
'The Lazy Song' by Bruno Mars (w/ Shelby Wolstein and EJ Marcus)
Andrew & Evan get scientific help from Shelby and EJ to philosophically probe Bruno Mars’ “Lazy Song,” asking: if you have the laziest day in the history of days, didn’t that, well, probably require some great amount of planning and effort on that part? And don’t you get addition ... Show More
1h 28m
Apr 2024
The ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Mailbag | Every Single Album: Taylor Swift
The Tortured Podcasters Department meets again, this time to open up the mailbag! Nora and Nathan answer a bunch of listener questions about whether their opinion has changed on any songs, what they want to hear next from Taylor, and much more (4:13). Then they answer rapid-fire ... Show More
1h 21m