I keep saying that I don’t have time to keep up with the podcasts I already listen to, but I keep hearing about new podcasts that I can’t help but check out. Within a few weeks ago two of the podcasts I already listen to, Pop Culture Happy Hour and Pitch, were both singing the praises of the Switched on Pop podcast. Now that I’ve listened to it I can say it was with good reason.

Songwriter Charlie Harding and musicologist Nate Sloan break down pop music every couple of weeks. Sometimes they talk about a specific song or artist. This week they looked at Justin Beiber’s most recent singles, but they’ve also examined artists like Kacey Musgraves or why even though they really like Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You” it didn’t turn into a big hit like “Call Me Maybe”. Other weeks they take a more themed approach by looking at things like a cappella, the use of the saxophone in pop music, or the song of the summer.

They really do a deep dive into the music examining things like the production, structure, chord progression, and lyrics. As a musicologist Nate Sloan often looks back in music history and compares current pop songs to classical music. They really look at music in a way I never think about it, but that I really enjoy.

If you are a music fan like I am I cannot recommend this podcast highly enough.