MARCH 11, 2025|BOOKS & REVIEWS
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Endless Refrain by David Rowell
What would a world without any new music sound like? Perhaps we are already there, a reality music writer and journalist David Rowell explores in this deep exploration of the current and potential future of music and those who create it. From considering what it means for holographic versions of dead musicians to be going back on tour, to the impact of digital listening platforms like Spotify on music discovery—this is an wide-reaching but also deeply personal look at the forces subverting music and what it might take for all of us to ensure a future for new music.
It starts with something all of us could spend more time doing: choosing to discover new music. Reading this book immediately made me think about how complacent I have been in the music I listen to and inspired me to broaden my listening choices via Spotify. That’s one part of the answer. The other is to make choices to financially support music and musicians, particularly beyond the music that reminds you of your past. You also need music that can help you imagine a different and new future.
About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:
| Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed. |
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How It All Started
A Short Backstory Of This Blog
This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.
