Scan barcode
glowbird's review against another edition
2.0
This left a bad taste in my mouth. The book feels poorly organized and haphazardly researched. Fawning interviews with producers are interwoven with oddly mean, tossed off sketches of assorted pop stars. The conversations about Swedish producers and their influence on pop music was interesting, but the continuous bios felt overlong. Aspects of pop stars' lives are discussed in great detail, but these stories often have no impact on song selection or their work with producers and seem to be researched exclusively through "official" bio books and old magazine articles. Perhaps it's impossible to get access to these stars while producers are just begging to be interviewed. If that's the case then the book would have benefited from less attention to the face of the song. It had no effect other than to make most of the artists look idiotic, naive, and/or broken.
Some incredibly influential stars are not discussed at all. I found it particularly odd that Taylor Swift was not significantly mentioned, given that many of her most recent hits were written by producers discussed in the book.
The chapters on K-pop and Spotify were interesting but felt out of place in the jumbled narrative. Ultimately I couldn't tell you what this book is about. Song writing? Making money? Pop stars from the early 2000s? Negging on Britney and Kesha for kicks?
Some incredibly influential stars are not discussed at all. I found it particularly odd that Taylor Swift was not significantly mentioned, given that many of her most recent hits were written by producers discussed in the book.
The chapters on K-pop and Spotify were interesting but felt out of place in the jumbled narrative. Ultimately I couldn't tell you what this book is about. Song writing? Making money? Pop stars from the early 2000s? Negging on Britney and Kesha for kicks?
sh00's review against another edition
4.0
Какое-то время тому назад русские переводы Сибрука мы были вынуждены читать с изрядным опозданием. Сейчас вот перевели довольно свежий обзор, составленный на основе интервью, часть из которых он брал сам. Самих интервью внутри нет - в довольно живой манере повествуется о тех временах, когда альбомы могли включать в себя десяток хитов, когда само понятие альбома было основополагающим, о тех с виду скучных людях, стараниями которых мы узнавали, что хиты - это хиты. О поиске талантов, студийной работе, о том, как иногда работа над всемирным хитом занимает меньше 20 минут и о том, как ищут таланты - всё здесь. Эта книга частично вдохновила меня на рассказы о музыке, кстати. По силе повествования и мощи фактов (даты, имена, факты) я бы её поставил на одну полку с "Рэп-атакой" Дэвида Тупа. Рекомендую.
pitirijaz's review against another edition
5.0
El tipo se lució con una investigación sobre cómo se han "fabricado" los hits de la música pop. Las mentes maestras detrás de esas canciones tan criticadas y a la vez, tan compradas. Como fan del fenómeno fan y de la industria del entretenimiento, lo agrego a la bibliografía básica de mi vida.
audreyjo85's review against another edition
5.0
A must-read for anyone who loves pop music and the magic behind it.
loz232's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating insight into the mainstream music business and the history behind it.
Not sure how well the sections on Dr Luke & Kesha will age, and it did seem like the writer was slightly biased in the producer's favour, but it would be hard to write a chapter on him without mentioning it.
Not sure how well the sections on Dr Luke & Kesha will age, and it did seem like the writer was slightly biased in the producer's favour, but it would be hard to write a chapter on him without mentioning it.
marisacarpico's review
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Something I’ve wanted to read for a long time and absolutely loved. Informative, well-researched and conversational. Lots of fun to be had hearing the name of a beloved musician come up just as they enter the industry. The Rihanna and Britney sections are especially excellent though missing the changes in their story since.
mmk5110's review against another edition
3.0
This is a really cool book about pop music mainly highlighting Max Martin's career and the Mastermind behind it. It is not friendly to the artists that he has written for.
mollief's review
informative
fast-paced
3.75
Information is a bit outdated, lots of weird love for Dr. Luke.
readermeginco's review against another edition
5.0
Who knew... This book is all about SWEDEN. This guy, Max Martin, in Sweden has written more current hit songs than just about anyone… it's crazy. Remember the "don't touch that dial!" feel in the songs of the 70's and 80's? Those songs were known to have a magical note, a hook, somewhere in the first 30 seconds of the song. That note that kept you from moving on through the static until you got to the next station over. Today's songs are different. Today, the songs we hear in the supermarket, the songs that soccer moms drive home to, -all of these songs- have a hook every 7 seconds and are designed with a "bliss point" or "money note". AND no longer is it James Taylor writing his song, guitar in hand, in some back room. These are the stories of the stars, the hits, and the teams -yes, TEAMS- of writers. An addict-ably readable book. Fair warning: When you read this book, you will get its songs stuck in your heads for days.