WHY YOU LIKE IT: DECODING MUSICAL TASTE Sets PBS Premiere

With his recent book and upcoming PBS special, WHY YOU LIKE IT: DECODING MUSICAL TASTE, composer and musicologist Dr. Nolan Gasser (the architect of Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project and expert in Music AI) explores the science and culture behind our musical preferences. Blending live performances, animations and insights from neuroscience, psychology, culture, emotion, and a pioneering mobile app that engages the audience in a new way, the program offers a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. WHY YOU LIKE IT: DECODING MUSICAL TASTE is part of special programming premiering on PBS stations beginning on Friday, February 28, 2025 and will be available for streaming with PBS Passport.

The show features a brilliant set of musicians, including Grammy-winning vocalists Ledisi and Aymée Nuviola and Grammy-nominated Malika Tirolien, along with jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles. It also features Dr. Gasser’s all-star band, The Mighty Mighty, comprised of luminaries such as Tim Ries (The Rolling Stones), Jamie Hadad (Paul Simon) and others. This show will change how you listen to music and increase the joy you experience with every song you hear.

WHY YOU LIKE IT: DECODING MUSICAL TASTE also features a groundbreaking first-of-its-kind mobile app that accompanies the show and offers viewers a simple-to-use, immersive experience. While watching the program, viewers can engage with the Why You Like It app to enrich their understanding of what shapes their musical preferences. As the show unfolds, the app synchronizes in real time, presenting eight personalized questionnaires based on each individual’s personality, social tendencies, and unique traits. After completing all eight prompts, these responses fuel the creation of a custom playlist — spanning popular favorites to lesser-known gems — each track reflecting aspects of that viewer’s distinct musical identity. If any selection doesn’t strike a chord with the viewer, it can be easily skipped, encouraging exploration of new sounds. Beyond the playlist, a “deeper discovery” section on the app offers access to additional insights, allowing viewers to delve further into the scientific, cultural, and creative dimensions examined in the program and stay engaged long after the show is over.

“Among the most thrilling parts of WHY YOU LIKE IT is the set of tailored music playlists I’ll share with viewers. By taking the simple quiz in our intuitive app that accompanies the show, every viewer will gain access to a personalized playlist filled with music from varied genres, styles, and eras that matches their unique identity: their personality, their musical inclinations, their background, and the role music plays in their lives. These large and eclectic playlists will open new musical horizons for every viewer and, when joined with what they learn in the show, will forever change how they hear music,” explains Nolan Gasser.

“With my book, WHY YOU LIKE IT: The Science & Culture of Musical Taste, I aimed to reach a broad audience of music lovers — with or without musical training — to help them better understand where their individual taste in music comes from and how loving music makes them healthier and happier. But it is WHY YOU LIKE IT: DECODING MUSICAL TASTE that will unlock the mysteries of music for millions of folks across the country and beyond,” adds Gasser.

The musical performances for WHY YOU LIKE IT were shot at UCLA’s Royce Hall and feature Gasser’s band, The Mighty Mighty, comprised of a cadre of talented musicians and Grammy-winning guest artists performing different genres of music with a global feel. Throughout the program, Gasser explains how listeners lock into a beat and feel the rhythm and groove, how the brain can predict it, and the emotional power that accompanies the experience — what makes us happy or sad, reflective or nostalgic when we hear a song. Other topics include the nature of sound, good vs bad taste, and the personality of music.