A podcast dedicated to in-depth discussion of pop music hosted by Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge. On each episode we're joined by bloggers, academics, or musicians to discuss pop music's issues, trends, and latest hits.
For the final day of the week, Scott and Bri are talking about post-Jonas Brothers solo material from Nick as well as Joe's new band DNCE. They discuss toxic masculinity, Grease: Live!, and, of course, bacon.
On Day 5, Scott and Bri are talking about the hiatus the band took after Lines, Vines, and Trying Times, when Nick put out an album as Nick Jonas and the Administration and Joe released an unfortunate solo album called Fastlife. We also talk about the band coming back together to record a new album, only to break up before they finished it. It's very sad!
For Day 4, Scott and Bri are talking about the final studio album, Lines, Vines, and Trying Times. They talk about good use of horns, bad use of rappers, and sort of calling Taylor Swift a B****.
For Day 3, Scott and Bri are talking A Little Bit Longer, a third studio album from the group. They talk about Big Rob, growing up with Type 1 Diabetes, and calling Taylor Swift a B****.
For Day 2, Scott and Bri talk about the second Jonas Brothers album, aptly titled Jonas Brothers. They discuss Australian stereotypes, mid-2000s text speak, and Jonas Brothers fan fiction.
For Day 1, Scott and Bri talk about the Jonas Brothers' debut albums, It's About Time. They gush about baby Nick's voice, Christian Book Stores, and far too many Busted Covers.
On Episode 39 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge throw a Pop Unmuted Office Holiday Party. They talk to guests about some of their favorite music of 2016, enjoy some non-alcoholic punch, and marvel at the paper snowflakes Kurt made.
On Episode 38 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk about the new single from John Mayer's upcoming 7th studio album "Love On The Weekend." They are joined by music journalist Kira Grunenberg and founder of The Shotgun SeatAnnie Dineen to talk about the song and John Mayer's return to pop music.
On Episode 37 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss the latest single from The Weeknd, "Starboy ft. Daft Punk." They also squabble over Scandinavian pronunciations and talk about the appropriate time to start listening to Christmas Music.
On Episode 36 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss Scott's Master's Thesis "'But I'm In A Cool Boy Band': Anxiety and Masculinity in the Music of One Direction."
On Episode 35 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss Kurt's new music charts website, Crownnote, with pop blogger and music consultant Adam Soybel, introduce the Crowncast podcast, and share what's on their personal charts.
On Episode 34 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk with Argentinian writer Juana Giaimo about the current scene in Chilean pop music.
On Episode 33 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Leonel Manzanares to discuss the music and legacy of late Mexican singer and songwriter Juan Gabriel.
On Episode 32 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge embrace their love of Carly Rae Jepsen. With music writer and Maura Magazine managing editor Brad Nelson, writer and photographer Zan McQuade, and host of ALL CAPS with Kate and Bri Bri Mattia, they discuss Carly Slay Jepsen's latest release E·mo·tion Side B
On Episode 31 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Business Development Coordinator at Songkick Adam Raza to talk about "Kids," the latest single from OneRepublic and why some artists are perceived as "cool" while others aren't.
On Episode 30 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss this Summer's lack of "bangerz." With Katy Perry's "Rise" and Britney Spears's "Make Me," it seems as if the era of battling for the Song Of The Summer is over. Guess you win, Justin Timberlake's Troll song.
On Episode 29 of Pop Unmuted Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Music Theory Ph.D. student Megan Lavengood, who is writing her dissertation on timbre and the Yamaha Dx7 synthesizer. They talk about the role timbre and sound plays in defining genre and why so much music released in the 2010s is called "80s inspired."
To celebrate two years of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge look at songs from two years ago and then songs from those same artists that have come out this year. Kurt discusses Sia's "Chandelier" and "Cheap Thrills" while Scott recommends Mitski's "First Love / Late Spring" and "Your Best American Girl."
On Episode 27 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by the hosts of the ALL CAPS podcast, Kate McGarry and Bri Mattia, to discuss being a fan and the role fandom plays in our lives.
On the first episode of our new K-Pop Unmuted podcast, Stephen Knight and Scott Interrante discuss the solo debuts of current and former Girls' Generation members Tiffany's and Jessica.
On Episode 26 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk about their latest musical obsession and the inevitable Song Of The Summer, Ariana Grande’s “Into You.” They discuss the song’s interesting rhythms, queer subtext, and intertextual connections to Elvis and Mariah Carey.
For Episode 25 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge continue their discussion of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds by breaking down the musical structure of one of the album's best-known songs, "God Only Knows," and exploring the surprisingly difficult question of what key it is in.
On Episode 24 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Missy Kyzer to celebrate and discuss the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boy's seminal album Pet Sounds.
On Episode 23 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge talk about choruses. They discuss the development of the modern pop chorus from the Tin Pan Alley AABA structure, look closer at some of our favorite choruses, and explore the baffling section labels of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."
On Episode 22 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge explore the popular conspiracy theory known as Larry Stylinson, which suggests that Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles from One Direction are in a romantic relationship, forced in the closet by their management. We talk to Helena Dare-Edwards, who recently received her Ph.D. in Media Studies and has written extensively about Larry and One Direction, Caitlin Foster who co-hosts the Talk Direction podcast, Jessica Leski, a documentary film-maker working on a film called I Used To Be Norma: A Boyband Fangirl Story", and MaryClare, whose tumblr Louis and the Alien has a post exploring the mysterious gay teddy bear mascots of One Direction. Scott and Kurt also talk about the sensitive subject of questioning the validity of Louis's recently born son.
On Episode 21 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge analyze 2011's most viral video, "Friday" by Rebecca Black in celebration of its fifth anniversary.
Trigger Warning: Emotional and Sexual Abuse. On Episode 20 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by MTV News writer Sasha Geffen to talk about the legal situation going on between Kesha and Dr. Luke. Then, previous guests of the show send in audio tributes to Kesha discussing her music and what she means to them. Contributors include Kira Grunenberg, Megan Lavengood, and Taylor Myers.
On Episode 19 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Ashley and Adam of the Swiftcast, "the #1 Taylor Swift Podcast," to talk about the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards.
On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge get in the mood for Valentine's Day by discussing some of their favorite love songs. Scott shares his thoughts on two older hits, "Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys and Dolly Parton's classic "I Will Always Love You" while Kurt goes with two lesser-known songs by contemporary artists in John Mayer's "City Love" and Celine Dion's French-language hit "Je t'aime Encore." The two then preview next weeks' 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards episode by predicting who will win the four major categories.
On this pop-up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge explore different types of choruses that deviate from the norm: songs with choruses and post-choruses, songs with long, multi-part choruses, and songs with two distinct choruses.
On the last episode of 2015, Kurt Trowbridge and Scott Interrante are joined by Kira Grunenberg and Annie Dineen to discuss our favorite songs of the year. Kurt picks Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me," Annie picks Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey," Kira picks Little May's "Home," and Scott picks Carly Rae Jepsen's "Let's Get Lost."
On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss four of their favorite Christmas songs and the phenomenon of holiday music.
On Episode 17 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by MTV Staff Writer Patrick Hosken and Prtls Creative Director Tyler Andere to talk about Justin Bieber's Purpose and One Direction's Made in the A.M..
On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss thew new single from Adele's upcoming 25, "Hello" along with the records it's already set and the reasons behind the Adele phenomenon.
How do we communicate our thoughts and feelings on pop music? What is mainstream pop music's cultural position and in what ways is that related to gender? On Episode 16 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by fellow pop music podcasters Ellen Mayer and Charlie Harding to talk about talking about pop.
On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Kurt Trowbridge and Scott Interrante discuss a trend they've noticed popping up in recent pop songs: one note melodies. They discuss some recent and historic examples of the technique, why songwriters might employ it, and what it brings to the meaning of the music.
On Episode 15 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by fandom scholars Helena Dare-Edwards and Dr. Mark Duffett to discuss pop fandom, fan screaming, and the power of fan armies. The group then turns their attention to Justin Bieber's come-back single, "What Do You Mean?"
On this Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge thank the contributors to the Pop Unmuted Kickstarter campaign. They then go into an extended edition of the regular Unmuted Pop Songs recommendation segment.
On Episode 14 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Annie Galvin, a Ph.D. candidate in English at the University of Virginia and Alice Bolin, a poet and essayist to talk about different aspects of pop lyrics. The panel then discusses the latest album from country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material.
The Pop Unmuted podcast will now be releasing mini "pop-up" episodes regularly between regular episodes of the show, so you can now look forward to two episodes a month. On the first pop-up, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge share and discuss some of their favorite recent songs
On Episode 13 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by music journalist Kira Grunenberg and Atlantic Records A&R consultant and music blogger Adam Soybel to celebrate the podcast's 1 year anniversary by discussing pop anniversaries and pop nostalgia. The panel then talks about the latest single by The Weeknd, "Can't Feel My Face" and its relationship to Apple Music.
On Episode 12 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Robin James, to discuss her new book 'Resilience and Melancholy: Pop Music, Feminism, Neoliberalism' and Rihanna's "American Oxygen."
On Episode 11 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by music blogger Bill Smith and undergraduate Music & Culture student at University of California, Riverside Missy Kyzer to talk about the latest album from Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure, and the phenomenon of the aging pop star.
On Episode 10 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by Melbourne, Australia-based pop podcaster Daniel Gregg and Music Theory Ph.D. candidate Megan Lavengood to talk about legendary pop producer and songwriter Max Martin. We then delve deeper into his most recent hit, Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" and close with a special Max Martin themed Unmuted Pop Songs segment.
In this special Pop Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by music journalist Kira Grunenberg and music blogger and A&R consultant at Atlantic Records Adam Soybel to talk about the recently announced change to an international music release day.
On Episode 9 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by New York-based Korean artist and Columbia MFA student Bora Kim and Seoul-based American writer Jakob Dorof to talk about K-pop. We discuss what makes K-pop unique from Western pop and the potential CL of 2ne1 has in crossing over to an American audience. Then we shift our focus to the latest 4Minute single "Crazy."
On this special Pop-Up episode of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante is joined by music journalist Kira Grunenberg and musician and writer Dan Poorman to talk about Punch Brothers' latest album The Phosphorescent Blues.
For the first episode of 2015, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge discuss the importance and meaning of charts both Billboard and personal with fellow bloggers and chart makers Adam Soybel and Bill Smith. The group then discusses the recent out-of-left-field collaboration between Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney, "FourFiveSeconds."
For the final episode of Pop Unmuted in 2014, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by PhD Music Theory student Taylor Myers and Music Theory Master's student Aurora Montgomery to talk about women in pop in 2014. We talk Beyonce, Booties, and Taylor Swift, along with some of our own personal favorite moments of women in pop.
On Episode 6 of Pop Unmuted, Scott Interrante and Kurt Trowbridge are joined by music journalist Kira Grunenberg and Doctoral student Brad Spiers to talk about online streaming, its affect on music consumption and the industry at large. Then we discuss the newest single from Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk," focusing on its postmodern pastiche of styles and the sociopolitical implications of the music industry's retromania.
On this special Pop Up episode of Pop Unmuted, host Scott Interrante and PhD Candidate Helena Dare-Edwards, both academically invested in One Direction, talk all about the boy band and their chart-topping new album Four.
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