#2: The Weeknd | Olivia Rodrigo | Rock N’ Roll True Crime
Two artists in the world-wide spotlight this week -- Olivia Rodrigo and The Weeknd -- earned some deep dives.
🎧 Popcast analyzes Rodrigo’s “drivers licence,” first with some inside baseball about how the song took over TikTok and landed on 150 official Spotify playlists. An exploration of the song’s strong connection with listeners follows.
🎧 It’s all about the Super Bowl bump for The Weeknd. Not that he needs a bump. “Blinding Lights” has been on the charts for more than a year. Switched on Pop breaks down why it’s been popular pandemic listening. Pop Shop Podcast investigates what might be involved in The Weeknd’s performance during halftime of Sunday’s game.
Elsewhere…
🎧 Reverberate’s second episode revisits the U.S. efforts to oust former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989 by blasting rock music. It’s a more nuanced tale than I remembered.
🎧 Conversations has a two-part interview with Tana Douglas, billed as the first woman roadie. Douglas’s memoir is called “Loud.”
🎧 World Cafe Words and Music kicks off a month-long series on the Black roots of rock music.
🎧 Rockin’ the Suburbs acknowledges Phil Spector’s crimes and takes a dive into his musical legacy.
🎧 Ben and Ellen Harper look back on the ‘60s folk music revival on Fresh Air.
🎧 True crime alert: Morbidology looks at the death of Linda Stein, who New York Magazine called a “punk-rock pioneer turned broker to the stars.”
🎧 What did the world sound like in 1932? Centuries of Sound stitches together a musical collage.
🎧 Sticky Notes goes medieval.
🎧 Happy birthday Bob.
New Podcasts
🎧 A lot of buzz for Black Girl Songbook from The Ringer. Author and former Vibe editor-in-chief Danyel Smith “celebrates and uplifts the talents of Black women in the music industry.” First episode: Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl XXV performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
🎧 For Undermine, Osiris Media combines three podcasts into a weekly show that “will excavate the deep history” of Phish.
Song Deep Dives and Lists
‘80s Movie Music Mostly Superheroes - The Music Show
“Bad Day” by Daniel Powter The Volume Knob
Best of January All Songs Considered
“drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo Popcast, Rolling Stone Music Now
“Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle Sound Opinions
Justin Timberlake covers Coverville
Kiss top ten DISCovery with Eric Senich
“Monsters” by All Time Low Chris DeMakes a Podcast
“Nuthin’ But a G-Thang” by Dr. Dre 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s
Overlooked Power Pop Songs Discord and Rhyme
A look at the first eight tracks of “Yellow Pills: Prefill”
“She Loves You” by The Beatles A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
“Since U Been Gone” as covered by A Day to Remember Reminiscent
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Black Girl Songbook, Object of Sound
Album Analysis and Dissections
Best new albums All Songs Considered
Featuring the latest from Foo Fighters, Odette, Hayley Williams and more.
“E*MO*TION” by Carly Rae Jepsen You, Me and An Album
Great albums from 1997 Rockin’ the Suburbs
“Jesus is King” by Kanye West Watching the Throne
“Medicine at Midnight” by Foo Fighters Indiecast
“More Songs About Buildings and Food” by Talking Heads The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers
“Sentimentally Yours” by Patsy Cline My Favorite Album with Jeremy Dylan
“Speak” by Lindsay Lohan Bizarre Albums
“‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” by “Weird Al” Yankovic Album ReBrews
“What Now?” by Jon Bap James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds
Artist Retrospectives and Deep Dives
David Bowie Off the Record
The third episode of a season-long look at Bowie spans 1966-69.
Chance the Rapper The No Good Podcast
Doris Day We Didn’t Start the Fire
Dr. Dre [X] on [Y]
Eva Cassidy Death of a Rock Star
Ella Fitzgerald The History Chicks
GIRLI Name 3 Songs
Rick James Why I Hate This Album
Music lost to Coronavirus Popcast
Raffi Stand By Your Band
Tupac Shakur Disgraceland, About a Girl
About a Girl focuses on Kidada Jones’s relationship with Tupac.
Britney Spears Bad Boy Pod
Steven Van Zandt The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll
Tina Weymouth The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll
Immersion into Musicals
Repo! The Genetic Opera MusicalSplaining
Time Fountain… Off Book: The Improvised Musical
Interviews and Guest Appearances
Gracie Abrams Kyle Meredith With...
Omar Apollo Latino USA
Black Thought World Cafe Words and Music
Alison Braun Turned Out a Punk
John Carpenter Sound Opinions
Rivers Cuomo Broken Record
Jared Dines Ernie Ball: Striking a Chord
DMC Your Hometown
E-40 The GaryVee Audio Experience
Foo Fighters The Zane Lowe Interview Series
Lita Ford The Eddie Trunk Podcast
Ghostpoet Sodajerker on Songwriting
Laura Jane Grace World Cafe Words and Music
Mickey Guyton Homemade
Sarah Jarosz Inside the Musician’s Brain
Norah Jones Wheels Off
Gladys Knight Biscuits & Jam
She discusses cobbler and “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Johnny Lee The French Connection
Steve Lillywhite The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
Mackelmore People’s Party with Talib Kweli
Ziggy Marley People Have the Power
Imelda May The Hang with Gregory Porter
Melba Moore Questlove Supreme
Roland Orzabal Rockonteurs
Larkin Poe Live from Nerdville
Ariel Rechtshaid And the Writer Is…
Darius Rucker SmartLess
Todd Rundgren The Rhino Podcast
Joe Russo Eric Krasno Plus One
Gustavo Santaolalla Alt.Latino
Too Short The GaryVee Audio Experience
Kurt Vile The New Yorker Radio Hour
Weezer The Zane Lowe Interview Series
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