David Burgess
davidnburgess.bsky.social
David Burgess
@davidnburgess.bsky.social
I write stories about music, business and other things

https://medium.com/p/0222245e6969
Making Europe great again...

From top to bottom ETFs for Spanish, Italian, German and US stocks for the last 3 months.
April 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Is this Spotify's response to revelations of its Perfect Fit Content (PFC) strategy and commissioning of ghost artists to fill "lean back" playlists with content it owns, thus avoiding royalty payments?

www.billboard.com/pro/spotify-...
Meet the Editors Crafting Some of Spotify’s Top Playlists: ‘I Can Assure You We’re Not AI’
Spotify's playlist editors discuss AI, reveal how they compile the platform's flagship listening stations and share misconceptions about their roles.
www.billboard.com
April 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A shout-out to #GuitarCenter, El Paso. A guitar that I bought from GC online arrived with a broken switch. The El Paso in-store tech checked it and when it looked like it wasn't going to be an easy fix, they took the guitar back and gave me a full refund. No hassle.
February 23, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees for 2025 are quite good:

Bad Company; The Black Crowes; Mariah Carey; Chubby Checker; Joe Cocker; Billy Idol; Joy Division/New Order; Cyndi Lauper; Maná; Oasis; Outkast; Phish; Soundgarden; The White Stripes.
February 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Ranked - Albums of The Cure.

The release of an excellent late-career album is a good time for a retrospective. This story combines fan and critic rankings to determine the definitive ranking.

1. Disintegration (1989)
2. Songs of a Lost World (2024)
3...read the story

bit.ly/3Pjs7t6
Ranked: The Albums of The Cure
Their latest is an impressive late-career achievement
bit.ly
January 2, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #1= "The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow" by Charles Lloyd

#1 on the critics' top 20 at bit.ly/3DqE25L

In this series, the last time a jazz album was #1 was 1964. Universally acclaimed by critics for its emotional depth, hopeful tone and fluid creativity.
December 20, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #1= "Imaginal Disk" by Magdalena Bay

#1 on the fans' top 20 at rateyourmusic.com #44 with critics at AOTY

It's unusual for something this poppy to do so well on RYM - an indication of its artistic vision. There's still life in art pop.

#MagdalenaBay #artpop #ImaginalDisk
December 19, 2024 at 6:32 PM
December 19, 2024 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by David Burgess
This piece from @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social very much worth a read.

@bylinetimes.bsky.social
"By not confronting the complexities of how questions of politics are now intimately connected in new ways with people's emotionality and psychological drives, via tech, the Labour Government leaves Britain open to the risk of dark forces emerging through the ballot box here" 👇
The Psycho-Social-Techno Politics of ‘MAGA’ Trumps Democracy – And the Liberal Left Has No Answer
Donald Trump’s second victory in the United States is a warning sign to democracies everywhere of the centrality of emotions – and their manipulation – in the new politics of gross inequality and psyc...
bylinetimes.com
December 17, 2024 at 3:15 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #1= "The Tortured Poets Department" by Taylor Swift

For the first time in this series, none of the #1 albums on the fans, critics and Billboard lists appear on the other top 20s. So it's a 3-way tie for #1.

TTPD spent 34 weeks on the Top 200, 17 of them at #1.
December 17, 2024 at 8:18 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #4 "Songs of a Lost World" by The Cure

#4 on fans' and #3 on critics' top 20s.

Warms the cockles of my heart to see them back after 16 years with a pretty good album. Mortality, loss, bleakness and beauty. Good stuff for Cure fans.

#thecure #songsofalostworld
December 12, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Me: Maybe some good will come out of this if it prompts health insurers to improve their claim handling policies and procedures.

NYT: “Health insurance companies have increased security measures since the killing of …”

Me: Or not.
December 12, 2024 at 3:42 PM
This might be a good time to reflect on "the banality of evil" - the idea that most evil acts are committed by ordinary people who do not think critically about their actions. Or as Simons Weil said, “real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring".
December 11, 2024 at 8:51 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #5= "Eternal Sunshine" by Ariana Grande

2 weeks at #1 on Billboard, 38 weeks in the Top 200 so far.

Critics largely praised it as a mature evolution in Grande's artistry. Most applauded its emotional honesty and polished production, though some found it too restrained.
December 11, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #5= "The New Sound" by Geordie Greep

#2 on the fans top 20, absent from critics' and Billboard top 20s.

Debut solo album from ex-Black Midi front man. Mixes big band jazz, Latin rhythms, and progressive rock, overlaid with his distinct vocal style.

#music #geordiegreep
December 10, 2024 at 4:42 PM
Top Albums of 2024 #8 - "Brat" by Charlie XCX

The only album to score the trifecta - fans', critics' and Billboard top 20s. A cultural phenomenon.

Balances vulnerability with club-ready bangers, offering some introspection beneath its glossy exterior.

#brat #charliexcx
December 9, 2024 at 6:06 PM
Top Albums of 2024 - #9 "We Don't Trust You" by Future & Metro Boomin.

1 week at #1 on Billboard and 36 weeks in the Hot 200.

A mixed bag from a rap power duo. Strong openers but loses focus midway. Great beats, uneven rapping, and too much filler make this a project of hits and misses.
December 8, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Top Albums of 2024 - #10 "Night Palace" by Mount Eerie.

Join me while I count down the top 10 albums of 2024 based on fan and critic top 20s and Billboard #1s.

#3 on the fans' top 20 - the first Mount Eerie album in five years blends meditative soundscapes with rock elements.
December 7, 2024 at 6:34 PM
Jaguar's radical rebrand isn't another Bud Light - it's targeting a new generation of luxury buyers and influencers with avant-garde design and electric innovation. With sales cratering, they're betting everything on ultra-luxury EVs. Bold move, but their old path was a dead end.

#jaguar #EV
December 7, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Top Albums of 2014. Metal faded significantly. But there was much more experimentation in all genres. Billboard was more fragmented than ever - 33 albums made it to #1, only 2 had sustained runs, the Frozen soundtrack and 1989 by Taylor (foreshadowing, much). bit.ly/3OIQP5O

#music #2010s #albums
The Top Albums of 2014 — from Frozen to Swans
Metal fades, art pop rises, soundtracks are back!
bit.ly
December 6, 2024 at 6:09 PM
Musk and Ramaswamy tout ‘Doge’ plan on Capitol Hill – but will it work?

DOGE steals the homework of the GAO!
December 6, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Top Albums Core Sample - 2014. This chart combines fan and critic ratings and Billboard #1s. It is a musical snapshot of 2014.

#music #hiphop #rock #metal #dangelo #freddiegibbs #madlib #swans #frozen #taylorswift #beyonce #coldplay #jasonmoran #topalbums #2010s
December 5, 2024 at 3:59 PM
This story identified the 10 housing markets in the US with the greatest decreases in housing inventory compared to pre-pandemic levels and those with the greatest increases in inventory. Of the former, 7 voted for Harris in the 2024 election. Of the latter, 8 voted for Trump. bit.ly/3Bpq0k1
These local housing markets are shifting—just look at inventory
Some housing markets in the Southwest and Southeast are weakening, while others in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern California are tight.
bit.ly
December 4, 2024 at 7:40 PM
Science "discovers" what is already understood.

"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk was published 10 years ago and has been on the bestseller lists ever since because it confirms lived experience. Scientists criticized it for promoting pseudoscientific claims.

bit.ly/3CWp2MF
Memories are not only stored in the brain, study finds
New research shows non-brain cells can form memories, opening new pathways for enhancing learning and treating memory-related disorders
bit.ly
December 4, 2024 at 7:16 PM
Top Albums of 2004 - even more fragmented than 1994. 8 artists are on both fans' and critics' top 20s, but no fan or critical favorites made it to #1 on Billboard. 29 albums made it to #1 - the most in this series - but only 4 occupied the spot for more than 2 weeks. bit.ly/49orl7a
#music
The Top Albums of 2004 — Even More Fragmented
Hip hop, metal and…auteurs?
medium.com
December 4, 2024 at 4:11 PM