Slate Archives - Page 2 of 25

Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” is a chart-topping hit that’s queer in every sense of the word. Consider, for a moment, the fate of Shuggie Otis, the shoulda-been music legend of the 1970s. The multiracial Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was compared to the likes of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Otis spent years working on [...] Read more

Hit Parade Slate

The Bridge: Lost Hits vs. Legacy Hits

30 September 20221 October 2022

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

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade: At Last, My Legacy Has Come Along Edition

16 September 20221 October 2022

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

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade (encore): Still Billy Joel to Me Edition

26 August 202226 August 2022

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

Slate Why Is This Song No. 1?

How Beyoncé Finally Got Her First No. 1 in 14 Years

13 August 202221 August 2022

Beyoncé may run the world, but she hasn’t always ruled the charts. In November 2019, with a little over a month left to go before the start of the ’20s, I dropped an episode of my Hit Parade podcast commemorating the ’10s as the decade was passing into history. I walked through the acts, singles, [...] Read more

Hit Parade Slate

The Bridge: Let Me Be the One

29 July 202231 July 2022

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

Slate Why Is This Song No. 1?

No One Makes Hits the Way Lizzo Does

28 July 202231 July 2022

“About Damn Time” shows how the star creates coalitions of young and old fans to patiently work her songs up the charts. About damn time, indeed. For 10 of the last 15 weeks, boy bander–turned–pop hegemon Harry Styles has been commanding Billboard’s Hot 100 with his dreamy ditty “As It Was.” Styles would only step [...] Read more

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade: Point of No Return Edition

15 July 202231 July 2022

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

Hit Parade Slate

The Bridge: Sync Is Both Stranger and Shameless

2 July 20225 July 2022

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

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade: A Deal with the TV God Edition

18 June 20225 July 2022

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