(Part 1) Exploring Your Musical Profile [with Prince's Audio Engineer Susan Rogers!]

Do you prefer lyrics or melody? Intricate harmonies or driving rhythm? The digital tones of synthesizers or the “real” sounds of acoustic instruments? Drawing from her successful career as a music producer (engineering hits like Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Barenaked Ladies' "One Week"), professor of cognitive neuroscience Susan Rogers reveals why your favorite songs move you. Susan and I will also discuss some Eurovision "controversies", including Amar Pelos Dois, Toy, Fuego, Shum, Stefania, Out of the Embers, Spaceman... and some of the Nul Points from 2021.

Buy Susan Rogers' book, This Is What It Sounds Like is available at booksellers pretty much everywhere at the moment!

Susan's Record Pull + Interactive Tools-- Scroll here to find where your personal musical profile lies with melody, timbre, lyrics, realism, authenticity, lyrics, and rythm:

https://www.thisiswhatitsoundslike.com/

Appeal for York musician Don Jackson:
(share on your socials if you can ASAP)

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-dons-life-urgent-liver-transplant-appeal?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined

Don's Story:

https://yorkmix.com/race-against-time-to-save-york-music-legend-who-needs-urgent-liver-transplant/

Links to the Eurovision Songs Discussed:
(It is difficult to find the Grand Final versions of some of these. Susan's opinions are based on the following videos)

CONTROVERSY 1:
2018 Toy vs Fuego (with a side dish of Amar Pelos Dois 2017).

Amar Pelos Dois, Portugal 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB9soZxLuUM

Toy, 2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JybKKUkcWiQ

Here’s the official video, but here you miss the staging and it’s missing the famous “chicken noises”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CziHrYYSyPc

Fuego, Cyprus, 2018. 

Here’s the official video, for sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDSgs6syrgg

Here’s the best I can find to show you the staging, which is iconic (“Hairography").

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17EVpC8a1-g


CONTROVERSY 2:
Shum vs Stafania

Shum, Ukraine, 2021

Shum staging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5gMcd7bTco

Official ESC Shum video (for sound):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7-dxzp6Jvs&list=RDU7-dxzp6Jvs&index=1

Stefania 2022:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEGVYOruLk


CONTROVERSY 3:
Embers vs Spaceman

Embers, staging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDoUo7uJyIw

Embers, good audio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMDGTsa_Qq0

Spaceman, staging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU5cJfaX3DI

Official Spaceman video (good audio):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udsMTb2NIak