Switched on Pop

• Is that new song you like AI? Here’s how you can tell

  The robots have arrived, and they're making protest songs about boots on the ground. When an AI band called The Velvet Sundown fooled over a million Spotify listeners with their psychedelic folk anthems, it raised an unsettling question: have the machines gotten so good we can no longer hear the difference? Charlie puts Nate to the test with a game of "AI or Human?" featuring Wu-Tang deepfakes, phantom instruments, and songs that sound like Dire Straits and Tom Petty had a baby. Along the way, they uncover the five telltale signs that expose artificial music, from juvenile rhyming patterns to voices that shapeshift between tracks. But here's the terrifying part: just six months ago, AI music was unlistenable chaos. Now it's disturbingly competent. And it's only getting better. Songs Discussed The Velvet Sundown - "Dust on the Wind" Post Malone - "Chemical" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio" The Velvet Sundown - "Freedom Song" Kansas - "Dust in the Wind" The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun" Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" The Velvet Sundown - "Where War Remains" Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here" The Velvet Sundown - "Ash and Velvet" Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth" The Velvet Sundown - "For the Ones We Couldn't Keep" The Velvet Sundown - "Mirrors in the Smoke" Pink Floyd - "Breathe" The Velvet Sundown - "Rebel Shout" The Velvet Sundown - "Smoke in Silence" The Velvet Sundown - "Marching Shadows" The Velvet Sundown - "As the Silence Falls" The Velvet Sundown - "How Did This Go Wrong?" Hip Hop Intelligence - "Bar Fight" (AI Wu-Tang) Hip Hop Intelligence - "Party with Me" (AI Eminem) Temple of the Acid Fist Records - "Woman Gone Blues" (AI) "Echoes of Twilight" (AI student example) The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane" "Whispers of Chaos" (Charlie's AI generation) Mungo Jerry - "In the Summertime" Almost Vinyl - "Phil Wildo's Door to Door Dildos" (AI) Joey Two Legs - "I Shouldn't Have Done That" (hybrid) Bill Evans AI track (untitled, by Nobody in the Computer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Benson Boone-Doggle

  In which we explore the unlikely rise, and surprising backlash against, one Benson Boone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Can Recession Pop predict the market?

  Why does the economy look great on paper but feel terrible in your wallet? There might be a more revealing economic indicator hiding in your Spotify queue. "Recession Pop" first emerged during the Great Recession and exploded into playlists, radio formats, and DJ sets in 2024. From melancholy indie anthems to escapist dance tracks, the songs we gravitate toward during uncertain times might predict where the economy is headed next. Host Jonquilin Hill explores this musical phenomenon on Vox's "Explain it To Me," with Charlie joining in the second half to decode what our streaming habits reveal about financial anxiety and economic forecasting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• How Americana helped mainstream country find its soul

  As we've been examining over the course of Country Week, country music has found a larger audience, in part by widening its sonic palette. For the final episode of this series, we take a look at a genre on the outskirts of country – Americana music – and how it's being used to connect to the scene's musical roots.   Historically, Americana has embraced an acoustic sound, traditional repertoire, and an appetite for virtuosic technique. In bluegrass artists like Billy Strings and roots musicians like Sierra Ferrell, Nate and Charlie see if there's an antidote to be found for the issues that plague modern, mainstream country music. Songs discussed: The Punch Brothers – Rye Whiskey Sierra Ferrell – In Dreams Dolly Parton – Jolene Sierra Ferrell – I Could Drive You Crazy Sierra Ferrell, Zach Bryan – Holy Roller Billy Strings – Dust in a Baggie Billy Strings, Willie Nelson – California Sober Tyler Childers – In Your Love Tyler Childers – Phone Calls and Emails Tyler Childers – Rustin' In The Rain Don Gibson – Oh, Lonesome Me Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson – Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys The Chicks – Long Time Gone The Steeldrivers – Higher Than the Wall Beyoncé – Texas Hold'em I'm With Her – Espresso Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Country music is Mexican (Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera)

  More often than not, country music is seen as an "American" genre – meaning that the music is seen as strictly from the United States. In some ways, that's true; but the genre's iconography, sound, and ethos can actually be traced to the south of the border, in Mexican regional music. The worlds have been more intertwined than you would think, and in musica mexicana, we find the closest comparison to what we traditionally call "country music." In this episode of Switched On Pop, in honor of country week, we take a look at the cumbia-corrido hybrid "Me Jalo" from Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera, two U.S. based acts performing Mexican regional music, to see what ties the cultures together. Songs discussed: George Strait – El Rey Carín León – Necesito Encontrarte Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – ME JALO Fuerza Regida – TQM Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny – un x100to Fuerza Regida – SECRETO VICTORIA Grupo Frontera, Grupo Firme – EL AMOR DE SU VIDA Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera – Bebe Dame Shania Twain – Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under Hank Williams – Your Cheatin' Heart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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