Weird Reagan Posts, Recession Pop, and Nixon's Love for Rap: Link Drop

The news, podcasts, albums, and stories that I've enjoyed in the last month.

Can’t Get Much Higher’s link drop is a monthly series for paid subscribers where I discuss art, news, and stories that have gotten me thinking and laughing in the last 30 days. Before we dive into one man’s crusade to rescue forgotten music, Bob Dylan’s old-fashioned release method, the industry’s crusade against AI, a priest who loves Cher, and so much more, I want to say thank you.

A few days ago, I published a story where I investigated my grandma’s claim that Frank Sinatra performed at her high school. The response to that story has been tremendous. In fact, it’s looking like it will be my most popular piece ever. Thank you for reading!

Links, Links, Links

News from Inside the Music World

“Record labels forgot these songs existed. One man rescued them” by Mark Savage (BBC)

When you open up your streaming service of choice, you can find all of the music you could possibly want. Well, not exactly. There are gaps. Some of these gaps are obscure, like Mr. Blobby’s 1993 self-titled novelty hit. Others are a bit more vital, like Ray Charles’ 1977 album True To Life. The importance aside, a British man named Rob Johnson has gone on a crusade to bring these streaming gaps to light. As a lover of musical ephemera, I thank him.

“Girly Pop and Kamala Coladas” by

Casey Lewis

(After School)

Casey Lewis got some exclusive insight into the summertime listening of Gen Z listeners.

Spotify released their song of the summer ranking today, and they were kind enough to share some Gen Z-specific listening data with me. The top descriptors for Gen Z user-generated playlists created this summer include “girly pop,” “brat summer,” “romcom,” “indie rock,” and “recession pop,” and the top songs of the summer based on Gen Z listeners are: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish (same as overall global list), “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar (+1 compared to overall), “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter (+1 compared to overall), “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan (-2 compared to overall), and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey (same as overall)

“Independent Music Titans EMPIRE Comes to Bandcamp” by Bandcamp Daily Staff (Bandcamp)

Bandcamp, the digital music store that every independent artist loves, announced a first of its kind partnership with EMPIRE, one of the world’s largest independent labels. As labels look for better ways to monetize listeners, I think we will see bigger labels come to Bandcamp too.

Musical History to Write Home About

A year before the official release of Bob Dylan’s classic “Blowin' in the Wind,” he made the antiquated decision to release it as sheet music in Broadside.

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The Beatles performing at Liverpool’s Cavern Club on August 22, 1962, just a few days after Ringo Starr joined the group. I can’t believe two things about this footage. First, that it exists. Second, that they already sound so good in mid-1962.

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While researching a question last month about the legacy of the 1990s swing revival, I was alerted to the fact that swing was so popular in the 1990s that the swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played the Super Bowl halftime show.

Online Posts that Gave Me Life

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Musical Trends to Keep an Eye On

“Tidal launches royalty tracking features for artists” by Ivan Mehta (TechCrunch)

“Music royalties,” Ivan Mehta writes, “are Byzantine in their complexity.” That’s underselling it. While most artists are aware of their recorded music royalties, they often aren’t aware of other royalties, like performance and mechanical royalties. Tidal is trying to make a difference in this space by centralizing the collection and distribution of these other royalty streams. This is super exciting and a space in desperate need of innovation. Here’s to hoping that innovation continues.

“2024 Mid-Year Music Industry Revenue Report” by Matt Bass (RIAA)

The good news? Streaming revenues continue to grow. The bad news? The growth rate has slowed down from a few years ago.