I'm intrigued by APPLE MUSIC's new push to create playlists of what your friends are listening to—there's nothing more valuable in the music discovery space than your own friends and colleagues, if you ask me—but if your new SAMSUNG phone has SPOTIFY pre-installed and deeply integrated, what's the chance you'll bother navigating and downloading your way to that Apple feature, or anything on Apple? On the other hand, if you're a VERIZON customer and you're handed six free months of Apple Music, what's the chance you're going to want to explore the world of Spotify playlists and radio? Because, face it, while people like me debate the relative merits of this service's programmed playlists vs. that service's algorithms, and while artists compare notes on penny royalties, the people in the C-suites are probably spending a tiny bit more time comparing mobile partnerships. The hookup between Spotify and Samsung, announced on Thursday, seems huge, making Spotify the official musical heart of the Samsung universe from phones to TVs to speakers. As ROLLING STONE spun it, "Spotify Is Done Fighting Apple Music—and Ready to Take On Apple." Apple, as in the company that not only has its own built-in phone manufacturer but also is now making sweet musical harmonies with a little provider called Verizon. Similar deals are piling up throughout the music space, and why not: "It's on the home screen" and "it's free" are better arguments than "it's a good algorithm" every time. But but but. Those algorithms and those programmers still better be good. Funny thing about music fans: We like good music, and we're kind of weirdly specific about it. We don't expect our $9.99/month services to be as good friends as our actual friends, but the closer you come, the more likely we are to come to your next party... You know what else we like? A nice low frequency oscillator, or a good voltage-controlled filter. And all those other buttons on knobs on our favorite electronic devices. MusicSET: "Music Machines: How Synthesizers Changed the Sound of the Future"... Work it!... DAVE GROHL, he plays many instruments... On the big screen this weekend (limited release): LEE ARONSOHN's 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING: THE MAGIC MUSIC MOVIE, a documentary about a semi-legendary Boulder, Colo., jam band... On digital screens (everywhere): NINA KRAVIZ's full set from TOMORROWLAND... It's FRIDAY and that means new music from NICKI MINAJ, MILES KANE, FOXING, TIRZAH, MOSES SUMNEY, YOUNG NUDY, TRIPPIE REDD, THE BETHS, THE WAR AND TREATY, GORGON CITY, NEF THE PHARAOH, JASON MRAZ, JORDAN SMITH, KORAN STREETS, SINSAENUM, JAKE SHEARS, LIZ COOPER & THE STAMPEDE, DAWN LANDES, DJ MUGGS/SOUL ASSASSINS, SHOOTER JENNINGS, JASON EADY, DEREK MINOR, ROBBIE FULKS & LINDA GAIL LEWIS, KODALINE and THE PROCLAIMERS... Plus: three new QUAVO songs, one new song by a group that consists of actor LAKEITH STANFIELD, SONG EXPLODER host HRISHIKESH HIRWAY and TUNE-YARDS, and, this seems important too, TOTO's studio cover of WEEZER's "HASH PIPE"... RIP PROKID and PATRICK WILLIAMS.