46. The Most Popular Song In The World

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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 Tune
• The Beatles - She's So Heavy
• One Direction - Live While We're Young
• Francisco Tarrega - Gran Vals

• Charlie Harding - Bowl ArrowLinks:

• Jonathan Berger's Article in Nautlius: How Music Hijacks our Perception of Time

• Famous Cell Phone Rings Played on the Piano by Tony Ann
• Greg Hochmuth's workRedaction:

 an earlier edit of this show made in insensitive and inappropriate quip
 about an act of war, which we have removed. We apologize to our 
listeners.