Chris Molanphy
@cmolanphy.bsky.social
Chart analyst/pop critic. Host of podcast #HitParadePod. Writer of Slate's #WhylsThisSongNo1? Author of book #OldTownRoad. Feet on the ground, reaching for the stars. (Pronouns—he/him/his.)
The big #Hot100 news isn’t that Tay’s “Ophelia” is No1 a 2nd week—it’s at the end of the story where @billboard.com announces a big change to the chart’s recurrent rule that I expected. Bottom line, songs will pulled sooner & I say thank heaven—& bye “Lose Control” which shoulda been gone eons ago.
October 20, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The big #Hot100 news isn’t that Tay’s “Ophelia” is No1 a 2nd week—it’s at the end of the story where @billboard.com announces a big change to the chart’s recurrent rule that I expected. Bottom line, songs will pulled sooner & I say thank heaven—& bye “Lose Control” which shoulda been gone eons ago.
I must say, this latest chapter in their apparent cold war suggests that what Taylor did to Charli last summer on the UK charts was every bit as deliberate as fans surmised.
www.theguardian.com/music/articl...
www.theguardian.com/music/articl...
October 4, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I must say, this latest chapter in their apparent cold war suggests that what Taylor did to Charli last summer on the UK charts was every bit as deliberate as fans surmised.
www.theguardian.com/music/articl...
www.theguardian.com/music/articl...
The guy best equipped to answer this is my friend, fellow chart columnist & famed übertall person @tombreihan.bsky.social. He has strong incentive to know…& in his @stereogum.bsky.social column #TheNumberOnes he guesstimates that Montell Jordan was indeed tallest: www.stereogum.com/2179979/the-...
October 2, 2025 at 11:14 PM
The guy best equipped to answer this is my friend, fellow chart columnist & famed übertall person @tombreihan.bsky.social. He has strong incentive to know…& in his @stereogum.bsky.social column #TheNumberOnes he guesstimates that Montell Jordan was indeed tallest: www.stereogum.com/2179979/the-...
🤣 No it was not! Congrats—you’ve discovered my Ron Burgundy moment, the most embarrassing thing in #HitParadePod history. There was a script typo, I read it like that & nobody caught it. It’s now HP podcast lore. Hope it amused you. 🤦🏽 (Pictured: me in the “meekrat” tee loved ones gave me to F w/me.)
August 22, 2025 at 4:51 AM
🤣 No it was not! Congrats—you’ve discovered my Ron Burgundy moment, the most embarrassing thing in #HitParadePod history. There was a script typo, I read it like that & nobody caught it. It’s now HP podcast lore. Hope it amused you. 🤦🏽 (Pictured: me in the “meekrat” tee loved ones gave me to F w/me.)
I’m back on the #CultureGabfest on @slate.com for our cherished annual hot-weather tradition, Summer Strut! Julia Turner, Dana Stevens & Steve Metcalf cull the list + I demystify the bops. This year we jam to Lola Young…Bad Bunny…Haim…Diana Ross & Del tha Funkee Homosapien. slate.com/podcasts/cul...
August 6, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I’m back on the #CultureGabfest on @slate.com for our cherished annual hot-weather tradition, Summer Strut! Julia Turner, Dana Stevens & Steve Metcalf cull the list + I demystify the bops. This year we jam to Lola Young…Bad Bunny…Haim…Diana Ross & Del tha Funkee Homosapien. slate.com/podcasts/cul...
#DriveByBodyPierce
When “Loser” hit it signaled 1994 was gonna be the most ’90s year of the ’90s.
IIRC ‘Mellow Gold’ was the newest album in the Top 100 Best Alternative Albums list published in this SPIN guide. It came out in ’95—if it’d come out a year or 2 later they’d could’ve ranked ‘Odelay.’
When “Loser” hit it signaled 1994 was gonna be the most ’90s year of the ’90s.
IIRC ‘Mellow Gold’ was the newest album in the Top 100 Best Alternative Albums list published in this SPIN guide. It came out in ’95—if it’d come out a year or 2 later they’d could’ve ranked ‘Odelay.’
April 16, 2025 at 5:17 PM
#DriveByBodyPierce
When “Loser” hit it signaled 1994 was gonna be the most ’90s year of the ’90s.
IIRC ‘Mellow Gold’ was the newest album in the Top 100 Best Alternative Albums list published in this SPIN guide. It came out in ’95—if it’d come out a year or 2 later they’d could’ve ranked ‘Odelay.’
When “Loser” hit it signaled 1994 was gonna be the most ’90s year of the ’90s.
IIRC ‘Mellow Gold’ was the newest album in the Top 100 Best Alternative Albums list published in this SPIN guide. It came out in ’95—if it’d come out a year or 2 later they’d could’ve ranked ‘Odelay.’
Out today! An “Expanded Edition” of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙡 by @euny.bsky.social w/new chapters on BTS, SquidGame & Parasite (I make a cameo in the BTS chapter). A decade ago Euny chronicled S.Korea’s cultural takeover. This new edition captures how right she was.🇰🇷📕 us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
April 1, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Out today! An “Expanded Edition” of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙡 by @euny.bsky.social w/new chapters on BTS, SquidGame & Parasite (I make a cameo in the BTS chapter). A decade ago Euny chronicled S.Korea’s cultural takeover. This new edition captures how right she was.🇰🇷📕 us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
I’m on this week’s #CultureGabfest on @slate.com, talking about the new #LadyGaga album 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘦𝘮. We talk about Gaga as comeback queen, as dancing queen, as pastiche queen—including that uncanny Taylor–Yaz mashup—and how she is reheating her own damn nachos. slate.com/podcasts/cul...
March 27, 2025 at 3:12 AM
I’m on this week’s #CultureGabfest on @slate.com, talking about the new #LadyGaga album 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘦𝘮. We talk about Gaga as comeback queen, as dancing queen, as pastiche queen—including that uncanny Taylor–Yaz mashup—and how she is reheating her own damn nachos. slate.com/podcasts/cul...
P.S. For similarly solipsistic reasons, I also loved one team’s incorrect answer. C’mon, guys! If you read my @dukepress.bsky.social #Singles book, you’d know that “Old Town Road” spent more than twice as many weeks at No. 1. 🤠
February 20, 2025 at 3:02 AM
P.S. For similarly solipsistic reasons, I also loved one team’s incorrect answer. C’mon, guys! If you read my @dukepress.bsky.social #Singles book, you’d know that “Old Town Road” spent more than twice as many weeks at No. 1. 🤠
Today #PopCultureJeopardy! dropped its last set of quarter-finals & one Final Jeopardy answer was a delight for Billboard nerds. I got it but had to apply my meager SportsBall knowledge. Fortunately I remembered this song spent 9wks@No1 for personal reasons related to my @slate.bsky.social column.🤓👑
February 20, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Today #PopCultureJeopardy! dropped its last set of quarter-finals & one Final Jeopardy answer was a delight for Billboard nerds. I got it but had to apply my meager SportsBall knowledge. Fortunately I remembered this song spent 9wks@No1 for personal reasons related to my @slate.bsky.social column.🤓👑
Just say the word: loved joining @augetoffmygold.bsky.social for a Billboard #GreatestPopStars podcast on Phil Collins & his most Imperial year, 1985. Booming drums! Concorde flights! Heartbreak ballads! A gal named Sussudio! We cover it all—so give us 1…more…night. www.billboard.com/music/pop/ph...
February 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Just say the word: loved joining @augetoffmygold.bsky.social for a Billboard #GreatestPopStars podcast on Phil Collins & his most Imperial year, 1985. Booming drums! Concorde flights! Heartbreak ballads! A gal named Sussudio! We cover it all—so give us 1…more…night. www.billboard.com/music/pop/ph...
Here’s the 2nd of my 2025 Oscar-season appearances on #BelowTheLine podcast—this time talking Best Original Song. Louis Weeks, Tom Peyton & I discuss: Does either ‘Emilia Pérez’ song stand apart? Why does Elton keep winning? Should we be rooting for Diane Warren? www.belowtheline.biz/e/s22-ep-7-9...
February 13, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Here’s the 2nd of my 2025 Oscar-season appearances on #BelowTheLine podcast—this time talking Best Original Song. Louis Weeks, Tom Peyton & I discuss: Does either ‘Emilia Pérez’ song stand apart? Why does Elton keep winning? Should we be rooting for Diane Warren? www.belowtheline.biz/e/s22-ep-7-9...
As #Oscars season heats up, I’m back playing movie-music pundit on #BelowTheLine podcast. First, we talk Best Score—Louis Weeks, Jennie Callender & I discuss: Whose music is darker—‘Brutalist’ or ‘Conclave’? Do ‘Emilia’s’ showtunes top ‘Wicked’? No ‘Challengers’? www.belowtheline.biz/e/s22-ep-6-9...
February 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
As #Oscars season heats up, I’m back playing movie-music pundit on #BelowTheLine podcast. First, we talk Best Score—Louis Weeks, Jennie Callender & I discuss: Whose music is darker—‘Brutalist’ or ‘Conclave’? Do ‘Emilia’s’ showtunes top ‘Wicked’? No ‘Challengers’? www.belowtheline.biz/e/s22-ep-6-9...
I want this #Grammys predix out there before tonight, in case I called it right: Last June in my #HitParadePod episode on Quincy Jones, I talked about his earnest, eclectic ’89 album/’91 AotY winner “Back on the Block’ & said if ‘Cowboy Carter’ finally gets Bey AotY it’ll be cuz she pulled a Quincy.
February 2, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I want this #Grammys predix out there before tonight, in case I called it right: Last June in my #HitParadePod episode on Quincy Jones, I talked about his earnest, eclectic ’89 album/’91 AotY winner “Back on the Block’ & said if ‘Cowboy Carter’ finally gets Bey AotY it’ll be cuz she pulled a Quincy.
Do you BELIEVE in life after pods? Did you love Part 1 of my Cher chat w/@djlouiexiv.bsky.social on #PopPantheon? Holy Cannoli, Johnny Cammareri—are you gonna love Part 2! From disco Cher to Oscar-winning Cher…hair-metal Cher to Auto-Tune Cher…we TURN! BACK! TIME! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
January 18, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Do you BELIEVE in life after pods? Did you love Part 1 of my Cher chat w/@djlouiexiv.bsky.social on #PopPantheon? Holy Cannoli, Johnny Cammareri—are you gonna love Part 2! From disco Cher to Oscar-winning Cher…hair-metal Cher to Auto-Tune Cher…we TURN! BACK! TIME! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
I get this Q a lot and while I wouldn’t oppose such a rule change, it wouldn’t solve the thing my fellow chart nerds really hate—the random-ass fleeting superstar No1s. The likes of Drake’s “What’s Next” or Taylor’s “Is It Over Now” would still debut@No1—they just wouldn’t be joined by 20 more hits.
January 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I get this Q a lot and while I wouldn’t oppose such a rule change, it wouldn’t solve the thing my fellow chart nerds really hate—the random-ass fleeting superstar No1s. The likes of Drake’s “What’s Next” or Taylor’s “Is It Over Now” would still debut@No1—they just wouldn’t be joined by 20 more hits.
I’m delighted as always to join @djlouiexiv.bsky.social on his awesome #PopPantheon podcast—this time for a deep dive on the great #CHER. In Part 1 of our chat Louie & I cover her origin story, the Sonny&Cher years & the start of Cher’s solo years. You better sit down, kids: pod.link/1556457357/e...
January 11, 2025 at 5:12 AM
I’m delighted as always to join @djlouiexiv.bsky.social on his awesome #PopPantheon podcast—this time for a deep dive on the great #CHER. In Part 1 of our chat Louie & I cover her origin story, the Sonny&Cher years & the start of Cher’s solo years. You better sit down, kids: pod.link/1556457357/e...
…and in my #HitParadePod episode on the subject: slate.com/podcasts/hit...
Transcript excerpt attached.
Transcript excerpt attached.
January 2, 2025 at 6:47 PM
…and in my #HitParadePod episode on the subject: slate.com/podcasts/hit...
Transcript excerpt attached.
Transcript excerpt attached.
My deepest thanks to #HitParadePod listeners who enjoyed my podcast in 2024. (And a special shoutout to the @slate.bsky.social Plus community.) Once again we covered so! much! music! across artists, genres & eras. Now’s a good time to catch up on any HP episodes you missed! slate.com/podcasts/hit...
December 31, 2024 at 9:03 PM
My deepest thanks to #HitParadePod listeners who enjoyed my podcast in 2024. (And a special shoutout to the @slate.bsky.social Plus community.) Once again we covered so! much! music! across artists, genres & eras. Now’s a good time to catch up on any HP episodes you missed! slate.com/podcasts/hit...
Touched by this email from #HitParadePod listener @akoseff.bsky.social +impressed by his essay ranking all 66 Grammy AotY winners. I’m sharing the post cuz his writing is sharp. I wouldn’t rank the albums exactly the same—neither would you—but it’s respectable: daily-cut.blogspot.com/2024/12/ever...
December 29, 2024 at 11:26 PM
Touched by this email from #HitParadePod listener @akoseff.bsky.social +impressed by his essay ranking all 66 Grammy AotY winners. I’m sharing the post cuz his writing is sharp. I wouldn’t rank the albums exactly the same—neither would you—but it’s respectable: daily-cut.blogspot.com/2024/12/ever...
An upset win for Billboard’s top song of 2024 that I honestly totally expected—not the Shaboozey song that set a new weeks@No1 record, nor the Post/Wallen song that took Song of the Summer, but rather the song that spent a single week@No1 but sat stone in the Top10 all year. As ever, longevity wins.
December 13, 2024 at 3:03 AM
An upset win for Billboard’s top song of 2024 that I honestly totally expected—not the Shaboozey song that set a new weeks@No1 record, nor the Post/Wallen song that took Song of the Summer, but rather the song that spent a single week@No1 but sat stone in the Top10 all year. As ever, longevity wins.
“Give me a single image from a film that immediately makes you hear the song from the soundtrack playing in your head.”
#198NINEthenumber #anothersummer #soundofthefunkydrummer
#198NINEthenumber #anothersummer #soundofthefunkydrummer
December 12, 2024 at 2:16 AM
“Give me a single image from a film that immediately makes you hear the song from the soundtrack playing in your head.”
#198NINEthenumber #anothersummer #soundofthefunkydrummer
#198NINEthenumber #anothersummer #soundofthefunkydrummer
Want to think about ANYTHING else right now? Here are 2 podcast chats about the legacy of the great #QuincyJones.
First, I joined @byagoda.bsky.social for an episode of his podcast #TheLivesTheyreLiving. I broke down Q’s jazz background & the sound he pioneered by the ’80s pod.link/1744211348/e...
First, I joined @byagoda.bsky.social for an episode of his podcast #TheLivesTheyreLiving. I broke down Q’s jazz background & the sound he pioneered by the ’80s pod.link/1744211348/e...
November 6, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Want to think about ANYTHING else right now? Here are 2 podcast chats about the legacy of the great #QuincyJones.
First, I joined @byagoda.bsky.social for an episode of his podcast #TheLivesTheyreLiving. I broke down Q’s jazz background & the sound he pioneered by the ’80s pod.link/1744211348/e...
First, I joined @byagoda.bsky.social for an episode of his podcast #TheLivesTheyreLiving. I broke down Q’s jazz background & the sound he pioneered by the ’80s pod.link/1744211348/e...
A late-summer treat for #HitParadePod listeners—a previously SlatePlus-exclusive episode is now available to all (ad-supported, in 2 parts). It’s our show on Lilith Fair—the late ’90s all-women festival that caught the moment ladies of alt-rock&hip-hop commanded the charts. slate.com/podcasts/hit...
September 2, 2024 at 3:59 AM
A late-summer treat for #HitParadePod listeners—a previously SlatePlus-exclusive episode is now available to all (ad-supported, in 2 parts). It’s our show on Lilith Fair—the late ’90s all-women festival that caught the moment ladies of alt-rock&hip-hop commanded the charts. slate.com/podcasts/hit...