Chapters alternate between enlightening (the sections on anthropology and neuroscience) and sloggy (on several occasions, Gasser writes something to the effect of 'I sense your eyes glazing') ... For those looking to learn how the digital streaming sausage is made, Why You Like It offers little insight ... Digital radio is here to stay, but Nolan Gasser fails to make the case that the Music Genome Project is the way forward.
Gasser’s writing is passionate and generally accessible, though he sometimes stumbles over the inherent difficulty of conveying music through musicology ... The book is a sprawl, but serious music lovers will find much fascinating science and lore to browse.
A sprawling, packed-to-the-brim study of the art and science of music ... Gasser’s overarching aim is not just descriptive. In his forays into all imaginable corners of the musical world, he seeks to soften prejudices and broaden horizons ... Gasser’s enterprise has a pleasingly mad-scientist feel to it, one that will attract music theory geeks as much as neuroscientists, anthropologists, psychologists, and Skynyrd fans.
