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

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.