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Switched on pop : how popular music works, and why it matters / Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding ; illustrations by Iris Gottlieb.

by Sloan, Nate, 1986- author.

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New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Popular music -- 2001-2010 -- History and criticism.

Popular music -- 2011-2020 -- History and criticism.

Popular music -- Analysis, appreciation.

9780190056650 (hardcover alkaline paper) :

0190056657 (hardcover alkaline paper)

viii, 201 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

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.

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