Pop Pantheon

Host of the Podcast  60 Songs That Explain the '90s , The Ringer's Rob Harvilla, is back with DJ Louie to break down Taylor Swift's 10th studio album,  Midnights , which dropped this past Friday. Louie and Rob set up Taylor's career and discography heading into this record before breaking down the lyrical motifs, recurrent themes and production choices on the album, what's working and not working...

Music journalist Owen Myers is back with DJ Louie to discuss the career and legend of British super girl group, Spice Girls. First, Louie and Owen talk through the history of girl groups and how various waves helped form the foundation for the Spice Girls’ ethos, before getting into the band’s journey from prefab answer to the UK boy band wave of the era to self-possessed girl-gang in control of t...

Senior Writer for Jezebel Rich Juzwiak joins DJ Louie once again to discuss the formidable work and legacy of the iconic George Michael. Louie and Rich discuss George’s early life, his chance middle-school meeting with Andrew Ridgely which lead to the formation of his breakthrough musical endeavor- the duo Wham!- the group’s two albums, 1983’s Fantastic and 1984’s blockbuster Make It Big , and how...

It's listener mailbag time! DJ Louie and Russ are here to tackle questions from across the Pop Pantheon extended universe. Who is the greatest British pop star of all time? Is Nicki BACK?! Are "Flop Eras" actually good?! Can DJs be Pop Stars??!! How does dying young affect your Pop Pantheon ranking?!!! How can Janet reach Tier 1??!! And so much more. See Louie DJ at Gorgeous Gorgeous in DTLA on 10...

Senior Culture Reporter for the South China Morning Post and author of the book BTS: Blood Sweat and Tears , Tamar Herman, joins DJ Louie for a deep-dive on K-Pop phenom boyband BTS. First, Louie and Tamar lay out some of the contours and history of the K-Pop scene and music industry before diving into BTS’ story, how they were initially put together in 2010 by producer Bang Si-Hyuk as a socially-...

For this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by his bffs Steven, Omri and Lala to debrief their night at the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium stop of Lady Gaga's epic, years-in-the-making Chromatica Ball World Tour. They talk all aspects of the show- from the stage to the setlist to the fashion to Gaga's presence, dancing and voice- how it stacks up against past LG tours, where they'd rank Chomatica again...

Author of Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop and host of The Ringer podcast Black Girl Songbook, Danyel Smith, joins DJ Louie to explore the work, impact and legacy of the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer. Louie and Danyel begin with Donna’s early life as the eccentric Black girl in her Boston community during the 1950s and ‘60s, her move to Germany in 1968 to star in the musi...

For this week’s B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by Chair of the The Clive Institute of Recorded Music, Jason King, to talk the history, culture, ethos and aesthetics of disco music. Louie and Jason lay out the elements of a disco song, what the word meant as a cultural movement, its roots as a queer black artform and unique platform for black women’s voices, what made the “disco diva”, the genre’s traj...

We did it! We finally made merch ! Please welcome to the stage: The Pop Pantheon "Niche Legend" Dad Hat! Be the Carly Rae Jepsen you want to see in the world by purchasing this gorgeous black and hot pink baseball cap ! It reads "Niche Legend" on the front and "Pop Pantheon" on the back.  This hat is a celebration of both our favorite Niche Legend pop girlies AND , most importantly, the Niche Lege...

Music writer and Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, Rawiya Kameir, is back on the show to discuss the career and confessions of the great Usher. DJ Louie and Rawiya break down Usher’s musical origins singing in the church, the failed boy band he fronted in the early ‘90s, Nu Beginnings, and how his deal with the storied LaFace Records and subsequent “flavor camp” with Sean “Puff Daddy’ Co...

The MTV Video Music Awards will air this Sunday, August 28 2022, from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ but does anybody care? For this week’s Pop Pantheon B-Side, Dunzo’s Troy McEady is back to discuss the history of the once-must-watch award show with DJ Louie, what made them the most raucous and exciting live event around at their peak, how grabbing a VMA headline could change a pop star’s ca...

Music critic Shaad D’Souza joins DJ Louie to talk about one of modern pop’s most captivating, divisive and perplexing figures, Miley Cyrus. Louie and Shaad open with a break down of Miley’s emergence on the smash Disney show, Hannah Montana , how the character’s own double life as a pop star and a “normal girl” mirrored Miley’s own, and the chaste image and anodyne pop-rock empowerment anthems on...

Every episode of Pop Pantheon contains at least some mention of the Billboard's iconic singles chart, the Hot 100. So for this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by chart analyst, cultural critic and host of Slate's podcast Hit Parade to talk the 60 year history of the chart, the way its metrics have evolved over time, what role having hits on the Hot 100 plays in a pop star's mythology and legacy,...

Beyoncé’s seventh studio album and her first in over six years, Renaissance , is finally upon us! For the fourth and final episode of our series on Queen B, DJ Louie is joined by The New Yorker ’s Doreen St. Félix to discuss the new record. Louie and Doreen share gut-check reactions, break down Renaissance's themes of bacchanalia and sexual freak-dom and how they register through Beyoncé’s signatu...

Part 3/4! Beyoncé’s latest solo album, Renaissance , drops on July 29th so to get everyone prepared, Pop Pantheon will be releasing a series of four episodes on the work and legacy of Queen Bey, each with a different guest! In our third installment, DJ Louie is joined by author of Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound , Yale University’s Dr. Daphne A. Brooks...

Part 2/4! Beyoncé’s latest solo album, Renaissance , drops on July 29th so to get everyone prepared, Pop Pantheon will be releasing a series of four episodes on the work and legacy of Queen Bey, each with a different guest! In our second installment, DJ Louie is joined by author and journalist Julianne Escobedo Shepherd to discuss the first decade of Beyoncé’s solo career. Louie and Julianne begin...

Part 1/4! In the first of four episodes in our new series covering the work and career of pop titan Beyoncé, DJ Louie is joined by Senior Writer at Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos, to discuss the group that started it all: Destiny’s Child.  Louie and Brittany begin with a broad history of black R&B girl groups, specifically the ‘90s wave of which DC was a part, and the ever-evolving way black w...

In this week's B-Side episode, Executive Director of Music at Billboard Jason Lipshutz joins DJ Louie to discuss the Song of the Summer! Louie and Jason dig into the history of the concept and Billboard's SOTS Chart, discuss the most recent winners and what makes for the ideal Song of the Summer, whether having a SOTS can meaningfully change the trajectory of pop star's career, and then each name...

Journalist and author of the 33 ⅓ book Duran Duran’s Rio , Annie Zaleski, joins DJ Louie for a deep-dive into ‘80s British pop-rock band and seminal music video-pioneers, Duran Duran. First, Louie and Annie parse the various music scenes-- glam rock, new wave, “The New Romantics”-- from which Duran Duran emerged before discussing the band’s formation in Birmingham in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s,...

In an emergency B-Side (Bey-Side??), DJ Louie, along with Pop Pantheon producer Russ, break down everything about Beyoncé's latest single, the '90s house-nodding club anthem "Break My Soul", which dropped last night. Louie and Russ lay out where Beyoncé's commercial and artistic trajectory stands leading into this new era, from which genres, songs and artists "Break My Soul" draws, whether or no...

My dad, Tim, is not only the biggest Pop Pantheon fan who loves to share his many opinions on all the episodes, but is also a music fanatic and entertainment attorney who specializes in music. As such, I had the privilege of growing up in a household where the two of us bonded over our mutual love of pop and often got to experience it together. His passion for it all was (obviously) formative to m...

This week, DJ Louie is joined by music journalist and co-host of the podcast Legends Only, Bradley Stern, to discuss the original American Idol , Kelly Clarkson! First, Louie and Bradley discuss Kelly’s legendary run on Idol, from being deemed “forgettable” by Simon Cowell to winning the show and America’s hearts in a landslide victory, her display of down-home affability and incredible versatilit...

Bloghouse has come up a number of times in episodes of Pop Pantheon, from Robyn to Kesha to Scissor Sisters . So for this Week’s B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by Lina Abascal, author of the book Never Be Alone Again: How Bloghouse United the Internet and the Dancefloor , to discuss the late aughts micro-movement and how it influenced mainstream pop. Louie and Lina dig into what exactly bloghouse was,...

Happy Pride! To celebrate Pride Month, Fluxblog's Matthew Perpetua joins DJ Louie to talk one of the most iconic gay pop acts of the century, Scissor Sisters. Louie and Matthew talk the history of queer men in mainstream pop, Scissor Sisters' formation in the downtown NYC electroclash scene of the late '90s and early '00s, their fluke first hit, a BeeGees-esque cover of "Comfortably Numb", how the...

We’re halfway through 2022 so for this week’s Pop Pantheon B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber to talk all their favorite pop songs and albums of the year so far, any trends they're spotting (short songs, short albums, and where are the main girlies??!!) and finally, Louie and Lindsey go through 15 buzzy new bottom tier Whos and decide whether they have a shot at top tier The...