Why Every Hit Pop Song Sounds the Same Now
November 5, 2025
38 min
Full
112 of 191

November 5, 2025
Why Every Hit Pop Song Sounds the Same Now
0:00 / 38:48
Excerpt playback isn’t available for this episode — use the full-episode link.
Search the Record
Moment search isn’t open for this episode yet
When it opens, you’ll be able to type any phrase and jump straight to the second it was said.
Taylor Lorenz Episodes Around November 5, 2025
Episode 112 of 191 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
38:48This episodeWhy Every Hit Pop Song Sounds the Same Now
Summary
<p><strong>SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenz"><u>https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenz</u></a> </p><p>Buy a subscription to <a href="https://www.usermag.co" rel="noopener noreferer" target="_blank">my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine</a> to support my work!!!! 🙏 </p><p>Did you know that hit songs in the late 1950s were regularly about gruesome death? Or that a US vice president wrote a number one hit? Chris Dalla Riva is one of my favorite music journalists out there. He writes the substack <a href="https://www.cantgetmuchhigher.com/"><u>Can't Get Much Higher</u></a> where he publishes pieces on the intersection of music and data. </p><p>A couple years ago he embarked on a quest to listen to every single number 2 hit from the last six decades, and wrote about what he learned in his new book <em>Uncharted Territory</em>. The book is part celebration, part takedown of popular music, and also provides new ways to think about your favorite songs, genres, and artists. This book is genuinely so good and changed the way I think about so many songs and just how different periods in history were reflected in the music from their time. </p><p>Chris joined me this week to discuss the past half a century of number 1 hits and what they say about our culture, political system and world at large. </p><p>Follow me:</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz"><u>https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz</u></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0"><u>https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0</u></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz"><u>https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz</u></a></p><p><br /></p>
Episode details and artwork are published by the show’s own feed. Sentinel plays short cited excerpts and links every episode back to its publisher.