Ride-along listening: Inclusive modes of musical analysis in Switched on Pop

Skjerseth, Amy ORCID: 0000-0002-4258-6930 (2022) Ride-along listening: Inclusive modes of musical analysis in Switched on Pop. Radio Journal:International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 20 (1). pp. 33-48.

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Abstract

<jats:p>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, <jats:italic>Switched on Pop</jats:italic>’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.</jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of the Arts
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2022 14:10
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2023 03:03
DOI:	10.1386/rjao_00054_1
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3159300