The pop-punk and emo boom of the ’90s and ’00s shows how punk keeps selling out and buying in. View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast RSS Feed Amazon Music For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable [...] Read more

Did the music 50 years ago really “change everything”? How a new generation of singer-songwriters rebooted the charts. View Transcript View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast RSS Feed Amazon Music For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy and Caryn Rose discuss Bruce Springsteen’s artistry and whether he tried to evade pop success. Read more

Bruce Springsteen went from “new Dylan” to pop pinup when he learned to keep the catchy songs for himself. Bruce Springsteen has been a legend so long, it’s easy to forget that, for his first decade, he had trouble getting a hit. Yes, even the legendary “Born to Run”: It missed Billboard’s Top 20. And [...] Read more

Rappers are singing and singers are rapping. When did these styles merge? Read more

Chris Molanphy and Amy Coddington give Milli Vanilli props as himbo forefathers of rap and pop cross-pollination. In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Amherst pop-music professor Amy Coddington to provide some context on how Milli Vanilli helped change the sound of pop music at the turn of the ’80s [...] Read more

Deceitful as they were, Milli Vanill’s blend of rap and dance-pop topped the charts and made a lasting impression. Read more

Chris Molanphy and Brittany Spanos discuss Taylor Swift’s enduring appeal for fans of all ages. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast RSS Feed Get Your Slate Plus Feed Copy your ad-free feed link below to load into your player: copy link copied! For questions about subscriptions [...] Read more

At the turn of the ’10s, Taylor Swift pulled off a masterful country-to-pop crossover, ruling two genres at once. <iframe title="Taylor’s Version of Country Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT8513901857&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript <iframe title="Taylor’s Version of Country Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6004911516&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript Taylor Swift’s new album is a reboot of [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy hosts a remote pop quiz about pop, exclusively for Slate Plus members. In this special episode of Hit Parade’s “The Bridge,” it’s like you’re sitting at the end of the bar for the ultimate pop-music pub quiz: On Tuesday night, March 30, host Chris Molanphy quizzed eight different Slate Plus listeners on trivia questions [...] Read more