The Song Machine – Inside the Hit Factory - Hardcover

Seabrook, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393241920 ISBN 13: 9780393241921

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015

Synopsis

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.The Song MachineNew YorkerBillboardThe Song MachineThe Song MachineThe Song Machine

About this title

Review

A revelatory ear-opener. "

A revelatory ear-opener.

This is a fascinating tale about an amazing phenomenon: how hits get made. A triumph of great writing and reporting, with lessons that reverberate far beyond the world of music.--Walter Isaacson, author of The Innovators and Steve Jobs

Beneath the surface of today's pop music lies an industrial process as rigorous and bizarre as the one perfected by McDonald's. Seabrook shows what it takes to make a hit in a book that's beautifully written, revelatory, funny, and full of almost unbelievable details.--Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Command and Control

Anyone who wants to understand how the clash of cultures has shaped what we listen to should read this important book. John Seabrook has a marvelous ear for language and perfect pitch when it comes to music journalism.--Bob Spitz, author of The Beatles: The Biography"

An immersive, reflective, and utterly satisfying examination of the business of popular music.--Nathaniel Rich

Eminently readable and important . Seabrook's in-depth interviews with an army of songwriters, producers, performers and others make for series of profiles that document a revolution in the music business."

Brilliant.--Michael Hann

Well researched . Seabrook takes us inside the troubled modern music business.--Toure"

Invaluable.--Louis Bayard

Book Description

How do you make a song a global smash hit that is guaranteed to make $millions? Read The Song Machine, and find out

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393241920
• ISBN 13: 9780393241921
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352