Can't Get Much Higher

Welcome back to Can’t Get Much Higher, the internet’s favorite place for music and data. If you enjoy this newsletter, check out my book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. It’s a data-driven history of popular music that I wrote as I spent years listening to every number one hit in history. This week we dive into the weird trend that sees Baby Boomers and Gen Z teaming up more regularly than ever.

My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days. This week’s theme is “hip-hop groups,” meaning albums by hip-hop acts with at least three members.

After the longest break I’ve ever taken from anything ever, I am newly wed, freshly honeymooned, and back to tell you about all things music and data. Today’s piece is one that I have had kicking around for a while. If you enjoy this newsletter, check out my book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. It’s a data-driven history of popular music that I wrote as I spent years listening to every number one hit in history.

My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days. This week’s theme is “supergroups,” meaning albums by groups where at least 50% of the members were already well known for either a previous group or solo career.

Chris here. Between my wedding, honeymoon, and all related matters, I will be pretty busy throughout this month. Because of that, some friends have volunteered to take over this newsletter while I’m away. Today’s piece comes from Charles Olney, a writer behind Oh That Magic Feeling, a newsletter that is discussing and ranking each Beatles song through the year. Olney gave me the choice to share a few of his upcoming newsletters.

My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days. This week’s theme is “punk ladies,” meaning punk albums released by bands where at least 50% of the members are women.

Chris here. Between my wedding, honeymoon, and all related matters, I will be pretty busy throughout this month. Because of that, some friends have volunteered to take over this newsletter while I’m away. Today’s piece comes from AJDeiboldt, the musician and writer behind The High Notes. This piece tells the oft-misreported tale of the development of the concept album, or an album focused around a particular story or theme.

Chris here. Between my wedding, honeymoon, and all related matters, I will be pretty busy throughout this month. Because of that, some friends have volunteered to take over this newsletter while I’m away. Today’s piece comes from Eric at Track Ten.

My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days. This week’s theme is “short and sweet,” meaning albums that run for 25 minutes or less. Inspired by last week’s “long closers” theme, it’s actually harder than you think to find albums below the 25-minute mark.

Chris here. Between my wedding, honeymoon, and all related matters, I will be pretty busy throughout this month. Because of that, some friends have volunteered to take over this newsletter while I’m away. Today’s piece comes from Alex Walker, the writer behind The Bargin Bin, a newsletter about “cultural miscellany.” A week ago, we featured a piece from John Taylor about British superstars who never crossed over in the US.