The Most Popular Song In The World

The Nokia ringtone used to be heard more than a billion times per 

day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. We tend to 

consider cellphone rings as somewhat antithetical to 

music. There is a whole subset of YouTube videos dedicated to the perverse thrill of 

watching a delicately beautiful musical moment ruined by the harsh cry 

of a default ringtone. In this episode, we zoom in on one of these 

annoying melodies to see if there's not some hidden musical craft 

present in the ubiquitous bleeps and bloops that envelop us. Later, 

Charlie shares a piece made solely of this sonic detritus, and a data 

scientist locates surprising musical patterns in a most unexpected 

source.

Featuring:The Nokia TuneThe Beatles - She's So HeavyOne Direction - Live While We're YoungFrancisco Tarrega - Gran ValsLinks:Charlie Harding - Bowl ArrowJonathan Berger's Article in Nautlius: How Music Hijacks our Perception of TimeFamous Cell Phone Rings Played on the Piano by Tony AnnGreg Hochmuth's work

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