Nate Sloan

1 month ago | vulture.com | Reanna Cruz |Charlie Harding |Nate Sloan

Influence defines Lady Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem, a carefully curated sonic exhibition showcasing her inspirations and imitators. The record is a fascinating retrospective that reveals just how thoroughly Gaga understands her place in the pop-music continuum. Through detailed musical references and production choices, Mayhem invites fans to explore different wings of Gaga’s artistic sensibility, revealing an artist who has mastered musical curation.

1 month ago | vulture.com | Megan Lubin |Nate Sloan

A Timbaland beat can make you feel everything all at once. Call it the mosaic approach: The longtime producer picks a sample; blends it with odd, custom tones he crafted himself; throws in some polyrhythm; and then spits out a futuristic production that sounds like it was beamed directly from Mars. In fact, Tim is so good at this that the phrase “beats Timbaland made thirty years ago sound like they were made today” has turned into a well-worn cliché. But how did he get there in the first place?

Dec 13, 2024 | vulture.com | Charlie Harding |Nate Sloan

It’s time for one of our favorite annual traditions here at Switched on Pop — evaluating this season’s musical offerings. Each year, artists churn out little nuggets of holiday gold (or coal). It’s the thing you can count on every December: an infinite supply of new gift-wrapping music that will probably never be listened to because Mariah Carey exists. Ahead, we review four recent tracks, ranked on a scale of zero to five sleigh bells.

Nov 12, 2024 | vulture.com | Charlie Harding |Reanna Cruz |Nate Sloan

It’s fair to say we’re living in some freaky times, and what better way to think through this moment than to listen to some of the most legendary freaks in music? Lady Gaga, Robert Smith of the Cure, and Tyler, the Creator are each freaks in their own right — and obviously not in any sort of pejoratively way. A freak to us is someone who’s unique, nonconforming, and continues to redefine norms.

Oct 1, 2024 | switchedonpop.com | Nate Sloan

EPISODE 386Marianne Eloise has had the same Fall Out Boy song stuck in her head for over three years. "It’s Hard to Say 'I Do,' When I Don’t," an relatively obscure cut from the band's 2007 album Infinity on High has taken up permanent residence in her brain as the ultimate earworm. Everybody has had a riff or a melody stuck in their head, but not at this . Eloise, a journalist and music writer, decided to turn her malady into a story.