‘So many of these how-does-music-work articles and books seem to view music as one thing, as a standardized mechanical apparatus whose tricks can be figured out. And music is peculiarly prey to trivializing questions. Perhaps I’m overlooking stories in other fields, but I don’t seem to see headlines along the lines of ‘How do paintings make us feel?’ or ‘Why do movies with unhappy endings make us cry?’ or ‘What about thrillers makes us tense?’ ”