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Chris 1 and Chris 2: Data is nice, but what's the context? The Beatles started in an entirely singles-sales industry, so people needed to know the title of the song to ask for at the record store. Top 40 radio ruled a monoculture in which everyone listened to the same songs, and radio DJs announced and then back-announced the name and title of each song. The 1970s audience fragmented, and the knock on disco was that some songs consisted of nothing but the title, repeated. ("Boogie Oogie Oogie" to "Stayin' Alive" and "Fly Robin Fly.") I don't know if Chris G. has spotted a trend, or is just jammin' on numbers. Since streaming, the Billboard charts are almost useless, since artists load up on tracks declared "singles" and monopolize charts that only a contortionist could comprehend. But writing is about telling stories, searching for meaning. The data don't move me, daddy-o!

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You’re partially hitting on what drew me to Chris’s idea in that where the title lands in a song seems to be connected to the evolution of song structure, technology, and the industry at large

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Thanks Chris D R. I do not want to be an ungracious scold, and I have great appreciation for what you do. What I did want to mention is a major reason why I retired in May 2024 from St. John's U, where I taught pop music criticism and writing classes each semester for 12 years. Some students no longer know the names of the songs, or the album (if any) that it's from: Their connections are through their phones, and their relationship to music is totally functional: for working out, running, studying, making out. It's all background to them. Streaming music is a public utility, like water from a faucet or electricity lighting up a bulb. They lack meaningful connection to analyze why a song is important to them. Perhaps this is my way of acknowledging there is a reason that Chris is on to something: it doesn't matter where the title is in a song as long as it is on a playlist the listener accesses. And noting how often the Beatles began their songs with the title just emphasizes how smart they were in their time.

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Don’t worry. Didn’t take it that way. Always appreciate your perspective. And I think you are onto something. Streaming can make music feel like a very passive experience.

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