Ep. 1: The Music of ISIS

De: Audible Original

The Islamic State forbids listening to or making music. And yet, ISIS produces audio that sounds an awful lot like catchy pop tunes. Journalist and Pitch contributor, Alex Marshall, investigates how ISIS uses nasheeds to recruit, radicalize, and inspire acts of terrorism.

©2018 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC

Gripping Narrative Podcast for Music Lovers!

Seeking a podcast that combines beautiful narrative storytelling with crafty sound design? Throw in some great interviewees (and of course, music) too, and you've got Pitch! Would most definitely recommend. And a gripping first episode to boot.

Dont let this episode turn you off the series

This episode very nearly stopped me from listening to this series.

Don’t let it do that to you. This series is excellent. The majority of the episodes are well developed, thoughtfully told, and researched. The storytelling is much better in other episodes. Whomever selected this episode to launch the series made a very real error. I would not be surprised if it drove off many listeners in the first 10 minutes because it creates the impression that this series is all about international political music. Which is compounded by the next episode

My recommendation for the producers: Think of this type of serial project like an album. The placement of the songs creates a structure. Use that structure to support your intent. Don’t just drop in your favorite episode because it is your favorite. My supposition is that this is the first episode they did and these are posted in the order they were produced. That was not a thoughtful decision and it shows.

In terms of content, the episode makes a meal out of a very small item. There is obviously an expectation of shock value that music is being listened to and used. For people who have any exposure to music and the influence it has on society the applications discussed are not unique, and honestly are barely interesting. Swap out ISIS with any hate group and you can find a similar set of circumstances. There were many ways to make this a deeper story with more impact in the listener.

From a craft perspective, this really needed a better editor. The theme of the episode is disjointed, as the narrator moves on many tangents and does not effectively tie them back to the main narrative. Also, there isn’t a clear point other than: “oh look at that.”

This series does much better with the Home episode and the music for cats episode. While not all of the episodes kept my interest that was because of personal taste. This one almost stopped me from continuing to listen because it happens to be less well done.

Don’t let that happen to you. Check out some other episodes first.