Pop Pantheon

Author and Who? Weekly co-host Bobby Finger joins Pop Pantheon to unpack the career of sly country agitator turned alt pop girlie Kacey Musgraves. Bobby and DJ Louie discuss the blend of traditionalism and iconoclasm on both Kacey’s 2013 debut, Same Trailer Different Park and her sophomore effort, Pageant Material (2015). They dig into Kacey’s 2018 critical smash, Golden Hour, which profoundly expanded the scope of her work and won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and revisit her latest effort, 2021’s Star-Crossed, as they parse out just how Kacey has treaded the line between expert genre practitioner and a gay pop queen. Finally, Louie and Bobby rank Kacey Musgraves in the official Pop Pantheon.Listen to Who? WeeklyBuy Bobby Finger's debut novel The Old PlaceJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Check out Pop Pantheon's Kacey Musgraves Essentials Playlist on SpotifyGet Tickets to See Louie DJ at Gorgeous Gorgeous in DTLA on 3/25Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Bobby Finger on TwitterFollow Bobby Finger on InstagramJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miley Cyrus just dropped her 8th studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, last Friday, so critic Shaad D'Souza- our guest for our Miley episode and who reviewed the new record for Pitchfork-  is here to help break this music down: what works, what doesn't, the major themes and aesthetics, the incredible success of lead single "Flowers", what we should and shouldn't expect from Miley at this point and whether any of it impacts her ranking in the Pop Pantheon.If you enjoyed this snippet and want to hear the rest of the episode, plus more bonus content, access to our Discord channel and more, you can subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vulture's Jason P. Frank joins DJ Louie to discuss the idea of "Poptimism", or the movement in musical critical discourse during the mid 2000s and 2010s that allowed for pop music to be taken seriously as art. Jason and Louie discuss the circumstances that created Poptimism, how it disseminated through discourse over the last twenty years, the major albums, songs and artists that calcified the term, and how it's perhaps become irrelevant in the modern pop landscape. Read Kelefeh Sanneh's "The Rap Against Rockism" from The New York Times Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Get Tickets to See Louie DJ at Gorgeous Gorgeous in DTLA on 3/25Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Jason P. Frank on TwitterJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and A&R person Jordan Sargent returns to Pop Pantheon to explore a definitive moment in establishing hip hop’s centrism in mainstream pop music – the early 2000s. Jordan and DJ Louie explore the careers and legacies of a quartet of performers, Ja Rule, Nelly, Ludacris and 50 Cent, who hit their cultural peak during a moment when pop first fully allowed rappers to be mainstream pop stars. They discuss the sound of crossover rap in the 2000s and the biggest hits of the era from ‘In Da Club’ to ‘Hot in Herre,’ ‘Always on Time,’ and ‘One Minute Man’ and then rank all four hip hop stars in the Pop Pantheon. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Check out Pop Pantheon's 2000s Crossover Rappers Essentials Playlist on SpotifyFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Jordan Sargent on InstagramJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trapital Host Dan Runcie joins DJ Louie to discuss the state of the streaming ecosystem. Dan and Louie dig into how streaming has impacted the nature of pop stardom by helping to foster a dissolving monoculture and the rise of the niche superstar, financial incentives, stanning, pop music itself and us, the consumers, and how we relate to the value of music. Listen to TrapitalJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Dan Runcie on TwitterFollow Trapital on TwitterJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Critic, author and host of the podcast You Must Remember This Karina Longworth joins Pop Pantheon to help tell the story of patient zero for the concept of a “Pop Music Icon,” the legendary crooner and American Icon Frank Sinatra. Karina and DJ Louie trace Frank's career from its origins in clubs in Hoboken to the onset of what was perhaps the first true pop star fandemonium craze of the modern era, Sinatramania. Next, they discuss Frank's cornucopia of definitive American Standards, his success in the movie business, his role in turning Las Vegas into a world-class entertainment city and the formation of The Rat Pack. Finally, they consider his legacy in American popular music, his impact on celebrity culture and his influence on artists as far ranging as Elvis, Michael Jackson and Billie Eilish.Listen to You Must Remember ThisJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Check out Pop Pantheon's Frank Sinatra Essentials Playlist on SpotifyFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Karina Longworth on TwitterFollow Karina Longworth on InstagramFollow You Must Remember This on TwitterFollow You Must Remember This on InstagramJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by a literal Navy of Pop Pantheon All-Stars- Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz and Julianne Escobedo Shepherd- to preview Rihanna's epic return to music at Super Bowl LVII, this Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona! They talk all the big questions: Why now? What does it portend for new Rihanna music? What made her change her hard "no" to the NFL over their treatment of Colin Kaepernick?Then, the main event: Louie, Lindsey, Jason and Julianne try to figure which of Rihanna's ~40 hit songs she'll pull out for this 12-14 minute set, how she'll structure it to showcase the diversity and generational strength of her discography and pontificate on guests she could plausibly bring out to join her on stage. Finally, the crew discusses whether Rihanna's Pop Pantheon tier ranking has shifted from cuspy 2-1, where she was ranked in our series with Julianne back in December 2021, and if this performance- and the promise of new music- has the potential to finally elevate Rihanna, once and for all, to Tier 1 of the Pantheon. Listen to last year's Super Bowl episode, in which Louie and Rich Juzwiak break down almost every halftime ever, lay out the evolution of the format and debate the best and worst performances. Listen to Louie and Julianne's two-part Pop Pantheon series on RihannaJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Come See Louie DJ @ Gorgeous Gorgeous in DTLA, 2/10Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Jason Lipshutz on TwitterFollow Lindsey Weber on TwitterFollow Julianne Escobedo Shepherd on Twitter Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and producer Anupa Mistry joins Pop Pantheon to dissect the career of the most enigmatic pop superstar of his generation, The Weeknd. Anupa and DJ Louie discuss The Weeknd’s genre-obliterating early mixtapes, which helped to redefine the contours of R&B in the 2010s, and his studio debut, 2013’s Kiss Land. They also walk through his string of massive successes, from his breakthrough sophomore album, 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, 2016 follow-up Starboy, 2020’s revelatory After Hours, his 2021 Super Bowl performance, and most recent effort, last year’s Dawn FM. Read Anupa's 2015 profile of The Weeknd in PitchforkJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Come See Louie DJ @ Gorgeous Gorgeous in DTLA, 2/10Check out Pop Pantheon's The Weeknd Essentials Playlist on SpotifyFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Anupa Mistry on InstagramJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week's B-Side, we're reassessing all the Pop Pantheon rankings of the last year, including debates on Kesha, Miley, ABBA, Belinda Carlisle, Spice Girls and More. We're also taking listener Pantheon disputes via your phone calls. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Listen to our Original Pantheon Ranking Reassessment from April 2021Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a special bonus to wrap up our new Madonna series, we're re-publishing an episode, the fourth ever of Pop Pantheon (!!), from April 21, 2021 wherein DJ Louie and Jezebel's Rich Juzwiak attempt to parse about Madonna's commercial and artistic decline beginning with 2008's Pharrell and Timbaland-produced Hard Candy, 2012's limp return to dance music, MDNA, 2016's sprawling, trend-hopping Rebel Heart and 2019's generally baffling Madame X. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our New Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More!!Listen to Madonna: PT IListen to Madonna PT IIListen to Madonna PT IIIShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store!Check out Pop Pantheon's Madonna Essentials Playlist on SpotifyFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on TwitterFollow Rich Juzwiak on TwitterJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.