Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves

(Hardback)

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Description

Popular music history collides with data analytics, charts, and numbers in this insightful and surprising look at the greatest hits and musicians, fads, forgotten artists, and much more. Data analyst and musician Chris Dalla Riva reframes everything you thought you knew about music over the last 6 decades.

Did you know that artists began writing and producing their songs more regularly before singer-songwriters like John Lennon and Bob Dylan even splashed on the scene That Motown changed how Americans view Black women That the key change died around 2003 That theres strong evidence that the pop charts were fixed in the 1970s

Coupling hard data with engaging anecdotes, Uncharted Territory is both a takedown and celebration of popular music that will start as many arguments as it ends - whether you danced the twist or the dougie at your senior prom. On the surface, this approach might seem generally inaccessible and highly technical. But its not. This entertaining history is filled with the most popular musicians of all time, including The Beatles, Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, and Drake, among many others. Dalla Riva uses unexpected statistics and tons of playful visualizations to make you think about those musicians, their songs, and the movements they were part of in new and interesting ways. Music and pop culture lovers will gain new insights into their favorite artists and learn more about the inner workings of the music industry.

Reviews

Its easy to forget that sitting around and talking music with friends is about as fun as it gets. Chris Dalla Riva captures the feeling of spirited in-person discourse about records in book form. He brings to the table a raft of knowledge bolstered by deep analysis of relevant data, so youll learn something new on every page. But he also realizes that numbers in music are more useful for starting conversations rather than ending them, so youll walk away remembering his ideas and opinions rather than stats. -- Mark Richardson * rock and pop music critic, Wall Street Journal; former Editor-in-Chief, Pitchfork *
Chris Dalla Rivas beautiful mind navigates the intersection of culture and data, making us appreciate art by looking and listening again and again. -- Will Page * author of Tarzan Economics and former Chief Economist of Spotify *
Chris Dalla Riva has written a fascinating, rolicking journey through musical history. By tracing the rise and fall of trends at the top of the charts, Dalla Riva holds a mirror to our cultural evolution allowing us to better understand ourselves based on the music we're obsessed with. The book is a data-stuffed musical delight that could only be done by Chris Dalla Riva. -- Walt Hickey * Pulitzer Prize Winner; Author of You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything *
This book shines a light on the choices, patterns, and instincts behind the hits we love and the songs we write. It reminds me why I fell in love with songwriting in the first place and gives me new ways to think about how I approach my own writing. -- Evan Bogart * award-winning songwriter and CEO of Seeker Music *

Author Bio

Chris Dalla Riva lives at the intersection of music and data. Playing in bands and recording music since his teenage years, Dalla Riva is currently a Senior Product Manager at Audiomack where he focuses on data analytics and personalization. He writes the popular newsletter Cant Get Much Higher and has had his work featured by The Economist, Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, the London School of Economics, and NPR, among many others. He currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey with his four guitars. Tiktok: @cdallarivamusic / cantgetmuchhigher.com.