It’s late December 2023. The presents are wrapped, the cookies are out, and Brenda Lee’s 65-year-old song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has overtaken Mariah Carey’s holiday “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on the Billboard Hot 100. Streaming created this bizarre holiday miracle just as streaming changed everything about how the entire music industry defines success. (Presented by Deloitte).
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With
Thomas Germain is a technology reporter at Gizmodo and one of the hosts of the Quartz Obsession podcast. He is obsessed with guitar pedals, finding new restaurants, and his TikTok account.
Drew Gillis is news editor at the AV club. He is obsessed with Beyoncé, running and Taco Bell.
Show notes
Brenda Lee Charts on X (formerly Twitter)
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” official video
Credits
This episode of the Quartz Obsession was produced by Freddie Beckley, with additional support from Executive Editor Susan Howson and Head of Video Garth Bardsley. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media’s headquarters in New York.
