Andy Beta

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Planetarium Year 3 Deep listening in deep Ridgewood and knowing that state of pure unknowing

Latest Substack post about some deep listening out in Ridgewood this past weekend feeling "that sweet, fleeting state of pure unknowing": andybeta.substack.com/p/planetariu...

YouTube video by Ghostface Killah - Topic Stroke of Death

youtu.be/N24Xxd0X3PU?...

Andy Beta's book - Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane - held up against a wall of books.

We’ve been eagerly racing through the proof pages of Andy Beta’s Cosmic Music: The Life, Art & Transcendence of Alice Coltrane

If you’ve wandered into our shop on a Sunday morning, there’s a good chance you’ve heard either Journey in Satchidananda or World Spiritual Classics: Volume I on the stereo

Recycle it

😔

It was sold to me as OBAA with Brazilian needle drops instead of Steely Dan. It far exceeded those expectations, but the Paebiru usage was next level.

Ptah *does* transcend the confines of time and space

"Every day, I wake up and see the news and I'm horrified. I think it is crazy that some people make it sound like it's acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable." - Victor Wembanyama says about the killings in Minnesota

Via DonHarris4/X

Cowboys of the AFC

God reunites world's greatest rhythm section ✨

Scrooge from Muppet Christmas Carol: You there, boy! What day is it? Bean Bunny: Why, it’s Whiskey Friday with Tony Dokoupil, sir! Scrooge: Then I haven’t missed it!

Just shared this one Facebook, because I had to get the words out. Sharing here in case its in any way useful to you.

agree, still magical

I've been fortunate in that respect, like coming across a copy of Akwaaba.

Gaywads, Dorkwads Sign Historic Wad Accord ROCKVILLE, MD—In a historic show of wad solidarity, delegates representing gaywads and dorkwads signed the first-ever Wad Alliance Treaty Monday in the cafeteria of Adlai Stevenson Memorial High Schoo...

And not a peep from their gaywad allies: theonion.com/gaywads-dork...

Failed Ethnomusicology in Laos and Thailand - Believer Magazine

Another funny thing I realized about Marley's influence in my world travels is that –like an invasive flora/ fauna– he's also obliterated native music elsewhere. Heard Legend so often in Thailand, India, Cambodia, Laos. That and Cake.
As touched upon here: www.thebeliever.net/failed-ethno...

Or as I told him on DM, "going to miss you going off the "90s angsty white guy" beat, but then I realized who blasted Legend the most during my time in a South Texas high school/ college...

Legend “magically crossed over all national and racial boundaries with a pluralist vision of ‘one love’ that legitimated the national narrative of a multicultural America.” Massive dive by @ericdharvey.com

Cosmic Music The first full-length biography of Alice Coltrane, the jazz musician and spiritual leader whose forward-thinking music was overshadowed by her more famous hu...

Book Announcement: On March 3rd, Cosmic Music: The Life, Art, and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane will be out in the world. Pre-order at your local bookstore, directly from Hachette, or that other website that sells books: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/andy-...

I didn't even see this one! Someone told me that he played with her and since he's on The Elements and Illuminations, I figured it would be him.

As I mentioned to @tylerwilcox.bsky.social my guess is that it's Ndugu playing drums in her trio

At a certain point, I had more engagement just digging a hole in the backyard and yelling an announcement than I did posting on FB/X.

It's on page 279, great find!

Cosmic Music: The Life, Art, and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane Swamini left us nineteen years ago, yet her legacy continues to grow

Nineteen years ago today, Alice Coltrane/ Swamini Turiyasangitananda left this world. Yet her music continues to resonate and grow: andybeta.substack.com/p/cosmic-mus...

A reminder of some of the new books we’ve announced we’ll be publishing in the first few months of 2026. Still more to come (keep an eye out), as well as some of our existing favourites moving into paperback, so there’s plenty to look forward to…

Robert Haigh A conversation with the minimalist composer/ hardcore DnB pioneer on crafting ideal piano music for the bleakest part of winter

"I don’t really see a great deal of difference between my recent work and my ‘80s stuff. Some 30-40 years on I’m obviously a different person, but the musical preoccupations remain much the same.” Robert Haigh on his @unseenworlds.com trilogy of sublime piano music: open.substack.com/pub/andybeta...

And buy Lee Morgan Live at the Lighthouse while you're at it! They won't reissue the full recordings for another 44 years.

Amina Claudine Myers An interview with the AACM alumni on playing in the church, having the Holy Spirit enter the room, performing a play without dialogue, and going to the source.

"Hopefully what I’m doing is inspiring people and healing some people. You know maybe they are healed by what they hear."
A conversation with Amina Claudine Myers and the album that imparted some solace in 2025:
open.substack.com/pub/andybeta...

[racks brain to think of last time I went to a show there]