Travels in Music

Stories About Music From Around The World

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Support the show
  • Episodes
  • Blog
  • Newsletter

Ep. 2: The Weird World of Modern Pop Songwriting with New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook

By Zachary Stockill

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

On today’s show I talk to the American journalist John Seabrook.

OTW_John_Seabrook_c_Chris_Gentile_300dpi_opt

John Seabrook is a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, as well as the author of one of my favourite music books of 2015, The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory.

In The Song Machine, Seabrook delves into the weird, sometimes wild world of modern pop, and demonstrates how, like snack food engineers, modern pop songwriters strive to manufacture intentionally addictive musical “bliss points,” or “hooks,” in an attempt to create the catchiest, ear-wormiest, most widely appealing songs they can.

Of course, this is nothing new. There have always been figures in music—songwriters, musicians, producers—who know a hit when they hear one. But at the same time, the modern music industry is in a state of catastrophic disruption, and this has spurred intense competition, innovation, and increasingly seductive, and some would say soulless, new musical products.

I was particularly eager to ask John about the legendary, shadowy pop songwriter Max Martin, whose name you probably haven’t heard, but who has written many of the biggest pop hits of the past twenty years.

I also asked my guest about why the tiny Scandinavian nation of Sweden, of all places, has produced several of the most successful pop songwriters in the world.

And if you’re curious to know why you can’t remember your pin code but you can recite truly terrible Backstreet Boys lyrics on demand, you’ll want to listen to this episode of Travels in Music featuring John Seabrook.

Also available via Stitcher Radio

Mentioned in this episode:

  • John’s newest book, The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory
  • “Oops! I Did It Again” by Richard Thompson (Amazon / iTunes)
  • “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys (Amazon / iTunes)
  • “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base (Amazon / iTunes)
  • John Seabrook’s 2014 New Yorker article, “Revenue Streams: Is Spotify the music industry’s friend or foe?”
  • John’s more recent article on Spotify and related topics, “Will Streaming Music Kill Songwriting?” 

Learn more about John Seabrook at:

  • His personal website
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: john seabrook, songwriting, the song machine

Subscribe on iTunes:

Get free updates:

Connect with me:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Recent posts:

  • UPDATE: Listen to my new podcast, Humans in Love: A Podcast for Passionate People
  • B-side: An Update On the Future of Travels in Music
  • Ep. 21: As Time Goes By: In Defense of Harry Nilsson’s “A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night”
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Blog
  • Newsletter

Copyright 2016 Travels in Music