Boston Globe and Time critic Maura Johnston says freestyle, however fizzy, was also profoundly emo. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. [...] Read more

How freestyle—a frenetic, synthetic Latin-flavored ’80s dance genre—bridged the disco and hip-hop eras while racking up scores of hits. View Transcript View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. [...] Read more

Publishing exec and TV-sync expert Mara Kuge says placing a song on a show is a songwriter’s jackpot. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your [...] Read more

How the tube has turned songs into hits for 60 years—and why Kate Bush’s TV hit might be the biggest of all. View Transcript View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, [...] Read more

Music scholar Jason King explains how Pharrell stays turned on, tuned in and far out. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. [...] Read more

How Pharrell, Timbaland, and Missy—three nerds from Virginia—added quirk to pop and gave us all a dope beat to step to. View Transcript View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check [...] Read more

Steve Lickteig, podcast expert and our original producer, talks about what makes Hit Parade stories work. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus [...] Read more

Hit Parade celebrates its fifth anniversary with a Top 20 countdown of your favorite episodes. View Transcript View Transcript Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to [...] Read more

Danyel Smith, author of a new book about Black women in pop, says legends Dionne, Gladys, and Patti still aren’t getting their due. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please [...] Read more

How four R&B queens—Dionne, Patti, Roberta, and Chaka—evolved into chart-toppers through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Stitcher Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate [...] Read more