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Switched on Pop

Steve Lacy brings bedroom pop to the Billboard top

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It’s the song that launched a thousand TikTok videos – or over 500,000 to be exact: Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.” The track is a smooth, psychedelia tinged ode to yearning, currently spending its third week on the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Lacy is an artist dedicated to shifting form and convention, from his records with alternative R&B band The Internet to his productions for artists like Mac Miller and Vampire Weekend. Even in his solo work, his songs are unpredictable, deftly moving through genre in the vein of artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder. “Bad Habit” specifically, though, is rooted in the genre of bedroom pop, a scene slowly gaining mainstream traction. With this track, Lacy is taking the sound that’s seeped through TikTok and Spotify to the top of the charts. On this episode of Switched On Pop, we dig deep into Lacy's career and his ability to craft immaculate melodies. Songs Discussed: Steve Lacy, “Bad Habit” Sam Smith, Kim Petras, “Unholy” The Internet, “Dontcha” The Internet, “Special Affair” The Internet, “Palace/Curse (feat. Tyler, The Creator & Steve Lacy) Steve Lacy, “C U Girl” Steve Lacy, “Dark Red” Steve Lacy, “Only If” Steve Lacy, “Like Me” Steve Lacy, “Playground” Steve Lacy, “Static” Stevie Wonder, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Tis the season of giving and the season of stressing

0:03.8

Shop Amazon this holiday for decompressing

0:07.3

Save on silk robes and bath bombs they're refreshing

0:10.5

When your parents in-laws just aren't really matching

0:13.8

Or when your kid brother won't pass the red stressing

0:17.1

And the thought of dry turkey gets way too distressing

0:20.7

Whatever holiday nerves you're repressing

0:23.9

Amazon's holiday deals are never depressing

0:28.6

I'm fine!

0:42.6

Welcome to Switched on Pop, I'm producer Rianna Cruz

0:46.0

I'm songwriter Charlie Harding and I'm musicologist Nate Sloan

0:49.6

So guys, something really interesting is happening on Billboard right now

0:53.4

The top two songs on the charts are both by queer artists

0:58.8

So unholy by Sam Smith featuring Kempetris is currently at number two

1:03.3

Yup

1:13.0

One of the best songs about auto detailing that I've encountered

1:16.3

I think I'm not missing anything there right?

1:19.4

That is what the song's about

1:20.8

I mean I think that unholy is maybe the worst song to hit the charts in years

1:27.0

But that's a personal opinion

1:28.4

Ooh, it's definitely a little bit of a...

1:32.4

Can we do Montero call me by your name by Lil Nas X again?

...

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