How Music Does That
Music -- just vibrations in the air -- can make you feel heartbroken or elated, peaceful or stabby, inspired to save the whales or to invade Poland. This is HOW MUSIC DOES THAT.Click the website link to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sun, August 11, 2024
The 1977 Line
One film changed science fiction scoring for good. So far.
S2 E67 · Wed, July 24, 2024
The Haunting of Figure 8
Schoolhouse Rock was always great. But the music from one particular episode has haunted us down the years.
S2 E66 · Tue, February 13, 2024
How MUZAK Does That
How did wall-to-wall music find its way into every public space? Meet General George Squier.
Sun, January 07, 2024
Riffing on Each Other
How a few inaccurate jingles came to represent entire cultures.
S2 E64 · Thu, December 14, 2023
Anatomy of an Earworm
After a month at the mercy of an earworm, I found the cure. Then it all went wrong.
S2 E63 · Sun, October 29, 2023
When the Music Doesn't Trust You
The mark of a great film score is knowing when to shut up.
S2 E62 · Sun, October 15, 2023
Unsung
They are some of your favorite artists of all time. And you don't even know their names.
Sat, September 30, 2023
The King of Space-Age Pop!
HOW MUSIC DOES THAT returns with a Mexican bandleader whose coloristic imagination defined the sound of the space age.
Sun, January 02, 2022
Clap When You Damn Well Please [Encore]
The revolution starts right damn now.
Wed, December 08, 2021
The Bagpipe Incident on Which I Thought We Had Agreed Not to Dwell [Encore]
30,000 people. 16 measures. One bad decision.
Sun, November 28, 2021
The Evolution of Cool [Encore]
The quality of 'cool' in music has deep evolutionary roots in the brain.
Thu, November 11, 2021
Grooves [Encore]
In Hungary, road plays you!
Thu, October 28, 2021
Beethoven Was Deaf [Encore]
That's not the amazing part.
Wed, September 29, 2021
Silence [Encore]
Sometimes the greatest moment in music is the one you don't hear.
Wed, September 15, 2021
Where Did We Put Vivaldi? [Encore]
After greatness came one bad decision—and then, the forgetting.
Wed, September 01, 2021
Encore: Stop Practicing, You're Ruining EVERYTHING
Sometimes it's supposed to hurt.
Thu, August 19, 2021
ENCORE: The Rage of the Third Sons (Carmina Burana)
Eight hundred years ago, they left the church and found the world.
Tue, August 03, 2021
ENCORE: The Aging White Suburban Music Professor's Guide to Hip Hop
Put on the good Dockers, Chad. We're going in.
Wed, July 14, 2021
ENCORE: The Bones of Yellow Brick Road
Most covers stay on the surface. Sara Bareilles got down into the bones.
Wed, June 30, 2021
ENCORE: The Sweet Madness of Big Meters
Let's have a wild time.
Wed, June 16, 2021
The Worst Song In The World
It could be worse. Just kidding.
Wed, June 02, 2021
The Man Who Tried to Strangle Film Music in Its Crib
Sternberg didn't like film music—until he needed it.
Wed, May 26, 2021
ENCORE: As White as Classical
Classical music isn't that white by accident -- and it can't afford to stay that way.
Wed, May 19, 2021
When You Were Twelve
If you love a song you don't really care about, see if it's from the year you were 12.
Wed, May 05, 2021
When Mind and Music Fall Apart
Can music capture the experience of dementia?
Wed, April 21, 2021
Dickinson's Island, and Other Unholy Monsters
When I was a boy, I sat bored in church, trying to break a code.
Thu, April 08, 2021
The Unwiggled String
Children are taught to fear and avoid this sound. All the more reason to love it.
Tue, March 23, 2021
The Long Way Home in 'Hallelujah'
The lyrics are poetic and evocative. But let's talk about that long trip home.
Wed, February 17, 2021
Black Shanty
Sea shanties grew in black soil.
Sun, January 17, 2021
Where Did We Put Vivaldi?
Antonio Vivaldi was a very big deal -- and then he wasn't. But he had a plan.
Thu, December 31, 2020
TikTok and the Hypnotics
For a few weeks, TikTok forged an unholy alliance of banjo, yodeling, and scientific notation.
Wed, November 18, 2020
TikTok and the Vibe
Sometimes you find the Vibe. Sometimes the Vibe finds you.
Sun, October 04, 2020
Music is Made of Time
The fact that music unfolds over time is key to understanding its unique power.
Tue, September 29, 2020
The Deep Playlist of Generation Z
'Wait a minute - how do YOU know Purple Haze?!'
Mon, September 14, 2020
Yeah, But Why THOSE 4 Chords?
It has to do with monkeys, somehow.
Sun, August 16, 2020
Whose Monkey Chant Is It Anyway?
It's an electrifying cry from the ancient heart of Bali. Or is it?
Wed, July 29, 2020
As White as Classical
Classical music isn't that white by accident -- and it can't afford to stay that way.
Tue, July 21, 2020
The Words Get In the Way
Strip language away, and the human voice becomes a pure instrument of emotion.
Sun, May 31, 2020
Shortcut: How I Solved the Musical Mystery of My Life
One tune tormented me since I was two. I finally figured out why.
Sat, May 09, 2020
The Epitome Trap
Before every music course I teach, I have the same argument with myself.
Thu, April 16, 2020
Minimal.
One of the most powerful stylistic movements in music starts with a simple idea.
Sat, April 11, 2020
The Aging White Suburban Music Professor's Guide to Hip Hop
Put on the good Dockers, Chad. We're going in.
Sat, March 21, 2020
When Ravel Met Ravel
Piano Ravel and Orchestra Ravel are both great. They met only twice.
Sat, March 07, 2020
Clap When You Damn Well Please
There's a reason we don't clap between movements in classical music. It's a bad reason, and we're going to kill it. The revolution starts right damn now.
Sun, February 23, 2020
Silence
Sometimes the greatest moment in music is silence.
Fri, February 07, 2020
The Dead and the Impossible
Mussorgsky asked the impossible. Ravel made it happen.
Sat, January 25, 2020
Grooves
In Hungary, road plays you!
Fri, January 10, 2020
Too Many Notes!
WARNING: This episode contains too many notes.
Thu, December 19, 2019
The Rage of the Third Sons (Carmina Burana)
Eight hundred years ago, they left the church and found the world.
Thu, November 28, 2019
Missing Music
I'm haunted by the music I'll never hear.
Fri, November 08, 2019
Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah
Why do kids in many cultures taunt each other with a falling minor third?
Fri, October 25, 2019
The Jabberwocky of Harry Potter
How the muggle and wizarding worlds collide in the Harry Potter theme.
Sat, October 12, 2019
The Magical Bell Piano
For magic and wonder, there's one go-to instrument.
Wed, September 25, 2019
Stop Practicing, You're Ruining EVERYTHING
This episode is not about Pavarotti.
Sat, September 14, 2019
The Bones of Yellow Brick Road
Most covers stay on the surface. Sara Bareilles got down into the bones.
Mon, August 26, 2019
The Fingerprints of Music
I can name that tune in...one motive.
Fri, August 09, 2019
Beethoven was Deaf
Beethoven composed while deaf -- but that's not the amazing part.
Thu, July 25, 2019
Disoriented
Sometimes meter will mess with your head.
Thu, July 11, 2019
The Sweet Madness of Big Meters
From Sting theory to a wedding in Bulgaria, it's meters gone wild.
Thu, June 27, 2019
Sometimes It's the Little Things
The most captivating piece by the most famous composer you've never heard of.
Wed, June 05, 2019
The Mellotron
It was a middle-class party trick. Then it changed rock and roll.
Thu, May 23, 2019
Simplicity, in Three Pärts
When music is stripped down to its essentials, every note matters.
Mon, May 13, 2019
The Gnome
'The Gnome' is a creepy masterclass in orchestration.
Mon, April 29, 2019
Mister Rogers and the Musical Easter Egg
Fred Rogers hid a geeky musical inside joke in his theme song.
Thu, April 11, 2019
Isn't It Iconic?
A computer has chosen the most iconic song ever. Time for the human rebuttal.
Wed, April 03, 2019
Wolfie's Alarm Clock (The Leading Tone)
One note has been teasing you, making promises to you, and leading you home your whole life.
Tue, March 26, 2019
The Bagpipe Incident on Which I Thought We Had Agreed Not to Dwell
30,000 people. 16 measures. One bad decision.
Tue, March 05, 2019
When Pianos Land in Oz
Oh, little piano piece. You're not in Kansas anymore.
Tue, February 26, 2019
Hating Your Golden Goose
There's a reason so many songwriters hate the one that made them famous.
Tue, February 19, 2019
I Coulda Been Peter Best
So I wasn't going to be John Williams. But I had one Hail Mary left.
Tue, February 12, 2019
I Coulda Been John Williams
Just in time for the Oscars, I found my abandoned dream in a box.
Tue, February 05, 2019
Yes, 'Stairway' Was Stolen... Just Like Everything Else
The 'Stairway' lawsuit was based on a modern myth about how music is created.
Tue, January 29, 2019
Two Kinds of Hurt
Johnny's gonna be fine -- but I'm worried about Trent.
Tue, January 22, 2019
Dissonance is Delicious
Music without dissonance is like a rollercoaster without hills. It's light rail.
Tue, January 15, 2019
The Pokémon Suicide Song
From the Satanic Panic to Pokémon, a creepy folklore often bubbles under our music.
Tue, January 08, 2019
Surprise Part 2 - The Rite of Spring
Beethoven lit a fuse that burned for 89 years. This was the boom.
Tue, January 01, 2019
A Brief History of Surprise (I)
Whether music surprises you depends on where your ears have been.
Mon, November 05, 2018
The Music That Broke My Heart
Without lyrics or even a descriptive title -- nothing but vibrations in the air -- this piece brings people to tears. Here's how.
Sun, October 28, 2018
Every Note is a Chord
It's a hidden key to music's emotional power. And it's not all that hidden.
Sun, October 21, 2018
The Moment I Surrendered to John Williams
I had never felt so tangibly dropped into another world.
Sat, October 13, 2018
Shortcut: The Most Hopeful Music in the World
Even starting this piece was an act of pure optimism. Now to finish it.
Sun, October 07, 2018
Cage Unlocked
Silence is just the beginning.
Sat, September 29, 2018
The Masterpiece I Never Heard Of
In which two little kids knew a big thing I didn't know. And I'm okay with that. No really.
Sat, September 22, 2018
Let's Get Sad with Galileo's Dad
A gorgeous technique to unify emotion in music has been passed down from the Renaissance to Radiohead.
Sat, September 15, 2018
When Truman Touches the Wall
From a Bach fugue to Diana's funeral to Truman's wall, this technique is the music of finality.
Sat, September 08, 2018
The Strange DNA of a Surf Song
The edgy, powerful electric guitar tune that kicks off Pulp Fiction has a long and surprising history.
Sat, September 01, 2018
The Evolution of Cool
The quality of "cool" in music has deep roots in the evolution of the brain.
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