From Little Richard to Chappell Roan, queer artists have always been vanguards of pop, even when they have not been out. Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded [...] Read more

Rob Harvilla, host of 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s, on the gap between what was cool and what actually charted during alt-rock’s greatest decade. In this Slate Plus exclusive, Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy welcomes critic and 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s host Rob Harvilla for a conversation about the true legacy of [...] Read more

From Cobain to Creed, how alt-rock went mainstream in the ‘90s.   Advertisement   Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. All Slate Plus Podcasts Get Your Slate [...] Read more

Music journalist Julianne Escobedo Shepherd says Rih always had the swagger to chart her own pop path. In this Slate Plus exclusive, Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy welcomes author, music journalist, and Rihanna superfan Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for a chat about Rih’s career and enduring impact on pop. Julianne shares her firsthand experience aboard the [...] Read more

Rihanna was the most prolific 21st century chart-topper before bowing out of the game.   Advertisement   Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. All Slate Plus Podcasts [...] Read more

Producer, music archivist, and historian Andy Zax on why we love groovy ’60s hits but forget the Green Berets. In this Slate Plus exclusive, Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy welcomes reissue producer, author and music historian Andy Zax for a deep dive into the jingoistic anthems, novelty tunes, and kitsch that ruled the airwaves in [...] Read more

The 1960s will always be associated with counterculture and the Summer of Love, but the decade’s pop charts were full of novelty, schlock, and bubblegum. When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint [...] Read more

Pop Pantheon’s DJ Louie XIV ranks pop royalty—and weighs in on imperial phases. In this Slate Plus bonus episode, Hit Parade’s Chris Molanphy welcomes DJ Louie XIV, host of the Pop Pantheon podcast, for a deep dive into imperial phases and the elite status that accompanies them. Louie breaks down the multi-tier system he uses [...] Read more