The song machine : inside the hit factory / John Seabrook.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Seabrook, John, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music trade.

Sound recording industry.

Popular music--Production and direction.

Popular music.

Physical Description:

x, 347 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Summary:

"Over the last two decades a new type of hit song has emerged, one that is almost inescapably catchy. Pop songs have always had a 'hook,' but today's songs bristle with them: a hook every seven seconds is the rule. Painstakingly crafted to tweak the brain's delight in melody, rhythm, and repetition, these songs are highly processed products. Like snack-food engineers, modern songwriters have discovered the musical 'bliss point.' And just like junk food, the bliss point leaves you wanting more. In The Song Machine, longtime New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook tells the story of the massive cultural upheaval that produced these new, super-strength hits. Seabrook takes us into a strange and surprising world, full of unexpected and vivid characters, as he traces the growth of this new approach to hit-making from its obscure origins in early 1990s Sweden to its dominance of today's Billboard charts."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A Hook: The bliss point. You spin me round ; A continuity of hits

First verse: Cheiron : Mr. Pop: and the Metalhead. Inside the box ; "The sign" ; Big Poppa ; Martin Sandberg's terrible secret ; Britney Spears : hit me baby ; "I want it that way"

Chorus: The money note : the ballad of Kelly and Clive. My ancestral hit parade ; The dragon's teeth ; The doldrums ; American Idol ; "Since u been gone"

Second verse: Factory girls : cultural technology and the making of K-pop. "Gee"

Chorus: Rihanna : track-and-hook. "Umbrella" ; "Ester Dean: On the hook" ; Stargate: those lanky Norwegian dudes ; "Rude boy"

Bridge: Dr. Luke : teenage dream. Speed chess ; Katy Perry : altar call ; Melodic math ; Kesha : teenage nightmare

Chorus: Spotify. The moment space

Outro: Songworm. "Roar."

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0393353281

9780393353280

OCLC:

937452639

Publisher Number:

99993393816