Top 40 Activism with Justin Tranter

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2019

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can political protest exist within the confines of commercial popular music? Songwriter Justin Tranter is equal parts songwriter and activist. You've likely heard his contributions to songs by Britney Spears, Julia Michaels, Selena Gomez, Janelle Monae and Ariana Grande, but unless you were paying close attention, you may have missed the essential subtext in his work. As an LGBTQ activist and board member of GLAAD, Justin brings his activism into Top 40 pop music lyrically and otherwise. On this episode, he breaks down his newest hit "Swan Song" which was co-written with Dua Lipa. This song is a triple threat serving as the end credits for the film Alita: Battle Angel, a Billboard hit, and a protest against the silencing of marginalized people. Justin shows us how representation in songwriting is inseparable from politics. And he's creating an open mic for new voices and stories that have been historically ignored by the pop industry. Songs Discussed: Dua Lipa - "Swan Song"Charlie Puth - "Attention"Selena Gomez - "Good For You"Imagine Dragons - "Believer"Taylor Swift - "Love Story"Halsey - "Bad At Love"Haydn - "Farewell" Symphony No. 45Shea Diamond - "Seen It All" Listen to D. Orxata's Queering Pop Music playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	When you drive a Chevy electric vehicle, you're getting more than a way to get from point A to point B.
0:06.0	You're saying goodbye to gas stations and hello to open roads.
0:10.0	With the growing network of public charging stations, you'll be able to charge your EV while you shop, work, or do whatever you want to be doing with your time.
0:17.0	Chevy is making EVs for everyone, everywhere. Go to chevrelay.com slash electric to learn more.
0:24.0	To get that sort of activism in the song, it was like, what's the point of my lips if they don't make noise?
0:34.0	So like an idea of like, why have a voice if we aren't using it to speak out against injustice?
0:40.0	Welcome to Switched On Pop on the songwriter Charlie Harding.
0:53.0	And I'm musicologist Nate Sloan.
0:55.0	Today we're going to speak with Justin Tranter, one of the most prolific contemporary songwriters.
1:00.0	Justin's written many of the songs we've broken down on the show.
1:03.0	Justin Bieber's sorry, Janel Monet has made me feel, Selena Gomez is a bad liar.
1:07.0	And Julia Michaels issues with who he collaborates frequently.
1:11.0	Yeah. Justin is more than just a songwriter though. He's also a prominent LGBT and gun safety activist.
1:16.0	He serves on the board of GLAD and he uses his songwriting platform to advocate his politics and to boost marginalized voices.
1:22.0	He's prolific, thoughtful, and instructive on how someone can embed their activism into their work.
1:29.0	So Nate and I think you're going to really enjoy this one.
1:32.0	Here's our conversation with Justin.
1:34.0	Justin, thank you for joining us really appreciate it.
1:36.0	Thank you for having me.
1:37.0	Yeah. So in your Twitter bio, you are songwriter activist.
1:42.0	And today I want to talk about both of those sides of your wonderful music.
1:47.0	And I think what we're going to see is that they are inseparable.
	...

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