Ride-along listening: Inclusive modes of musical analysis in Switched on Pop. (1st April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Skjerseth, Amy
• Is Part Of: Radio journal. Volume 20:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 33
• Page End: 48
• Publication Date: 2022-04-01
• Subjects: Radio -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Radio audiences -- Periodicals; Radio stations -- Sociological aspects -- Periodicals; Sound recordings -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 384.54
• DOI: 10.1386/rjao_00054_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1476-4504

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.