Episode 5: O Solo Me-O

The podcast that tapes the Top 10 and then talks about it in school the next day, with Laura Snapes and Fraser McAlpine. This week, the charts are pretty stagnant, so we're swizzing quickly through the Top 10 before getting on to this week's big story: the anointing of Harry Styles, Solo Artiste. We chat "Sign of the Times", and dive deep into the history of the post-boyband debut solo single to figure out where it fits on a scale of Bryan McFadden's "Real to Me" to George Michael's "Careless Whisper". As ever, all of this week's tracks (bar Ed Sheeran, in a vain attempt to limit his streaming figures) are in a Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/snapes/playlist/210ihYv6iP9jlebGxPdtqj Fraser's most-streamed song this week is Kate Nash's "Call Me", and Laura's is "Shadows" by Future Islands featuring Debbie Harry. You can email us on [email protected], or tweet us: https://twitter.com/laurasnapes https://twitter.com/csi_popmusic We also thoroughly recommend that you pick up a copy of Sylvia Patterson's book I'm Not With the Band, and Tom Hibbert's collected Who the Hell...? columns.

Om Podcasten

The podcast that tapes the Top 10 and talks about it at school the next day, hosted by Fraser McAlpine and Laura Snapes. Email us! [email protected] Tweet us! csi_popmusic (https://twitter.com/csi_popmusic) + laurasnapes (https://twitter.com/laurasnapes) Nice stuff that smart people have said about UMC: "As pop critics, Snapes and McAlpine have plenty of background information and anecdotes to augment their rundown of the week’s chart. If only all playground debates about music had been so well informed." -- Caroline Crampton, The New Statesman (http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/podcasts/2017/04/how-podcasts-are-reviving-excitement-listening-pop-charts) "While the charts have become both confused and sidelined in recent years, they’re still an invaluable insight into the machinations of the music industry, something this pod proves in gratifyingly informed style." -- The Guardian Guide (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/apr/07/the-10-best-things-to-do-this-week-syd-russell-brand-and-i-am-not-your-negro)