Ben's guilt-free rules for Spotify listening

Jazz Festival reflections. [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( Daily Reader | September 3, 2024 Went to the Chicago Jazz Festival this weekend, and had a fabulous time—especially on Saturday when I was listening to saxophonist Kenny Garrett and his band. Garrett and his bandmates played the songs from his 2021 album, Sounds From The Ancestors. It was so good that I pretty much lost my mind. When the performance was over, the critics agreed it was the greatest show at Millennium Park since the [Soul Train tribute]( in 2011, featuring [Don Corneilus](. OK, I was the only one who said that. And I’m not a critic. But still . . . I went home and started listening to Garrett’s albums on Spotify. Must have listened to [Sounds From The Ancestors]( 23 times (in honor of Michael Jordan). At first I told myself I wasn’t really listening to it so much as sampling it. But after a while I thought, “Who are you kidding, Benny, old boy?” As my guilty conscience kicked in. Call it Spotify guilt. I’m sure you have it, too . . . or should. We know Spotify rips off its artists. Musicians get relative pennies in royalties compared to the good old days when we had to buy their records, tapes, or CDs to enjoy their music. Couldn’t just listen to it on our phones for free. So I’ve come up with my own personal Spotify policy that goes like this . . . I will not listen to any artist on Spotify unless they are . . . oh, how to delicately phrase this? Well, unless they are dead. In which case, I can listen to them as many times as I want. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Hey, Benny, what about their heirs?” To which I say, “Are you a lawyer?” As cruel as this may sound to some, the heirs are sort of on their own here. Now, in the case of artists who are living, it gets a little complicated. If I’ve already purchased their products, I feel free to listen to them on Spotify. I think this is fair. In the case of my favorites, like Stevie Wonder or the Beatles, I believe they’re way ahead of the game, since I’ve purchased multiple copies of their same albums in LP and CD format over the years. I could argue that when it comes to Paul McCartney, he may even owe me money. The good news is that all is well with the Kenny Garrett situation. I bought a couple of Garrett’s CDs off the Internet and I’m good to go. In fact, I went back and listened to Sounds From The Ancestors another three or four times. As you can see, I get obsessive about these things. Garrett’s got a way to go before he catches up with my listening numbers for Songs in the Key of Life—a record I’ve probably listened to well over 1,000 times. At least. One last thing: whoever came up with the idea of inviting Kenny Garrett and his band to the Chicago Jazz Festival, thank you, thank you, thank you. 🎙 [Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 ◈ [The Way the World Ends]( by Jess Walter: so good in so many ways. Not the least of which is it pays homage to the time Johnny Cash got busted in Starkville, Mississippi for picking flowers. Worth reading just for that. ◈ [Katie Prout]( with a different view of the DNC ◈ [Ben Joravsky]( (2004): “Let Them Lift Cake,” on the Chicago Park District closing a longtime weight room facility ◈ Former Oak Park mayor Anan Abu-Taleb and attorney Richard Goldwasser: [a plea for peace]( ◈ Chicago Sun-Times editorial board member and columnist Rummana Hussain: [Tulsi Goes MAGA]( ◈ Miles Porter and Saul Rodriguez of the At Bat podcast: [Oh, those Sox]( [a coffee shop with a tiled counter and a menu on the wall]( [Migos Fine Foods is the halal southern-fried taqueria you didn’t know you were hungry for]( Frontier chefs Brian Jupiter and Azazi Morsi meet their neighbors’ needs in Portage Park. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [a group of people sitting on chairs holding playbills]( [Meta musical]( PrideArts’s [title of show] is a goofy homage to creativity and collaboration. by [Matt Simonette]( | [Read more]( → [a group of people on a stage with a woman standing on a table]( [Stabbing at shadows]( Black Button Eyes and Factory close out the summer with genre homages. by [Kerry Reid]( | [Read more]( → [Billy Harper prays and preaches through his saxophone]( The underappreciated giant of spiritual jazz makes a rare midwestern appearance at the Chicago Jazz Festival. by [Steve Krakow]( | [Read more]( → We’re one month away from the UnGala! Open bar. Grammy-nominated entertainment. After party. These are three reasons to attend the UnGala, the Reader’s biggest fundraising event of the year. We started throwing the UnGala three years ago, and it’s not just a party – it’s a pillar of our strategy for sustaining the Reader as a nonprofit. Get your tickets now! [THE UNGALA IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY: GRAB YOUR TICKETS NOW!]( Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, August 29, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 30]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. 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