Hit Parade

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The Bridge: Pub Rock, Power Pop and New Wave

Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine breaks down the scenes and sounds that led to—and flowed out of—punk.

Episode Notes

In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Senior Editor at Xperi, whose database of music information is available at Allmusic.com. In his quarter-century with Allmusic, Tom has written thousands of record reviews and biographies. Chris and Tom expand on the latest full-length episode about the so-called Angry Young Men of punk/new wave. These movements were preceded by smaller scenes and sounds of the early ’70s like Pub Rock and Power Pop, which actually had little in common other than their back-to-basic, no-frills rock ethos.

Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives her a chance to turn the tables with a question of her own, and previews next month’s full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

About the Show

Chris Molanphy, a pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia, and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts, and shaped your memories forever.

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Host

  • Chris Molanphy is a feature writer and critic who writes widely about music and the pop charts.