by Joe Bennett | Dec 22, 2025 | 5live, fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week Tony and I explored all things Ukulele! Originating in the late 19th century and later absorbed into American popular music, the ukulele is often associated with novelty or informality, but its history spans Tin Pan Alley standards, folk revivals, indie... 
by Joe Bennett | Dec 22, 2025 | 5live, fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week Tony and I hit the studio! Electric Lady Studios began as Jimi Hendrix’s answer to the high cost and limitations of rented studio time during the sessions for his 1968 album Electric Ladyland. In 1968 he bought The Generation, a defunct Greenwich Village... 
by Joe Bennett | Dec 17, 2025 | 5live, fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week Tony and I hit the floor! ‘Four on the floor’ refers to a rhythmic pattern in which the bass drum hits on every beat of a bar of 4, creating a steady pulse associated with disco, house, and much contemporary pop. Although now common across... 
by Joe Bennett | Dec 17, 2025 | 5live, Copyright, fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week Tony and I hit the West End! Songs written for the stage often outgrow their original productions, circulating in recordings, revivals, and popular culture; many have taken on new meanings in concert halls, films, sporting events and social movements.... 
by Joe Bennett | Dec 17, 2025 | 5live, Copyright, fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week guest presenter Johnny I’Anson and I heard some Sampled Oldies! Sampling allows artists to build new recordings from fragments of existing ones, creating audible links across decades, genres, and technologies. The examples we explored demonstrate how musical... by Joe Bennett | Dec 16, 2025 | 5live, Copyright, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
This week Tony and I looked at Time Signatures! Time signatures define how musical rhythm is organised, and Popular music is usually organised in what is known as ‘common time’ (four beats in a bar). Yet many well-known songs operate outside the regular...
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