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Articles on Song

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Prisoners are forced to play music as they lead a fellow prisoner to his execution at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Votava/Imagno via Getty Images

How the Nazis used music to celebrate and facilitate murder

Music is supposed to transcend the mundane and horrific. Yet it has also served as an accompaniment to torture and punishment.
When Frank Conrad broadcast the results of the 1920 presidential election, he had no idea that politics would be forever transformed. Bettmann via Getty Images

100 years ago, the first commercial radio broadcast announced the results of the 1920 election – politics would never be the same

For centuries, people largely read politicians’ words. But with the advent of radio, the ability of politicians to engage and entertain became crucial components of their candidacies.
Could music one day be something we experience through augmented reality, responding to the way we move through the world? Sound supplemented with colours and shapes? Mavis Wong/The Conversation NY-BD-CC

Trust Me, I’m An Expert: How augmented reality may one day make music a visual, interactive experience

Music The Conversation67.8 MB (download)
Today, we're hearing about a researcher who records birdsong, how tech changes music and why song might help address Indigenous language loss.
Singing helps us remember information. Flickr/Martin Abegglen

Curious Kids: Who made the alphabet song?

Because of the way our brains work, we can remember songs and rhymes much more easily than just words or letters. The ABC song teaches kids the basics of the English language.
Data from what we download and listen to can now be mined to create and promote future songs. 'Music Men' via www.shutterstock.com

How data is transforming the music industry

Does musical taste even matter anymore? Or does a data-driven feedback loop – where what you enjoy in the past shapes what you hear today – influence what you’ll like in the future?

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