Slate Archives - Page 2 of 11

Music Trivia: The ’90s Pop Edition

November 16, 2018February 2, 2019

From Ace of Base to Britney Spears, Slate’s music history podcast is here to quiz you on pop icons. Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. Sign up today and try it free for two weeks. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to Hit Parade Copy this link [...] Read more

Slate Why is this song number one?

Why Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” Is Her First No. 1 Song

November 15, 2018February 2, 2019

The single’s chart-topping success is the culmination of years of resilience in the face of tragedy and heartbreak. As if Saturday Night Live hadn’t already been sucking up enough oxygen since President Donald Trump took office, 2018 may go down as the year the NBC institution set the agenda for the pop charts, too. For [...] Read more

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Hit Parade: The Oh. My. God. Becky Edition

October 26, 2018February 2, 2019

What finally got hip-hop to the top of the Billboard charts? Listen to Episode 17 of Slate’s Hit Parade: Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. Sign up today and try it free for two weeks. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to Hit Parade Copy this link [...] Read more

Images of the late rapper the Notorious B.I.G. are shown during a performance by recording artist Sean Combs at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 19, 2015 in Las Vegas.

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Music Trivia: The ’90s Hip-Hop Edition

October 12, 2018February 2, 2019

From the Notorious B.I.G. to the Fresh Prince and LL Cool J, Slate’s music-history podcast is here to quiz you. Listen to Hit Parade via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Think you know music? Hit Parade, the music-history podcast from Slate, is back with a new episode of the Bridge. Advertisement In [...] Read more

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Hit Parade: The Nights on Broadway Edition

September 28, 2018February 11, 2019

How did the Bee Gees survive the fall of disco? The falsettos? The white suits? It was the songs. Listen to Episode 16 of Slate’s Hit Parade: Listen to Hit Parade via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Slate Plus members: Get your ad-free podcast feed. Those falsettos, those white suits, those toothy [...] Read more

Slate Why is this song number one?

How Maroon 5 Fused With the Pop Machine to Score a Second Life on the Charts

September 28, 2018February 2, 2019

The band’s new No. 1 is only their latest collaboration with the song factory. The Beatles. Led Zeppelin. The Clash. Talking Heads. The Police. Nirvana. All of these hit-making, Hall of Fame–level rock bands recorded together for fewer years than Maroon 5, who have now been releasing hit albums and, especially, hit singles for 16 [...] Read more

Hit Parade Slate

Music Trivia: The Aretha Franklin Edition

August 31, 2018February 2, 2019

The Queen of Soul is gone. How much do you know about her music, really? Listen to Hit Parade via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Think you know music? Hit Parade, the pop-chart history podcast from Slate, is back with a new episode of The Bridge. In this monthly mini-episode of Hit [...] Read more

Drake. Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images.

Slate Why is this song number one?

Is Drake’s Latest No. 1 a Hit Song or a Hit Meme?

July 27, 2018February 2, 2019

“In My Feelings” is an accidental smash. It could become Drake’s biggest hit. Sixteen years ago, in July 2002, singsongy rapper Nelly commanded the Hot 100 with his salacious sultry-weather hit “Hot in Herre,” the leadoff single from his monster Nellyville album. The only question was how he would follow it up. “Hot” was about halfway [...] Read more

Cardi B and Bruno Mars perform onstage during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28 in New York City.Theo Wargo/WireImage

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade: The Feat. Don’t Fail Me Now Edition

July 27, 2018February 2, 2019

How did guest rappers change the way supporting performers are credited across popular music? Cardi B and Bruno Mars perform onstage during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28 in New York City. Theo Wargo/WireImage Listen to Hit Parade via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Slate Plus [...] Read more

Hit Parade Slate

Hit Parade: The Deadbeat Club Edition, Part 2

July 13, 2018February 2, 2019

Listen to Hit Parade via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play In the second part of our two-part episode about the B-52’s and R.E.M.—the bands that put Athens, Georgia, on the map and helped define new wave rock in the early ’80s—we trace how they transformed themselves from hipsters to hit-makers. One band waited [...] Read more