Sophie Harris

On the show yesterday, author Jennifer Egan talked about a character in her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad who is obsessed with pauses in rock and pop songs. Today, we’ll revisit the topic with Sophie Harris, music writer at Time Out New York, and Elizabeth Margulis, associate professor and director of the Music Cognition Lab at the University of Arkansas.

Soundcheck talked with jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins last week about his memorable (and uncredited) performance on the Rolling Stones song “Waiting on a Friend.” But the sax blows hot and cold in pop music. For every “Walk on the Wild Side,” there’s a “You Belong to the City” lurking around the corner.

True to their namesake, Arcade Fire are a hot commodity: the Montreal ensemble knocked Eminem off the number-one spot on the Billboard albums chart with their new disc The Suburbs. But not everyone is moved by the band's hyper-dramatic anthems and onstage theatrics.