Punditry Entertainment
Is there a formula for a hit? Three studies — songs, movies, audiobooks — each with a choice engine that ranks everything else against the one you name, and each engine read as a magazine.
Hit Songs
What separates a Billboard year-end hit from the rest of the Hot 100, 1960–2010 — the study, the slides, the workbook.
Open → songs-ceSong Engine
Name a song; the engine ranks the rest by CE and VSM and saves a list to Spotify.
Open → songs-magSong Magazine
The song engine read as a magazine: a spread per song — sleeve, what it's about, the hook, the chart record, the sound — and its nearest neighbours.
Open → drummers-ceDrummer Engine
Over 300 drummers on Hot 100 records, 1960–2009: name one and the rest are ranked by how much their records sound alike.
Open → drummers-magDrummer Magazine
The drummer engine read as a magazine: a spread per drummer — portrait, bio, the records they played on — and their nearest neighbours.
Open → moviesHit Movies
The companion study: US box-office hits, 1980–2020.
Open → movies-ceMovie Engine
Name a film; the engine ranks the rest and saves a list to Letterboxd.
Open → movies-magMovie Magazine
The movie engine read as a magazine: a spread per film — poster, synopsis, logline, box-office record, the shape of the film — and its nearest neighbours.
Open → audiobooksAudiobook Engine
3,132 audiobooks with cover art, ranked against the one you name; US and AU stores.
Open → audiobooks-magAudiobook Magazine
The audiobook engine read as a magazine: a spread per title — cover, synopsis, hit record, store links — and its nearest neighbours.
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