Susan Rogers With Nelson George: A Conversation

Nelson George is an author and filmmaker. His books include five novels of his D Hunter mystery series. His nonfiction works include The Death of Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop America, and The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture & Style. As a filmmaker he has directed the documentaries Brooklyn Boheme, Finding the Funk, and A Ballerina’s Tale.

Susan Rogers, Ph.D., is a cognitive neuroscientist, a multiplatinum record producer, and a professor at Berklee College of Music. She was Prince’s chief sound engineer during his peak productive era (1983-1987, the time of albums such as Purple Rain, Sign o’ the Times, and The Black Album) and was behind No. 1 hits such as Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week.” In This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You (W. W. Norton & Company), co-written with Ogi Ogas, Ph.D., we discover why we fall in love with music. Rogers writes that we each possess a unique “listener profile” based on our brain’s natural response to seven key dimensions of any song. Do you prefer lyrics or melody? Intellectually stimulating music or something more instinctual and rhythmic? Rogers guides readers to recognize their musical personalities. She is not a musician, but, she argues, we can all be musical simply by being active, passionate listeners. This Is What It Sounds Like aims to deepen our connection to our favorite artists and change how we listen.