Switched on pop : how popular music works, and why it matters / Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding ; illustrations by Iris Gottlieb.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020]Copyright date: ©2020Description: viii, 201 pages : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780190056650
- 0190056657
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 781.64 S634 | Available | 33111009601283 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Pop music surrounds us - in our cars, over supermarket speakers, even when we are laid out at the dentist - but how often do we really hear what's playing? Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits. Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs.
In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyoncé, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, André 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in "Despacito" that mirrors the patterns of global migration.
Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new ways--and not just those from the Top 40. The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. From fanatics to skeptics, teenagers to octogenarians, non-musicians to professional composers, every music lover will discover something ear-opening in Switched on Pop.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction : Switched on pop : Meter : Carly Rae Jepsen-"Call me maybe" -- Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance : Meter : Outkast-"Hey ya!" -- A star's melodic signature : Melody : Taylor Swift-"You belong with me" -- The harmonic hero's journey : Harmony : Fun ft. Janelle Monáe-"We are young" -- When the drop broke the pop song : Form : Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris-"We found love" -- A voice without a face : Timbre : Sia-"Chandelier" -- Painting a musical masterpiece : Lyric : Justin Timberlake-"What goes around...comes around" -- What makes pop so catchy : The hook : Ariana Grande ft. Zedd-"Break free" -- Sometimes the truth don't rhyme : Rhyme : Drake-"God's plan" -- Drunk on rhythm : Syncopation : Kendrick Lamar-"Swimming pools (drank)" -- Music takes you higher : Modulation : Beyoncé-"Love on top" -- The performance of identity : Counterpoint : Britney Spears-"Oops@...I did it again" -- Is collage a crime? : Sampling : M.I.A.-"Paper planes" -- Shock, awe, and synthesis : Sound design : Skrillex-"Scary monsters and nice sprites" -- Finding home in the harmonic diaspora : Tonal ambiguity : Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee-"Despacito" -- Does pop have a sound? : Genre : Kelly Clarkson-"Since U been gone" -- I like everything...except country and hip hop : Musical identity : Jay Z and Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean, Toby Keith-"Made in America" -- Conclusion : The past, present, and future of silly little love songs : Paul McCartney-"Get enough".
'Switched on Pop' illuminates the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs. The text moves through close studies of 16 modern pop classics by artists from Beyoncé to Zedd, each chapter bringing out key aspects of a particular song as well as introducing core concepts such as rhythm, melody, harmony, form, and timbre. As the work progresses, more complex concepts such as syncopation, counterpoint, rhyme, and modulation are covered, culminating in an examination of genre, identity, and musical meaning. Accessible prose and engaging illustrations break down pop hits and musical ideas in clear, jargon-free language, and point toward a new way of listening to the modern soundtrack of pop.