Switched on Pop #3- The Past, Present, and Future of Emo (with Allegra Frank)

This podcast I was excited for when I saw the title of the episode. I listen to quite a bit of metal and alternative rock and this can kind of be perceived as emo. And apparently, I was right because after just listening to a few minutes of this podcast I knew they were going to be talking about my music. Greenday, Fallout Boy, and Panic! at the Disco already have been mentioned and these are all the bands I grew up on. The podcast transitions to figuring out what kind of music qualifies as Emo. And according to the podcast so far, Emo is not quite punk rock or alternative, but its more than a genre. Emo is a kind of emotion for people, so Emo is different for everybody. Mine is Fallout Boy and Panic! at the Disco, while someone else’s may be Korn and Mineral. They continue to explain how Emo has evolved and they go over this artist named Sunny Day Real Estate which I am not really a fan of. But then they go over Jimmy Eat World which is a lot more my style. A little bit harder hitting than Sunny Day Real Estate. I think past Emo was a lot more emotional earlier in time and switched off from hard and soft music. Present Emo is still emotional, but not as emotional as the past. Like “Thnks fr th Mmrs” by Fallout Boy is a lot faster paced than these past songs and is still conveying an emotional message, but I feel because it is not slow it is not as emotional. It wasn’t until 2004 when the bands I like start popping up and the people in the podcast agreed with me that it wasn’t the same Emo as those earlier years. I was impressed with this podcast’s breakdown of Emo as I do have to agree with a lot of their analyses of Emo. And the bands I do listen to right now, they have evolved to more pop and aren’t really Emo anymore.

Sloan, Nate and Harding Charlie, hosts. “The Past, Present, and Future of Emo (with Allegra Frank).” Switched on Pop, Vox Media Podcast Network 19 Nov. 2019 https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/the-past-present-and-future-of-emo-allegra-frank

Switched on Pop #2-Rihanna Party! (with Gina Delvac)

During this podcast, they breakdown Rihanna and her music career. They play songs such as: “Pon de Replay,” “Umbrella,” “What’s My Name,” and several more songs. I didn’t realize the amount of vocal range that Rihanna herself had. It wasn’t until these guys on the podcast pointed it out in these different songs. Rihanna herself mainly sticks with the lower vocals but on certain songs such as “We Found Love” she explores those higher vocals and it is fascinating to understand the range of her voice. If I do listen to pop music, Rihanna would probably be one of my top artists. In the podcast they also go over her musical achievements and it appears that Rihanna is one of the all-time artists in the world. She even has the same number of charts hitting singles as Michael Jackson. I am not really a fan of the person they keep going back to who is a producer called Jenny Gathright. She is just kind of describing the already visible and is brought up for clarification on what seems the obvious. During the podcast they also bring up the song “Umbrella” which personally I am not a fan of. I am not a big fan of constant repetition of one word, so I don’t really agree with what they said about it being such an important song. I was interested to learn that some of her songs were inspired by some ill-fated relationships. Also, Rihanna spans over several genres as her albums progress, which is impressive for Rihanna in demonstrating her abilities.

Sloan, Nate and Harding Charlie, hosts. “Rihanna Party! (with Gina Delvac).” Switched on Pop, Vox Media Podcast Network 29 Oct. 2019 https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/rihanna-party-with-gina-delvac

"Jump"-Van Halen

I can remember being super young and hear this song come on the radio. It is a very upbeat song with what sounds like and electric keyboard, drums, and electric guitar. It is a rather short song but the meaning behind it is a beautiful one. I am not really a fan of the repetition of the word "jump" just because I feel like it is a little boring. However, I love how upbeat the song is. After a little digging and trying to figure out what the song meant, I learned that the song itself is written as a person jumping into a relationship, taking the leap of faith. Throughout the song the electric keyboard and the drums are mostly what I hear prominently until the end of the song where an electric guitar solo comes in. I guess it might have just been me but my initial understanding of what seemed to be the message behind the song was a little dark and I thought it was something as of suicide and to my surprise the initial meaning of the song was inspired by that. But, after some thinking they decided that this was the best route and changed the meaning of the song. My favorite instrument of the song would have to be the electric keyboard as it makes just such a unique sound, and as soon as the song starts makes the signature start. I don't really know any other songs that start with that same melody in the beginning of the song. Overall, I love this song as it reminds me of my childhood.

Switched on Pop #1-Why U Love 2 Listen 2 Prince (with Anil Dash)

During this podcast, they discuss the song 1999 by Prince. And they breakdown the song as well as Thriller by Michael Jackson. 1999 was unique for its time because Prince had used a new drum machine for the beginning of his song which creates a wall of sound that sounds very electric. This wasn’t the intent of the drum machine, but Prince took the instrument and put his own spin on it which gives it a unique sound. The rest of the song is a repeating melody with Prince’s lyrics. This song exploded and then once Michael Jackson hears the song, he changes the song he had been working on at the time. This song was Thriller. Thriller then also gets a wall of sound just due to the competition at the time with Prince. This wall of sound was unique, and it generated competition within other artists because they knew it was making waves within the musical community. Then, Prince is also himself unique because he was one of the first people to really use computers and upload albums to the internet. I personally don’t listen to much Prince or Michael Jackson just because that’s not my favorite style of music but after comparing 1999 and Thriller together I have decided that I like Thriller a little more. I just like Michael Jackson’s vocals a lot more than Prince. Michael Jackson’s vocals and lyrics are so much louder and more prominent. Prince focuses more on the beats and his vocals aren’t very prominent and I am just not really a fan. However, when it comes to the drum machine discussed in the podcast, I am a really big fan of how Prince innovated this instrument. He found his own melody within it and pushed the machine to its limits to discover what he could do with it.

Sloan, Nate and Harding Charlie, hosts. “Why U Love 2 Listen 2 Prince (with Anil Dash).” Switched on Pop, Vox Media Podcast Network 22 Oct. 2019 https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/why-u-love-2-listen-2-prince-with-anil-dash