A review by embfitz
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook

This was a good one to be reading during Grammy season, and while watching a couple of music competition shows. I went into this book thinking that the likely over/under was whether the reader knows who Max Martin is. Delighted to find out that wasn't the case -- there's plenty for anyone who's interested in how contemporary pop music (i.e., from the early 90s to now) is made. Each chapter is a mostly self-contained longread (examples: how Ace of Base helped start it all, Lou Pearlman, Kelly Clarkson vs. Clive Davis, Britney, Rihanna). The narrative was a little too White Middle Aged Guy for me sometimes...but since it's not trying to be something different, it only snags here and there. At any rate -- if you're someone who stays current on pop music, voluntarily or otherwise, it's worth having a look at this book. Next year, when Taylor Swift thanks Max Martin again at the Grammys, you will nod knowingly.

ETA: Oh SNAP, thanks to my screwing around with my e-reader, I missed a chunk of the book...which included the Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section. (Is this why everyone still loves paper?) Going back to read it. Good lord.

ETA part 2: The Ke$ha/Dr. Luke section is totally skippable, especially if you've already read about songmakers in previous chapters. The section about Spotify, though? Glad I didn't miss that.