Ladies and gentlemen!

Welcome to The Blerd Radio team’s 2014 wrap-up; or at least the first part of it. True to form, we gabbed so much we had to split the episode in two; lest we be responsible for your being glued to the computer for two hours plus.

It’s been sort of an underwhelming pop culture year, but that didn’t stop me (Big Money), Michael Parr, Cunningham The Packet Man and Dr. Z from touching on a variety of topics, which include:

–D’Angelo: Black Messiah came out on the day we recorded this podcast, and the surprise release was heavy on everyone’s mind.

-The biggest-selling albums of 2014, including the Frozen soundtrack, Taylor Swift‘s 1989, and Sam Smith‘s In The Lonely Hour. We discuss Taylor’s ubiquity and business smarts and question how involved she is in the construction of her music, while wondering if British pop can give us something a little less beige than Mr. Smith.

-Is there still hope for pop music? Betty Who? comes up in conversation as a non-cookie cutter pop artist that might break here in the U.S.

–Jeff Giles, friend, occasional Popblerd contributor, media Grand Poobah, introducer of Ariana Grande.

-The panel imagines Cunningham as a rebellious prep school girl (after he expresses a taste for Lana Del Rey.)

-Why does Ryan Tedder poison everything he touches, and why is he so damn popular?

-Cultural appropriation at its worst-personified by one Iggy Azalea.

-The U2 Songs Of Innocence/iTunes fiasco. Is Bono the white Kanye? (or, is Kanye the Black Bono) Also, how much disbelief do we have to suspend in order to imagine that Rolling Stone’s voting of Innocence as the best album of 2014 wasn’t an example of the Old Boys Network at its best?

Give this podcast a listen in the player below, or direct download it at this link.

You can also download/listen on Ye Olde iTunes!