Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine breaks down the scenes and sounds that led to—and flowed out of—punk. View Transcript Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher Listen Ad-Free On Amazon Music Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable [...] Read more

How three British post-punkers named Joe, Graham, and Elvis helped “write the book” on New Wave. View Transcript 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

Chicago music expert Ayana Contreras says the Great Migration made the Midwest funkier and more soulful. 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

In the ’70s, funk tore the roof off the charts, and taught a generation what it meant to get on the One. 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

Radio analyst Sean Ross says the airwaves are the ultimate arbiter of which hits endure—or disappear. 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

What is a “legacy hit”? A chart flop back in the day that’s now a classic—from “Tiny Dancer” to “What I Like About You.” 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

The so-called Piano Man often avoided the ivories, turning a range of styles and genres into Billy Joel music.     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 [...] Read more

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