A review by kelseyland
Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why It Matters by Charlie Harding, Nate Sloan

informative lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

Written by the musicologist and songwriter who host the eponymous podcast, this book is an incredible overview of pop music theory and production that uses these foundational concepts to help explain what makes some of the biggest hits of the 2000s and 2010s so great. The book also provides great historical context, citing examples from Gregorian chant to Beethoven to Tin Pan Alley to demonstrate the lineage of a category of music often dismissed as frivolous. And even with all that it's fun and easy to read even for someone with minimal musical knowledge, with playful illustrations to go along with the text. Highly recommended for any pop music lover, and even skeptics who wonder what it is about "Call Me Maybe" that makes it so damn catchy.