Nolan Gasser is a composer, pianist, and musicologist. He’s also the genius behind the Music Genome Project that powers PANDORA Radio. Nolan developed his algorithm back in the early 2000s so that listeners to PANDORA could listen to music that appealed to their tastes. In Why You Like It, Nolan explains how music taste works. He also shows how he designed and help build a system that would benefit the millions of listeners of PANDORA to find the music they wanted.
Although the story of PANDORA is fascinating, Nolan’s book goes beyond the story of founding an Internet company to an analysis of music itself. I found some of Nolan’s discussions a bit technical for me, but those of you who play an instrument and can read music will be able to make more sense of what Nolan is saying. However, I did appreciate Nolan’s analysis of why people like “Proud Mary” by Credence Clearwater Revival.
Nolan explores Pop, Rap, Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, Jazz, Electronic, and Classical music. I learned a lot by reading Nolan’s analysis of all these musical genres and hope to listen to some of the music in these genres that he recommends. If you love music, you’ll love this book! What kind of music do you enjoy listening to? Do you listen to PANDORA? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface p. ix
Introduction: In the Ear of the Beholder p. 1
1 The Rise and Rebirth of the Savage Beast p. 13
Part 1 A Gift of the Gods p. 43
2 Under the Musical Hood: An Orientation p. 45
3 Melody: The Face of Music p. 49
Interlude A The Evolution of Musical Taste: Music and Anthropology p. 70
Part 2 Bar Bands in Andromeda p. 89
4 Harmony: The Internal Body of Music p. 91
5 Rhythm: The Movement of Music p. 119
Interlude B It’s the Overtones, Stupid: Music, Math, and Physics p. 150
Part 3 Unity and Heterogeneity p. 173
6 Form: The Shape of Music p. 175
7 Sound: The Personality of Music p. 219
Interlude C The Singing Cerebrum: Music and the Brain p. 253
Part 4 Musical Metaphors p. 295
8 The Musical Genotype p. 297
9 The Pop Genotype p. 306
Interlude D At the Cellular Level: Music and Cell Biology p. 329
Part 5 Parlez-Vous Gamelan? p. 355
10 Rock Genotype p. 357
11 The Jazz Genotype p. 377
Interlude E Listening with an Accent: Culture and Musical Taste p. 400
Part 6 Questioning the Omnivore p. 429
12 The Hip Hop Genotype p. 431
13 The Electronica (EDM) Genotype p. 455
Interlude F Staking Your Claim: Intraculture and Musical Taste p. 480
Part 7 Who Are You, Anyway? p. 511
14 The World Music Genotype p. 513
15 The Classical Genotype p. 542
Interlude G Mind Over Music: Psychology and Musical Taste p. 590
Part 8 Your Hit Parade p. 627
16 The What and Why of Musical Taste p. 629
Epilogue: Living with Music p. 633
Acknowledgments p. 647
Glossary p. 649
Notes p. 661
Index p. 695