There’s been plenty of discourse over the years but I’m finally at a place in my life where I’m ready to admit September is the best month. And it’s not just because it’s my birthday month, although it is slightly because it’s my birthday month. But what better way to spread the holiday cheer than to gift you with disorganized music-related images/articles/memes/tweets/essays/thoughts that I’ve had bookmarked for god knows how long!
While this title was originally meant to quote Bo Burnham, I would like to dedicate it to the Ultimate Music Daddy (I hope one day someone calls me this someday), Bob Boilen, host of All Songs Considered and inventor of Tiny Desk, who announced he was leaving NPR after 35 years. He shaped the way I listened to and learned about and leaned into music and, simply put, this very Noots Letter would not exist without him.
If you’re addicted to doing the NYT Crossword and assign, I don’t know, your whole self-worth to whether you can finish it and how fast, you’ll enjoy the music-themed one from Sunday, September 18.
Do you know your husband’s been thinking about the Roman Empire? And now everyone is, maybe too much? One TikToker asked what the female equivalent of this phenomenon is, and some folks (me) landed on this video of “Silver Springs” from 1997. First it was Daisy Jones, now it’s girlies saying their exes will never get away from the sound of their names. While the world’s longest Wikipedia page will suffice if you want to get caught up on Fleetwood Mac lore, this is also a great essay by the author of A Little Devil in America.
If you celebrated 50 Years of Hip-Hop last month, the celebration can continue with this epic compilation of samples in hit songs over the past half-century. This is superhuman behavior. An expansive overview of extensive brilliance, and incredible video to match.
Last week, Chappell Roan was announced as an opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour. This week, she is releasing her debut album. She’s also headlining her own (mostly sold out) Midwest Princess tour—see you there October 18! I will not shut up about how I think she’s the next huge pop superstar… Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I think about this cartoon whenever I see someone in a band graphic tee.
Pudding.cool is easily the best website you can spend your time getting lost in. somewhat heartwrenching depiction of how few non-male-identifying people have hit songwriting credits. And another interactive one about groove/rhythm, which is especially informative if you’ve ever clapped on the 1 and 3.
Sure, some are afraid of AI taking their jobs. But try asking a bot to write you a song with SongwrAIter and you might change your mind. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has even tried it too.
On the note of artificial intelligence, automation, and algorithms, it’s hard to get excited about the new Spotify rollouts these days. Once upon a time, it felt like my Discover Weekly was handcrafted for me by distinguished playlist artisans. Now, the DJ and the ever-changing Day List make me wonder if my most-used app…even knows me at all :/ ?? Can it even begin to capture my multitudinous interests??? In How To Do Nothing (excerpt below), Jenny Odell hit on exactly what I’ve been saying for years, which is that you need intentional human disruption—or maybe just car radio—to add variation to your listening. So if your Spotify account seems constantly confused, I guess that’s a good thing.
With the proliferation of musicians and resulting lack of massive superstars, it’s become common for singers to become very famous among very niche groups of people. If you’ve ever wondered, “Who is still listening to Bebe Rexha?”, this article is for you.
If you’re looking for music recommendations on Instagram rather than Substack, then you’re probably not still reading this. But in case you are, @SavingConnie is a phenomenal account for discovery.
Here’s an article called Great Songs With Parenthetical Titles.
Here’s a man with songs about over 3000 towns in America.
Here are the Songs of the Summer 1962-2022.
Here is a text that describes my mood this week, and often:
One of the best themed parties I’ve been to this year was the recording of this Christmas album (in July). The idea is to get a lot of non-singers drunk, and then professionally record one single take of them (myself included) covering a famous carol (badly). I cannot recommend enough.
If connecting everything back to musical theatre is illegal, lock me up big time. But Olivia Dean’s cover of “Cool About It” by Boygenius? Ladies it’s giving 11 o’clock ballad. Also, Olivia Rodrigo’s “bad idea right?” is literally a modern patter song and I won’t back down.
New Mitski album out now. Praying for ur heart. See u at the end of the month.