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Soundcheck

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Soundcheck

Pop Music's War of Words

3 segments

Pop Singers Gasp for Air 23 min

Loston Harris 17 min

Researchers Discover a Real Golden Oldie 9 min

The top songs of the 1960s contained an average of 176 words. These days, hit songs regularly top the 500-word mark. (Chris Brown and T-Pain plowed through "Kiss Kiss" with 740 words.) Today on Soundcheck, we debate quantity and quality in pop-music lyrics. And later: jazz vocalist and pianist Loston Harris pays tribute to Carolyn Leigh, a songwriter whose work was immortalized by the Rat Pack.