The Melodic Journey: Emotion and Expression in Music

What albums and songs are getting a lot of play on your Spotify or iTunes app currently? My guest would say that the music you put in heavy rotation comes down to your unique "listener profile."

Her name is Susan Rogers, and she's a music producer-turned-neuroscientist as well as the co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You. Today on the show, Susan unpacks the seven dimensions of music and how they show up along a varying spectrum in every song. She explains how everyone has an individualized taste for the configuration of these dimensions, and that how closely a particular song aligns with this pattern of sweet spots accounts for whether you like it or not. Along the way, we discuss artists that exemplify these dimensions, how Frank Sinatra injected virility into his music, how part of your musical taste has to do with the way you prefer to move your body, and much more.

Artists and Songs Mentioned in the Episode

• Prince's Purple Rain
• Barenaked Ladies
• The Shaggs
• Ella Fitzgerald
• The Rentals
• The Killers
• Tame Impala
• Steven Page
• Johnny Cash
• Cake
• James Brown's "Hot Pants"
• Yes' "Roundabout"
• Pharrell Williams' "Happy"
• Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe"
• Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool and Kind of Blue
• Frank Sinatra's first hit song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (1940) vs. "It Was a Very Good Year" (1965)

Connect With Susan Rogers

• The This Is What It Sounds Like website, including the "Record Pull"
• Susan's faculty page