Through most of the 1980s, I bought a copy of the music trade magazine Billboard every week. Friends and I pored over its singles and albums charts, seeking insights into that week’s most popular music. I also calculated the top artists each week, as well as the top singles, albums and artists of each year. … Continue reading Charting the Second British Invasion: The Singles
Category: Billboard magazine
Dispatches from Brookline: Home Schooling and Social Distancing VIII
I have described elsewhere how my wife Nell, our two daughters—one in 4th grade and one in 6th grade—and I were already coping with social distancing and the closure of the public schools in Brookline, Massachusetts until at least April 7, 2020. Besides staying inside as much as possible, we converted our dining room into … Continue reading Dispatches from Brookline: Home Schooling and Social Distancing VIII
Rituals and obsessions: a brief personal history
It started with “Taxman” by The Beatles. Its distorted vocal opening had gotten stuck in my head despite my stated antipathy toward the band—really more pose than position, in retrospect. Whenever I run a bath, I like to be in the tub while the faucet(s) run. Until quite recently,[1] when the tub was nearly full, … Continue reading Rituals and obsessions: a brief personal history
Organizing by themes V: Popular music
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 … Continue reading Organizing by themes V: Popular music
Just Bear With Me... 