What do John C. Reilly and Taylor Swift have in common? The Great American Songbook

What do John C. Reilly and Taylor Swift have in common? The Great American Songbook

Author: Vulture October 14, 2025 Duration: 57:12
John C. Reilly joins to discuss Mr. Romantic, his theatrical tribute to the Great American Songbook that treats Irving Berlin and Tom Waits as equals in the canon of timeless American song. Reilly recorded live in one room with his band using vintage ribbon microphones, embracing the squeaks and imperfections while layering in cinematic sound effects—crickets outside a lover's window, a collect call from prison—to transform each standard into an immersive scene. But what makes a song from the 1920s feel eternal? Music data scientist Chris Dalla Riva, author of the forthcoming Uncharted Territory and the newsletter Can't Get Much Higher, breaks down how composers like the Gershwins wrote for amateur musicians playing sheet music at home, creating universal lyrics and AABA structures where the hook comes first. That accessibility is precisely what draws Reilly to this repertoire. He sees himself in the lineage of interpreters like Sinatra, not selling his own story but passing along music that already belongs to all of us, like holding up a seashell and saying, "Isn't this one beautiful?" More Get Chris Dalla Riva's book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves Subscribe to Chris Dalla Riva's Can't Get Much Higher Songs Discussed Taylor Swift "The Last Great American Dynasty" George Gershwin "I Got Rhythm" Village People "Y.M.C.A." Billie Eilish "Bad Guy" Frank Sinatra "On the Sunny Side of the Street" Judy Garland "Over the Rainbow" Ella Fitzgerald "My Romance" George Gershwin "But Not for Me" Elvis Presley "Are You Lonesome Tonight" The Beatles "We Can Work It Out" The Beatles "Get Back" The Beatles "Yesterday" John C. Reilly "Moonlight Serenade" John C. Reilly "Dreams" John C. Reilly "Johnsburg, Illinois" John C. Reilly "Falling in Love Again" John C. Reilly "What'll I Do" John C. Reilly "Picture in a Frame" John C. Reilly "Just Another Sucker on the Vine" Randy Newman "Ragtime" John C. Reilly & David Garza "What's Not To Love" Harry Nilsson "Coconut" Judy Garland "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Dooley Wilson "As Time Goes By" The New Vaudeville Band "Winchester Cathedral" Andy Williams "The Days of Wine and Roses" Nat King Cole "The Frim Fram Sauce" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder why a certain pop song gets stuck in your head for days, or how a simple chord change can make you feel a specific way? Switched on Pop digs into those questions with a unique blend of expert analysis and genuine curiosity. Hosts Nate Sloan, a musicologist, and Charlie Harding, a songwriter, act as friendly guides through the intricate world of popular music. They don't just review hits; they dissect them, exploring the craft behind the catchiness. In each episode, you'll hear them break down a track's structure, its historical context, and the production techniques that give it its emotional punch. This isn't a dry academic lecture, though. It's a conversation between two people who love music, unpacking everything from timeless classics to today's viral trends to reveal why pop works the way it does. The Switched on Pop podcast, from Vulture, makes the familiar strange again, encouraging you to listen more deeply. You'll start to hear the clever harmonies hidden in a chart-topper, the rhythmic patterns borrowed from decades past, and the lyrical choices that resonate with millions. It's for anyone who has ever tapped a foot to a radio song and then wondered about the mechanics of that reaction. Tune in and you might just find that your favorite songs have layers you've never noticed before.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Switched on Pop
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 37:36
Ten years ago, Maggie Rogers was a senior at NYU, scrambling to finish a song for a music production class she was close to failing. The guest critic that week happened to be Pharrell Williams. She played him "Alaska," a…
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Duration: 47:25
Train is the kind of band that some people love to hate. Songs like "Meet Virginia" and "Hey Soul Sister" gave the band huge hits, and no small amount of snark. And then there's "Drops of Jupiter." Released in 2001, the…
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Going for broke turned out to be the most honest thing Slayyyter ever made. After financial losses and a depressive episode that left her ready to quit music entirely, Slayyyter entered the studio planning to make one fi…
RAYE’s maximalist masterpiece is the hope we need [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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RAYE names Amy Winehouse and Edith Piaf as her artistic predecessors on the opening tracks of new album This Music May Contain Hope. Both died young, undone by the same darkness they sang about, and placing them there re…
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Duration: 50:43
On a recent podcast interview, Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow said that, to craft his new album Monica, he “got blacker.” The problem is… Jack Harlow is white. The statement, while extremely tone-deaf, speaks to his intenti…
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Duration: 55:02
Jacob Collier is a rare musician: an expert in so many musical languages (western harmony, negative harmony, microtonalism) and a phenomenal communicator about music. He's something like an Ambassador for Music, travelin…
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Duration: 43:38
The dance floor is where Harry Styles does his therapy, and this album is the session notes. Four years after Harry's House, Styles returns with Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally, a record built from minimal ingredie…
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Duration: 44:52
Bruno Mars is back with a new album called The Romantic, his first solo release since 2016’s 24k Magic. At first listen, the lead single, “I Just Might,” sounds like an outtake from 2021’s collaborative album with Anders…