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More than 35 years after its release, Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut album – and the single Fast Car – hit #1 on the charts last week, fueled by her performance with country star Luke Combs at the Grammy Awards. Kara speaks with Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times' Matter of Opinion podcast, music reporter Maura Johnston, and Estelle Caswell, formerly of Vox Pop Earworm, about why an album written at the end of the Reagan era, full of songs about social injustice, racial tensions and striving for upward mobility, has struck a chord with Gen Z audiences. Plus: they talk about the changing music industry and another surprise Grammy comeback: the legendary Joni Mitchell. You can watch the original performances on the Grammy Awards website. Other questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We're on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
There's been a meme circulating: pop stars lamenting making TikTok videos that labels force them to publish. Supposedly content creator wasn't in the pop star job description. Since 2020 the short form video social media platform TikTok has utterly upended music discovery. In many cases giving unknown musicians a pathway to enormous audiences. And it's become increasingly important, especially during the pandemic, as people stare at their phones instead of flocking out to concerts. New artists seemingly come out of nowhere, suddenly bursting into mainstream with viral tick-tock hit. This story has been reported ad nauseam, no name musician overnight gets makes a viral hit and then lands a record deal. But this phenomenon has been difficult to quantify until recently when Estelle Caswell from Vox.com and Matt Daniels from The Pudding investigated this question. Over six months they manually compile the data of who went viral, who got signed, and whose careers dropped off. In their short documentary, “We tracked what happens after TikTok songs go viral” Caswell and Daniels definitely tell us what happened to the class of viral TikTok stars from 2020. The numbers are surprising. Though TikTok is clearly a dominant force in new music discovery, streaming music is still overwhelmingly dominated by legacy artists. Theses established acts are now completing on the same platform for eyeballs, making it ever more challenging to break out. So what happens after you go viral on TikTok? Listen to Switched On Pop to find out what happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Men have been singing in typically female vocal ranges for decades, and Sasha Geffen shows us how this “falsetto” technique has broken both vocal and gender norms throughout history. Estelle Caswell from Vox Media joins to share her love for R&B slow jammers like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, as we explore the phenomenon of men singing really high in popular music, from Sam Smith and Justin Timberlake, to the Bee Gees and Sylvester.
This Week's Guest Stephen Hecht, the co-founder of Million Peacemakers, provides inspiration to anyone that doubts their ability to change the world for the better, at scale. Stephen is proof that good intentions, a little creativity, underpinned by clear goals can result in monumental impact, at any age. Million Peacemakers is a non-profit organization that empowers people to transform conflict into what they call Nonflict. Stephens's inspiration came from his multi-faith work and his own transformation in focussing on the commonality in people over their differences.Over 225,000 people around the world trained in the first 5 years with a focus on youth, families, and businesses, Stephen is changing the world one peacemaker training session at a time.Listen to Stephens story or sign up to be a peacemaker at MillionPeacemakers.org.The Podcast we Love Slate podcasts make really sold shows but it's Slow Burn series is a wonderful podcast that has told two of the biggest stories of the 20th Century The Watergate scandal and the impeachment of Bill Clinton. In season three Slow Burn tells the story of the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. It's a fascinating insight into the gang-related, east coast-west coast, BadBoy-Deathrow rivalries that ripped apart the hip hop community. Listen on SpotifyWe found this online We found this really useful article in HBR. Whether it's in interviews or negotiations, we are frequently asked questions we would rather not answer. In many instances, an honest answer might weaken our position, compromise our privacy, or disclose sensitive corporate information. A dishonest response might make the situation worse still. This article explores the mechanism and value of using deflection as a strategy and how it can impact both our economic outcome and our relationship with the person asking.Recommended to usEver wondered how the Explicit Lyrics Sticker that we see on albums emerged? The story behind and the battle behind Parental Advisory and Music Censorship is extraordinary. Estelle Caswell from VOX tells the story How heavy metal and Satan gave us this sticker.Movie of the week This week's recommendation is a series. We just finished The Loudest Voice - the seven-part limited series based on a bestselling book is about Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News. To understand the events that led to the rise of the modern Republican party, one must understand Ailes. Focusing primarily on the past decade in which Ailes arguably became the party's de facto leader, the series also touches on defining events in Ailes' life. If you can access it watch Russell Crowe's portrayal of Ailes is riveting. Mulling on thisFollowing the outcome of the UK Election where England voters triggered a landslide Conservative win for Boris Johnson's strategy and Scotland voted in opposition with the nationalists winning the popular vote. This article published before the election Why We Need to Stop Dreaming of England.This might well be the time to abandon the... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Men singing high is so ubiquitous in modern pop that we might take it granted, never pausing to ask: has it always been this way? Estelle Caswell, who makes the Emmy-winning Earworm series for Vox, decided to find out, and she stops by to share results from her painstaking study of male falsetto in pop music from 1958 to today. Some of her findings may surprise, like 1996 was the peak year for falsetto, Justin Timberlake doesn't sing as you high at might think, and falsetto has been around as long as pop itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
An interview with Earworm storytelling genius at Vox, Estelle Caswell. https://www.schoolofmotion.com/podcast/estelle-caswell-vox-interview
Ever notice that wobbly, drunken and underwater sound common in so many contemporary pop songs? In an era of pristine recording quality, music producers are referencing old and impure technologies to add character to their recordings. Digital cassette hiss, tape wobble, and vinyl crackle are intentionally added to productions as a facsimile of "authentic" recording technology. Why the sudden nostalgia? Where does this underwater sound come from? What does it mean? How is it made? Find out on a live episode of Switched On Pop, recorded at Recode's annual Code conference with guest host Estelle Caswell, creator of Vox's Earworm video series. Listen to Estelle's Spotify playlist of underwater intros. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, even seeing the words Baby Shark is enough to get your brain singing “doo doo doo-doo do-doo” on a short, maddening loop. For me, though, it got me thinking about how repetitive hooks mess with your brain, and how that power can be used for good (or evil, depending on how you feel about Baby Shark).Repetition is a MASSIVE subject, so I’ve focused on repetitive lyrics, and what they do to us. After I’d recorded this episode, I realised that Vox has already done a terrific video on this phenomenon. Thankfully I had gone down a very different path, but you should watch all of the Vox Earworm videos because they’re great. I actually referenced one in the episode! Watch their video on triplet flow, and see what I dream about Key Change becoming one day (
Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, even seeing the words Baby Shark is enough to get your brain singing “doo doo doo-doo do-doo” on a short, maddening loop. For me, though, it got me thinking about how repetitive hooks mess with your brain, and how that power can be used for good (or evil, depending on how you feel about Baby Shark).Repetition is a MASSIVE subject, so I’ve focused on repetitive lyrics, and what they do to us. After I’d recorded this episode, I realised that Vox has already done a terrific video on this phenomenon. Thankfully I had gone down a very different path, but you should watch all of the Vox Earworm videos because they’re great. I actually referenced one in the episode! Watch their video on triplet flow, and see what I dream about Key Change becoming one day (
With Dave Spiers, Gaz Willians and Matthew Hodson We enjoy the excellent Vox Earworm documentary on the fade by Estelle Caswell, then discuss the shocking news of 425 consecutive months of a downturn in keytar sales, Thomas Dolby in the Roland Cloud and Divkid's modular for kids.
With Dave Spiers, Gaz Willians and Matthew Hodson We enjoy the excellent Vox Earworm documentary on the fade by Estelle Caswell, then discuss the shocking news of 425 consecutive months of a downturn in keytar sales, Thomas Dolby in the Roland Cloud and Divkid's modular for kids.
Along with our guest Estelle Caswell, we discuss Twitter, YouTube comments, and how to handle negative feedback (especially in public). Then we talk about that magical moment when your work becomes less scary to you. Finally, we talk about Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar. Hit us up on Twitter! Fits and Starts - @fits_and_starts Daniel - @dcoulbourne John - @johnrudolphdrex Special Guest: Estelle Caswell. Links: - [Estelle Caswell (@estellecaswell) | Twitter](https://twitter.com/estellecaswell "Estelle Caswell (@estellecaswell) | Twitter") - [Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWveXdj6oZU "Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time - YouTube") - [Kanye, deconstructed: The human voice as the ultimate instrument - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJyhKEZ8QU "Kanye, deconstructed: The human voice as the ultimate instrument - YouTube") - [The Social Contract - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Contract "The Social Contract - Wikipedia") - [Why rappers love Grey Poupon - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOgPk5T1xi0 "Why rappers love Grey Poupon - YouTube") - [Kid Rock - All Summer Long - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whXG3XxxxZo "Kid Rock - All Summer Long - YouTube") - ["I miss the old Kanye" - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JCbfmze5LI) - [Vox](https://www.vox.com/ "Vox") - [Lil Wayne - Dr. Carter - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh0DNuv8kMo "Lil Wayne - Dr. Carter - YouTube") - [To Pimp a Butterfly - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Pimp_a_Butterfly "To Pimp a Butterfly - Wikipedia") - [Damn (Kendrick Lamar album) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_(Kendrick_Lamar_album) "Damn (Kendrick Lamar album) - Wikipedia") - [Kendrick Lamar - DNA. - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZRYQMLDW4 "Kendrick Lamar - DNA. - YouTube") - [Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI "Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. - YouTube") - [Our original tweet to Estelle](https://twitter.com/DCoulbourne/status/852928882181320704 "Our original tweet to Estelle")