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.)
When you noted Dishwalla’s used-bin-clogging CD I had to Google to remember its generic cover. I feel like we should coin a mini-genre for this alt-band era: Clip Art Rock—when a band was so nondescript the label’s art dept created a cut-n-paste CD cover for them. Even Radiohead briefly fell victim.
January 12, 2026 at 8:57 PM
When you noted Dishwalla’s used-bin-clogging CD I had to Google to remember its generic cover. I feel like we should coin a mini-genre for this alt-band era: Clip Art Rock—when a band was so nondescript the label’s art dept created a cut-n-paste CD cover for them. Even Radiohead briefly fell victim.
All my thanks to #HitParadePod listeners & subscribers for enjoying my labor of love in 2025 (+a special shoutout to the @slate.com Plus community). As always, we covered a lot—spanning genres and decades. Now’s a good time to catch up on any Hit Parade episodes you missed! slate.com/podcasts/hit...
December 31, 2025 at 10:32 PM
All my thanks to #HitParadePod listeners & subscribers for enjoying my labor of love in 2025 (+a special shoutout to the @slate.com Plus community). As always, we covered a lot—spanning genres and decades. Now’s a good time to catch up on any Hit Parade episodes you missed! slate.com/podcasts/hit...
Some buried news at the bottom of this week’s @billboard.com report on the new #Hot100 …yes the all-Xmas top 24 is a big deal but to me the bigger news is HUNTR/X’s “Golden” finally reaching No1 on the Radio chart—Kpop’s 1st time topping the all-format airplay list. www.billboard.com/lists/mariah...
December 29, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Some buried news at the bottom of this week’s @billboard.com report on the new #Hot100 …yes the all-Xmas top 24 is a big deal but to me the bigger news is HUNTR/X’s “Golden” finally reaching No1 on the Radio chart—Kpop’s 1st time topping the all-format airplay list. www.billboard.com/lists/mariah...
Did you mean the original ’63 LP or the ’70s reissue? Because that has a far more insane cover…
(I find the original w/all the Philles Records groups popping out of gift boxes charming in a kitschy way. Plus—no Phil S., which helps you focus on the great, great music & not the wackjob who made it.)
(I find the original w/all the Philles Records groups popping out of gift boxes charming in a kitschy way. Plus—no Phil S., which helps you focus on the great, great music & not the wackjob who made it.)
December 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Did you mean the original ’63 LP or the ’70s reissue? Because that has a far more insane cover…
(I find the original w/all the Philles Records groups popping out of gift boxes charming in a kitschy way. Plus—no Phil S., which helps you focus on the great, great music & not the wackjob who made it.)
(I find the original w/all the Philles Records groups popping out of gift boxes charming in a kitschy way. Plus—no Phil S., which helps you focus on the great, great music & not the wackjob who made it.)
A correction (admittedly this is a small item in the story): Run-DMC did indeed score rap’s first platinum album—but it’s not ‘King of Rock,’ it’s ‘Raising Hell.’ Though KoR came out first, RH was certified platinum first, according to the RIAA.
December 19, 2025 at 9:07 PM
A correction (admittedly this is a small item in the story): Run-DMC did indeed score rap’s first platinum album—but it’s not ‘King of Rock,’ it’s ‘Raising Hell.’ Though KoR came out first, RH was certified platinum first, according to the RIAA.
Few directors brought me such pure joy. Notwithstanding the sad end of his life, that joy is how I will choose to remember Rob Reiner.
R.I.P. Marty/Meathead—let’s boogie. 🎥
getyarn.io/yarn-clip/46...
R.I.P. Marty/Meathead—let’s boogie. 🎥
getyarn.io/yarn-clip/46...
December 15, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Few directors brought me such pure joy. Notwithstanding the sad end of his life, that joy is how I will choose to remember Rob Reiner.
R.I.P. Marty/Meathead—let’s boogie. 🎥
getyarn.io/yarn-clip/46...
R.I.P. Marty/Meathead—let’s boogie. 🎥
getyarn.io/yarn-clip/46...
First scene in his first movie, he parodies the self-regard of a hack director. And then in real life, he goes on this insane run: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘴 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘯̈𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘢𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺… 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘍𝘦𝘸 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘯. In a row! To START his career! Not a dud in the bunch.
December 15, 2025 at 5:26 AM
First scene in his first movie, he parodies the self-regard of a hack director. And then in real life, he goes on this insane run: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘴 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘯̈𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘢𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺… 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘍𝘦𝘸 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘯. In a row! To START his career! Not a dud in the bunch.
Yup—here’s the Top 5. And…well, it’s a very decent Top 2. As songs, I like Nos 3–5 to varying degrees (even the Swims single, before it wouldn’t die!) but that parade of reruns is, to quote a ’60s No1 hit, kind of a drag.
December 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Yup—here’s the Top 5. And…well, it’s a very decent Top 2. As songs, I like Nos 3–5 to varying degrees (even the Swims single, before it wouldn’t die!) but that parade of reruns is, to quote a ’60s No1 hit, kind of a drag.
Y’all have a typo in this writeup—“Luther” debuted@ *No3* on Hot Rap Songs in Dec ’24, not No1 (“Squabble Up” was No1 that week). Just tagging this in case @augetoffmygold.bsky.social or someone else on staff wants to fix it…
December 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Y’all have a typo in this writeup—“Luther” debuted@ *No3* on Hot Rap Songs in Dec ’24, not No1 (“Squabble Up” was No1 that week). Just tagging this in case @augetoffmygold.bsky.social or someone else on staff wants to fix it…
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...