Chris Molanphy talks to Todd Rundgren biographer Paul Myers about Todd’s work on a smash Jim Steinman–Meat Loaf LP. <iframe title="The Bridge: Producer by the Dashboard Light" src="" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang [...] Read more

How Jim Steinman brought pomp, thunder and a whole lot of Meat Loaf to the top of the charts. <iframe title="Turn Around, Bright Eyes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT9157495792&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="Turn Around, Bright Eyes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6167605373&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Producers and songwriters have a major impact on how a finished pop song sounds, [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz about one-hit wonders from the last century through the TikTok era. <iframe title="The Bridge: Some Popstars That We Used to Know" src="" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes [...] Read more

Why A-ha and Dexys Midnight Runners are one-hit wonders—but Vanilla Ice and Men Without Hats aren’t. <iframe title="One and Done Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6539042044&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="One and Done Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6324570528&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> “Spirit in the Sky.” “Tainted Love.” “Come On Eileen.” “Bust a Move.” “Ice Ice Baby.” “Macarena.” The artist behind [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to the coiners of Yacht Rock about how they define the genre they invented. <iframe title="The Bridge: Yacht Or Nyacht?" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6663014493&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> First, we have a few announcements about the future of Hit Parade—and it’s good news for both Slate Plus members and non-Plus listeners. While the economic challenges [...] Read more

Slate staffers go head-to-head with Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy for the ultimate chart-trivia roundup. <audio title="Wednesday Night Live: Music Trivia" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT7510393630.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Wednesday Night Live: Music Trivia" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7510393630&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive [...] Read more

How Yacht Rock, a genre invented in the ’00s, gave a name to the smooth West Coast music of the ’70s and ’80s. <audio title="What a Fool Believes Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT7307219829.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="What a Fool Believes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7307219829&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> In the late ’70s and early ’80s, a scene and [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to critic Jessica Hopper about how the all-women ’90s festival beat the live-music odds. <audio title="The Bridge: Lilith’s Winding Road" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT9370088005.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Lilith’s Winding Road" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT9370088005&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. [...] Read more

Lilith Fair broke through music’s glass ceiling and affirmed women’s command of ’90s rock, pop and hip-hop. <audio title="Building a Herstory Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT2113673264.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Building a Herstory Edition" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT2113673264?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> For decades—literally since Woodstock—female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to OutKast expert Regina Bradley about what they meant to Southern hip-hop. <audio title="The Bridge: Many Ways to be OutKasted" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT6638412813.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Many Ways to be OutKasted" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT6638412813?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and [...] Read more