Chris Molanphy

Knew you’d put the Weird Al version in Bonus Beats—thank you. Normally I get annoyed when an act’s legacy is reduced to an Al parody (e.g. too many Greg Kihn obits last year put Al in the headline) but I confess to this day, in my head, the PUSA song ends w/“And that’s all/I have to say/ABOUT THAT.”

Thx for the shout-out. I like Harry better than you but agree his acclaim is greater than the cromulent tunes deserve. My opinion took a downturn after ‘Harry’s House’ won AotY at the Grammys over Beyoncé; she could’ve checked that box before ‘Cowboy Carter,’ but this serviceable pop LP won instead.

I must say, this latest chapter in their apparent cold war suggests that what Taylor did to Charli last summer on the UK charts was every bit as deliberate as fans surmised.
www.theguardian.com/music/articl...

The guy best equipped to answer this is my friend, fellow chart columnist & famed übertall person @tombreihan.bsky.social. He has strong incentive to know…& in his @stereogum.bsky.social column #TheNumberOnes he guesstimates that Montell Jordan was indeed tallest: www.stereogum.com/2179979/the-...

P.S. re:lyrics—I agree they’re pseudo-profound but I like how she cops to it within the song: “I haven't got it all figured out just yet.” This is the essence of Morissette/JLP’s relatability & why the CD sold 16m copies—half-assed poetry & I’m-just-figuring-it-out is a very pure teen/20s sentiment.

Love the song, love the video. TIL it was shot in Brooklyn, about 10mins from where I’m sitting—awesome, had no idea. I like "I'm brave, but I'm chicken shit" where a band-marcher steps in a pile of horse poo—it worked especially well on MTV cuz they had to blank “shit” but the visual made it plain.

“Cardigan” isn’t my favorite ‘Folklore’ either, but it’s a mood, sometimes exactly the mood I want. The bitterness of the refrain, “When you are young, they assume you know nothing,” kind of haunts me in a good way. The Taylor track you’re doing next is an even moodier mood & my fave of this period.

The Odd Alchemy That Sends a Brand-New Song to the Top of the Charts For decades, No. 1 debuts were unheard of in America. Then the record labels and digital music hacked the Hot 100.

Also! While #HitParadePod –The Bridge episodes are only for Slate Plus members, non-Plus listeners can now hear Pt2 of our September episode on the chart history of No1 debuts—from Mariah to Olivia…Britney to Bieber…& all those random Idol winners, beefing rappers & fluke hitmakers. Pts1&2 are here:

The Secret Sauce Behind No. 1 Debuts. Can a hit single be simultaneously a chart-topper … and a misfire?

On a new #HitParadePod –The Bridge—now live on @slate.com —my guest Chris Dalla Riva, author of ‘Uncharted Territory,’ says songs that debut@No1 usually have an extra-musical X-factor. But the song is the song—whether good Drake or bad Drake. Plus, trivia & a next-episode preview sending out an SOS.

Maybe it’s cuz it hasn’t been overplayed the way that other GGD ballad you’re gonna cover later was/still is, but “Name” always struck me as pretty & sounds good when I run across it now. Also, the lyrics aren’t Dylan but they are trying to express something. Good ending, too. A respectable 7 to me.

The Odd Alchemy That Sends a Brand-New Song to the Top of the Charts For decades, No. 1 debuts were unheard of in America. Then the record labels and digital music hacked the Hot 100.

In Part2 of my latest #HitParadePod on the history of No1 debuts (link below) I used data gathered by @rossonradio.com to track how songs that opened atop #Hot100 do on the air now. In the June week Sean checked the stats “Trollz” got 3 radio spins. I’d love to know who still plays that shit at all.

You don't see the un-paywalled version if you roll your podcatcher app forward to August 2022? That's where it should be.

How Billy Joel Became a 20th-Century Pop Zelig, Celebrating His Heroes by Imitating Them He earned fame as the “Piano Man”—but none of Joel’s No. 1s are really piano songs, and his hits ranged more widely than any artist of his era and stature.

Eventually @slate.com released ad-supported versions of all 4 of the 2020 paywalled episodes. In the case of Billy Joel, from the show page: "This episode was released in April 2020 exclusively for Slate Plus listeners. As of August 2022, it’s available for non-subscribers."

It never was, for the predictable reason MTV would've been too powerful, as the only nationwide "radio station," so to speak. Actual radio stations were included because they were more diffuse and represented regional US listening. And YouTube made more sense to include later cuz it's user-selected.

Pet theory: You feel about Rossdale the way I feel about Jon Bon Jovi. It’s the age we each were in 1994–95 & 1986–87 respectively—we wrote off this pretty boy w/ambition & poseur vibes & haven’t let go of that scorn in middle age. Accordingly, I have less animus for Bush—their songs are fine to me.

When we talk about how the 2020s haven't produced any major new rap stars & we’re stuck obsessing over rappers from prior decade(s) the 2021 implosion of DaBaby is Exhibit A.

P.S. You must be more immune to guitar arpeggios than I am cuz in the moment I kinda loved “Rockstar.” Still sounds pretty.

The Odd Alchemy That Sends a Brand-New Song to the Top of the Charts For decades, No. 1 debuts were unheard of in America. Then the record labels and digital music hacked the Hot 100.

Just a sweet sweet fantasy: My new #HitParadePod at @slate.com is on the history of No1 debuts. How do songs score a fast pass to the penthouse? They’re not always classics—Idol coronations…rap beefs…boy-band soloists…superstar throwaways. For every “Fantasy” “Hello” or “Vampire” there’s a “Trollz.”

“It’s like if a teen rapper came out now calling himself the Prisoner Of Azkaban or some shit. Lil Captain Underpants.” 🤣 No exaggeration, I loudly LOLd at this.

Happy mutual birthday to us! 🎂 Have a good Chart Columnist Day. Kinda hilarious you wrote about a teen grunge band & pondered mortality.

I’m w/ @chrisdeville.bsky.social—one of that year’s best tracks. Thx for helping explain why it hits so hard—the filter-disco vibes blend w/the gospel-lite soar.

There’s a moment in the video I just love where Gaga/Grande+the dance crew jump & the whole camera-angle does a 180° pivot. Irresistible.

125. What the Heck? MTV’s First Day Podcast Episode · Beyond Yacht Rock 2000 · 09/04/2025 · 1h 4m

On the latest episode of #BeyondYachtRock2000 I join @jdryznar.bsky.social, @hollywoodsteve.bsky.social & Dave Lyons for a countdown of some of the oddest videos from MTV’s first day. From the Buggles (no…not that one) to Pete Townshend…Kate Bush to Todd Rundgren…it’s an all-new way to #KeeptheFire.

Every VMA Winner for Video of the Year, Ranked Here's how Billboard ranks the 41 music videos that have won video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards so far.

Hey @augetoffmygold.bsky.social —this is an entertainingly debatable ranking (eg if you weren’t gonna give PG No1 I’d have flipped your 1 & 3).But my big quibble: You mention the Cars’ shadow from defeated “Thriller” but the same goes for VH beating Nirvana. I’d put “Right Now” lower for that alone.

Thanks for making me appreciate subtleties in this addendum of a hit I never noticed before, and…man, I’m so sorry that happened to your family. I’m relieved you’re all right (very best to the missuz), touched you shared that info and inspired you found sustenance from this song. Peace.

Feel like I wished this into being. I realize David &
@rilaws.bsky.social are seeking fulltime employment which—as warned—may include some competing podcast. But man…nothing beats the 3 of you w/ @kateyrich.bsky.social as ringmaster—if y’all basically rebooted LGM here permanently I’d be delighted.

Single of the year AFAIC. I fully cosign you that Bey’s vocal is this glorious slow-mo explosion—she starts precise & gradually bursts. Also the bars work even in radio-edit mode—I put “Savage Remix” on my Summer 2020 mix (my then-stepkids were listening) & the flow’s so good the edit loses nothing.

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ New Music Monthly, the first consumer magazine to include a bound-in CD sampler, is the leading publication for the emerging music enthusiast. NMM is a monthly magazine with interviews, reviews, a...

P.S. I *love* that you found out about Alanis from the CMJ New Music Monthly CD. I was writing for them back then. If you thumb through the issue in question you’ll find reviews by yours truly on a Stereolab EP reissue & a debut album by a long-forgotten jazz-funk fusion band called TJKirk.

Great read—you convey the out-of-nowhere thrill of that moment.

I wrote about “YOK” in Phil Dellio’s zine Radio On that summer & compared it to the Supremes’ “Reflections”cuz I heard them back-to-back flipping from oldies to pop radio. I heard ersatz-soul in Alanis’s vocal. Phil thought I was nuts.

HWR #11: Chris Molanphy A pop historian in New York City

I spoke w/Dane Haiken for his Substack interview series #HowWeRead, focusing on how I research episodes of my @slate.com podcast #HitParadePod —from Billboard chart books to memoirs by Nile Rodgers, John Fogerty & Phil Collins. Also, my origin story a la Paul McCartney’s apocryphal “Scrambled Egg.”

🤣 No it was not! Congrats—you’ve discovered my Ron Burgundy moment, the most embarrassing thing in #HitParadePod history. There was a script typo, I read it like that & nobody caught it. It’s now HP podcast lore. Hope it amused you. 🤦🏽 (Pictured: me in the “meekrat” tee loved ones gave me to F w/me.)

P.S.Big cosign on ‘Zooropa’ & I’d go further: “The singles don’t define how I feel about that record.” YES—my take is ‘Achtung’ has higher highs but because it has a couple weak tracks (“Horses,” “Acrobat”) ‘Zooropa’ is actually the better straight-through listen—no standout singles but a better LP.

You’re about 2pts higher than I’d be—I think it’s a well-executed lark, not a U2 classic—but I agree it’s the best outgrowth of Bono’s MacPhisto persona. I always heard “HMTMKMKM” as what a U2 Bond theme would sound like; the actual Bond theme Bono&Edge did next for Tina was a bit of an anticlimax.