Can't Get Much Higher

Over the last few weeks, there has been an explosive beef between hip-hop stalwarts Drake and Kendrick Lamar. What started out as a standard tit-for-tat has devolved into a volleying of nuclear bombs, accusations of predatory behavior, domestic violence, and absentee parenting flying with abandon. If you want a summary of a situation that is starting to require way too much time to follow, I recommend these pieces from Stereogum and Pitchfork. Nevertheless, this back-and-forth got me thinking about how hip-hop diss tracks are really part of a larger, less defamatory tradition. As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. If you want to here songs and their answer songs, check out this playlist that I made on Spotify. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

A couple of months ago, I read a fascinating piece from the publication Stars After Stars After Stars called “How I got booted as a Grammy voter,” which detailed allegations of fraud at the Grammys. This week I decided to investigate those claims.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

One of my favorite newsletters is Dan Epstein's Jagged Time Lapse. In each edition, Epstein captures how music intersects with our lives in unexpected ways, how it can send us hurtling through space and time, how it can be both magical and mundane. This week, Epstein brings one of his stories to Can't Get Much Higher. If you enjoy it, make sure you subscribe to Jagged Time Lapse.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

For decades, the film industry made lots of money by windowing releases. First, you had to pay to go to the theater. Then you had to pay to get the VHS. Then a television network had to pay to air it. Music never worked like this. The model was (and is) to release everywhere all at once. This week we explore how music should be taking a cue from Hollywood of yore.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Beyoncé announcing the lead single to her latest album Cowboy Carter in a Verizon commercial during the Super Bowl reminded me of how intertwined music and commerce have become and how selling out isn’t an idea anymore. This week we try to figure out what happened to selling out.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

In 2023, only 36% of recorded music revenues in Japan came from streaming. 55% came from physical sales, the large majority of which was from CDs. This week we explore why CDs remain so popular in Japan.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, Rolling Stone magazine published an article about Suno AI, a startup that allows you to generate two-minute songs from a text prompts. I was playing around with this music-generation tool and was both blown away and scared. It made making music way too easy. It made me wonder if that ease was an issue.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

A few weeks ago, I met somebody who named their newborn daughter Lennon. That’s odd, I thought to myself. Given that the name Lennon is derived from the surname of John Lennon, I assumed it would generally be used for newborn boys. I decided to download some data to find out. Lennon, it seems, used to be more popular among newborn boys. Now, it’s mostly used for newborn girls. But in order to figure this out, I had to download 150 years of naming data from the Social Security Administration. I dove into that data to see what else I could learn about how pop culture influences names.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever disliked an artist because you thought their music was dishonest? Maybe they were pretending to play an instrument that they couldn’t really play. Maybe they were doctoring up their vocals with pitch correction and effects. This week we dive deep into the idea of musical honesty to learn that it has no objective meaning. Whether you listen to folk or EDM or rock or anything, you’ve been fooled by recorded music.As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple or Spotify. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s story comes from George Ball, a recent graduate with a love for all things music and data. Ball recently came across the fact that Avril Lavigne released her hit song “Girlfriend” in multiple languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, and German, among others. He uses Lavigne’s translations as a jumping off point to dive into the past and future of artists singing in different tongues. As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple, Spotify, or Substack. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Over the last decade, many popular publications have claimed that music festivals are getting more similar. I decided to look at 12 of the biggest festivals to investigate. As a reminder, this is the podcast version of the newsletter Can’t Get Much Higher. Click here to read the newsletter. It contains charts, graphs, and pictures that will color your listening. Click here to listen on Apple, Spotify, or Substack. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Inspired by a fan question about tons of young artists dying in the 1960s and 1970s, I try to understand if that was when the most actually did die. As always, you can click here for the written version of this podcast. The written version contains charts, pictures, and graphs to color your understanding of the topic. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

In 2024, The Recording Academy pushed that it was the year of women at the Grammys. This week, we decide to investigate that claim, along with sharing a fascinating anecdote about Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. As always, you can find the written version of this podcast here. It contains images, graphs, and charts to color this discussion. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, was the 65th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death. Inspired by that sad anniversary, I want to talk a bit about the tragedy of dying young. Please note that this is the audio companion to my newsletter. For the written version of this episode, click here. For a playlist of every new song that I’ve recommended, click here. For a playlist of every old song that I’ve recommended, click here. Get full access to Can't Get Much Higher at chrisdallariva.substack.com/subscribe