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The stuff about musician nonpayment/payola is interesting and well-documented here (including efforts to unionize/resist/subvert it by musicians). Getting paid for music isn't something i personally care about, but the book does a good job and tying it to broader problems that exist right now wrt labour and the gig work economy, which is very relevant to the types of work I do (and as a participant in all this). HOWEVER, as a punk the real brain-breaker was solidifying my understanding of the tech end of how big data analysis and playlist curation shape broad understandings of genre and shape how people make (and consume) music. The example explored in the book was hyperpop but I can see exactly how hardcore and punk slot in. All the evils of the regular ol music industry plus unhinged levels of digital surveillance and squeezing every possible drop of money and attention out of both consumers and artists (who, spoiler alert, are also considered as consumers). Evil genocide-mongering billionaires. Everything is bad about Spotify. I knew it was bad bad but actually learning how the sausage gets made is truly horrifying. I am so upset. Preemptive apologies to everyone I will punish about this topic in the near future. I hope people who use the platform (in both senses) will read this.

Didn't finish this cover to cover, but read the main bulk of stories (there are many many notes, sources, alt versions of texts etc). I might try to track down a hard copy of this, if not to have at least to look at because its chock full of illustrations and they're incredible. I read a lot of new fiction and I decided I wanted to challenge that habit a bit this year, so for my first big book I went reeeeeal old. Excellent, if too effective bedtime reading (the whole book is literally bedtime stories) means I usually fell asleep after a few pages and it took me over a month to finish. This is the first collection of 1001 nights stories translated by a woman (british-syrian translator Yasmine Seale), and her input in the selections highlighted stories with strong and prominent women characters, as well as pushing back against the orientalist vibe of previous editions. All that said, the stories are also genuinely delightful and fun and wacky, wrapped up into a compelling meta-narrative. All in all really happy I read this.