Chris Molanphy

Chart analyst/pop critic. Host of podcast #HitParadePod. Writer of Slate’s #WhyIsThisSongNo1? Feet on the ground, reaching for the stars. (Pronouns—he/him/his.)

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

On a new #HitParadePod—The Bridge, @timmysommer, who signed Hootie &the Blowfish to Atlantic, makes the case for them as “Generation R.E.M.” & assesses why their followup album led to their downfall. Plus, trivia…and a preview that gets the party started. https://t.co/sqwOKiJjIC

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@SamuelAAdams Could this movie win? It's just a rumor that was spread around town. 🚢

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

Every year I look fwd to @Thirdmanmovies’ predix, especially his breakdown of the Best Pic ranked ballot. I’m a bit surprised he thinks AQotWF is gonna start in the middle of the pack—I’m convinced (dreading?) that movie has deep “steak-eater” love—but I like the result here, so.

[Daniel Joyaux @Thirdmanmovies]

Who's ready for Oscar predictions?? In addition to my thoughts on all 23 categories, I also simulate the Best Picture preferential ballot round by round, predicting every elimination and vote reallocation. Check them out! https://t.co/Q1yNucD980

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@PhilKeidel @tombreihan I agree & I’d actually flip Tom’s 2 OneRepublic ratings. “Apologize” is the 4. “Counting Stars” is a 6—as is their fluke 2022 Top10 hit “I Ain’t Worried.” (Which—I seem to be the only Oscar-watcher beating this drum—was a much bigger ‘Top Gun’ hit than that boring Gaga nominee.)

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@bowiesongs @pulmyears As I say in the episode, it’s Joel doing the two Pauls. 🙂

(There’s a recurring joke in Dana Carvey/David Spade’s SNL-memories podcast that Lorne Michaels would often say, “Paul’s coming over,” & cast members would have to ask, “Which one?” cuz Simon/Macca were both F.O.L.’s.)

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@RachelBrods @rambocalrissian @InSyncPod Subscribed. Nice touch, including the asterisk, *NSYNC-style, to ensure you’re on top of my podcast feed. #aintnolie

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@tombreihan Re:Akon’s blankness, I reread yr Billy Ocean pieces cuz it occurs to me they’re similar—canny craftsmen from unusual global places w/no fixed personality, made cutting-edge sounds palatable,hit No1 a surprising # of times. You say as much about Billy here: https://t.co/r4EZYFGflo

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@Thirdmanmovies Have you gamed out the Best Pic ballot this year? Cuz I am rooting for EEAAO but want to be convinced ranked choice isn’t gonna rob it of the prize after all those precursor wins. (BTW I like ranked choice but don’t want, say, AQotWF to ‘Green Book’ its way to victory.)

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@tombreihan “Fergie isn’t exactly a rapper but ‘Glamorous’ is basically a rap song.”
I too weighed this ontological query in this @pitchfork piece & decided she was a rapper manqué—& if the #Grammys hadn’t canceled the Best Female Rap prize Fergie totally woulda won. https://t.co/8OZUjmFMwr

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

Here’s the 2nd 2023 @podbelowtheline episode about #Oscars music—@LouisWeeks, Tom Peyton & I join host Skid to cover Best Original Song. Must Diane Warren win a competitive prize? Why did Gaga & Rih go so trad? Will “NaatuNaatu” be the banger of the night? https://t.co/GvPHbo48bJ

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

Another #Oscars season means I got to do another music nominees chat on @podbelowtheline. I join @LouisWeeks, Jennie Armon &host Skid to talk #BestScore: Is John Williams as overdue as Spielberg? Will SonLux be swept in w/‘EEAAO’ or Hauschka w/‘All Quiet’? https://t.co/hPlgUFEHe8

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@jack_hamilton It’s your favorite porkin’ sooey. 🐽

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@BrianZitzelman @tombreihan The initial Top20 hit insulates him from 1HW status. If he’d only scored the No1 “Slow Motion” & immediate Top40 followup “Nolia Clap,” the latter would be a Coattails Hit & he’d be a 1HW. But “Back That Azz Up” coming before the No1 removes him from that fate.

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@lonelypalette @HiPhiNation @Princeton I invoked your podcast in my talk, Tamar, complimenting your ability to make the visual tangible in an audio-only medium.

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@thomasinskeep1 Not surprised the album’s meh—maybe Pebbles’s hubby wasn’t prioritizing his wife’s material/giving her castoffs?—but “Giving You the Benefit” was a hot leadoff (I still own that CD single). L.A./Face probably focused their energies on the potential hits & nothing more.

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@tombreihan P.S. “What Goes Around” needed that Grammy boost—preshow, it was knocking around the bottom of the Top10, even briefly falling out. The Grammy perf sent it 8–>1.
P.P.S. I detailed this Justin-plays-the-Grammys chart trick in my “100&Single” column in ’09:
https://t.co/cvzto5ONoc

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@tombreihan “Timberlake was up for a bunch of Grammys…he got to perform twice…Maybe that’s what ultimately helped lift ‘What Goes Around’…”
Yup—that plus an SNL rerun (again—peak Imperial JT). Funnily, 2yrs later he pulled the same Grammy trick on a T.I. song & almost got THAT to No1 too.

[Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy]

@inlandemperor You might say you just had to have…