Category Archives: Music History

White Paper: Band Dynamics and Stability of Lineups for Bands Named After a Member of the Band

Posted on November 4, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary This paper examines the sociological, economic, and psychological dynamics of musical groups that bear the name of one of their members—whether the titular figure is a solo founder, a symbolic leader, or merely the most marketable face of … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Fatalism, Agency, and Relational Identity in CHVRCHES’ “Leave a Trace”

Posted on October 27, 2025 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper examines the theme of fatalism and the construction of relational identity in CHVRCHES’ 2015 single “Leave a Trace.” Drawing upon the song’s lyrical content, public commentary by lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry, and broader philosophical conceptions of fatalism, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Musical Partnership of the Female Singer and Male Producer

Posted on October 27, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Throughout the history of popular music, a remarkably consistent pattern has emerged: the collaboration between a female singer and a male producer or instrumentalist. From The Carpenters to Everything But the Girl, from Frou Frou to Billie Eilish … Continue reading →

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Why Fine Young Cannibals Never Made a Third Studio Album — and What Happened Next (1989–present)

Posted on October 22, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) were one of the most successful UK-to-US crossover pop acts of the late 1980s, scoring two U.S. #1 singles and a U.S. #1 album with The Raw & the Cooked (1989). Yet the group … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Resolving The Split of the Jets

Posted on October 22, 2025 by nathanalbright

1 – Executive Summary The Jets emerged in the 1980s as a successful family band of siblings from the Wolfgramm family, achieving significant chart success and global tours.  Over time, the group fractured: siblings formed separate touring line-ups, legal disputes … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Michael Bolton’s Hidden Legacy as a Songwriter

Posted on October 20, 2025 by nathanalbright

I. Executive Summary Michael Bolton is widely recognized for his powerful tenor voice and late-1980s chart dominance with songs like “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Yet, before and alongside his … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Ship of Theseus Problem in Popular Music: Bands, Identity, and Continuity

Posted on October 16, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The “Ship of Theseus” problem asks whether an object that has had all its parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object. In the context of musical groups, the question becomes: when every member of a band has been … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Unfortunate Anonymity of Little River Band—and the Struggle Over the Legitimacy of Its Identity

Posted on October 16, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Little River Band (LRB) had one of the strongest U.S. chart runs by any Australian act in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet in 2025, many casual listeners know the hits but cannot reliably connect them to … Continue reading →

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White Paper: “Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer (1992): Authorial Intent, Documented Meanings, and Critical Reception

Posted on October 10, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Drawing on published interviews with Tasmin Archer and her co-writers as well as contemporary retrospectives, this white paper finds that “Sleeping Satellite” is explicitly about the achievement and aftermath of the Apollo Moon landings and the disappointment that … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Better Man and the Truth of Robbie Williams: Artifice, Confession, and the Performance of Self

Posted on October 7, 2025 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper examines Better Man (2024), the feature film biopic directed by Michael Gracey and centered on British pop icon Robbie Williams, through the intersecting lenses of production, narrative structure, and public reception. The film’s unusual use of a … Continue reading →

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