We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Ride-along listening: Inclusive modes of musical analysis in Switched on Pop.
- Authors
Skjerseth, Amy
- Abstract
Popular music and pop song-dissection podcasts often compete for top 40 listeners' attention, but podcasts interject hosts' opinions of songs that listeners may not share. This article introduces a phenomenon I call 'ride-along listening', where podcast hosts play isolated musical features to closely examine a song's production and reception. Hosts' instantaneous explanations of musical terms have the potential to make pop podcasts more inclusive for non-musically trained listeners. As I show, Switched on Pop's Episode 80 dissects Janelle Monáe's 'Make Me Feel' by playing the single's harmonies and rhythms back-to-back with those of the blues, Michael Jackson and Prince. But guest host Lizzo – a classically trained flutist, songwriter, singer and rapper – especially makes Monáe's social message of fluid sexuality palpable for specialist and non-specialist listeners alike. By foregrounding performing musicians' embodied listening and knowledge, ride-along listening can provide inclusive ways of dissecting the medium and the message of pop music.
- Subjects
MONAE, Janelle, 1985-; MUSICAL intervals &; scales; MUSICAL analysis; JACKSON, Michael, 1958-2009; LISTENING; PODCASTING; POPULAR music; MUSICALS
- Publication
Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 2022, Vol 20, Issue 1, p33
- ISSN
1476-4504
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1386/rjao_00054_1