Weekend Beacon 4/20/25

Play It Again, Spotify

REVIEW: ‘Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist’ by Liz Pelly

Berklee College of Music Professor Attacked Jews as 'Vile Predators' and Blamed Them for Slavery

'All these so-called Jews mad, because how dare I make them face the facts of their sordid past and present,' Nicholas Payton said in 2020

Harris Campaign Paid $100K to Obama for ‘Travel’ and $58K to Rapper Cardi B, Who Claimed She ‘Didn’t Get a Dollar’ From Campaign

Cardi B had said she paid 'out of pocket' for Harris campaign appearance

Alternative Energy

REVIEW: ‘The Name of This Band is R.E.M.: A Biography’ by Peter Ames Carlin

REVIEW: ‘A Complete Unknown’

Watch in wonder as Bob Dylan slays Communists!

Getting a Handel on Success

How a composer's life can be a template for the West

Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and Black Barbershops: How Kamala Harris Whittled Away Her Campaign War Chest in the Election's Final Days

Team Harris paid $900k to musicians in waning days of ill-fated campaign

Quincy Jones Should Be Remembered for His Jazz, Not His Jackson

‘There’s music, and then there’s the music business.’

Nashville Hot

REVIEW: ‘Cocaine & Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette’ by Tyler Mahan Coe