This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading “data-driven storytelling.”
In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically.
While I have told many stories from my life (and those of my ancestors), I rarely discuss my personal tastes (with exceptions here and here and, to a lesser extent, here).
This includes my taste in music (other than what is written on my About Me page).
In fact, it usually takes the death of a musician I admire for me to write about music, as I did with…
- Walter Becker (of Steely Dan)
- Pat DiNizio (of The Smithereens)
- Pete Shelley (originally of The Buzzcocks)
- Ric Ocasek (and Ben Orr) of The Cars
- Rick Davies of Supertramp
In every case, I was describing my tastes within the context of a larger story.
As I did with two post about The Beatles: why I thought I hated them, and how I came to love them.
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One reason I rarely write about my tastes in music is that on March 24, 2018, I pretty much said everything I need to say about them. Inspired by giant wall charts detailing the 2004 and 2007 Boston Red Sox seasons—superior examples of what I call “data art,” I created a graphic that displayed—in technicolor splendor—all 9,500+ tracks on my classic fly-wheel iPod by year, artist and genre.
What I intended to be a quick overview of the chart’s highlights became an epic, 4,300+ word journey through dozens of my favorite musical artists, more or less chronologically by genre.
It remains one of the best posts I have ever written–certainly the most comprehensive.
Well, until that time I constructed the soundtrack for my Interrogating Memory book.
And I was inspired to turn these Thanksgiving playlists into “surrealist epic poems”:
Meanwhile, in June 2021, I finally began to explore how I rank my favorite music.
Part 5 (My 100 Favorite Tracks)
Part 6 (My 100 Favorite Albums)
Part 7 (My 100 Favorite Artists and Conclusion)
Before turning to analyses of “the Second British Invasion,” that is…
Until next time…please stay safe and healthy! And if you like what you read here, please consider making a small donation here. Thank you!
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