BRUNO MARS (with Stereogum's Tom Breihan)
Pop Pantheon
DJ Louie XIV
4.7 • 630 Ratings
🗓️ 26 October 2023
⏱️ 113 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Stereogum’s Tom Breihan returns to Pop Pantheon to dissect the career of pop history’s greatest mimic, Bruno Mars. Louie and Tom dive into how Bruno spent his childhood impersonating greats like Elvis and Michael Jackson, his failed start on Motown and early work for other artists, including via his production group The Smeezingtons. Then they discuss his tightly-stitched 2010 debut, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, 2012’s pop history grab-bag, Unorthodox Jukebox, and the cultural sensation of his 2014 Mark Ronson-collab, the Morris Day-tributing “Uptown Funk.” Next, they explore Bruno’s tour through Black pop and soul history on 2016’s 24K Magic and his Philly Soul and Parliament-Funkadelic-homaging super-duo with Anderson .Paak., Silk Sonic, as they parse whether Bruno is central to his music at all or simply a nostalgia curator. Finally, they rank Bruno Mars in the official Pop Pantheon.
Read Tom's Number Ones Column write-ups of "Just The Way You Are" & "Grenade"
Listen to Pop Pantheon's Bruno Mars Essentials
Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More
Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live: Britney's Memoir, Music & Legacy on 11/2 In Pasadena
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Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on November 10
Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous X Who? Weekly on November 16
Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Pop Pantheon, the podcast where we completely overanalyze all of your favorite pop stars and then rank them in the official Pop Pantheon. |
| 0:17.9 | This is your host, DJ Louis X. Louis X. |
| 0:20.4 | Reminding you as ever to please rate, |
| 0:23.0 | review, and subscribe to this podcast wherever you are listening to it right now. I'm also telling |
| 0:28.6 | you that we're on social media at Pop Pantheon Pod. I'm at DJ L-O-U-I-E-X-I-V on Twitter and |
| 0:34.3 | Instagram. We of course have merch available at potpathyon pod.com in our merch |
| 0:39.5 | store, including our niche legend dad hat. And we're available on Patreon at patreon.com |
| 0:45.5 | slash pot pantheon, where we publish at least three bonus episodes of the show per month. |
| 0:50.5 | This week's episode is actually a deep dive into Christina Aguilera's seminal second English language |
| 0:56.0 | album stripped with my dear friend Lala Thompson. |
| 0:59.0 | You requested it, we did it. |
| 1:01.0 | It's such a fun episode. |
| 1:03.0 | So get that over at patreon.com slash pop pantheon. |
| 1:07.0 | Okay, a few things to promo. |
| 1:10.0 | Gorgeous, gorgeous. |
| 1:15.1 | My Queer Pop Party has a number of installments coming up. |
| 1:16.3 | Three to be exact. |
| 1:18.6 | Two in New York and one in Los Angeles. |
| 1:27.8 | We will be in New York for our Halloween party, spooky gorgeous, on Friday tomorrow, October 27th at the Sultan Room. |
| 1:32.5 | Those tickets are sold out online, but they will be available at the door. |
| 1:34.9 | I repeat, they will be available at the door. |
| 1:39.9 | So come early, grab your ticket, and we'll see you at Spooky Gorgeous on October 27th at the Sultan Room in Bushwick. |
... |
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