Pop Pantheon
DJ Louie XIV
2 Listeners
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 Pop Pantheon Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Pop Pantheon episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Pop Pantheon for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Pop Pantheon episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
08/11/22 • 74 min
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, whether or not we can compare current hits like this week's #1 "Break My Soul" to past ones given how Billboard's methodology has been altered to fit new data and music-consuming ecosystems, some weird kinks that have prevented massive hits like "I'm a Slave 4 U" from reaching to the top of the charts, and what fixes Chris might make to improve the Hot 100, still our best tool for measuring a hit record.
Listen to Chris Molanphy's podcast Hit Parade
Check out Chris' last appearance on Pop Pantheon, discussing The Supremes and Diana Ross
Tickets to DJ Louie's Pop Party, Gorgeous Gorgeous, on 8/12 in Downtown Los Angeles!
Join the Pop Pantheon Discord!
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter
Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram
2 Listeners
03/10/22 • 75 min
Pop critic, chart analyst, writer of Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?", and host of the podcast Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy, joins DJ Louie once again for the second part of our series on Diana Ross. This episode, Louie and Chris discuss Diana's initially rocky transition from lead singer for The Supremes into solo superstar and how she finally scored a solo #1 with an unexpected, avant-garde cover of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in 1970. They then discuss her spotty track record through the early-mid '70s, sometimes scoring massive hits with mostly adult-contemporary ballads like "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Do You Know Where You're Going To", but just as often releasing records that made little impact, all while pursuing a secondary career as a movie star most notably in her Oscar-nominated performance as Billie Holiday in 1972's Lady Sings the Blues. Louie and Chris then chronicle various pop movements that coincided with and affected Diana's career in this '70s- the racial segregation of radio, the birth of the female pop singer-songwriter like Carole King and Joni Mitchell, innovative R&B artists like Roberta Flack and Chaka Khan- Diana's third wind as a disco queen, beginning with 1976's smash "Love Hangover", 1979's "The Boss" and eventually, her blockbuster, career-defining collaboration with Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, 1980's Diana and it's legendary singles, "I'm Coming Out" and "Upside Down". Finally, Louie and Chris debate what allowed Diana to beat the odds, defying pop's ageist bent with hits across three decades and what exactly makes Diana one of the ultimate Tier 1 Icons in the official Pop Pantheon.
Send questions about this episode, the Pantheon, pop stars in general or whatever else is on your mind to [email protected]
Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Monday 3/14 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT!
Check Out Louie's Diana Ross Essentials Playlist
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter
Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram
2 Listeners
MILEY CYRUS (with Shaad D'Souza)
Pop Pantheon
08/18/22 • 106 min
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 which Miley-as-Hannah made her name and, later in career, had to torch. They next dive into Miley’s various, often bold but almost always awkward attempts to break out of the Hannah Montana box, first with her calculated pivot towards sexed-up dance pop on 2010’s nonstarter Can’t Be Tamed and much more effectively on 2013’s Bangerz, a fascinating, garish record that repositioned the former Disney kid as a freewheeling, hip hop-obsessed party monster, a brazen and un-self-aware culture vulture and, for the first and perhaps only time in her a career, a trendsetting pop star. Louie and Shaad debate the record’s prescient centering of trap in mainstream pop, as well its table-setting fusion of rap and country, how we view Miley’s egregious cultural appropriation through a contemporary lens, and whether the album’s whirlwind of controversy obscured some of the record’s delicate, honest songwriting and virtuoso vocal performances. Later, they discuss how Miley squandered a lot of remaining good will with her next two projects, 2015’s utterly bizarre Wayne Coyne-collabo Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz and 2017’s middle-of-the-road country-pop-leaning Younger Now, and if Miley has effectively repositioned herself in recent years with a series of well-received live performances and covers and a turn towards rock homage on her 2020 album Plastic Hearts. Finally, Louie and Shaad rank Miley Cyrus in the official Pop Pantheon.
Read Shaad's review of Plastic Hearts in Pitchfork
Check out Louie's Miley Cyrus Essentials Playlist on Spotify
Join the Pop Pantheon Discord!
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter
Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram
1 Listener
06/10/24 • 8 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, which dropped Friday, was posited as a dance album. What we actually got was something quite a bit more complicated. On this week's episode, Louie and Russ break the whole thing down.
To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.
1 Listener
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Beyoncé dropped two singles plus announced her new album! Usher performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show! Variety's Steven J. Horowitz joins Louie and Russ to discuss it all, plus a new music speed round featuring Justin Timberlake, Kacey Musgraves & Ice Spice.
To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier.
1 Listener
11/02/23 • 54 min
Back in August, Lizzo was sued by a number of her former dancers for creating a hostile work environment, with allegations including racial and sexual harassment, disability discrimination, illegal retaliatory termination and assault, and more. This flew directly in the face of her brand, which champions positivity, inclusivity and authenticity above all else (including even her music).
The Sunday Times' Megan Agnew and journalist and culture critic Hanna Phifer join DJ Louie to break down how this scandal has played out for Lizzo, where it fits in with and differs from other pop star scandals past and present, and what, if anything, she can do fix the damage it's caused to her brand and image.
Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More
Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In Pasadena
Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on November 10
Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous X Who? Weekly on November 16
Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store
Follow Hanna Phifer on Twitter
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter
1 Listener
New Pop Girl Power Ranking ft. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan & More (with Mikael Wood & Jason P. Frank)
Pop Pantheon
08/08/24 • 97 min
We thought 2024 was going to be dominated by a waterfall of new releases from Old Guard Superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa. But while they've each had success, the main story of the last 12 months has been the auspicious establishment of a new generation of pop divas led by Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, but also featuring Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Victoria Monet and more.
For this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by LA Times Pop Critic Mikael Wood and Vulture's Jason P. Frank to discuss how this new group of girlies has coalesced and taken ahold of the zeitgeist, before ranking ten newly-minted Queens of Pop in the ultimate New Pop Girl Power Ranking. Who's got the juice to turn this hot streak into a career and who will be forgotten by next summer? Louie, Jason and Mikael are here to answer all those questions and place their bets.
Read Mikael's Piece "Sabrina, Chappell and Charli are Suddenly Stars: Why Now?"
Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More
Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store
Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos in Silver Lake on 8/17
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
1 Listener
Reacting to MORE of Your Unpopular Opinions About Dua Lipa, Katy Perry & More! (Patreon Preview)
Pop Pantheon
12/30/24 • 10 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, we hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! For our last All Access episode of 2024, Russ and Louie got together to react to more of your unpopular opinions about Ava Max, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Mariah Carey, live pop shows & more.
To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.
1 Listener
RIHANNA PT. 2 (with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd)
Pop Pantheon
12/16/21 • 97 min
Former Editor-in-Chief of Jezebel and famed author of The Rihanna RihPort, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Is back with DJ Louie for part two of their discussion about the newly anointed Queen of Barbados, Rihanna. Louie and Julianne pick up with Rihanna's 5th album, 2010's Loud, her commercial pop peak and a celebration following the thornier, darker Rated R the previous year. They then analyze what made "We Found Love" the emblematic EDM-pop song and Rih's biggest hit to date, the way she drew from female rappers on salacious hits like "Cockiness (Lick It)" and "Birthday Cake", the alluring fatigue of 2012's sprawling Unapologetic, how she became the superlative celebrity Instagrammer, and her subversive choice to re-unite on record with Chris Brown. Rounding out her career, they consider Rihanna's artistic peak, 2016's startlingly insular Anti, how she's recently applied The Rihanna Thing in non-musical ventures like her lingerie and makeup lines, and her impact on contemporary pop stars, before each sharing their ranking of Rihanna albums. Finally, Louie and Julianne have a lengthy and heated debate about whether Rihanna has ascended to (*gasp*) Tier 1 in the official Pop Pantheon.
Ready Julianne's column, The Rihanna RihPort, in Jezebel
Join the Pop Pantheon Discord Tonight (12/16) at 8PM ET / 5PM PT!
Check Out Louie's Rihanna Essentials Playlist
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter
Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram
1 Listener
10/02/23 • 11 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, journalist and author Michael Cragg joins Louie for a discussion of Kylie Minogue's sixteenth studio album, Tension, which dropped a couple weeks ago.
Tension arrives amidst a heightened level of interest on Kylie following the viral success of its lead single "Padam Padam", which was a gay club anthem in the US and a bonafide hit around the world, including becoming her first top ten in the UK in more than a decade. Louie and Michael discuss whether Tension delivers on the promise of "Padam Padam", how it slots in with the rest of her latter day work, their favorite and least favorite moments on the record, what allows Kylie to simply employ "The Kylie Thing" on album after album and what it means for her to have a hit at this phase in her career and life, especially for American audiences who are largely unfamiliar with her illustrious four decades as a pop phenomenon.
To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive at least three episodes of the show per month, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier.
1 Listener
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Pop Pantheon have?
Pop Pantheon currently has 274 episodes available.
What topics does Pop Pantheon cover?
The podcast is about Pop Culture, Music, Pop, Podcasts and Music Commentary.
What is the most popular episode on Pop Pantheon?
The episode title 'Billboard's Hot 100: Hits, History and Kinks (with Hit Parade's Chris Molanphy)' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Pop Pantheon?
The average episode length on Pop Pantheon is 66 minutes.
How often are episodes of Pop Pantheon released?
Episodes of Pop Pantheon are typically released every 4 days, 17 hours.
When was the first episode of Pop Pantheon?
The first episode of Pop Pantheon was released on Mar 8, 2021.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ