The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new waysand not just those from the Top 40. Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, André 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to 'shake it like a Polaroid picture,' or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in 'Despacito' that mirrors the patterns of global migration. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyoncé, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners.

Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs. Pop music surrounds us - in our cars, over supermarket speakers, even when we are laid out at the dentist - but how often do we really hear what's playing? Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits.

Switched On Pop by Nate Sloan