Nightsticks, Water Cannons, Tear Gas, Padlocks: The Musicality of Lists

In this episode of Songs and Objects, I talk about list songs and the inherent musicality of lists more generally. I explore how the listing of objects, events or people in prose and poetry creates some of the necessary conditions for song. I describe songs that employ lists as a structuring device, pulling examples from Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Billy Joel, Blackalicious, Nina Simone, Robert Wyatt, John Grant, Joe Pug, Tom Lehrer and Gilbert & Sullivan.