For the conclusion of our three-part series on Prince, writer and critic Miles Marshall Lewis joins Pop Pantheon to discuss the final swing of Prince's career, beginning with his tumultuous battle with Warner Bros in the early 1990s, which saw him change his name to an unpronounceable symbol and perform with “slave” written on his face. Louie and Miles then tackle the ups and downs of Prince’s wildly prolific latter career, including 1991’s genre-spanning Diamonds and Pearls, his commercial decline through a glut of records in the later '90s, and his minor comeback 2004’s back-to-basics Musicology and 2006's funky 3231. Along the way, they consider his legacy-defining Super Bowl performance, his innovations in music distribution, vast influence on music and pop stardom and Miles shares a story about a personal meeting with The Purple One months before his death in 2016. Finally, Louie and Miles rank Prince in the official Pop Pantheon.Listen to Pop Pantheon's Prince Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In PasadenaCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on September 29Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Miles Marshall Lewis on TwitterFollow Miles Marshall Lewis on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on Twitter

For the second in our three-part series on Prince, Pot Psychology's Rich Juzwiak joins the show to unpack Prince’s imperial years, starting with one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1984’s Purple Rain. Louie and Rich discuss all the music from this blockbuster record as well as the accompanying Oscar-winning film, which together made Prince a cultural phenomenon for the ages, before tackling his swerve into kaleidoscopic psychedelia on 1985's Around the World in a Day, his second swing at the box office, Under the Cherry Moon (1986), the genre-traversing Parade (1986), and his most acclaimed album, 1987’s Sign o' the Times, dubbed by Rolling Stone as "perhaps the finest album of the 1980s". Finally, they dive into the spiritually-enlightened LoveSexy (1988) and his chart-topping Batman soundtrack (1989) .Join us next week for Part 3 which will cover Prince’s name change, record label battle and later period work, plus his legacy and indelible influence on many of the pop stars who came in his wake. Plus, we'll rank Prince in the official Pop Pantheon. Listen to Pop Pantheon's Prince Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In PasadenaCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on September 16Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on September 29Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Rich Juzwiak on TwitterFollow Rich Juzwiak on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on Twitter

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Streogum's Tom Breihan joins DJ Louie to break down Olivia Rodrigo's sophomore album Guts, which dropped Friday: What's working (more rock!), what's not, the major themes and sounds and what it all says about Olivia's place in the pop star firmament of 2023. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive at least three episodes of the show per month, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. 

For the first of our three-part series on the High Priest of Pop, Prince, the University of Minnesota's Dr. Elliott H. Powell joins the show to discuss the rise of perhaps pop history’s greatest enigma. Louie and Elliot unpack Prince’s upbringing in Minneapolis, his impressive 1978 debut, For You, on which he played every instrument, and mainstream breakthrough with his self-titled sophomore album in 1979 and its smash "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Then they tackle how 1980’s filthy, carnal Dirty Mind established Prince at pop's vanguard and presaged the sound of the 1980s and the cultural debate Prince wielded on 1981’s Controversy. Finally, they discuss how 1982’s 1999 synthesized Prince’s persona and sound into something broadly appealing and set the stage for his Purple Reign that would follow in the coming years.Join us next week for Part 2 which will cover Prince’s imperial phase, from 1984's Purple Rain to 1989's Batman.Listen to Pop Pantheon's Prince Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In PasadenaCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on September 16Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on September 29Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Dr. Elliott H. Powell on TwitterFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on Twitter

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In PasadenaA little about the live show: She’s so lucky, she’s a star. But Britney Spears has charted one of the most challenging, complex paths through the music business since the dawn of pop. Following the release of Britney’s new memoir, The Woman in Me, Pop Pantheon podcast host DJ Louie XIV (he/him) has gathered an all-star panel of guests to discuss Britney’s life and music LIVE. Louie will be joined onstage by Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music Jason King, Beyond The Blinds podcast host (and Britney superfan) Troy McEady and Gloss Angeles podcast host Kirbie Johnson to tackle how Britney’s public narrative has impacted her legacy as the definitive pop superstar of her generation, discuss her innovative music and parse apart where she sits in the current pop firmament. And stick around after the show for a special Britney edition of Gorgeous Gorgeous, a pop party for queer and trans hotties by DJ Louie and friends! For more bonus content like this Britney Blackout episode, Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on September 16Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on September 29Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Troy McEady on TwitterFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow Pop Pantheon on Twitter