I was introduced to Chris Dalla Riva, who I’d describe as an analytics-driven music historian. He wrote Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. I know very little about music but I’m fascinated by objective measures of subjective taste. I enjoyed our talk and look forward to reading the book for yet more fascinating question fodder. Topics!
00:01:14 – Big question: Is taste objective or culturally constructed?
00:02:01 – Top-down vs. organic creation of hit music in the 50s–60s
00:03:36 – Why 1950s hits often centered on death and tragedy
00:05:01 – Data-driven approach: listening to every Billboard #1 song
00:09:47 – “Vibe shifts” in music (e.g., Kurt Cobain / Smells Like Teen Spirit)
00:11:20 – How technology shapes music evolution (from Jimi Hendrix to Frank Sinatra)
00:13:03 – Do lyrics actually matter? Case study: It Wasn’t Me
00:18:01 – Organic viral hits driven by DJs and accidents (pre-internet virality)
00:29:32 – “Uncanny” factor in hits (e.g., Pumped Up Kicks)
00:34:08 – Strange trends of the 90s (swing revival, genre fragmentation)
00:41:10 – Death of monoculture vs. rise of creator freedom in the internet era
00:52:38 – Taylor Swift as the “last monoculture superstar”
