This Must Be Pop
Connecting with a pop group when we're young is often one of the most defining moments of our lives, but why are we so afraid to talk about it? This podcast is devoted to exploring the importance of pop music, including the music of boybands. It’s also a critique of society looking down on music many genuinely enjoy. Fans of boybands (consisting of mostly women and LGBTQ+ folk) often feel a stigma if they express their admiration for certain groups. Additionally, despite their talent & popularity, no modern boyband has won a Grammy. We explore all this on This Must Be Pop.
Episodes
Ana is joined by Selena Fragassi, music journalist and author of the new book: New Kids on the Block 40th Anniversary Celebration.
Ana and Selena go through the history of the New Kids, from their humble beginnings in Boston, to how they've evolved as one of the most profitable and successful legacy bands in music with the backing of one of the most passionate fanbases: the Blockheads.
Just in time for Hanson Day 2024! Ana is joined by Lia from The Ashlee and Jessicast to discuss Hanson. We discuss if Hanson is considered a boyband, as well as get into Lia's fan origin story and dive a bit into most of their discography. We also discuss how awesome the Hanson fandom is!
Ana is joined by Eryn Cooper (radio personality, music journalist, and self-proclaimed professional fangirl) where they break down the AMAZING multi-generational boyband collab to rule them all: Liam Payne's new song "Teardrops. They discuss how Liam's career, both in 1D and as a solo artist, has been very similar to another boybander: *NSYNC's JC Chasez, who coincidentally worked with Liam on "Teardrops"...
This week marks the one year anniversary of Aaron Carter’s passing. Aaron’s legacy within music and pop culture is often overlooked, but it certainly deserves recognition and is insanely important. In this special episode honoring Aaron, we discuss him and his music and legacy, complex and layered as it was, with two friends of the pod Ali and Cali.
Ali's portion was recorded a year ago only days after Aaron’s passing, so at t...
Ana and Lizzie are joined by very special guest and fellow podcaster Kelli Williams (@laguna_biotch) to discuss her music journey with artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, Aaron Carter and LFO and how bands like BSB are such a huge part of her relationship with her mother.
We also get into a more serious discussion surrounding "the dark side of boybands" aka bad managers taking advantage of boyband members,...
Friend-of-the-pod Sasha is back! Ana and Sasha discuss the experience going to the Pop2000 show on July 15, 2023 in Webster, MA. Before the Pop2k discussion, we recap all things JC-related in the past year and answer your lingering questions from the JC series.
Timestamps:
- Intro and Listener Q&A: 00:00
- JC Updates: 7:50
-Pop2000 Recap: 19:19
Ana, Lizzie and Hallie continue their (postponed many times) discussion on Harry Styles' discography of his self-titled debut album (aka HS1), Fine Line, and finally, Harry's House. They break down some lyrics, melody, and overall feel of each album.
Ana continues her conversation with her cousins and discusses the discography of the Jonas Brothers. From their first album "It's About Time" to "Lines Vines and Trying Times".
**Part 3 of our Jonas Brothers will be released in May after the release of "The Album".
Referenced Links:
- Desmond Child Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zX7A4EFodzbuTWBLKc5rq?si=38ab337b1134444c
-...
Ana is joined by her two cousins: Jackie and Jocie, arguably the biggest Jonas Brothers fans in the world. In the first part of a three-part series, they discuss their origin stories of becoming Jonas Brothers fans, concerts they've attended and experiences they've had. Because the Jonas Brothers pride themselves as a family-oriented band, we discuss our own family's music journey, coming from a 'fangirl family'...
Ana and Lizzie are joined by Lizzie's sister Hallie to discuss our patron saint: Harry Styles (we kid about the esquire thing). We chat about Harry's years as a boyband member, his role and how he has grown as a vocalist and musician since then. We also talk about his fashion choices as well as our experience seeing Harry during his "Love On Tour" residency in New York.
Links:
- The Maine's cover of "Watermelon Sugar": ht...
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! Ana, Ceci & Lizzie talk about their love of Christmas, boybands and why Boyband Christmas music is the ultimate Christmas music. We discuss our favorite boyband and non-boyband Christmas albums, songs and memories. We end with a recap of 2022 and the pop music that it gave us and which boybands we said a (hopefully temporary) goodbye to.
TMBP's Boyband Christmas Spotify Playlist:
Ana and Lizzie chat with author & lover of all boybands Ali Tierney. We discuss her boyband journey, to being a mother of boys, and now an author of a boyband children's book, "B is for Boybands".
We chat about her love and obsession with the short-lived boyband Dream Street (1999-2002) and what set them apart from the other boybands at the time. We then discuss members of Dream Street, including her favorite: Chris Trousdale (...
Ana and Lizzie chat with Marcus Monroe. Marcus is an NYC-based comedian known for being a boyband superfan, often telling jokes related to his love of boybands while wearing a boyband t-shirt. We discuss our shared love of boybands such as O-Town, Backstreet Boys, One Direction and *NSYNC. We also talk about the Backstreet Boys DNA show as well as Marcus witnessing the 3/5 *NSYNC reunion at Ryan Cabrera and Alexa Bliss’ wedding.
PART 2 - Ana, Ceci and Lizzie discuss Backstreet Boys' albums and music from Millennium (1999) until the most recent album DNA (2022). We discuss the songwriters and producers who worked with them on songs on these albums as well as our own memories, stories and perspectives with the music.
References:
1.) Lisa Miskofsky - "Another Shape Of My Heart"
- Lisa was one of the songwriters on "Shape Of My Heart" and recorded an...
OH MY GOD WE'RE BACK AGAIN! Ana, Ceci & Liz are BACK with Season 2 featuring a discussion on the Backstreet Boys. We get into our own personal experiences with the band, including our recent podcast field trip to BSB's DNA World Tour. We discuss all of the members, their relationship with Cheiron Studios in Sweden, and end with a deep dive into their debut album.
Links & References:
1. Show Em What You're Made Of - BSB's 20...
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