Pop Pantheon Live! Tortured Poets & the State of Taylor Mania (with Hunter Harris, Brittany Spanos, & Nora Princiotti) (Originally aired 4/23/24)

Pop Pantheon will return with new episodes next week! In the meantime, enjoy a taste of our Patreon channel, Pop Pantheon: All Access, with this live show about Taylor Swfit's The Tortured Poets Department from back in April of '24. If you enjoy this and want to 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.

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, The Wall Street Journal's Myles Tanzer returns to Pop Pantheon ahead of the 10-year anniversary of Justin Bieber's fourth studio album, Purpose, to unpack the blockbuster record. Louie and Myles touch down on Justin's recent album Swag, discuss Purpose's trio of number one hits, "Love Yourself," "Sorry" and "What Do You Mean?," and talk about Justin's approach to pop stardom over the years.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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

Pop Pantheon is off until September but we didn't want to leave you high and dry! This episode on Cyndi Lauper from back in January 2022 is one of Louie's favorites. If you missed it or are new to the pod, this is great gem from the back catalog. If you've heard it before, we hope you enjoy revisiting the career, work, and legacy of this early MTV era icon. 

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ revisit Miley Cyrus' divisive 2013 blockbuster Bangerz, her most successful pop star era but one loaded to the brim with controversy and worse. To do so, they go track-by-track on the album but skip it's three enduring hits— "We Can't Stop," "Wrecking Ball," and "Adore You"— to decide if this explosive, chaotic record many deem some kind of "classic" stands on it's own two feet without them. 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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, it's a true Pop Emergency! Earlier this week, Taylor Swift announced her forthcoming 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, due out October 3rd, so Louie and Russ had to gather for a little bonus pod to discuss everything we know about the album so far and what to expect from a whole new Taylor era.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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

To conclude our epic four-parter, the time has come to rank Kylie Minogue in the official Pop Pantheon! Louie and Russ convene an international gay summit with friends of the pod Owen Myers and Sam Murphy to break down one of the toughest tier rankings in Pop Pantheon history. Do we rank Kylie differently in different territories? Try to come up with a global ranking? How do we make sense of such an enigmatic career that played out so differently across different regions of the world? Panelists from the series Michael Cragg, Joan Summers, and Katherine St. Asaph all weigh in as well before Louie makes the final call!Listen to our Kylie Minogue Essentials PlaylistJoin 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 DJ Louie XIV on Twitter

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, writer and producer Lakin Imani Starling joins Pop Pantheon ahead of the first anniversary of Doechii's mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal to talk about how the project turned Doechii into a breakout star. Lakin and Russ dig into Doechii's origins in Florida, her early years as a rapper and musician and early hits like "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" and "What It Is" that helped set the stage for her massive mainstream breakthrough. From there, they discuss how Doechii uses Alligator Bites to challenges notions of genre and, ultimately, to tell her own story.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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

We have recently received a number of takedown notices from Spotify on behalf of an organization representing songwriters and publishers and indications that Spotify could, at some point, remove Pop Pantheon from their platform. In light of that and while our current plan is to continue publishing on Spotify for the the time being, we're highly suggesting that our Spotify listeners subscribe to PP on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or any other podcast app so that you never miss an episode of the show regardless of what the future holds for the show on Spotify.  Lastly, even if you don't subscribe at the paid tier, click here to sign up for Pop Pantheon's Patreon channel at the free tier so that we have a way to keep in touch outside of the reach of these major tech platforms. We'll also be throwing you some free goodies on there as well! 

Katherine St. Asaph makes her Pop Pantheon debut for the third in our four-part series on Kylie Minogue. Louie and Katherine discuss Kylie's life-changing cancer diagnosis and the celebratory record that followed her public battle with the disease 2007's X. Then they tackle Kylie’s later era run of records, from 2010’s Aphrodite through to 2020's Disco, when led into her third moment in the American zeitgeist with "Padam Padam" nearly 40 years into her career.Join us next week for part 4, in which we’ll debate Kylie’s ranking in The Official Pop Pantheon. Listen to our Kylie Minogue Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreGorgeous Gorgeous NYC on August 8Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter

For the second installment in our four-part series on Kylie Minogue, Paper’s Joan Summers joins Pop Pantheon to discuss Kylie’s commercial crash out in the '90s and glorious rebirth in the early 2000s. Joan and Louie dig into Kylie's commercial nadir with 1997’s Impossible Princess, then unpack one of pop’s greatest rebounds, her 2000 maximalist camp fantasia Light Years. From there, they discuss her robotic pop masterpiece “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head,” Kylie’s second brush with U.S. success, her commercial peak with 2001’s Fever, and 2003’s sensual and scaled back Body Language.Join us next week for Part 3, in which we’ll discuss later era Kylie, from 2007's X through to her recent resurgence with “Padam Padam.”Listen to our Kylie Minogue Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreGorgeous Gorgeous LA on August 1 Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on August 8Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter