In the Key of DNA: Music & Evolution
Series: The Nerve - Music and the Human Experience
From: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Length: 00:53:40
Episode 2 of The Nerve asks the question why? Why did music evolve in the first place? Some people think music is merely an evolutionary frill, a by-product - delicious cheesecake for our ears that has no evolutionary purpose. Darwin himself was puzzled by music. Observing songbirds, he suggested music's role was in sexual selection (which may explain why rock stars from Franz Liszt to Tommy Lee have had such busy sex lives). Others believe music's origins may be found in the mother-infant interactions we call baby talk, and others consider the importance of the lullaby - a need to pacify infants. Others theorize that music developed in tandem with the social cohesion necessary to the survival of bands of early humans, critical to them through its power to strengthen social bonds.
Cheesecake? Or sex, baby talk, and social interaction? Set in the Key of DNA, The Nerve 2 examines what the purpose of music is and has been, yesterday and today.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Episode 2 of The Nerve asks the question why? Why did music evolve in the first place? Some people think music is merely an evolutionary frill, a by-product - delicious cheesecake for our ears that has no evolutionary purpose. Darwin himself was puzzled by music. Observing songbirds, he suggested music's role was in sexual selection (which may explain why rock stars from Franz Liszt to Tommy Lee have had such busy sex lives). Others believe music's origins may be found in the mother-infant interactions we call baby talk, and others consider the importance of the lullaby - a need to pacify infants. Others theorize that music developed in tandem with the social cohesion necessary to the survival of bands of early humans, critical to them through its power to strengthen social bonds.
Cheesecake? Or sex, baby talk, and social interaction? Set in the Key of DNA, The Nerve 2 examines what the purpose of music is and has been, yesterday and today.
Broadcast History
This hour was first broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as part of a six part series in September 2008.
Timing and Cues
Piece is 53:40
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nerve Opening Theme | Paolo Pietropaolo | unreleased. | 02:10 | ||
| Unchained Melody | The Righteous Brothers | The Very Best of the Righteous Brothers. | Verve | 03:35 | |
| Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G, BWV 1048: 1st movement | Karl Richter & Münchener Bach-Orchester | Archiv | 01:50 | ||
| “Pa-pa-pa-pa” from The Magic Flute | Bryn Terfel & Cecilia Bartoli | Cecilia & Bryn: Duets. | Decca | 02:20 | |
| Whole Lotta Love | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin ll. | Swan Song | 03:30 | |
| What’s Love Got to Do with it | Tina Turner | What’s Love Got to Do with it. | EMI | 01:45 | |
| Prelude # 1 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 | Andras Schiff | Decca | 01:55 | ||
| Tovarish-II-Talin | Sainkho Namchylak & Ned Rothenberg | Amulet. | Leo Records | 01:15 | |
| Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) | Frank Sinatra & Count Basie | It Might as well be Swing. | Reprise | 02:30 | |
| Celes’ Theme Music Box | Shariq Ansari | 00:45 | |||
| Ia p’at’onepi | Ensemble Mzetamze | Traditional Songs of Georgian Woman, Vol. 1. | FACE LC 8072 | 02:00 | |
| Allegretto from Sonata #17 in D minor, Op 31 no. 2 | Glenn Gould | Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould. | 04:35 | ||
| Across the River | Peter Gabriel | Secret World Live. | 02:30 | ||
| Haul On the Bowlin’ | Stanley Slade | The Alan Lomax Collection: World Library of Folk and Primitive Music, Vol. 1. | 00:55 | ||
| Matadjem Yinmixan | Tinariwen | Aman Iman: Water is Life. | 03:30 | ||
| Yangissa | Aka Pygmies | African Rhythms. | Warner Classics | 02:20 | |
| Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op 30 # 1: Introduction | Pierre Boulez & the Chicago Symphony | 01:25 | |||
| The Nerve Closing Theme | Paolo Pietropaolo | unreleased. | 02:15 |
Related Website
Of 12 purchasers of this piece...
- 12 also bought:Wired for Sound: Music and the Brain (00:53:32)
- 12 also bought:
- 12 also bought:Enchanted, Entranced: Music & Spirituality (00:53:32)
- 12 also bought:myTunes: Music & Identity (00:53:32)
- 12 also bought:Sentimental Journey: Music & Emotion (00:53:32)
