humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of music professionals, amateurs, inspiring students, celebrities, lifestyle influencers, and general feel good human stories in the music sphere.
The Spotify Playlist That Turned a Family Road Trip Into a Multi Generation Sing Along
I have to say that my 20 year old niece has an impressive array of music on her Spotify account. Then again, many of you would be fair in purporting that she has great taste in music all round. Why? Firstly, she is into vinyl records, and secondly, this playlist impressed the majority of my Generation X family in the car, as well as yours truly (a Millennial, and such an unexpectedly cool playlist being worthy enough to share this intimate ten track playlist globally). And of course this playlist impresses her as part of Generation Z.
By Justine Crowley4 months ago in Beat
I Asked 50 Americans How Much They Make – The Answers Broke My Brain
I spent last week in a rabbit hole I didn’t expect: asking strangers on the internet how much money they actually make. ‎ ‎Not CEOs. Not influencers. Just 50 regular Americans. Teachers, nurses, baristas, truck drivers, software engineers. Ages 22 to 58. I pulled data from Reddit’s r/salary, ran a quick anonymous poll on X, and slid into a few ‎I thought I knew what the answers would look like. I was wrong. The numbers broke my brain. ‎ ‎1. The $75k “middle class” myth is dead ‎12 of the 50 people I talked to made between $70k and $80k. That used to be the dream salary. The “you’ve made it” number. ‎ ‎Here’s what they told me: ‎- Mark, 34, project manager in Texas: $78k. “After taxes, rent, car payment, and groceries, I have $200 left. I can’t afford a house. I’m middle class on paper and broke in real life.” ‎- Jasmine, 29, nurse in Florida: $74k. “I work night shifts. I picked up a second job at Target. I still live with a roommate.” ‎ ‎$75k in 2026 isn’t “comfortable.” In most US cities, it’s survival mode with a 401k. ‎ ‎2. Six figures doesn’t mean what you think ‎I found 9 people making over $100k. I expected them to be chill. They weren’t. ‎ ‎- Dev, 28, software engineer in Austin: $135k. “My rent is $2,800. Student loans are $900. Daycare is $1,700. I’m paycheck to paycheck.” ‎- Rachel, 41, HR director in Chicago: $112k. “We make $190k combined. We still can’t buy a house. Our 1-bedroom apartment is $3,100.” ‎ ‎The surprise wasn’t the salaries. It was the expenses. Childcare, housing, and debt ate six figures alive. Three of them used the phrase “I feel poor” unprompted. ‎ ‎3. The lowest earners were the most generous ‎The people making under $35k had the wildest budgeting hacks. And they gave the most detailed answers. ‎ ‎- Luis, 24, barista in Phoenix: $27k. “I meal prep rice, beans, and chicken every Sunday. $40 for the week. I donate plasma twice a month for gas money.” ‎- Tara, 52, school cafeteria worker in Ohio: $31k. “I haven’t been to a dentist in 8 years. But I send my grandson $50 every birthday. Non-negotiable.” ‎ ‎They weren’t angry. They were just tired. One person told me: “You get used to saying no to everything.” ‎ ‎4. Nobody knows what their coworkers makes ‎I asked all 50 people: “Do you know what your coworkers earn?” ‎ ‎47 said no. ‎The other 3 found out by accident and said it “ruined work.” ‎ ‎- Kevin, 36, warehouse lead: “I trained a new guy. He makes $3 more than me. I’ve been here 6 years. I stopped volunteering for overtime.” ‎- Alicia, 27, marketing: “We all assume we’re underpaid. But we don’t talk about it. HR made us sign something.” ‎ ‎The secrecy is intentional. It keeps people from asking for raises. And it works. ‎ ‎5. The most shocking salary wasn’t the highest ‎It was Brittany, 31, teacher in South Dakota: $44k. ‎ ‎She has a master’s degree. She buys pencils for 28 kids. She works summer school to afford her mortgage. ‎ ‎“I love my students. But I’m on Medicaid. I teach kids who qualify for free lunch, and I qualify too.” ‎ ‎That one sat with me for days. ‎ ‎So what broke my brain? ‎Three things: ‎ ‎First: The numbers don’t match the cost of living anymore. $100k is the new $60k. $60k is the new $35k. And $35k is poverty with a job title. ‎ ‎Second: Almost everyone feels behind. The barista feels behind. The engineer feels behind. The only people who didn’t were two retirees I included as bonuses. Everyone else is running a race where the finish line keeps moving. ‎ ‎Third: We’re all lying to each other. On Instagram, everyone’s on vacation. In my DMs, everyone’s stressed about groceries. The gap between “public salary” and “real life salary” is a canyon. ‎ ‎What I learned ‎I started this asking “how much do you make?” I ended up learning how much it _costs_ to be American in 2026. ‎ ‎The answer: More than most people have. ‎ ‎And the scariest part? 41 of the 50 people told me they expect to make more next year. Only 6 said they expect expenses to go down. ‎ ‎We’re not in a money crisis. We’re in a math crisis. The math doesn’t work anymore. ‎ ‎So yeah. My brain is still broken. Because after 50 conversations, I’m not sure “middle class” exists. Just “temporarily not drowning” and “drowning.” ‎ ‎
By Michael Skylas 4 months ago in Beat
Where Words Fail Music Speaks
"Where words fail, music speaks" we've all heard this quote and some of us have that tattooed on our wrists or arms to remind us. Yet how do lyrics in songs mean so much? It would be the same if it was poety would it not? isn't that basically what lyrics are just poetry. of course, one may argue that classical music can influence emotions, which can be hard to reach without the music. Even in movies, if we change the background music, the whole scene shifts and feels different evoking different emotions throughout the movie. That I understand that "music speaks louder than words" or "where word fail music speaks".
By Adrianna M. Braun4 months ago in Beat
Art, Mastery and History in Dance
On May 2, 2026 I finally had a chance to see Beka and Nika Nozadze's live performance. It blew off all my expectations. I've been following Beka's Facebook page ever since I arrived in Tbilisi and was eagerly awaiting to see a dance program rather than the amazing shorts he puts out on social media.
By Lana V Lynx6 months ago in Beat
