This Is What It Sounds Like
What the Music You Love Says About You
Ratings10
Average rating3.8
15
What the Music You Love Says About You
Ratings10
Average rating3.8
One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2022 A legendary record producer–turned–brain scientist explains why you fall in love with music. This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the science and soul of music that reveals the secrets of why your favorite songs move you. But it’s also a story of a musical trailblazer who began as a humble audio tech in Los Angeles to became Prince’s chief engineer for Purple Rain, and then create other No. 1 hits (including Barenaked Ladies' "One Week") as one of the most successful female record producers of all time. Now an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience, Susan Rogers leads readers to musical self-awareness. She explains that we each possess a unique “listener profile” based on our brain’s natural response to seven key dimensions of any song. Are you someone who prefers lyrics or melody? Do you like music “above the neck” (intellectually stimulating), or “below the neck” (instinctual and rhythmic)? Whether your taste is esoteric or mainstream, Rogers guides readers to recognize their musical personality, and offers language to describe one's own unique taste. Like most of us, Rogers is not a musician, but she shows that all of us can be musical—simply by being an active, passionate listener. While exploring the science of music and the brain, Rogers also takes us behind the scenes of record-making, using her insider’s ear to illuminate the music of Prince, Frank Sinatra, Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, and many others. She shares records that changed her life, contrasts them with those that appeal to her coauthor and students, and encourages you to think about the records that define your own identity. Told in a lively and inclusive style, This Is What It Sounds Like will refresh your playlists, deepen your connection to your favorite artists, and change the way you listen to music.
Reviews with the most likes.
Music + neuroscience + memoir? This book was made for me.
I read this incredibly slowly because the author recommends certain songs for you to listen to as examples to learn more about listener profiles and various aspects of music, and it would always distract me by making me want to listen to more music. But this was great. I learned so much in every chapter. Since starting it, I have listened to music differently. I do think the subtitle of the book is very misleading though; the book doesn't go into “what your music taste says about you” at all. It tells you a lot of interesting information about how to figure out your own music taste and what makes you fall in love with a song. There's also just a lot of cool things about how listening to music works in general.
9/10 because some of the ancedotes and random things the author included were either unnecessary or repetitive.
If you've ever wondered why a specific record gives you goosebumps, but has no effect whatsoever on your friend, this is the book for you. Rogers, who engineered records for Prince, Barenaked Ladies and many others, describes the seven key attributes of a given record (authenticity, realism, novelty, rhythm, melody, lyrics and timbre) and provides examples for the extremes of each, so you can develop your own “listener profile.” She lost me a little when she got all science-y about our brain's various areas and neural pathways, but considering she started college in her 40s and is now a professor of cognitive neuroscience, she's allowed to show off a bit. There is a website associated with the book that has links to all of the songs that are mentioned; check it out to listen to old and possibly new favorites.
