FT Podcasts

Each week the arts podcast brings you interviews and studio discussions on the latest arts stories and cultural trends, with contributions from the FT’s roster of critics and commentators.

You can find more arts news and reviews from the Financial Times on the FT website and listen to more episodes of FT Arts on iTunes, Stitcher, Audioboom or Soundcloud.

1. Sincerity or self-branding: what defines millennial music?

   From the unstoppable rise of hip-hop to the 'millennial whoop', what does today's new music sound like? And how has social media changed the relationship between artists and fans?

   
   

   Harriet Fitch Little, India Ross and Griselda Murray Brown discuss Drake, Cardi B and DJ Khaled - in particular 'Wild Thoughts' ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller from 2017, which leans heavily on the melody and mood of Santana's 1999 hit 'Maria Maria', the coming-of-age soundtrack for the oldest cohort of millennials. 

   
   

   Warning: this podcast contains a live 'millennial whoop'.

   
   

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2. Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights

   When "Wuthering Heights" was released 40 years ago this year, it became the first song written and performed by a woman to reach number one in the UK charts. What was the song's — and Bush's — special appeal? Why have there been more parodies than straight covers? And why is it so popular now, with re-enactments of the music video taking place around the world? FT music writers Jude Rogers, Helen Brown and David Cheal discuss the song and its afterlife.
   

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3. 1968: The Year that Music Changed

   Set against a backdrop of protest and upheaval, the songs released in 1968 represent a turning point in music. FT pop writers David Cheal and Peter Aspden are joined by author Tot Taylor to debate the year's most important songs and artists, from Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Beatles and Pink Floyd to Joni Mitchell and Tim Buckley.
   

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4. The best Christmas music: a definitive guide

   What makes a good Christmas song? Should it be cheesy or serious? And why do millennials love them? 

   FT pop writers discuss festive classics old and new - from carols to Mariah Carey, Greg Lake to Phil Spector, Sufjan Stevens to Run-DMC. Plus, which 2017's best Christmas song: Gwen Stefani's 'You Make it Feel Like Christmas' or Sia's 'Santa's Coming for Us'?

   
   

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5. The Life of a Song: Strange Fruit

   Billie Holiday’s 1939 'Strange Fruit' was called 'the first significant protest in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism'. Other singers attempted it, from Nina Simone and Diana Ross to Jeff Buckley and Kanye West. But could any match the power of the impassioned original? FT pop writers David Cheal, Fiona Sturges and Helen Brown discuss the song's origins and afterlife.
   

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