Switched on Pop

Will Sinners do for blues what O Brother did for bluegrass?

It's the middle of award season, and Ryan Coogler's ode to the Black music canon Sinners has emerged as the Oscars frontrunner and the most nominated film in Academy Awards history. The love the movie has for the Delta blues is front and center, and begs the question: will the movie's legacy help bring the blues back into popular culture? There's already been a precedent for films reviving dead genres – think The Sting and its ragtime score, or O Brother Where Art Thou's relationship to bluegrass – and on this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna and Nate talk with Vulture writer Fran Hoepfner about the times in which movie soundtracks have shifted the musical culture. Read Fran's piece on movie scoring, The Death of the Classic Film Score, here. Songs discussed: Miles Caton – I Lied to You Bee Gees – Stayin' Alive Underworld – Born Slippy (Nuxx) Marvin Hamlisch – The Entertainer Wu-Tang Clan – Fast Shadow Bee Gees – More Than A Woman Whitney Houston – I Have Nothing Harry McClintock – The Big Rock Candy Mountain Alison Krauss – Down To The River To Pray The Soggy Bottom Boys – I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow *NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump Jive An' Wail Cab Calloway – Minnie the Moocher Royal Crown Revue – Hey Pachuco! Caravan Palace – Lone Digger Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Go Daddy O Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell Fergie, Q-Tip, GoonRock – A Little Party Never Killed Nobody Lana Del Rey – Young And Beautiful Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight Kavinsky – Nightcall College, Electric Youth – A Real Hero M83 – Midnight City The Weeknd – Take My Breath Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jazz is A$AP Rocky’s secret weapon

A$AP Rocky’s latest album, Don’t Be Dumb, is a wild ride through a cacophony of sounds — punk, industrial, drum ‘n’ bass, indie rock, and of course, hip hop. But on one track, “Robbery,” he and the rising superstar Doechii sample the world of jazz, specifically Thelonious Monk’s 1955 cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” In the process, Rocky and Doechii don’t just loop and flow, they create a whole narrative of jazz age victors and villains inspired by the rhythms and harmonies of jazz greats. The result is a song, and album, that makes the case for why hip hop matters more than ever in 2026. A$AP Rocky – ROBBERY (feat. Doechii) A$AP Rocky – STOLE YA FLOW A$AP Rocky – ORDER OF PROTECTION A$AP Rocky – PLAYA A$AP Rocky – STFU (feat. Slay Squad) A$AP Rocky – AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO) A$AP Rocky – THE END (feat. will.i.am & Jessica Pratt) Kendrick Lamar - For Free? - Interlude  Clairo - Sinking  Thelonious Monk - Caravan A$AP Rocky - L$D Lou Donaldson - Ode To Billie Joe  Thelonious Monk - Black And Tan Fantasy Wu-Tang Clan - Shame On a N****  Duke Ellington, John Coltrane - My Little Brown Book  Ghostface Killah - Malcolm  Thundercat - Them Changes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does humor belong in music?

What makes Weird Al songs so indelible? Why is Bo Burnham more than just a comic? How do the biggest pop hits make us crack up in the middle of a somber ballad? Humor is always present in music, but we rarely confront it head on. Until now. With the help of Comedian Chris Duffy, author of the book Humor Me: How Laughing Can Make You More Connected, Present, and Happy, and a series of lyrical submission from our listeners, we try to answer the question once posed by Frank Zappa, once and for all: Does humor belong in music? Songs discussed: Sabrina Carpenter – ManchildMarcia Belsky – 100 TamponsBo Burnham – From God’s PerspectiveSnoop Dogg – Gin and JuiceThe Gourds – Gin and JuiceTaylor Swift – All Too Well (10 Minute Version)“Weird Al” Yankovic – Amish Paradise“Weird Al” Yankovic – My BolognaStevie Wonder – Pastime ParadiseCoolio – Gangsta’s ParadiseBo Burnham – That Funny FeelingBo Burnham – FaceTime With My MomElaine Stritch – Are You Having Any Fun?Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000Kendrick Lamar – Not Like UsEminem – The Real Slim Shady2 Chainz – Birthday SongLil Jon – Snap Yo FingersOlivia Rodrigo – Get Him BackChappell Roan – CasualAudrey Hobert – I like to touch peopleAudrey Hobert – Bowling alleyJensen McRae – Immune Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And the Grammy goes to…

The ultimate gauntlet of popular music is upon us once again: it's Grammy season, and this year, the competition is pretty tight across the board. Big ticket A-listers like Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga occupy three of the four big categories (Song, Record, and Album of the Year), while folks like Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Leon Thomas, and Addison Rae duke it out in Best New Artist. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie, Nate, and Reanna take a look at the "big four" categories, and stump for their respective frontrunners in order to predict who will be taking home a golden phonograph (or two). Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube Songs discussed: Bad Bunny – DtMF Lady Gaga – Abracadabra Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild Kendrick Lamar – squabble up Olivia Dean – Nice To Each Other Olivia Dean – Man I Need Lola Young – Messy Addison Rae – Headphones On Addison Rae – New York Addison Rae – Fame is a Gun Kendrick Lamar, SZA – luther Billie Eilish – WILDFLOWER HUNTR/X – Golden Chappell Roan – The Subway Kendrick Lamar – tv off (feat. lefty gunplay) Justin Bieber – ALL I CAN TAKE Bad Bunny – NUEVAYoL Bad Bunny – VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR Bad Bunny – LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii Bad Bunny – LA MuDANZA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robyn’s new songs bring “drum 'n' grace” to the dance floor

Swedish pop star Robyn emerged as a phenomenon in the mid 1990s, an ingenue whose work with Max Martin presaged the R&B crossover hits of acts like Britney and the Backstreet Boys. Since her debut, she’s released a string of albums that have shaped the sound of dance music as we know it. Now, Robyn is releasing her first new album in eight years, Sexistential, and she’s given us three singles made up of her signature combination of thumping bass and ethereal vocals, while innovating into new personal –and vulnerable — territory. With raps about IVF, references to Blondie, a return to her collaboration with Max Martin, and our introduction of “drum n grace” to the lexicon, this episode is manna for Robyn fans and tyros alike. Stick around as we unveil a new feature, “Quick Hits,” a down-and-dirty carousel ride through the most interesting new releases, from ASAP Rocky to Zach Bryan. Songs discussed: Robyn – Dopamine Robyn – Show Me Love Charli XCX, Robyn, Yung Lean – 360 remix Jamie XX, Robyn – Life Robyn – Konichiwa Bitches Blondie – Rapture Robyn – Honey Robyn – Missing U Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend Taio Cruz – Dynamite Robyn – Play Robyn – Talk to Me Robyn – Do You Know (What It Takes) Robyn – Sexistential Andre 3000 – I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time Robyn – Cobrastyle Robyn – Dancing On My Own A$AP Rocky – PUNK ROCKY Zach Bryan – Plastic Cigarette David Byrne – Driver's License Moonchild – Up From Here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices