#Jacob Collier is one of those people who I look at and think HOW | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

onestowatch · 2 years

Text

Meet Ethan Bortnick, the Artist TikTok Is Calling “Beethoven Meets Billie Eilish” [Q&A]

In his debut breakout single, “cut my fingers off,” Ethan Bortnick wastes no time launching into a dizzying series of piano presses. It serves as a spellbinding introduction not just to the song but to the artist behind the viral single. And yet, in many circles, Bortnick needs little introduction. The classically-trained piano prodigy spent the better part of his formative years touring across the United States, playing the likes of Michael Bublé and “the classic hits” to amazed audiences. However, the elated Bortnick, the one who sits across from me on his first trip in two years, is one completely reborn.

While the last two years put much of the world on pause, for Bortnick that allowed for a moment of respite, a chance for the teen artist to ask himself what he wanted to really do, what he wanted to create. What was his music? What was his sound? The answer he arrived is one he is still in the midst of telling, from the controlled chaos of “cut my fingers” to the restrained, striking reflection of his latest single “prom.”

I had the chance to sit down with Bortnick ahead of the release of “prom” to talk about discovering his sound, growing up without feeling like growing up, and a passing similarity to Conan Gray.

youtube

Ones To Watch: Your new single “prom” follows your viral breakout hit “cut my fingers off.” How would you say the two songs differ?

Ethan Bortnick: In terms of the songwriting, it's a lot more resonant and more about the actual song itself as opposed to where “cut my fingers off” is more about here's the sound; here's the piano. “prom” is more reserved as well as what I've gone through. It's a good representation of myself.

Speaking of “prom,” like many people your age, you were never actually able to experience prom.

Yeah, that’s the point of the song. I did not have a prom. I don't have a driver's license. I had barely held anyone's hand before quarantine. All this shit that I missed out on, whether it be through me traveling as a teen, missing out on school, and then, of course, quarantine. Those two years I was quarantined strictly because my little brother is immunocompromised, so we didn't leave the house. This is my first trip ever in two years. That's what “prom” is about. It's about all the shit that I missed out on and feeling a sense of I’m growing up but it doesn't feel like I’m growing up.

So what did quarantine look like for you how did it shape your relationship with music?

It was very different from my previous everyday life.When I was small, I picked up the piano and singing, eventually ended up on The Tonight Show and Oprah, had three to four national public television specials on PBS, the whole Michael Bublé, old hits, classic stuff, and some originals. I was non-stop up until about 18, 19 and quarantine gave me a little bit of a break from it all. That's when I decided all right, “I'm going to start making music that I really want to make. I graduated high school, because I was two years behind. I picked up um Ableton and production. Quarantine was really the first moment where I got a chance to dig in and ask myself “What is my sound? What do I want? I gave myself six months before applying to college to see if anything would go anywhere and then “cut my fingers off” was teased. That’s the story.

Would you say you’ve landed on your sound?

I think it took me a couple years to figure out what I, wanted but i always knew that this is the thing that makes me special (Bortnick places his hands on the piano) and will help me stand out from a lot of what's out there. It was just a matter of figuring out how do we make this cool. Piano is not a very prevalent instrument. You'll hear it occasionally in ballads and you'll hear it used in some Coldplay songs, but other than that I hadn't seen anybody really utilizing the instrument like a guitar per se. Dylan really helped with honing me in, because I was kind of Jacob Colliering. Eventually we found it and now it's just a matter of developing it. There's so many ways to go about it, so um that's really what the next few songs are going to be, really getting the full scope of who I am.

Give us your elevator pitch to a stranger of your sound.

It is hard to explain, but the comment that I get the most on TikTok is “Billie Eilish meets Beethoven. And then a lot of people tell me I look like Conan Gray, which I don’t see it. I think it's just the hair.

It’s definitely a compliment. He’s very beautiful.

Yeah, 100%, but I don't see it at all. At all.

What originally drew you to the piano?

I was about two. I went to a a Montessori daycare type, and I remember they had after school piano lessons for the older kids, the five-year-olds. So, I went up to my parents in diapers and I was like, “Yo, I want piano lessons.” And they're like, “We're not paying for that. You're gonna quit after two lessons.” I took a little toy keyboard I got for like my first birthday and I just started listening to a lot of the music that my parents would, a lot of classical, and I would start copying it on my little toy keyboard. I didn't know it at the time, but that's when I figured out that I have perfect pitch. My parents saw that and they're like “Well, we’re convinced.”

As a piano prodigy turned breakout artist, do you have any passions outside music?

I'm a huge cook. I'm a big foodie. I pretty much cooked dinner every night in quarantine; I didn't allow my parents to cook. Huge anime fan, manga, the whole deal. I'm a huge Pokémon nerd. I’m trying to turn my home studio into a Gengar-themed studio.

Favorite anime?

One of my favorite animes is Soul Eater. I love Soul Eater. It's funny I’ll get a lot of comments that you’re like the main character from Your Lie In April in real life which is really fun.

Hopefully without the tragedy aspect of Your Lie In April.

(laughter) Without the really intense part, yeah, thank god.

What are you currently most excited for?

I think the coolest thing, at least with this trip, is that I’m a very visual person and so music and visuals go hand in hand for me, so the fact that I actually had an opportunity to create something out of a vision that I had for this “prom,” I think it’s really exciting for me. I've never had the opportunity to do that. It's another nugget of my artistry and personality, I’m really excited about putting that out there. Mainly, I'm so fucking stoked to play a live concert. I miss it. Performance is my thing. It’s pretty evident on TikTok, because I injure myself filming. I am afraid of what's going to happen when I play my first live show (laughter). I grew up on the stage, so I’m just waiting to fucking shred for like five, ten minutes.

#ethan bortnick #interview #prom #new artist discovery #pop

10 notes · View notes

toogoodmusic · 3 years

Audio

THE TOO GOOD TEN with Brandon Gorman of Wild Love

With a mission to bring the attitude back to pop music, meet your new favorite band Wild Love. The international band combines singer and songwriter Brandon Gorman from Ireland, guitarist Michael Crecca from New York in America and bassist Saygīn Geçener from Turkey as the three enter a new era of Wild Love. Evolving their sound into a hook-driven pop sound that looks to incorporate their previous sound of lively driven rock without “dropping the guitar” the groups returns with the energetic indie-pop-rock song “I Hate That I Need You.” As the group looks to step “out of the filter” with “no bullshit anymore in their lyrics, sonics or how they present themselves” Too Good Music got the opportunity to ask frontman Brandon about the new era of music, how a chance bus stop encounter led to the band’s formation, their craziest fan encounter and so much more. Check out the full Too Good Ten interview below.

The Too Good Ten. Ten Questions. One Artist. Too Good.

1. Starting from the beginning – you guys all met during a “chance high school bus encounter in Virginia” despite being from all over the world (Ireland, Turkey, New York). What’s the full story there? Did you all know right away you guys would be become a band?

WILD LOVE: The full story is I met out former drummer at a bus stop, but it also stretched out over a few day period. I had just moved to America, and I was invited to a party where I met our bass player Si, but we didn’t talk the whole night. Next day we just happened to be heading to DC for the day with a mutual friend and we just hit it off about music. I told him I was starting a band and needed him to play bass and that was it. We played our first gig two weeks later. I think we did know, because we could sense the passion and there is nothing more attractive than that.

2. Congrats on the release of “I Hate That I Need You.” What’s the story behind this one? How did you decide to release this one as the introduction to the new era of Wild Love?

WL: Thank you, yeah the title kind of says it all like. I was having some issues in a relationship and my internal monologue just slipped out. There isn’t much to it other than what’s there. I’m a fairly frank person and you can tell how I'm feeling by just looking at me, so I definitely have been trying to just channel that into my songs. The song also took about 5 minutes to write, which is slightly annoying because I pour hours of time in songs and half of the time, they are rubbish. Yeah, this one just felt right you know. I think it is a great introduction for what’s about to come from us as a band.

3. For you – what’s one thing you need but hate that you do?

WL: Target honestly and I just can’t stop going, I look for any excuse to go there. I don’t even buy anything, but yeah, I need help.

4. Speaking of the new era – this new music is going to be more pop leaning than the more rock sound Wild Love has focused on. What went into the decision to make this transition? What is it about pop music that made you want to explore it more?

WL: I don’t really think there was much of a decision, it has been the natural progression over the last few years in my writing. I have always been such a huge admirer of Pop music old and new. From ABBA to One Direction to Dua Lipa, it's something that is so undeniably brilliant. I found myself listening less to lyrics and more melodies and I think I wanted to chase those myself. I also felt on the more deliberate side of things that pop music has been lacking an attitude for a while and people also don’t give a shit about rock music anymore because everyone sounds like The 1975. So we found ourselves wanting to go after these sounds and hopefully fill a void that I think is there -- give pop the attitude and frankness that it needs.

5. On September 10th you’ll be playing your first full band, in-person live show with The Foxies in Nashville. What are you most looking forward to for that show? What can fans expect from a Wild Love concert?

WL: Just getting in front of people again. Live shows have been this band’s bread and butter for years, it’s the things that gets us the most excited. So getting into a room with people who are all on the same wavelength and just have this moment with everyone is something we’re clamoring for. You can expect a high energy show. Real instruments being played loud by guys who have watched too many videos of Iggy Pop and Sex Pistols.

FOR TICKET INFORMATION CLICK HERE.

6. What was the biggest thing you learned about yourselves (as a band or individually) from going through the past year and a half in quarantine/pandemic?

WL: I learned that you have to have happiness outside of what you love. Once live shows were taken away, I found myself in a space of really lacking purpose. Writing music was definitely a huge help and something I feel very lucky to have had the time to hone in on, but I needed to find something outside of music that makes me happy. So I hiked more, started going to the gym, and being a more present person in my life and my relationships. So yeah, I learned that I was very much in the music and not in much else.

7. What’s the most memorable (funniest/ craziest/inspiring/etc.) fan encounter you’ve ever had?

WL: A girl we know got our band name tattooed on the inside of her mouth which I think is pretty fucking wild.

8. If you had the ability to headline any music festival or musical event – which would be a dream for you to perform at? What would be your closing song for the event?

WL: Either Glasto or Slane Castle in Ireland. Glastonbury is just so iconic, and it has the best crowd in the world. Then Slane Castle is just a few miles down the road from my hometown. I have been and will be dreaming about both my whole life, so here’s to hoping one day I don’t have to dream. I’d say we would end with “I Hate That I Need You” right? It’s just one of those tunes that you can let loose to.

9. For each member, if you could only listen to (5) artists for the rest of your life who would they be?

WL: For me, it’d have to be ABBA, The Vaccines, Arctic Monkeys, Kelsea Ballerini, and Blur.

For Mike, it’s probably Frank Ocean, Bruce Springsteen, Queens of the Stone Age, Bleachers and Arctic Monkeys.

And for Saygīn, I’d say it’s Dayglow, Tame Impala, Hippo Campus, Jacob Collier and Omar Apollo.

10. What’s the rest of 2021 and early 2022 look like for Wild Love?

WL: Push “I Hate That I Need You,” play some more shows, release new music, and hopefully get out on the road and over to Ireland and the UK. Just excited to get out there and show everyone the new stuff we’ve been working on.

A huge shout-out to Wild Love for the time and congrats on the release of the new single, “I Hate That I Need You.” To keep updated with the group and that upcoming music and shows be sure to follow along by checking out the links below:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

4 notes · View notes

lunaticlua · 4 years

Text

how do you make a home? // part 7

series masterlist

also available on ao3

a/n: hi! college is taking up most of my time this week. this chapter doesn't have much going on, but i like it nonetheless. soon, we will embark on a more canon part of the story. hope you like it :)

additional note: the title of the chapter is from 'time alone with you' by jacob collier ft. daniel caesar

gif by @mclines

chapter 7: time alone with you

“lay all day in bed with me and teach me how to love ya” (time alone with you – jacob collier ft. daniel caesar)

Lulu is scrolling through her Instagram feed on her bed Sunday morning, enjoying the sun's rays entering her bedroom and warming her body, when she hears a tapping. She gets up and walks to it. After opening the curtain completely and lifting the windows, she finds a pile of blonde hair and a pair of ocean blue eyes grinning at her. She tries to hide the growing happiness on her heart as she speaks. “JJ, what are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Seeing you,” he shrugs. “Now, can I come in?”

“Yes, but you do know that we have a door, right?” She jokes as he is jumping through the window into her bedroom and almost falling. She notices the same backpack he had with him the day prior on his back. Before sleeping, she revisited all the instances that should have given her a red flag about the state of his home life, but she hadn’t paid too much attention until now. Him practically living at his best friend’s house was one of those.

“Of course, I do. But this way is more romantic.”

“Oh, you are romantic now,” she teases, even though she is aware that she can’t stop smiling at his antics. His silly behavior had been the biggest cause of the lightheartedness that came with seeing him every workday of the last month, despite her attempts at closing herself off and not letting him in.

“Always have been, babe,” JJ winks with a juvenile smirk as he comes closer to her, taking her into his strong arms.

“I am ‘babe’ now?”

“Could have been earlier if you wanted to.” Instead of answering, she simply laughs, savoring the closeness of the hug. The comfort that it brings to both of them is unmatched. Lulu loves her aunt and uncle more than anything else in the world and she is forever grateful for having them in her life. JJ recognizes that, without the Pogues by his side, his life would be so much harder and sadder. But they know wholeheartedly that, even as cliché as it sounds, they had found a safe heaven on each other’s embrace.

The teasing atmosphere is gone by the time Lulu stares into his kind, loving eyes. Bearing her soul to him and listening to his deep secret the day before solidified the feeling she had been harboring for the boy. The words they hadn’t spoken yet are evident on their gazes and smiles. He leans forward, placing his callous hands on her rosy cheeks and connecting their lips.

As the kiss deepens, she moves her hands to his shaggy hair, feeling its softness through her fingers. His heart skips a beat at the caring touch. A lifetime with a negligent, runaway mother and a violent father made him unaccustomed to this kind of affection, even though the Pogues weren’t shy at showing their love for one another.

After some time, they end up, laying on her bed. Lulu has her head rested on his chest and he is playing with her fingers, relishing on the comfortable silence and on each other’s company. She props up and turns to look at him, still leaning on him. “Tell me something no one knows about you.”

“I am the best surfer in Outer Banks,” he deadpans.

“Be serious,” she pouts at him.

“I am! People should acknowledge this, but they don’t. It’s a shame,” she stares at him skeptical. “Okay, okay... Let me think.”

“I am waiting.”

He sticks his tongue out at her, making her laugh. “My real name is John Jackson.”

“John Jackson?”

“Yeah. For some odd reason, people in this island love to name their children John. But, since I became friends with John B in third grade, I go by JJ. I don’t even think Pope and Kie know my actual name.”

“I like it. Your name,” the answer brings out a smile on his face.

“It was my grandfathers’ names. My parents wanted to honor them or some shit. I think that the last person that called me John was my mother, but, after she went away, it is weird,” he grimaces, as it clearly is a sensitive topic for him.

“It makes sense. My mom used to call me Luluzinha, which it is an affectionate Brazilian way of saying Little Lulu. My aunt tried to keep calling me that, but I hated it. It sounded so wrong in another person’s mouth after everything.”

“You miss your mom a lot?”

“Every single day,” she replies, touching the star pendant on her necklace that it used to belong to the woman. “Do you? Miss your mother, I mean?”

“Not really,” he tries to sound nonchalant, but she notices the conflicted emotions on his eyes. “Tell me something no one know about.”

He changes the subject and she accept it without questioning. Talking about family is not easy for everyone and she understands it. “I like taking pictures.”

“Of yourself?” He asks with a malicious smirk, moving with a loose strand of her brown hair from her face.

“No! Pictures of places, of things, of fully clothed people.”

“Bummer,” he jokes. “You are any good?”

“I think so. The school paper back in Ohio used my photos quite a lot.”

“Can I see it?”

“Of course,” she voices cheerfully. His interest on her and all the things surrounding her never failed to make her happy. She gets up from the bed and walks to her closet, pulling a big box. It is filled with the pictures she took and revealed through the six years she been doing this. She picks some of her favorites, the majority from the two year. “It is not much. There weren’t many exciting things back there but photographing the football games was nice. I liked the movement and the emotion of it.”

He goes through the ones she puts on his hand, analyzing it carefully. “I don’t understand a lot about art and stuff, but these are good.”

“Thanks.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Since I was ten. When I moved to Ohio to live with Auntie Rita, I was appointed a therapist. I didn’t speak for a long time after that night. It was hard and Betty, the therapist, she said that I should try to find a way to express myself. After some time, I began talking again. Sounds dumb, but it made sense.”

“It is not dumb. It helped you, right?” She nods and he pulls her into his arms again. “Whatever helps you with all this pain is not dumb. Nothing regarding you is dumb.”

“Thank you, J,” she kisses him lightly. “I know this deep down, but it is hard to remember.”

They get back to lying position, cuddling. They are in complete silence for some minutes when he breaks it. “I want you to meet my friends.”

It draws a genuine smile from her. “Tell me more about them.”

“I think that you will get along with Kiara fine. She is this environmentalist, hippie chic. Her family owns the Wreck. She is actually a Kook. You know what a Kook is, right?”

“I grew up here, JJ, remember?” She quips, thinking about the Pogue v. Kook thing that everyone learned at a young age.

“Anyway, she is rich, but for some reason she likes us better than the trust fund kids from the Kook Academy. She is bossy and creative. Pope got the brain, but Kie is the one who actually makes sure that we don’t get arrested.”

“I already like her, then.”

“Of course, you do. Oh, man, you two being friends will be the death of me,” he grumbles, prompting a giggle from her. “Pope is the one who will get out of here. He has a scholarship lined up for him. He just needs to pass this one last interview, which he will definitely do, because he is the smartest person I know. And there is John B. The one who lets me crash at his place practically every other night. He is my best friend. His dad disappeared at the sea some months ago. He is in denial. Kie humors him with it, but we know that he is not coming back. No one get lost at sea these days and lives to tell the story,” he ends with a sad expression. Big John had been a father figure for him as well and his death shock him hardly.

“Is he living by himself?”

“Technically, no. His uncle is his legal guardian, but he hasn’t been home for months now. This would be a good thing during the summer, if DCS wasn’t all over John B because of it.”

“This sucks.”

“Yeah, it does. Family is a messy thing.”

He holds her tighter and brings her closer to his chest, seeking comfort with the action. Sensing that he is not on the mood to continue to talk about it, she just looks up to his face. His eyes are closed, preventing her from seeing the ocean of emotions present in it. He seems peaceful like this: lying down with her by his side. She analyzes his sun-tanned skin and his blonde hair, taking in his beautiful face.

“I like you,” he opens his eyes startled. “I know that it is pretty obvious now, but I wanted to say it either way. You are the first person my age who got close to me and I am happy that you did. I like you, J. A lot.” His surprised expression softens.

“I really like too, Lulu.” He beams at her and, then, brings her face closer, kissing her passionately. They spend the rest of the day together, enjoying the fact that her uncle was away for a fishing trip with some friends. They cherish the calmness, without knowing that the moments of peace were fleeting, and they would miss easiness of this day later on.

“do you realize you have the most beautiful face?” (do you realize?? – the flaming lips)

19 notes · View notes

stereostevie · 3 years

Link

The Rap Grammy Nominations Are Weird As Hell | Nov 25, 2020 11:12 AM BY TOM BREIHAN

The very first time that the Grammy Awards recognized rap music, it was an utter fiasco — a clear case of an aging pop-music establishment failing to understand this vital new youth music that had sprung up and rewritten the rules. For the 1989 awards show, the Grammys added one rap category, Best Rap Performance. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince won it for “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” beating out LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa and Kool Moe Dee and JJ Fad. The show didn’t deign to recognize Public Enemy, N.W.A, EPMD, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, or Ice-T, all of whom had released classic albums within the voting window. The award wasn’t televised, and most of the nominees, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince included, skipped the show, attending a “Boycott The Grammys” party instead.

Since that night, the history of rap at the Grammys has been a series of baffling, embarrassing decisions. It’s Steely Dan winning Album Of The Year over The Marshall Mathers LP. It’s Gretchen Wilson winning Best New Artist over Kanye West. “It’s weird and it sucks that I robbed you.” It’s also a history of rappers getting angry over the Grammys: “I never let a statue tell me how nice I am,” “You think I give a damn about a Grammy?” In 2019, Drake showed up to accept Best Rap Song. In his acceptance speech, he talked about how the Grammy voters weren’t necessarily the right people to define rap success. The broadcast cut him off mid-speech. Earlier this year, Kanye West, a man who once cared more about Grammy Awards than anyone else not named Neil Portnow, tweeted a video of himself pissing on one of his Grammys. (The Grammys still nominated West this year, for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.)

Yesterday, the Grammys nominated Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist’s Alfredo in the Best Rap Album category. That’s great! Freddie Gibbs is a great underground rap success story, a guy who bet on himself and kept doing great work in his own lane even after multiple major-label situations fell apart. Gibbs has never made a hit song in his life, and he’s gotten himself into a position where he doesn’t need to make hit songs — where he can just follow his instincts and keep his own style intact. Alfredo isn’t my favorite rap record of the year. (Even in the field of Alchemist-produced 2020 rap albums, I’d give the slight edge to Boldy James’ The Price Of Tea In China.) But the nomination for Alfredo is still a very cool surprise, the kind of thing that I would’ve never expected to see from the Grammy nominating committee.

youtube

And yet Gibbs’ nomination doesn’t exactly announce a new golden age of Grammy rap consideration, a time when Recording Academy voters are finally figuring out how to approach the genre. Instead, his nomination points toward something else: An institutional recognition of middlebrow, middle-aged, respectable rap music.

All of this year’s Best Rap Album nominees are Black men between the ages of 35 and 47. The oldest nominee is Nas, who is now on his fifth Best Rap Album nomination and who has never won the award. (The Best Rap Album Grammy didn’t exist in 1994, when Nas released Illmatic, but there’s no way in hell that Nas would’ve won it anyway. The Academy would’ve given the award to Coolio’s It Takes A Thief or something.) The youngest nominee is D Smoke, a former high school Spanish teacher who is also the brother of the TDE R&B singer SiR. D Smoke made his way into Grammy contention after winning the first season of Rhythm + Flow, the Netflix rap-competition show. (Two of the three judges from Rhythm + Flow, Cardi B and Chance The Rapper, have won Best Rap Album themselves. T.I., the other judge, has been nominated three times and never won.)

youtube

D Smoke isn’t exactly a revered or popular rapper, and I have’t seen anyone calling his perfectly-OK album Black Habits a masterpiece, though the man has certainly done better than anyone could’ve expected from a rap reality-show winner. But D Smoke raps exactly like a diet version of Kendrick Lamar, so his nomination works as a clear indication that the Grammy voters really, really wish they had a Kendrick album to nominate. D Smoke is also up for Best New Artist, alongside fellow rappers Chika, Megan Thee Stallion, and (I guess) Doja Cat. Presumably, Megan’s Good News would also be nominated if it had come out early enough to be eligible. Meanwhile, Chika hasn’t released an album, and Doja Cat is nominated in the pop categories, not the rap ones.

Instead, then, we’re looking at five guys hovering around the age of 40, all of whom are respected technicians with boom-bap inclinations. Jay Electronica, who’s nominated for A Written Testimony and who should probably be considered the front-runner, is technically a New Orleans native, but nobody thinks of him as a Southern rapper. (Jay-Z is all over A Written Testimony, to the point where anointing Jay Electronica feels a bit like throwing awards love to Jay-Z in a year with no Jay-Z album.) All the albums up for Best Rap Album are, at the very least, solid. A couple of them, Alfredo and A Written Testimony, are very good. But this is still a remarkably stodgy list — one that shows that the whole middle-aged respectability fetish that’s long plagued the Grammys is now embedded in its rap voting wing.

Freddie Gibbs and Nas and Jay Electronica and D Smoke and Royce Da 5’9″ are all gifted rappers who have done great work. Most of them could justifiably be considered legends. But none of them really show the world where rap music is, let alone where it’s going. By recognizing those albums, the Grammys have pointedly elected not to recognize something like Lil Baby’s My Turn, which is probably 2020’s most popular album in any genre and which is also a fine example of the 808-heavy depressive melodic-goo rap music that currently dominates the genre’s mainstream.

youtube

Other hugely popular, artistically important albums are also absent: Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake, Roddy Rich’s Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial, Polo G’s The Goat, Gunna’s Wunna, Rod Wave’s Pray 4 Love. Instead, the rap albums getting nominated are the 2020 equivalents of the Steely Dan album that famously beat Eminem. That’s not an indictment of the nominated albums. It’s an indictment of the stuff the Recording Academy values. It’s also a cautionary look of how things might look if the Recording Academy ever gets its way, if rap comes to rely on accepted ossified skill-sets instead of its current state of constant, furious stylistic evolution.

As someone who’s around the same age as this year’s Best Rap Album nominees, I’m not all that amped to see emotionally troubled, pill-gobbling 20-year-olds dominating rap music. But those kids are crucially moving the genre past whatever old men like me might want it to be. Fortunately, there’s at least one Grammy category that has done a pretty good job capturing where things are right now, and that’s Best Rap Song. The list of nominations there — Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture,” Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” Drake’s “Laugh Now, Cry Later,” DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” — isn’t necessarily perfect, but it’s a fairly accurate representation of the kind of rap that moves people right now. I don’t know why the division between the Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song nominees is so stark. Maybe it’s a signal that the album is increasingly irrelevant. Maybe it reflects two different voting bodies. Either way, it’s striking.

youtube

Look, the Grammys are weird. They are always going to be weird. Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters should’ve been the biggest lay-up in the world, but it isn’t up for Album Of The Year. Instead, the Academy’s voters went for Coldplay and Jacob Collier and a deluxe edition of a Black Pumas album that didn’t even come out in the eligibility period. “Rockstar” and “Savage” are both up for Record Of The Year, but Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding is the only album that’s even rap-adjacent that’s nominated for Album Of The Year this year. I thought for sure that Lil Baby’s My Turn would be the token rap album that would inevitably lose to Taylor Swift. Instead, we didn’t even get one of those, and My Turn got snubbed even in its own category. Nothing makes sense.

But this year’s Best Rap Albums nominations still show a weird alignment between Grammy Voters and a certain streak of real-hip-hop rap conservatism. Watch out for that. Nothing good, except maybe a Freddie Gibbs Grammy win, will come out of that.

FURIOUS FIVE

1. Roc Marciano – “Downtown 81” It’s not on streaming services yet, but Roc Marciano’s new album Mt. Marci is out in the world now, and it is marvelous. (I can’t tell you whether the digital download is worth the $40 that Marci is charging on his website. Make your own financial decisions.) Right now, the only song out for general consumption is one of the few that Marci didn’t produce himself. (It’s a Jake One beat.) But otherwise, “Downtown 81” is exactly the sort of laid-back, intricately worded deadpan splendor that you can expect to hear on the LP, whenever it goes wide. So maybe that’s worth the price of a full tank of gas.

2. Meek Mill – “GTA” (Feat. 42 Dugg)

Meek Mill released his Quarantine Pack EP on Friday, and the track currently getting the big push is the downbeat Lil Durk collab “Pain Away.” But the real thrill here is in hearing Meek and 42 Dugg getting bracingly urgent over a Detroit-ass bassline.

3. Chief Keef & Mike Will Made-It – “Status” Sosa and Mike Will have evidently chosen to name their new song after this column. Gentlemen, I see this tribute, and I appreciate it. I love you too.

4. Willie The Kid & V Don – “Mother Of Pearls” (Feat. Eto) This is pretty.

5. Statik Selektah – “Play Around” (Feat. Conway The Machine, 2 Chainz, Killer Mike, Allan Kingdom, & Haile Supreme)

Once upon a time, maybe 13 years ago, I was apparently such a recognizable and influential part of the New York rap press that Statik Selektah noticed me at an MOP show, introduced himself, and tried to get me to listen to his mix CD. All these years later, Statik is a globally acknowledged boom-bap specialist with enough juice to put three of the world’s greatest middle-aged rappers on a track together. I’m proud of Statik. I bet he gets nominated for a Grammy someday.

#alchemist #chief keef #d smoke #freddie gibbs #grammys #grammy awards #hip-hop #jay electronica #meek mill #mike will made-it #music #nas #rap #roc marciano #statik selektah #stereogum #willie the kid

4 notes · View notes

swseats · 4 years

Text

ECLECTICLE 10/28

It’s Been a minute 2.0

A summer working with the US Census helped me discover why this every-ten-year event is so important.

We, as a black community, live in a continual state of the past, the present and the future existing in the same frequency, at the same time. The past that haunts and informs us, the present that we are defiantly joyful in, and our speculative futures. Our joy is loud and clanging because we know it is tenuous.

- George McCalman

This summer was full and busy. Somehow the time has managed to fly by. The warm long days are giving way to the shorter, cooler, and dry days of fall. I’m looking forward to sweater weather, but I'm going to miss those later sunsets.

The past four-ish months I’ve spent my time working for the 2020 US Census. As a Census Field Supervisor I found the experience both rewarding and incredibly challenging. Mandated by the US Constitution, the Decennial (every 10 year) Census sets about the task of counting each person living in the United States. What that meant for me was that at any given time I had a team of 15-30 enumerators knocking on doors and trying to count our community’s population. But that was not our only task. We were also responsible for verifying self reported information, confirming submitted address info, and then doing a whole range of internal quality control processes.

Census data is key to apportionment of federal and civic dollars for everything from school lunch programs, healthcare clinics, and municipal rec centers to governmental representation on the federal, state, and local levels. When a non-profit is applying for federal or state grant money for a local project, census data can be used. A newspaper analysis showing the effects of the Coronavirus on poorer communities - census data figures in.

For me, the census has taken on more than just dollars or local and federal governance. When recently I was gifted the opportunity to work with a genealogist to trace my family's history, some of the interesting points of my family history were revealed by historic census records.

The census is a snapshot of history as it is happening in the moment. It can be a link between who and where we are now, and who and where our future relatives will be in generations to come. That is an exciting prospect. In the far distant future individuals in my family line will be able to trace their heritage back to a distant relative who lived through political upheaval, a moral awakening, and at least two pandemics that decimated far too many people. I can only hope that my part of their history will give them a connection to the past and show them how far they have come.

In a world that is increasingly divisive the ability to create human connection through food will always remain. We can begin to bridge these connections right at home in our own kitchens.

- Khamini Harinarain Fennelly

WHAT I’M EATING

FRESH PICO DE GALLO

With tomato season coming to a close, my friends and I have been trying to use up as many fresh tomatoes as we can. And one of the simplest ways is homemade Pico de Gallo or Salsa Fresca. Around our house we just call it “Salsa”. From what I was able to discover, the origins of Salsa Fresca can be traced back to Inca, Mayan, and even Aztec cultures -- along with the domestication of the chili pepper and the tomato. In modern times the number of recipes abounds across the internet, but one thing they all have in common is how fresh, uncomplicated, and quick it can be to pull together this spicy condiment. In our house, “Salsa” finds its way onto everything from chips and rice to pork loin and pizza. I encourage everyone to find a recipe and give making it a try!

WHAT I’M READING

I was introduced to the captivating work of photographer Ming Smith through this ID article on her work. Ming Smith's Life In Photos by Ryan White

Alicia Kennedy always poses interesting and thought provoking questions. This read is no exception. The article encourages us to eat, think, and write more globally. “Why Aren’t We Translating Food Media?” by Alicia Kennedy

There is a good deal to be said of being more mindful and intentional about where our food comes from. Whether the provenance of that supermarket chicken or the aromatic red spice that berbere adds to a dish. Khamini Harinarain Fennelly gives us some suggestions on things to consider when preparing a dish from a culture that may be different than our own. I truly believe that deeper understanding will make your dish just that much more enjoyable. Alison Roman, ‘The Stew’ and the Need for Mindful Global Cooking by Khamini Harinarain Fennelly

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

Interesting, informative, and entertaining, John Leguizamo is one of my favorite performers. I don't think I have ever left one of his shows without learning something or thinking a lot. In this podcast from Mother Jones he talks about life, career, current events and more. John Leguizamo on Trump, Dirty Jokes, and Whitewashing Latinx History.

It may be Jacob Colliers incredible vocal range which settles into an upper baritone and floats in each direction up and down his vocal range. This one is kind of gentle and ethereal with a sweet bass grounding and tight harmonies. On of Jacob Collier’s early pieces from his 2016 album ‘In My Room’ #heavyrotation

Artist: Jacob Collier

Song: Hideaway

Album: In My Room, 2016

WHAT I’M WATCHING

An interesting short from VICE around some of the ateliers that keep fashion houses like Chanel going. A generation of artisans doing inspiring work of the kind that has been happening for decades.

I-d Future Now Atelier from VICE and i-D

1 note · View note

datingdonovan · 4 years

Note

This is rosethorne921!! 25 29 47, for the ask game?

ooooo boi thank u!!!! :) fun fun fun ok lets do it and i promise i won't confuse the numbers this time. as always even tho i did not confuse the #s i gave way too long of answers bc im a lil bit chronically indecisive LOL so here's too much about me that you never wanted to hear

25 - describe your perfect friday night oh heck i actually already answered this one here!!

29 - what's the most overrated movie? my 1st thought was avatar bc...... well jacksfilms said it lol. my 2nd thought was we need to talk about kevin because i watched it with some people i know and usually im the person to love everything i watch but like it just was so abstract for a lot of it it really looked like someone learned a bunch of cool ways to use a camera and instead of focusing on the story thats what so much of the movie was.... i honestly cant think of a movie everyone likes that i dont because i usually like movies in general lol this is a random tidbit but i think i lean toward the P in myers briggs and i feel like that makes me just more willing to take in content without immediately deciding if it’s good or bad i just, go with the flow and typically i don’t have too many qualms about it because i just accept it as it is....... which maybe is a dangerous thing. but also many times is good to be open minded

47 - if you could marry any celebrity who would you pick? oh why do u have to do this to me the amount of celebrities i would marry is simply too high for this. i mean immediately i think logan lerman or dylan O’Brien bc those are sorta the og celeb crushes........ but like oh no what if i married someone for their talent like good ol jacob collier or john mulaney. actually ya i think i’d go for someone i knew was quirky and funky and did cool stuff and could make me laugh probably over anything else which is how i live my relationships in general, so i’d say probably one of the last 2???? but tbh as cool as i find jacob collier i could see me getting a lil distressed or annoyed with him making everything about music, which im assuming thats something he would do. oh now im thinking more and if we were going for more looks i could also go cole sprouse or ansel elgort??? actually i feel like from what i see of those guys they are equally very smart sweet and intelligent??? but i dont follow them closely so idk??? oh my word this is getting so intense as u can see i like many celebrities. basically i would pick the one that would be funny and smart and interesting. cute is a plus. but i dont actually follow these celebs enough to know who best fits that bill sO basically id have to hang with them all then decide

be nosy if u want me to GUSH TOO MUCH ab my life

#ask #rosethorne921 #thank u for this ask im so sorry for it lol #cuties

1 note · View note

clive-owen-and-the-knick · 5 years

Text

ENTERTAINMENT

Cocaine Withdrawals and Blood Transfusions: Clive Owen On The Season Finale Of 'The Knick'

By Matthew Jacobs

10/18/2014 12:24 AM ET

Updated Dec 06, 2017

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead. Do not read on if you haven't seen the Season 1 finale of "The Knick."

"The Knick" ended its 10-episode debut season on Friday, and the hope each character found in his or her new beginnings was bookended with a sense of dread. Thackery discovers an unfortunate way to kick his cocaine habit in the form of 1900-era heroin. Barrow bests Bunky Collier, but Mr. Wu learns of his manipulation. Cornelia's wedding day arrives, but she's haunted by the thought of her clandestine abortion and her feelings for Dr. Edwards. And Edwards himself is given the chance to shine while Thack is out of commission, but he's left bloodied in the streets, knowing Cornelia is off vowing to love another man. No character wins, but the show surely does. This was a stunner of a season finale, exemplifying the best of Steven Soderbergh's slow-burning drama. HuffPost Entertainment caught up with star Clive Owen, who plays Thackery, to discuss the finale.

Did you study cocaine withdrawal to decide what that would look like once Thackery's supply runs out?

I did as much research as I could. The great thing is that cocaine shortage again was based on fact. Everything in the show is inspired by real events. The idea of starving Thackery of his drug and then coming back and this more than ever was a brilliant way of climaxing. To go through that period of struggle, of not having the drug and then getting it and taking too much, was always, I felt, a great way to build him toward the end.

Nurse Elkin's role in procuring cocaine is fascinating. Does Thackery really love her, or does he only appreciate when she can do things for him?

I think by that time he’s a desperate addict. When she delivers that and when she finally comes through with the cocaine, he’s like, "She’s the most beautiful, loving person." He’s a desperate addict by this point. Just the fact that she’s delivering what he needs is everything.

We see him compete to advance various surgical procedures, but he does it mostly out of ego so he'll always be considered the best. How much does Thackery actually care about medicine?

I really do think by the ending couple of episodes that he’s completely lost his way. He’s a complete paranoid, competitive mess by the end. He is brilliant, but by this point he’s in a desperate place and he’s not thinking straight. That’s kind of where we’re taking him -- he’s heading for a fall.

Many of the surgery scenes are both graphic and relatively primitive. Is there a doctor on set guiding how they should look?

Yes, we had the most amazing expert, a guy called Dr. Stanley Burns, who runs this archive of literally hundreds of thousands of photographs from this period in the world. The show is like his fantasy come to life. He has an unbelievable wealth of material; he has medical documents that were handed between doctors at the turn of the century, he has instruments that were used at the time. He was there for every single operation and would be able to describe exactly how it would have been done, so we leaned on him tremendously.

That blood-transfusion scene in the finale is wild. Surely some of that is CGI.

Really, I have to say that the prosthetics guy on this thing did an absolutely unbelievable job throughout, and there’s so little CGI in this whole series. Everything is totally convincing, even to the naked eye, including that transfusion scene. That was the one scene where I remember I turned to Steven at one point and said, “How on earth are we ever going to bring back Thackery from this?” Will we ever be able to redeem him from this? I mean, in such a coked-up state, to be attempting something like that with this poor little girl, it’s a wild as it could get. But that’s the make of the show.

Do you think Bertie made the right choice in remaining so loyal to Thackery, especially at the end when he realizes what's been going on?

It’s difficult because Thackery does eventually go off the rails, but there’s no question that, at the beginning when we meet him, Thackery is a genius. He’s learned an incredible lot. That’s the journey of what happens, but there’s no question that Bertie would have learned an awful lot, but he’s also had to withstand an awful lot.

What do you think happened to Abigail and her syphilis nose?

We might not have seen the last of her. I won’t say any more on that.

We've seen shocking surgeries all season, but the most jarring moment probably comes when we see that Eleanor's teeth have been removed because that's how doctors thought they'd cure mental illness.

I agree with you. It is shocking, and what’s shocking is that that was the practice at the time. That was real. They actually really did think that. And the scary thing, when you do a show like this, is that what we’d be doing in 40 or 50 years’ time would make us think, "How on Earth could we have thought that was right?" How on Earth could a doctor really have believed that?

It must be hard to shoot in contemporary downtown New York but make every scene look and feel like it's set in 1900.

Steven has just the most incredible people around him that he’s been working with for a long time. What was really incredible is when you film on one of those outside days, you’d come to the exterior of the hospital and you’d walk on and everything would already be up and running. You’d do a shot in the carriage and it would pull up and you’d get out and 20 minutes later we’d be on to something else. It was so incredibly efficient, and they were so focused in getting those big outside scenes nailed so quickly. There were very challenging days -- we were shooting real New York Chinatown for 1900 Chinatown. We’d find a block in there that we’d dress and shoot, but you can imagine the logistics of trying to pull that off. They went in there and they were just incredibly together.

What's the most fascinating thing you've learned about medicine in 1900?

The thing that you’re kind of left with is just how much they were shooting from the hip. It was a time of change; things were coming big and fast. They were rethinking things on a weekly basis. At the time, doctors were sharing information across America and Europe. It was a wildly exciting time in terms of the breakthroughs they were making, probably this time in this period more than any other period.

You've worked with Robert Altman, Mike Nicholas, Alfonso Cuarón and Spike Lee. What does Steven Soderbergh, the consummate multitasker, bring to "The Knick" that no other director could?

I think the reason no other director could have taken this on and done it the way that he did it is that he has done everything. He directs, he operates, he lights, he edits, and it’s a singular vision. It’s 10 hours of television that completely comes back to one man and a singular vision. To have that is really extraordinary because I don’t know of any of the other directors you mentioned or any director that I’ve worked with who could do that and could hold the whole canal like he approached it at the speed with which he approached it. And he dealt with something so rich and detailed. He’s extraordinary in that way; there is no one like him. For an actor to work with that is a real privilege because he’s so on top of all aspects of what’s going on that you’re kind of left just worrying about your acting, which is a great place to be because you’re so sure. It’s a one-stop gig. You know that it all comes back to him. There’s something kind of great about that, about shooting a scene and there not being that dialogue of, “What if we did this?” or “What if we did that?” No. It goes back to that guy and his vision and his taste and his talent. I’m telling you he’s a hugely, hugely impressive person.

When does Season 2 start filming?

We go into pre-production soon and I think I’m heading out to New York for January.

What do you hope to see in Thackery's future now that he's been exposed to heroin?

He's been so edgy in his story and so visceral and dangerous. What’s great is the idea of being able to go into the next season and it could just pick up and hit the ground running, taking it further and exploring new territories. I’ve got a number of the scripts already and it’s just really exciting where we can take it.

#clive owen #the knick #early 1900s

1 note · View note

epiphanicwiring · 6 years

Text

Tagged by @yutoba to do this, thank you! I tag @notaboutfate, @gravis-dum-suavis, @krijgsonthaal, @riranvier, @amazoniansiege.

What’s your favourite song(s) to sing/hum?

I’m always singing, so it’s kind of difficult to pick just one song or piece. Lately I’ve been practicing this, and I guess I’m going to transcribe it because I absolutely love it. Sometimes I like to sing various parts from Jacob Collier’s arrangements, or some trumpet solo from Snarky Puppy, or a melodic line from Bottesini’s and Vanhal’s concerti? (The plural form of concerto is concerti, isn’t it?) for double bass, et cetera.

What’s your favourite flower/tree/plant?

Cacti. And succulents. I know, it sounds so cliché but... It has a reason. My mother has “green hands” and my house’s garden is basically a jungle. We have beautiful plants that I never, ever water, and the only ones that would survive to such degree of negligence from my part were cacti and succulent. Still, they need water... So basically they are alive because of my mother. Even those who are supposed to be mine. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to take care of a plant. That’s why.

Favourite colours?

Every shade of green, being dark green/bottle green my favourite. Also black and grey.

What do you always doodle?

I’m going to take one of my Instagram posts and show to the world the shit I doodle: This.

How do you take your coffee/tea?

Coffee: Strong coffee blend, no milk, little amount of sugar.

Tea: Anything from mango to jasmine, but without sugar, or with half a spoon of muscovado.

Favourite candle scent?

Watermelon/cucumber and vanilla/coconut.

Sunrise or Sunset?

Both.

What perfume do you wear?

Moschino’s Chic Petals.

Favourite quote?

I have many. So many... Sorry.

"People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy." -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

"Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king. […] Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties." -John Milton

"The less necessity there is for you to come into contact with mankind in general, in the relations whether of business or of personal intimacy, the better off you are.” -Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims: Our Relation to Ourselves

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." -Friederich Nietzche?

"Nevertheless, the fact is that there is nothing as dreamy and poetic, nothing as radical, subversive, and psychedelic, as mathematics. It is every bit as mind blowing as cosmology or physics… and allows more freedom of expression than poetry, art, or music… Mathematics is the purest of the arts, as well as the most misunderstood." -Paul Lockhart

"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man’s being unable to sit still in a room." -Blaise Pascal

"How miserable I sometimes feel as day after day passes and I don’t grow anywhere. Static. Too much static. Much too static. Half-awake. No one to spend time with. No one listening. (Clue: make something people want to listen to!)" -Brian Eno

"…throw roses into the abyss and say: ‘here is my thanks to the monster who didn’t succeed in swallowing me alive." -Friedrich Nietzsche

"I hope to refine music, study it, try to find some area that I can unlock. I don’t quite know how to explain it but it’s there. These can’t be the only notes in the world, there’s got to be other notes some place, in some dimension, between the cracks on the piano keys." -Marvin Gaye

"You ruin your life by tolerating it. At the end of the day you should be excited to be alive. When you settle for anything less than what you innately desire, you destroy the possibility that lives inside of you, and in that way you cheat both yourself and the world of your potential. The next Michelangelo could be sitting behind a Macbook right now writing an invoice for paperclips, because it pays the bills, or because it is comfortable, or because he can tolerate it. Do not let this happen to you. Do not ruin your life this way. Life and work, and life and love, are not irrespective of each other. They are intrinsically linked. We have to strive to do extraordinary work, we have to strive to find extraordinary love. Only then will we tap into an extraordinarily blissful life." -Bianca Sparacino, How To Ruin Your Life (Without Even Noticing That You Are)

Favourite self care routine(s)?

I recently hit the gym and I absolutely love to exercise my arms/back/chest. Chest press and vertical traction are the best.

Self-care for my soul is every once in a while attending a café in solitude with a book and a notebook. Have a coffee, read, develop ideas, take notes, think about the future, implement those ideas, analyze and introspect.

Fuzzy socks or house slippers?

House slippers.

What colour are your eyes?

Dark brown/black.

What’s your favourite eye colour on others?

I don’t have one. I like green eyes. Brown eyes. Whatever. I am terrified of blue eyes, no matter how beautiful they are, though. I have a hard time maintaining visual contact, and blue-eyed people scare me.

Favourite season? Why?

Winter. Everything’s better in winter. I can dress way more elegantly without sweating and feeling I’m in hell 24/7. Everything is more poetic, if that makes sense. The icy wind, watching the sunset while travelling by bus...

Cheek, neck, or nose kisses?

Anything but nose kisses. Nose kisses are terrible.

What does your happy place look like?

Let me imagine it... A huge place full of books and vinyls. Hi-fi sound system. A telescope and a large balcony. Near this room, my (perfect, ideal) recording studio.

Favourite breed of dog?

I’d never buy a dog for ethical reasons (I have a poodle from before I developed an animal-rights-related “ethical structure”, and I love him). I prefer to adopt them from the streets but... If I had to choose: Weimaraner.

Do you ever want to be married? if so, what colours would you pick for your wedding theme?

I would, if I found the right person. And for a person like me, that’s like the embodiment of loyalty and perfection. Guess I’ll die. Jokes aside, I don’t have anything against marrying, but I prefer it to be a civil wedding. No wedding theme in mind.

Cursive or print?

Print.

Favourite weather?

12ºC, chilling in a t-shirt.

#About #Tag #I have so many tags to do messages to respond and things to do in my house and subjects to study and exercises to do I'm going to die #To study for #Sorry #Not going to delete such a long tag for a word

3 notes · View notes

abitquirky-blog · 7 years

Text

You And I

I am glad at least in my life I found someone

Who may not be here forever to see me through

But I found strength in you.

I only pray that I have shown you a brighter day

Because that’s all I’m living for, you see

Don’t worry what happens to me. I have never been one to succeed through negativity. From as early as I can remember, I’ve never been one that can thrive from inner negativity. My father tried very hard to change that because the world is a scary place, driven by hate and fear in the darkest times. He wanted a son that could take a yelling, a reprimand, a punishment and be tough through it. Instead he got an 8 year old boy who cried because he was so upset he couldn’t ride a bike even though his dad really wanted him to. Eventually, he gave up on that one. But in that abandonment of attitude, that abandonment of expectation, something started to grow. I learned to eventually ride my bike out of what I would later come to know as an emotion called *spite*. At the age of 16, I put myself in a situation that that ended in tears for all parties. I felt pressure to choose between my mom and my dad, and my mom with her husband was portrayed as the most stable path for me to finish growing up on. It ended with split custody for the two years following all because I didn’t know how to say “No” when I knew emotionally helping my mom would only take me packing up a few bags and living in a new room across town. The situation crushed me for weeks. Why couldn’t they just keep me out of the middle? I should not have to bear this weight on my shoulders, I thought.

Why can’t I just be normal and look out for myself instead of everyone around me?

Just as I was, my father was heartbroken but he prevailed. He understood. Through the heartbreak, I learned to press on. Life doesn’t yield for the wounded.

A short year later, an argument occurs.

“You can’t just live on your music. You have to have something else. Your grades are what will get you further up in life. You’re going to school where it’s cheap and you’ll focus on school.” The night ended with me in tears, conceding to him.

The next morning, a flame flickered behind my eyes. Facing the harsh truth of the real world, I sought to prove everyone around me wrong. Day in and day out for my last two years of high school, I was told I couldn’t and wouldn’t make it, only caring about band. The many voices of doubt drowned out any cries of support for the longest time. Looking for support and reaffirmation began to feel like hiding; hiding from my problems, my insecurities, my own confidence. My spite grew to a roaring, consuming peak. “I’ll prove them wrong.” For several years following, I operated nearly entirely out of spite.

I got my own apartment, despite my family’s concerns and declarations of abandonment. My own mother refused to help me with expenses, so I pushed on. I got by with a little help here and there from my dad and a fantastic roommate.

I got a job despite a promise to my mother that I wouldn’t.

I learned how to succeed on my own as a musician. Living from my passion was all I had ever wanted in life. I finally proved everyone wrong and really “made it” - at least in the smallest sense of the phrase. I learned to truly love and accept a dear friend thanks to the pressure of choosing between a toxic presence and one that has only ever shown me compassion. If not for my spite, I’d have actually chosen the former of the two. I went on a journey of self discovery, of self improvement. “You’ll never change; people don’t just wake up and decide to change one day.” Although crushing in the moment, I pressed on through spite. I started taking better care of myself. I pursued light body-building to take advantage of my freshman 15.

I asked myself if I really know what it means to be truly honest. Not just with others, ,but with myself too. I didn’t, so I set out to slowly become a transparent person (a goal I’m still working toward). I learned to live without a constant party to look forward to; long term gratification began to become the goal I would press for day in and day out, no matter what struggles face me. I learned to use moderation. I cut back on the various substances I partook in and have completely cut out several. I learned to think more about my future and how every single moment I spend would affect it. I began to think back to my long talks about my career path with my dad. My father struggled day in and day out to provide for my sister and I growing up. I learned this from a very young age thanks to my older sister. He worked for hours each night just to keep a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. He took on even more debt, still reeling from his divorce, to try and keep us unaware of our situation. Many nights when we were away saw our father living on canned soup and ramen noodles to save a few pennies for us. The man lived and breathed for us. (And for fishing.)

Through his character flaws, through everyone who doubted he could ever give us the life we deserved, he prevailed. Even when my sister moved away and stopped contacting her entire family, he did not give up. When he walked into a room only to hear that his son wanted a new living situation, he did not give up.

After a night of having to purvey the harsh truths of this world around a year later, leaving me in tears, he did not give up. He found strength in us. He lives for the happiness of his children, although it doesn’t always shine through in ideal ways. This man showed me what true, unconditional love is about. Through all of the disappointments, disagreements, and actions and paths chosen to spite what he told us, he kept pushing. My father found a way to inspire a true sense of compassion for everything around me. Through his actions he taught me never to give up, no matter how bleak the situation looks. His actions taught me that one must do without to provide for and nurture the spirits of those around them. He taught me that doing without pays in the end when you surround yourself with those who truly love you. He showed me the path I do not want to take when I raise a family, for I want them to TRULY never have to worry if we have money for anything more than food and a home.

He taught me what it means to compromise for the sake of something greater than oneself. I learned that it’s not just about my passions and making myself happy in life, but planning down the line for those who will depend on me so that I may have an easier adulthood than him. I only hope I can be half the father he was.

Happy (belated) Father’s Day.

June 19, 2017 For those interested in the lyrics at the beginning of my entry, check out Jacob Collier’s “You And I”, from his debut album In My Room. Grab a good set of cabinet speakers or headphones, crank up the volume, and try to listen in complete silence so you can immerse yourself in Collier’s soundscape. You’ll thank me after a 58 minute emotional roller coaster.

7 notes · View notes

gigsoupmusic · 4 years

Text

Becca Stevens on Her New LP ‘WONDERBLOOM’ – Exclusive GIGsoup Interview

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Becca Stevens is back with her latest effort ‘WONDERBLOOM.’ The second Becca Stevens project (no Band name attached) is a dance-worthy LP incorporating a wide array of genres. Read our full GIGsoup review here. We talked to Becca about ‘WONDERBLOOM’, what inspires her, what TLC meets Aphex Twin looks like, and how we should respond to criticism (or, better yet, not-so-nice emails). So, the 'WONDERBLOOM' title is inspired by the Titan Arum, which is the corpse flower. Can you describe what drew you to the flower originally and what was the connection to the album? So, when I was trying to come up with a title for the record, I was in Hawaii after spending months and months and months working on the record. It had been like months without a vacation. Finally, I had the vacation with my husband in Hawaii, and I'm feeling really inspired by the palm trees there for some reason. I had this moment where I was like, "What is my album title?" Then, suddenly I noticed the wind blowing this palm tree, and I was thinking about the symbolism of palm trees and how strong they are. I just got obsessed with palm trees. I was reading about all these different kinds of palm trees and stumbled upon the Titan Arum, and how it's eight feet tall at full bloom and smells like a rotting corpse when it's blooming. Then it takes 9 or 10 years just to get to that point, and then withers and dies and begin again. I was thinking about how hard I worked on the record and how much I enjoyed the process. It just reminded me of the flower. The process of it leading to that point of fruition. When it's not about the final product, and instead, it's about the actual enjoyment of the process. It's a much more beautiful thing. ‘Regina’ was your first album released under your name without a band name attached. How did you feel about that the second time around with 'WONDERBLOOM'? I mean I found that decision to be very liberating. Not because I don't love playing with my band and my bandmates. The decision to do it for 'Regina' was originally because I wanted to, for the first time, branch out of the band-fold. It had been over 10 years of being very, very committed to just playing with my band. So, I would only take gigs if all four, or some configuration of the four members of my band, were available. That was really important to me for a long time. It's still important to me that when I'm on the road that there are people who are intimate with the music. who are backing me, and there's that energy, that band energy. I started to crave this more collaborative element of the recording and writing process in the last few years. With 'Regina', it was a mild craving. I had Lauren Mvula, Jacob Collier, David Crosby, Mike League and some other few special guests. Actually, it wasn't the plan to have 40 plus special guests on 'WONDERBLOOM', but I always open to having them. I was always open to the format, and being less about "When is the band available? When can we find a studio when the band about is available?", and more open to it just being like, I came up with these demos and the tracks come together in whatever way they can. I think by calling it a Becca Stevens project instead of Becca Stevens Band project already gives me that sort of strategical freedom. Then I gave myself that freedom, and with that came this onslaught of inspiration to collaborate with whoever was the right person for any given track. I think Nic Hard, who I produced the album with, had the same sort of openness, hunger and lust for just finding the right sounds for the song and what would serve the song. So, it just it became, without planning for it, the most collaborative project I've ever done. Both in a recording sense and in a writing sense. Also, weirdly, in an opposite way, I spent the most time alone, and doing things on my own on this record than I ever have. Learning how to layer on the cake on my own and produce, engineer, and track alone, because it lasted for eight months or more. There were a lot of days spent either with Nic and I in a small room together working 14-hour days, or us in two different rooms, him mixing and me in the other room tracking. So, it wasn't the whole time was a party and a collaboration, but it also was very, very different from the old school way of me locking down a period with my band and being in the studio with them for a week. Since you had mentioned that you have worked with Jacob Collier and David Crosby, how was it like working with them on this project verses the other projects you have done with them? Well, very different with Jacob, because, when I've done duo collaborations with Jacob, we've always been in the same room. On 'WONDERBLOOM', I basically just sent him a track that was sort of sluggishly coming together. It was a track that I was like, "If anything gets cut, it'll be this one." So just do whatever you want to it. After that, he sent me what he added to it, and that was like the glue that breathed life into that song. I was like, “Now I understand what this song is supposed to be.” So, I thought, this is really cool, like yeah, I trust you. Do your thing. This also brings in the element of how much I learned on this project. How much editing can be like an entity in of itself. The actual computer and the pro tools rig are almost like instruments in of itself. He sent all this stuff, like crazy, amazing, beautiful stuff, and we probably used 1/10 of it. I went through and picked all the things that served the song. In that process, you end up, even when you've collaborated, putting more of yourself, in a sense because your separate from that person. There's this energy, like an entity, that happens when you're in a room with someone. It's just a beautiful and kind of intimate collaboration that happens between two people. Then there's also a different way of collaborating when somebody mails you something, and then you can sit by yourself without the pressure of trying to please them and choose. It's a very different thing. Same with David. I sang a song that I wrote with him on his record 'Lighthouse', which was a record that I toured with him, Michelle Willis, and Mike League. Then, that became the name of a band that the four of us are in together. We wrote together and recorded a bunch of songs together as The Lighthouse Band and went on the road. In both of those instances, I felt like I was coming in as a side man or a collaborator, and really doing my best to serve David and his vision. Even, when we were writing together, I felt like I needed to serve David, and my end goal was to make sure that he's happy. Even on the road, I always want to make sure that David is happy. But, in my record, he really put that aside and came in and allowed me to be the band leader. So, it was a different dynamic because it was my record. He came in and was like, "Do you like this? How about this? Let me try this. Tell me what you like. If you don't like it, I'll try this." It was a totally different kind of energy process and dynamic between us. Another thing that really amazes me about your work is how you're able to blend and blur different genres seamlessly, but still very compositionally complex. I know we don't like to put music in a box, of course, but I feel like 'WONDERBLOOM', for some reason, stands at more stylistically than your previous records. You incorporate elements like R&B and funk. Did you feel that way when you were making this album? And is there something that you feel like in these elements and styles that kind of gravitated you towards that space when making this album? It's funny, again, this record, the way that it turned out, was not my plan. If anything, my plan was sort of, logistically to make something that's more intimate. I want to make something that I can produce on my own so I don't have to rely on the overhead of like, "Okay, well, I have to bring five band members and a tour manager, and worry about sound. I wish I had the money for lights in this big production, you know?" So really going into it in, my first call was Nic. I was like, "I wanna self-produce and I want to make something that it’s really intimate, and kind of leaning in the acoustic direction. Something that's that could be carried by just me." I feel like in a lot of ways I ended up making the total opposite record, but it was a record that I always knew that I had in me. It was only a matter of time before it just had to come out, and I really believe, that it was time for this record to happen. Even, as it was happening, any time I tried to dodge where it was pulling me, I felt I was swimming upstream. Then if I just let go, it was just like the most natural feeling to go in this direction. By that I mean more produced, arrangement-wise, kind of more layers happening, and more genres blending. You have a bunch of different genres from kind of all over the map coming together. That wasn't a conscious decision. That was like, "This is all the shit I'm into and stuff that inspires me." It just lives in me, because it's kind of rare that I sit down and just listen. But when I do, it's hard for me to pick a style because I'm so into all different kinds of things. I almost do more listening when I'm like in a car with a group of people and I'm just deejaying and playing, like "Here is a song from this band that I love, but here's a great song from this band that I love." As I'm deejaying, I try to stretch the boundaries of the genre as much as I can just to give the listening experience that's really a wide array of sounds and feelings. That’s the kind of music that I'm drawn to, and that's the kind of music that I'm most inspired to make when I'm making it. I'll just say this is one of the first records that I've made that I actually want to kind of dance to. When, I'm listening to other people's music, I often gravitate towards stuff that I would move do. For whatever reason in the past have, in my writing, gravitated to more solemn, kind of introspective, intricate, and serious stuff. So, one of my goals in this record was to enjoy myself more, write stuff that I can dance to, and enjoy collaborating. Enjoy the process of making it, enjoy the process of recording it. If I'm feeling held back by executing something myself, then share that with another person who could nail it. It's funny because that was my next question. How groovy it was, how I felt like dancing. For songs like 'I Wish' and 'Good Stuff', those lyrics were more personal and serious. So how were you able to accomplish that balance between the lyrical content and the musical content? It's funny you brought up 'I Wish.' When I'm writing I try to always latch on to some sort of framework, whether it's like an intention or story or a theme or a restriction. On 'I Wish', the framework that I gave myself was like "Okay, I feel like total shit." It's one of those days where something had gone down that had triggered me into just horrible depression. I just wanted to lay on the floor, do nothing, or if anything just watch Netflix and eat a bag of gifts and cry. I was thinking about how kind of magical, I guess is a word you can use, when you feel like that. Sometimes if you put on a certain song, it'll snap you out of it. Even if the lyrical content of that song is not, if you read it alone away from the song, you're like, "Oh, this isn't necessarily happy", but when you hear it with the music, you're like, "Ooh, I think I want to dance." Then so my challenge, keyword challenge, because this was like a re-occurring theme on this record, was like challenging myself to do stuff that wasn't my first instinct. I challenged myself, in that moment, to write music that made me want to get up and dance. So, go as shamelessly as I wanted to into the self-deprecating lyric, but as long as the music was funky and fun. Something that you would slam your beer down and be like, "I'm going to the dance floor ." I think also one of my favorite tracks too is 'Slow Burn.' It's really funky, and you do give that kind of burn like "Mad I didn't burn out like you. Be cruel if you want to." It reminds me of like Michael Jackson or Prince. So, what were some of the inspirations for that song specifically? Very, very similar. Interesting you brought that up. That one, again the feed was an email correspondence from someone who used to be a friend. It was just a really ugly email, almost to the point of it being like, so mean that it was funny. I had a writing collaboration with my friend Talia Billig around very close to the time that I received that email. I brought her over and we were just kind of talking about it, talking about things that were going on our lives, and what we wanted to write about. We were talking about that email, and she was like, "Ooh, this is really ripe for a song." We wrote this kind of 680, acoustic sounding, strumming guitar song out of that e-mail. Then, the more that I spent with the draft that we came up with, the more I was like "No, this song-", and Nic was pushing for this, too. Nic Hard, who produced the record with me and did a lot of the co-arranging, was really pushing for , like "It's too sweet, like you need to embody this kind of cutting energy. A kind of a meanness that you don't really embody as a person. But you can go there in this song, and I think it would be cool." It was like the empty bragging, you know, like my car is nicer than yours and my girl is hotter than yours. I'm a better MC and these are all the reasons why I'm cooler than you, like the Braggadocio approach to hip-hop. I was trying to bring just so far from what is my norm and what I'm comfortable with. I wanted to challenge myself again to bring this into my writing, because it's not my norm, because it's not my comfort zone. It made it even more appealing to me to like, "Okay, well, if it's a challenge to me that I should figure out how to meet it." So, that was kind of the goal in that song. Once I figured out what the song was, and what it would be about, and what I could sound like, I was like, "Okay, I wanted to have this Knower-kind of edge, musically." Knower is Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi, and the lyric to be kind of like the upside of my personality that doesn't even really exist. Except, maybe in my dreams. I definitely felt that stood out more because it felt like it was out of your norm, and 'WONDERBLOOM' is very dynamic and very beautifully produced. Is there a particular track on 'WONDERBLOOM' that resonates with you the most? The one that I find myself gravitating towards right now, that I feel like resonates with my soul is 'True Minds’, which is sort of weird, because that was one that I didn't really plan to be on the record. As we were recording it, I was like, "Well, this is the outlier, like, this one is weird and will probably get cut." Then, the more time I spent with it, the more it became like a vehicle for anything goes. It's so wide in its genre spectrum. Within the song, there's a verse that sounds like TLC, and then there's some kind of like nineties grunge shit in there. Then there's like a symphonic, orchestral section, and then there's weird, like Aphex Twin drums and stuff that's kind of robotic, yet super organic. I think, I feel most comfortable in those worlds where I don't have to commit to one genre. Where I can, sort of, walk around in a wonder world of genres and feel at home in that, and that feels safe to me. I also enjoyed ‘True Minds’ a lot. Another track too was 'Response to Criticism.' Was that really a response to criticism? So that one that's a setting of a poem that I didn't write. It's by poet Jane Tyson Clement. I've set five of her poems now, and I was commissioned by her estate and family to do this collaboration. I did several settings of her poems, and also wrote the commentary on a book of her poetry in the forward. It's a book called, ‘The Heart's Necessities,’ which is also a lyric from a song that I set on my record 'Perfect Animal.' So that one, you know, reading a lot of poetry and going through all of her books, trying to figure out like, "What's the next thing that I'm gonna set on?" That one just dumped off the page to me because it's something that, obviously all artists go through. I think really any person, but we all deal with criticism. Oftentimes, the criticism comes from someone who I has no idea what it's like to be in your position, and furthermore, especially if you're an artist, criticizing something that is, literally at best, an expression of who you are. So, to criticize that is to kind of miss the point. So, I love the fact that Jane Tyson Clement, in her ‘Response to Criticism’, is saying like "C'mon, let me set this straight with you. If want to do what I'm doing, do it, and do it the way you want to do it. But I do it this way." It's not saying like "you idiot" or "you're wrong." It's not taking a negative approach to the response. It's just saying like, "No, that's fine. If you want to do it that way, do it that way. Do it the way you will. I only know that it was right for me to do it the way that I did it." I love that. Also, to add to that, being a female in the industry, do you feel you do get more response to criticism? Hell yeah, definitely. It's an interesting conversation, because sometimes there will be moments from time to time where I notice that someone's giving me a free pass, because I'm a woman. I don't like that either. I just want things to be equal. I don't want to be spoken down to because I'm a woman. I don't want to be babied because I'm a woman. I don't want to be overly criticized because I'm a woman. I just want to be treated the same way that I would be if I was a man. If that means that someone harder on me, I'm fine with that. I just want equality. Something that I'll notice a lot in sound checks, is the crew of a venue will be extra with the female member of the band. They will be like, "Oh, let me show you have this amp works", or "Let me tell you how your microphone works," or "Let me tell you how far to stand from the microphone." It's just constant. I'm always looking over my bandmates, and being like, "See?" Then, with critics and reviews, what I'll notice is that there's often this assumption that I didn't do the work, that a man did the work. I am just there as a singer, and the music was written and arranged and produced by someone else who was a man. It's funny that, after 17 years of living in New York and working on this craft, that still happens. I'm still introduced as "New York's best kept secret," and oftentimes, a jazz singer . I don't even mind the jazz part. I get that. It's more just like the idea that the instrumentalist and the composer and the producer, that's more often associated with the masculine side of artistry, has been completely neglected because it's more comfortable to do that. You close your album with "Heather's Letter to her Mother", which is about Heather Heyer who died peacefully protesting in the white nationalist rally around in Charlottesville. So how did that event impact you, and what made you play that song as the album's last send-off? Well, I gotta give props to David Crosby for thinking that that would be a cool idea for a song. Initially, he thought that the song was somewhere in the meeting of Heather and the man who was driving the car that killed her. He thought, in the moment that that they locked eyes, or in the moment that the car and she collided, that there was a song there. I've written a lot with David, and I know to never turn down a songwriting suggestion from him. He truly has a gift for seeing songs, and almost like he sees songs like a cinematographer. He'll have these really clear visions of songs before the songs are written. I found that I should trust that, and that there's always gold at the end of that rainbow. So, when he brought the song to me, he was like "Becca, I think you should write this song." I was like, "OK, David Crosby," and I tried taking the approach that he suggested. I tried and I tried, and I tried. I tried for two weeks sitting down every day and trying to open the door, and it just was stuck. It was sort of like the muse was shaking her head and being like, "Uh-uh, don't go this way." It just felt uncomfortable and too political, and two-sided, and just something wrong about it. Then, I slightly shifted to the side and tried the approach of speaking from Heather's perspective. Absolutely no reference to the driver of the car, or even to the attack itself, and more just focusing on, where she was coming from? What were her passions? What was she excited about? What was she going through? What sort of things would she say to her mom if she was just like sending her a text once a day, just to catch her up on her life? So, it's it does that. Then, there's a text message or a letter the day of the protest, from the protest basically. Then the final verse is beyond the grave. The reason why chose to close the record with it, I think that with ‘Regina’ we closed it with 'As', which has my nieces and nephews singing the "always" choir part. There's something so sweet about finishing with the sound of little kids singing. To me, this felt kind of like the sequel to that. This feeling of, you go through all these different, really intense journeys on the record. Then you finish with hope, and you finish with a very tender emotion, and I like that. I like that feeling. How do you feel your experience of being born and raised in North Carolina and living 17 years in Brooklyn have shaped your music today? That's an interesting one because I feel like I was very influenced by my family, and that there were definitely strong influences and experiences I had in North Carolina. My dad raised us on what felt like normal music at the time when I was a kid. Then the older I got, the more that I got to know what other kids listened to, when they were growing up more, I realized that we did not have a normal upbringing, musically. It kind of explains why I feel most at home in a wildly eclectic, genre world. That said, my dad, when he was my age or younger, was a multi-instrumentalist, folk musician, classical composer and classical singer. He had been in the Air Force singing in every language, singing in classical music, and also played guitar, banjo, fiddle and dulcimer. All these different kinds of bluegrass and Irish folk instruments that were just around the house. So, I grew up with that coming from his side. He also was, when I was a kid, composing, this charming kind of bluegrass Americana, children's music, and musicals, symphonies, orchestras, and just all kinds of stuff that we were around, and it was normal. My mom is a beautiful opera singer like classically trained vocalist. She was always practicing the next contemporary piece in the living room. I could hear everything that she was working on, and I grew up kind of mimicking her. Then I came across different styles of singing. So, I feel like my household, first and foremost, was my influence in North Carolina, but also the sort of western North Carolina, bluegrass influence, was definitely strongly there. Then when I was a teenager, I got into jazz, and I found a jazz scene in North Carolina that I followed, until I left to study jazz at The New School in New York. There were a good 10 years where I was very influenced by what was around me in New York. Now, this is what I was saying, I kind of have this weird reaction to the question now, because now I feel like I just live there. When I spend majority of the year on the road, and then when I come home, I come in my apartment, like hanging out with my husband, resting, and recouping. I don't get as much out of the city as I used to. For a solid 10 or 12 years, it expanded me in so many ways in so many directions in exactly the way that I was craving. If you're 'Weightless' Becca could talk to 'WONDERBLOOM' Becca, what would she tell her? That's sweet. I feel like 'WONDERBLOOM' Becca has more to teach 'Weightless' Becca than 'Weightless' Becca has to teach 'WONDERBLOOM' Becca. I think 'Weightless' Becca would really look up to 'WONDERBLOOM' Becca . 'Weightless' Becca will be like, "How do you like write music like that?" , and 'WONDERBLOOM' Becca would be like, "You just let it happen. The more you can get out of your own way, and the more you can trust that you are the best person at writing your songs, the better. That the more you could just embrace and enjoy the process. Enjoy yourself. It doesn't have to be tortured. It doesn't have to be obsessed. It doesn't have to be overly critical. You can let go, and it's okay. You're safe if you let go. If you just release your grasp a little bit, and just enjoy a little bit more each time, you let go a little bit more, and you'll see that it just gets better. It's not gonna make you less believable. It's not going to make you less fancy or intelligent-seeming if you let go." I think 'Weightless' Becca was, as a writer, more introverted, more obsessed with, almost like OCD, touching every single little part of the song. I don't know. I also loved, loved those songs, and there's no part of me that looks down upon them. It's interesting, thinking of it, as like, two girls talking to each other. I could see her, that even then, she was longing to see where she is now. My last question is, do you have some advice for musicians starting out, especially women coming in the industry? Well, to all musicians of all genders, I would say, first and foremost, write the music that you want to play. The music that you want to hear, the music that you want to dance to. Write the music that inspires you because you are the one who has to play it over and over again, hear it over and over again, and talk about it over and over again. If you write music that maybe you're not 100% inspired by, but you're making that sacrifice because you think that other people will like it more and then they don't end up liking it, then you're in a bind. You've sacrificed your own self-worth for the sake of something that fails. Then if you write something that you're not that into and people love it, then you're also in a bind, because then you are a slave to these songs that you're expected to play over and over again, and you don't enjoy the process. Then, even if you're making a ton of money, that's not success, because you're not happy. You could have millions and millions and millions of dollars, but you don't want to wake up in the morning and you don't want to go to work. So how can you call that a success? I would say, to women, that there are gonna be struggles, but in the same way, that you find a way to write music that you enjoy, so that you can face the day with open arms, find a way to greet those struggles with sure footing, deep strength and with confidence. So, that not only are you growing stronger with each time you meet them, but you're also making yourself a mirror to the people around you, who might not realize what's happening. You're a trailblazer, and you can hold firmly to that and stay strong without it letting it knock you down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xl-996W_fk Read the full article

#BeccaStevens #DavidCrosby #JacobCollier #NicHard #TaliaBillig #Wonderbloom

0 notes

onestowatch · 3 years

Text

Aidan Gallagher Has No Limits [Q&A]

Photo By Allan Zaki

There are many facets to Aidan Gallagher. On the surface, his scene stealing prowess as the co-star of The Umbrella Academy has catapulted him to an immense level of popularity on a piece of prime real estate amongst Hollywood’s brightest young A-List celebrities. But beneath the surface of this 17-year-old actor lies a multi-instrumentalist. An independent singer-songwriter who doesn’t seem to care about the mainstream attention that his music may garner in the future, only the substance for which it can bare. Musically, his original compositions like “I LOVE YOU” and “4TH of July” draw early comparisons to acoustic-pop artists like Jack Johnson and Passenger. While lyrically some of his introspective words jump off the paper as if they were indie pop-ballads written by singers like Jason Mraz or Aqualung back in 2003.

For Aidan Gallagher the musician, the year 2020 began with a sold-out show at the Troubadour in his hometown of Los Angeles, California. This live performance on January 6th was supposed to be his introduction to the tour life. In fact, a couple weeks later, he even announced that he would be playing a live set at SXSW in March. But…just as quickly as the Neon Lights Tour began, it came to an abrupt end due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although his first ever headlining tour has been temporarily delayed, it hasn’t stopped Aidan Gallagher from publishing fresh content for his listeners along with a series of new music videos.

There are many facets to the year 2020. On the surface the pandemic this year alone has derailed the plans of some of the world’s most talented independent recording artists. But when you’re an intuitive songwriter like Aidan Gallagher, times like these can provide the backdrop for some of the most emotional compositions that you may create.

We caught up with Aidan Gallagher to talk about his emotional subject matter, his dream collaborations and his future plans to balance his music endeavors with a budding acting career.

Ones to Watch: With all of the success that you've enjoyed over the course of the past two years, you've become one of the most recognized actors in young Hollywood. But now you're starting to get a lot more attention as a recording artist. In fact, you currently have four music videos that have garnered over 1 million views on YouTube. Those are very impressive feats to have accomplished without the support of a major record label. What was your personal goal when you first started releasing music? And are you happy with the reception that your music videos have received so far?

Aidan Gallagher: There was always less of a defined personal goal in terms of a release schedule other than just to make great music and put it out there and if people enjoy it, that’s really gratifying. I’ve always made music as a means of working out emotions and because it’s one of the most rewarding hobbies one can have.

Two singles that you've released this year are "I LOVE YOU" and "Blue Neon." Lyrically, they're both heartbreaking tracks that teenagers can relate to. But you also reference some introspective experiences that many adults in their 20s or 30s can relate to. What inspired the lyrics to these songs?

I've often found that the melodic structure and the micro-tonal characteristics of a riff are what inspire the emotional landscape of a song. When I hear music, I see colors and shapes and textures that I couldn't necessarily describe to another person. I let that imagery inform my emotional state and the subject matter of the song. The lyrics always coincide with this. Sometimes the lyrics relate more to the music than myself and other times they are stripped word for word from my own personal experience. Either way the lyrics always come from an honest place. I don't see how you could create anything of value without that.

youtube

“4th of July" is a Folk song that pulls on the heart strings of your listeners. The date is very specifically addressed in your lyrics, so why did you choose to release the music video on August 1st instead of the actual day of July 4th?

Thank you! I’m really proud of that song. It brought together a lot of what I’ve been learning about music production and engineering. It gave me a chance to show what I can do. A lot of people have asked about the timing of videos and our team has found through the advice of some very wise music industry people and just trial and error that it’s best to release a listening only video first. I like the idea that people will listen to the work before they start dissecting the visuals. I want them to have their own interpretation and not necessarily the visual scenery I put on it.

Of all the musicians and bands that have released music videos in 2020, which ones have inspired your imagination the most, when it comes to creating your own videos?

I often find myself influenced by a variety of artists across musical genres. To give an example or two, I really love what Jacob Collier and Finneas are doing with their videos. But at the same time, some of my favorite videos are the ones that are stripped down, and the artist is just performing their song in a studio or on a stage. I think it puts a beautiful focus on the music and the emotional texture of the song.

The 2020 Blue Neon Tour was going to be your first heading tour, but it was cancelled back in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Can you tell us a little bit about what you had in store for this tour?

Well, I was lucky that I got a chance to kick it off at the Troubadour here in Los Angeles. Just that alone was pretty cool. I had a full tour planned to go around the country and then travel to international cities and do meet-and-greets with my fans and really connect. I was really looking forward to my first SXSW performance, so that was a really hard pill to swallow when they cancelled the festival. But all things considered, I’ve been incredibly lucky in my life and my little plans pale in comparison when you look at the state of the world right now.

How many songs have you recorded since the pandemic shutdowns began? And will you be releasing an EP or debut album anytime soon?

“I Love You” and “4th of July” were released this year but everything else I’m doing is currently in a state of flux. I’ve definitely got the songs but it’s a balance of finding the time to put into recording them. I have a large catalog that I’m really proud of that will be coming out one at a time as I can get to it. With (Covid-19) it’s really slowed down my ability to record because I have to engineer everything myself. With “4th of July” I had 3 different engineers on rotation come to my house to work so it kept me working on a strong schedule and we knocked it out fast. When (Covid-19) put everyone in quarantine I lost that team and schedule. We’ll get it back though.

youtube

Who would your dream collaborators be for a full-length studio album and why?

Wow, I mean, if I was ever lucky enough to work with any of my idols, I’d be over the moon. If I got to collaborate with another artist for an entire album it would probably be on a production or writing level. I’d love to work with John Mayer, Finneas, Charlie Puth or Ed Sheeran.

If you could pick any film director to direct the first music video from your debut album who would it be and why?

Honestly, I don’t think in terms of music videos. I only think about music. Once a song is produced then I have the luxury to get into the ideas for a video. I do have some raw visual impressions in my mind of what the song means to me but it’s hard to say until the song is done. Though there are many film directors that I’d love to work with as an actor such as Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle and the list goes on and on and on.

We heard that you're a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Tell us about your work with the UN. What made you want to get involved with their efforts to stop Illegal wildlife trade? And why has it been so important for you to shed more light on the animal agricultural industry?

I can’t begin to tell you what a privilege it has been to be able to magnify my concerns about saving our planet through their channels. The environmental crisis is the largest and the most complex problem we face in the world. I have always wanted to use the platform I lucked into as an actor to showcase that. It all started with not being able to go surfing after a rain and that led to many realizations about carbon emissions and the role of the animal agriculture industry in those emissions. I don’t want to seem preachy to people or judge anyone’s choices, but I do want to spread awareness as I learn from the world’s top scientists. The truth is that if we don’t take aggressive action in the next few years, my generation isn’t going to have a viable future in a collapsed environment. The UN is calling the next ten years the "Decade of Action.” As individuals, there are a lot of small steps people can take that make a huge difference collectively such as “Meatless Mondays”, cutting down on single use plastic and cash voting for the environment with your daily spending.

You launched a five-part Q&A series on your YouTube channel back in September. Most of the questions from your fans were centered around your role as Number Five on The Umbrella Academy. Are you planning on creating any new content for your channel that primarily focuses on your musicianship and artistry as a songwriter?

I have a lot of plans for all kinds of content and ways to stay engaged with fans and it all makes me really happy. I’ve been doing music performances for my Patreon members every week, and music performing has always given me happiness. I bet a lot of performers are experiencing depression once they lost the ability to tour. Patreon brought back that happiness to me. Not every person who follows me is into my music, so it’s just for those who are and who would come to a show if I were touring in their city. I try to balance my time between the various things I’m passionate about; however, the past few months have really been about promoting the vote.

You play the guitar and piano. In addition to singing, producing and engineering. Take us back to the early stages of your timeline as a musician. Were you a self-taught musician or did you have instructors and mentors help you develop your skills?

Well, when you're first starting out you generally work on covers to develop your skills with your instrument while also making it fun. Once you can play the chords and you have an understanding of how your instrument works, you can learn things at your leisure. I started off taking lessons but eventually I stopped due to production and had to let my ear guide my learning. That's also when I started writing songs. I never took lessons for songwriting, I just watched YouTube. In particular I remember John Mayer’s seminar at Berklee College of Music to be a defining influence on my methodology for songwriting. As for producing and engineering, I'm completely self-taught and rely only on YouTube research and my own musical instinct to create.

Most of your songs could be categorized as Pop-Rock. What other genres of music would you like to incorporate into your sound?

I like all kinds of music, so I’m not necessarily trying to find a genre to incorporate but I guess you get influenced by whatever you are listening to. Genres are so blended these days, and I really think music operates on more of a spectrum than it does on individual categorizations of itself.

Who are your top five Pop-Rock artists/bands of all-time? And why?

There’s way more than five! But since 5 is my lucky number I’ll try to narrow it down but it’s not in any order. Also know that this list is characterized by how I define Pop-rock. My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, David Bowie, Queen and Foo Fighters.

We noticed that you filmed season two of The Umbrella Academy in Toronto. How do you think the experience of living in that city helped shape you as a songwriter and artist?

I think in order to write about life you have to live life. At this point in my life, I don't at all consider myself worldly as I simply haven't lived long enough and because of that I find that a lot of my music is introspective, and my songs often feel like the places I've written them. By putting yourself in new environments, I think it pulls new ideas out of you. Travel broadens the mind.

Hypothetically speaking, if you had to choose between winning a Grammy Award as a solo artist or a winning Academy Award with the entire cast of The Umbrella Academy, which option would you pick?

Awards aren’t why I make music or act. I don’t think about them. I just love music and acting. Any part I can play in those fields brings me happiness and I'd love to experiment with the different aspects of those art forms. Initially I got into acting because I wanted to be a director. I also loved listening to music, but I had no idea I would be a musician until I started taking piano lessons.

What’s the plan for your music career moving forward? Do you plan to continue to release material independently or would you prefer to be signed to a major record label?

It was a hard decision, but right now it’s best for me to remain an independent artist as I’m growing my music and balancing an acting career. I had really exciting offers from major labels, but they all want me to drop acting and tour full time. I also really enjoy having creative control over my songs. For the past couple of years, I’ve mostly been writing and because of that, I’ve built up a huge catalog of music to produce when I get the time. After that I’m really looking forward to being able to perform more and on tour. For the time being, I’m really excited about catching up with what I’ve written so that I’ll finally be in a place where I can write a song and begin recording it the next day.

#Aidan Gallagher #Pop #Rock #4th of July #I LOVE YOU #Umbrella Academy

10 notes · View notes

d2kvirus · 5 years

Text

Dickheads of the Month: July 2019

As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of July 2019 to make sure that they are never forgotten.

To the surprise of nobody the first cabinet of Boris Johnson is a chamber of horrors, with pro-death penalty twerp Priti Patel being appointed Home Secretary, berk who didn’t appear to realise the UK was an island Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary, the Grime reaper to all benefits claimants Esther McVey as Housing & Communities Secretary, leaker of sensitive information Gavin Williamson as Education Secretary, while Jacob Rees Mogg decided that correcting his underlings’ grammar was more important than anything else - and he also just so happens to have appointed the campaign director of the Leave campaign Dominic Cummings as his senior advisor, and by complete coincidence the data-mining ads started appearing on Facebook almost immediately after Cummings’ appointment

To the surprise of nobody, the second The Nigel Farage Ego Project MEPs set foot inside the EU Parliament they made complete twunts of themselves by turning their backs on a band playing Ode to Joy in “protest” of the EU anthem, which only served to give people reason to ask if they were going to protest by refusing their EU-funded salaries, while others were risking a Godwin’s Law violation by pointing out that A Certain German Political Party did the exact same thing at the Reichstag in 1926

Of course, on an individual level those same Faragist MEPs were capable of making twunts of themselves, be it David Bull howling about having to travel to Strasbourg to do the job he was elected to do while also complaining about having to catch four trains being an example of EU inefficiency…when his route involved two trains to get from Ipswich to King’s Cross for the Eurostar yet once in Paris he needed one change to get to Strasbourg yet apparently it was Strasbourg that was inaccessible and not Ipswich, while Ann Widdecombe dusted off the old Leaver tropes early by comparing the EU to slave owners while expecting to be taken seriously by anyone other than the most indoctrinated of Arron Banks’ cronies

A week or so later it was Robert Rowland taking his turn in the spotlight/sitting in the corner wearing a dunce cap saying that the UK should set up a 200 mile exclusion zone around the country and task the Royal Navy with sinking any EU-based fishing vessels, which manages to be a declaration of war, a tremendous waste of resources, and a painful inability to figure out that technically he;s advocating the Royal Navy sinking any riverboat in Paris or Amsterdam due to those cities being 200 miles from the UK

Of course don’t think I didn’t notice the Lib Dem MEPs walking around in their “Bollocks to Britait” t-shirts when they showed up, once again pretending the Lib Dems could in any way win a Parliamentary vote with their eight MPs while also hoping nobody asks what would happen if their new leader was a Hard Leaver

Milkshake enthusiast Tommy Robinson had a genius defence at the High Court: he didn’t know that him filming people entering court when there were reporting restrictions was a violation of his previous court order, even though a.) He said while livestreaming it he could get in trouble and b.) That means his defence was that he wasn’t listening when being sentenced in court the previous time he was arrested for doing the exact same thing

Arbiter of whether two legs are bad or better Tony Hall warned that the world is facing an assault on truth...the day after the BBC’s Panorama ran an episode about antisemitism in the Labour party where the evidence it provided was a heavily doctored e-mail from Seamus Milne and testimony from Louise Withers Green about an interview with Jackie Walker...that is ever so slightly tainted by the fact that Walker claims to have never met her - and a few days before an edition of Victoria Derbyshire featured David Collier’s loyal lieutenant Tracy Ann Oberman being allowed to give the usual bilge from Collier’s set without anyone to offer an opposing viewpoint nor any kind of challenge from Derbyshire herself

It would seem the selective amnesia of the years 2010-15 that blights most Lib Dem supporters has affected those behind the Amber Alert Twitter feed, judging by how they are so invested in spamming Twitter with accusations that a vote for Labour at a general election is a vote for Farage - somehow forgetting that a vote for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election was an actual vote for the Tories as the Lib Dems ushered them into power, or that more recently the Lib Dems were caught forming a pact with Tory and UKIP councillors in Bolton to force out the incumbent Labour council

Then again, considering that the main actions Jo Swinson took upon being elected Lib Dem leader was to try and shut down all criticism of her voting record as “misogyny” and rapidly followed that with an outright lie stating that Jeremy Corbyn was on holiday for two weeks during the EU referendum period (and when admitting the lie she tried to turn it into another attack on Corbyn) she continued the Lib Dems’ bizarre determination to be the most untrustworthy party in Britain at a time where Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are party leaders - but when questions about her voting record continued, she then claimed it was a “personal attack” to quote something that is freely available to the public

Swinson wasn’t the only one rewriting history, as Dominic Raab claimed he had warned people about the dangers of No Deal...apart from the fact there’s plentiful evidence of him doing the exact opposite for the past three years, or to put another way a myriad of reasons to call him a liar

According to Nick Timothy it's all the fault of those belligerent Irish who don’t know their place that the Irish backstop is a major issue for any No Deal Britait plans...and definitely not the Tory party, who he was writing policy for assuming they’d be compliant towards their English lords and masters so there was no reason to plan anything in advance, let alone consider the obvious issue itt would cause

Disney announcing Halle Bailey as Ariel for the pointless live action Little Mermaid film drew a response from the triggered little manbabies that bypassed predictable and went full-on cliche, because apparently only Caucasian redheads could ever play a mermaid…even though Hans Christian Andersen didn’t specify what colour her hair was, but apparently that’s not important right now

As if milkshake enthusiast Tommy Robinson hadn’t made himself look dunderheaded enough, he then had a complete irony bypass by pleading for asylum to the US while also claiming that he was maybe a couple of days away from being sentenced to death - or, to put it another way, after years of ranting about migrants and asylum seekers he wanted to run away from a country that doesn’t have the death penalty to one that does in order to avoid a prison sentence...which he can’t even run away to as he’s banned from entering the country due to being busted for trying to enter the country on a stolen passport

It says a lot that Geert Wilders not only swallowed Robinson’s version of events whole, but parroted his belief that the UK is becoming like North Korea...which is plentiful evidence that Wilders didn’t do the slightest bit of research before mouthing off

There’s a reason why nobody has ever accused Nigel Farage of understanding irony, and that reason became abundantly clear when his response to Ursula von der Leyen winning the vote to become President of the European Commission by 54% to 46% by saying it was no clear mandate...after three years of saying a 51.8% to 48.2% vote is a mandate that should be obeyed or be branded a traitor

On the subject of accusing people who don't agree with you of treason, Tory councillor Roger Patterson tweeted that Jeremy Corbyn should be executed for treason and that Corbyn’s supporters should be exterminated

This is not to be mistaken for Dan Hodges posting the usual “something something MOMENTUM ARE THE TRUE EXTREMISTS some thing something” drivel on Twitter

As if the visual of Boris Johnson brandishing a kipper during a speech didn’t make him look like he’d forgotten he is supposed to be a politician and not a Monty Python tribute act, the fact he was mouthing off about the packaging that the EU forces upon the poor unfortunate kipper-producers of the Isle of Man was ever so slightly undone by the fact that the Isle of man is not in the EU, so the packaging is forced upon them by the United Kingdom

Once again crawling out from a particularly dense rock was Priti Patel and her latest totalitarian message to keep the plebs in line, namely how the new government should prevent the general public from being able to take legal action against the government

According to Sarah Champion she voted against Theresa May’s Britait deal as it didn’t offer enough protections, but we should absolutely have No Deal because even though that has no protections whatsoever the UK has to leave the EU because of reasons and, when challenged, compared the whole situation to a game of poker. Sadly, not one word of what I just typed was embellished...

It was predictably depressing that the sexless edgelords of the internet responded to the murder of Bianca Devins and the subsequent posting of photos of her mutilated corpse to 4chan was to say that she deserved it and were content to concoct any reason they could think of to say this was the case, just as it was predictably depressing that the clout-chasing knobheads of the internet were posting the photos to show off that, yes, they can use screengrab...just like everybody else

In a similar vein, it surprised absolutely nobody that Tory tribalists responded to Boris Johnson dropping the investigation into Mark Field assaulting somebody with sentiments such as “she wasnt (sic) assaulted, she certainly deserved to be”

It apparently didn’t occur to Ian Austin that, if he wants to portray himself as somebody taking a stand against racism and extremism, there’s better papers to write columns for than The Sun...

It was obviously a slow month for Rachel Riley throwing accusations of antisemitism around like a burglar throws bricks through shop windows, as the best she could manage was comparing a brass band playing Hava Nagila at the Durham Miners Gala to somebody screening Black Panther at a Klan rally

Remember how Theresa May said she would support the LGBT community on her way out of office? Apparently she didn’t, given she didn’t bother to show up for the vote on allowing same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland

Congratulations to Jacob Rees Mogg for demonstrating the combined desperation and delusion of the Hard Leave mob by using England’s victory in the Cricket World Cup to say how it “proves” the UK will be better after Britait...while ignoring the team had an Australian coach, Irish captain, as well as players from South Afirca, New Zealand and Barbados, making him sound as clueless as David Vance did when making equally tone deaf comments about the Champions League final

Can somebody tell Lewis Goodall to let it go? His banging on about how Labour are the only British party not to have a female leader (which ignores the fact Harriet Harman was interim leader of the party in 2010 and 2015, which is worth mentioning as he cites Catherine Blaiklock’s time in charge of The Nigel Farage Ego Project as evidence of TNFEP having a female leader, but inevitably degenerated into the predictable “WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WON’T THEY LET JESS PHILLIPS LEAD THE PARTY??????????????” whinge we’ve heard from the centrist echo chamber for too often for the past two years

Somebody at Glumberland thought the best way to announce their game Ooblets would be an Epic Games Store exclusive would be to do so with a blog that opened by being exceptionally condescending to anyone who would read it before considering maybe explaining the valid reasons why they made this choice...and then went back to sounding like it was written by a complete arsewit by saying that people should be more outraged by climate change or human rights abuses than their game deciding to be an Epic Games Store exclusive, which for some strange reason led to a teeny tiny amount of backlash against the developer...

Bloody hell, did Nike really not think that putting the Betsy Ross flag on their trainers might not be a good look? Because guess what? It wasn’t a good look

You would think it would be hard for G2A to make themselves look even worse by the widely-known issue that their service is regularly used by scammers to the point where indie game devs actively encourage people to pirate their games rather than buy keys from G2A’s storefront, yet G2A responded first with a bizarre statement where they attempted to clear their name by...saying something about Amazon, eBay and Google ads without actually stating there was any oversight or fraud prevention, and if that didn’t make them look inept enough they were also caught out trying to bribe journalists for favourable press coverage

Just when you think WWE fanboys couldn’t get more obnoxious in their insecurities about AEW, they start howling from the rooftops because they booked Sonny Kiss vs Peter Avalon on the pre-show for Fight for the Fallen because...I legitimately have no idea, since those same obnoxious fanboys were saying AEW needed members of the roster with character yet the second two of them were booked together on the pre-show it was like Hulk Hogan poking Kevin Nash in the chest in the main event of an episode of WCW Nitro all over again

As per usual Manchester United fans are quick to point accusing fingers when anyone fouls one of their players, in this case Moussa Sissoko trampling on Daniel James in a pre-season friendly...yet are even quicker to make excuses for when their own players commit nasty challenges, such as Andreas Pereira going for Harry Kane’s ankle with a studs-up challenge in the same game

Oh joy, it’s the annual return of the lunatic fringe of Spurs supporters and this time they have two hashtags, with PackPoch joining the usual LevyOut one - which in no way makes them look like entitled wankers who think that, as a transfer takes minutes in Football Manager, that is obviously how they happen in real life

So not only did Paddy Power plaster their logo across Huddersfield Town’s kit in an absolute monstrosity that made the club a laughing stock, but a few days later they admitted it was some kind of publicity stunt...which made the club a laughing stock for a second time

And finally, as per usual, we have Donald Trump and his belief that airports existed in the 18th century, which is somehow the fault of the teleprompter not working and not him being so dense that he couldn’t think for himself about airports not existing in the 18th century - although for some reason he isn’t telling his Slovenian-born wife to use one of those airports to go back where she came from, but he does say that about any US-born congresswoman who disagrees with him while also happening to not be white

#dickheads of the month

0 notes

akimbohimbo · 5 years

Text

Hey, I know no one’s probably going to read this, and that’s a good thing because I think I just need to spill some things (emotions). I mean, some of my friends follow me on this account and that’s fine and all, but I just need to yell. Read this or don’t, it’s for me to write and document. Maybe I’ll look back on this and think it was fucking stupid or something. I don’t know. I have a tendency to avoid the Triggering Shit in my life and just rant about my love life because that’s all I am comfortable with sharing with anyone, really.

Here we go with a free write. Let the thoughts pour.

I’m listening to Jacob Collier’s “Once You” and I can’t help but feel reminiscent of something that has long passed. Who it’s about, I don’t know. I can just sense this, like, wistful longing of things. I can’t really explain it. I keep having dreams of being in a comfortable relationship with various people, and I don’t know how to feel about it. On one side, I want to work on myself and my own stability, but on the other hand I really miss being with someone. And not sexually, or anything meaningless like that. I miss having someone to hold; making mac and cheese together in the kitchen, cuddling, all that romantic jazz.

I do this thing where I go outside constantly as a means of avoiding self-confrontation with my own feelings. I go and watch sunsets all the time, whether it be alone or with my friends. All of the romantic shit you see in movies, I do that with my friends. I don’t know, I kind of want to do all of those things with one person, you know? There’s a sense of familiarity and stability with doing that. I’m probably polyamorous, but I do see the appeal of monogamy. I kind of want that right now. I’m done with just fucking around.

There’s this guy I could totally have that with. A domestic kind of relationship that would be smooth and easy-going. I just don’t feel the same way about him as I do about other people I’ve seriously dated. It’s not as strong, I mean. He’s a great friend, but I don’t know. It’s kind of like, 500 Days of Summer and I’m Summer, he’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Literally that. Except he’s not a selfish dick, and Tom (the character) totally is.

And there’s this other guy who’s just phenomenal in every way possible. Except for the one huge mistake he made awhile ago with another friend, but I know and I can sense that he has grown for that. I’ve been friends with him for quite some time now and we had a thing awhile back. I kind of want to marry him. I kind of don’t. He infuriates me. Alas, there’s still uncertainty on my end because I still really do love girls and I know I’d be doing him a disservice if I weren’t honest about everything I’m feeling. Honestly, if he were a girl I’d go for it. Like, I’m bisexual but I bond with girls in a much different way than I do with boys.

There’s another guy, but I don’t want to talk about him. He infuriates and confuses every fibre of my being. I don’t talk to him much, either.

And there’s this girl who makes me feel amazing every time I’m with her. I haven’t seen her in a long time, and I miss her. She’s the one person who understands me better than anyone else. And there’s this other girl who’s adorable and makes me feel instantly better when she’s in my presence. She had a thing with one of the guys I talked about prior. I wouldn’t want to hurt any of them, even though they both like me back. Haha. Most of these people that I’ve briefly mentioned liking, they liked (like, present tense) me back. Can you believe that shit? Pfft, I can’t.

Why am I writing this? As a release? Yeah, 100%.

I know I’ve moved on from the love of my life already. That’s a whole ass story in and of itself. I’m being very vague in this whole thing because there’d be too much to talk about and I’m considering writing a TV series because wow oh boy I have an... interesting life, to put it mildly. Do I still miss her on occasion? Yeah, absolutely. I can acknowledge that she was a large part in my life and in making me into the person I am today.

I am an exasperated ball of confusion and frankly, I don’t know what I want. I don’t even know why I’m writing this or posting it.

Despite all of this, I am doing much better than I normally would be, mentally speaking. I’m not constantly depressed, nor am I looking back at things that “could have been.” I’m looking forward and living life to the fullest, cliche as it sounds.

I guess one thing I can say is this: I miss the feeling of being in love. I miss loving someone for who they are, accepting them for their flaws and imperfections. I miss doing cheesy things with one person, as opposed to my friends. Stargazing, watching sunsets, exploring the city, playing music with someone, being a little dumb - I want to do those things with one person.

Maybe that person will come into my life. Maybe they’re already here and it hasn’t developed, yet. No matter what happens though, I know I will be okay.

That’s where I am right now in my romantic endeavours, I guess.

Sincerely mine, kgem

#quiet kgem

0 notes

junker-town · 7 years

Text

Where were you when the Kick Six happened?

Everyone remembers exactly what they were doing when Auburn shocked Alabama. We’ve collected a bunch of stories. Add yours in the comments!

Recently I did something that I often do when bored. I watched the Kick Six.

youtube

It’s this version first, because local radio is our nation’s finest export. Then sometimes it’s from in-stadium or someone going bonkers in their living room. But this time, I realized I remembered exactly where I was when it happened.

On Nov. 30, 2013, at a BBQ spot in Gainesville, Fla., I was meeting friends in town for the weekend. With the second put back on the clock, wait staff and patrons all stopped. Kitchen staff came out from the back, and we all watched Chris Davis go down in football history.

So I asked the question.

The Kick Six is *THE* Kennedy shot moment of CFBTwitter. Where were you?

— Richard Johnson (@RJ_Writes) March 29, 2017

And you provided the answers. Folks fell into some distinct categories. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

First, the poor souls who didn’t see it.

Paul Wiley (@pmwcville) I was pooping.

No one in our family had any connection to either school: we were just watching a damn good game together. I had gone to the bathroom just off the TV room when Auburn iced [kicker Adam] Griffith, figuring I had plenty of time. Next thing I heard, Dad starts narrating. "Kick's up. Looks wide, maybe short. Auburn is ... no way ... NO WAY ... HOLY SHIT."

Meanwhile, I'm furiously wiping my ass and trying to get back in front of a television.

Nathan (@Napier_Nathan) I was at a bowling tournament in Plano, TX. I misunderstood the cheering as people mocking me for the poor shot I had just taken. Boy, was I wrong.

Anthony Elias (@Anthony_Elias) I was waiting for my friend to pick me up as we're supposed to head over to my buddy’s house to watch some of the night games. Bama was lining up to kick the field goal, and my buddy was already outside in the car, and I told him, “why don't you come in, and we'll watch the end of the game, and then we can leave when it's over?”

However, my friend was really stubborn and said, "Hey, he's probably going to miss this field goal. If we leave now, we can be at our other friend's house to watch overtime." I begrudgingly agreed, and got in the car. I was tracking the score on my phone in the car, and I saw that Auburn scored a touchdown, but that couldn't be.

As I was trying to figure out how, we lost cell service in a rural area and took way longer than we expected to get there.

Dan (@danielfsweeney) I was walking to my car on Georgia Tech's campus after the UGA/GT game. My mom called my wife to get in touch with me (my phone had died). Wife answered the phone. Mom frantically said she needed to talk with me.

My mom described what had happened. My response to every detail: "Wait, what?" I'll never forget just shaking my head, laughing, and repeating my mom's words back to her like she was crazy.

Mike (@that_doughboy) I had watched the entire game at my house, but we were leaving as a family to go to my grandparents’ house for a post-Thanksgiving get-together. The last play I remember was something involving Sammie Coates. Then my dad turned it off and said Alabama would win because Bama always wins.

Bill Connelly (@SBN_Billc) I was tailgating for the biggest Mizzou home game in forever. We were sort of keeping up with the Iron Bowl, and on the way to the stadium, we were trying to find out if Auburn had tied.

“Wait, they WON??”

It was like the slowest game of telephone as everybody figured out what happened (with terrible in-stadium cell signal). And then they showed it on the jumbotron. Somebody in the student section scribbled “AUBURN” over their “We Want Bama” sign.

Kyle (@KyleParmley) I surprised my dad with tickets to the game, and things went according to plan, until T.J. Yeldon ran out of bounds at what was seemingly the end of regulation. My dad says, "I've got to pee" and runs off, thinking the game was heading to overtime.

He's not back when Nick Saban gets a second put back on the clock or when the kick return happens. The realization that Davis was going to run the kick back turned into me jumping into strangers’ arms and not knowing what to do.

My dad claims he emerged from the concourse just in time to catch the Kick Six from the entrance of the tunnel.

Jake (@erwinjake) I had to leave Thanksgiving weekend with my family because I had come down with the flu. I was alone in my sad bachelor apartment, wrapped in a blanket and trying not to die.

I am a Clemson grad, so I had already changed the channel to watch the beginning of our game against the hated Gamecocks. I missed the Kick Six completely, and only knew I had missed something historic when I saw Twitter erupt.

Also, Clemson lost.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Those who never lost faith in Auburn Jesus.

Geoff Parsh (@bgblutigerfan) It started with going to the UGA game two weeks prior and witnessing The Prayer in person.

youtube

We were pumped up. My daughter and I were watching at home in Columbia, South Carolina, saying our prayers to the football gods.

I told my daughter, as they were lining up, that a blocked or short kick could be returned.

Charley Collier (@ccollier64) I was in an Indianapolis sports bar after a Butler game. Before it happened, I said out loud, and everyone heard it, "He's gonna miss this kick, and Auburn is gonna return it for a touchdown.” Everyone there lost their mind.

Nikko Tan (@TheNikkoTan) I napped during the entire game and woke up for the last play.

I literally turned on the TV in the living room in my parents' home in Ocala, Florida while Alabama was lining up. As soon as Davis cut left, I knew it was a touchdown. The football gods woke me up to watch the Kick Six.

Chad Gibbs (@chad_Gibbs) Because of our angle and low seats, the field goal looked good, and I remember flinching hard when it crossed the crossbar, because I thought it went through. Then Davis runs toward the sideline, and we lose him behind the Auburn bench.

At some point my wife and I tumbled into an Indian family sitting below us. Introductions were made later, after the reverse “Rammer Jammer,” and randomly enough, we served the same family communion at church the next morning.

Trevor Flack (@Kodak_FlackMy) I didn't go too wild because I’d remarked to my friend, "I just hope if he misses, it goes through the back, because if not, it has a good chance of being returned."

John Carl Hastings (@jchastings09) I had flown from North Carolina to attend with my family in the seats we've held since before I was born. But at the last minute, a friend offered me a chance to sit in the scholarship seats on the 25-yard line, right in front of golfer Jason Dufner.

I sat next to a man I did not know. He carried himself in a way that communicated that he’d seen some stuff, man. But hoo boy, did this guy have a knack for calling plays. In the first half, he would just mutter to himself, "Nick's about to break one." Boom; 50-yard Nick Marshall TD run. In the third quarter, when it felt like the game was beginning to get away from us, he leaned over and said, "Watch for C.J. here." Touchdown, C.J. Uzomah, on the next play.

I leaned to my friend and said, "What's with this Oracle over here?"

He replied, "I've never seen that guy in my life."

Based on The Prayer at Jordan-Hare from two weeks earlier, I had a feeling I was dealing with a peculiar Barn Jesus situation, so I just let it ride.

On Auburn's last drive, I was convinced that Gus Malzahn was about to run the clock out through dumb playcalling and/or not taking a timeout, but The Oracle leaned over and said, "We're gonna be fine." Next play: Marshall to Coates to tie it up.

Now, I'm a pastor, but I was then convinced that I had no frame of reference for what kind of supernatural wizardry I was dealing with. Had we slipped through a portal to an alternate plane where Auburn didn't cause me crushing disappointment?

When Alabama drove just past the 50, my 26-year conditioning as an Auburn fan took over, and I came to the harsh realization that the cheatin' Tide had just set us up for another monumental heartbreak. I leaned over to my friend and said, "Boy is it gonna suck to lose this game like this."

As a roar erupted like I'd never experienced before, I turned to the Emissary from the Otherworld to my left. He gave me a wry smile, slapped my hand in the highest of fives, and disappeared.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The people who wisely said to hell with professionalism.

Ethan Brady (@EbradyAU) We were standing on roughly the 20-yard line with Auburn AD Jay Jacobs and fellow athletics media staff just in front of where Davis caught the missed FG. By the time he turned up the sideline, the majority of Auburn’s admins, coaches, and players were unable to see the play develop, resulting in us standing on the field by the numbers, trying to catch a glimpse. Just by the sheer noise, everyone knew what’d happened.

Auburn media staff with years of not celebrating at games were crying, hugging, and cheering.

During Coach Malzahn’s postgame interview, I was with his wife, Kristi, where I normally saved her a stool against the wall. He was asked if this was his greatest win ever and tried to answer with his famous coach speak, and I whispered, “Just say yes,” to no one in particular. Kristi Malzahn, whether she heard me or not, had the same thought and yelled, “Say yes!”

His excited reply that yes, it was his biggest win was priceless, genuine, and will always be my favorite memory of Coach Malzahn.

This guy.... #thankfulheart #inallthings #toGodbetheglory http://pic.twitter.com/tUT9Bm5Zcp

— Kristi Malzahn (@kristi_malzahn) December 1, 2013

Richard Stephens (@rastephens_82I) Was at the scoreboard console in the press box, since I am the scoreboard operator.

Before the play, I had the scoreboard all set up for overtime. Then the referee asked me to put one second back on the clock, so I did, and reset it to the fourth quarter. Fixed the timeouts remaining and all.

Then when the kick was short and Davis was running the ball back, he got to around midfield, and it looked like the coast might actually be clear. I jumped out of my seat.

Once he scored, I scanned the field for penalty flags, scanned the field AGAIN for flags in disbelief, sort of convinced myself that it really DID happen, and pushed the "Home Score +6" button.

Then I jumped up and down cheering, just like most of the rest of the stadium.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“It was so good, my family cussed.”

Spencer Hall (@edsbs) My dad, a Bama fan, stood up, laughed, paused, and said, "Well ... SHIT, what are you supposed to do with THAT?"

Chad (@Chad_Floyd) I was at my parents' house. My dad, a man of the Lord, uttered, "Holy fucking hell, is that even legal?"

This was the first and, to this day, only audible f-bomb uttered by my father in my presence.

Chris (@CABush11) When it sank in that, yes, THIS JUST HAPPENED, I lost control, jumping and screaming and hugging everyone in sight, not because that's what you're supposed do, but because it's all I could do.

My uncle, standing right behind me, whom I'd never heard curse, yells, "Shove it up your ass, Saban!"

My dad and I bear hugged my mother, brother, and sister-in-law between us, and continued screaming. At one point, I think my knees went out from under me. We didn't make it onto the field from the upper deck, but we stayed for at least 45 minutes.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The Alabama fans.

Jonathan Waldrop (@JonathanWaldrop) My Dad and I were waiting for the kick (we both assumed it was going to be missed, based off, you know, every game) and kinda resigned ourselves to, "Shit. Overtime." I was sitting on the ottoman stool next to my dad's chair (the closer the game, the nearer my proximity to the television gets).

As Griffith booted it, for a split second, I thought it had a chance, but it came up short. The next 10 seconds I initially thought were illegal (I still do, tbh), and I kept looking for that yellow graphic below the televised score.

Gabe (@GJGXXV) I was with my mother, a University of Alabama alumnus, AFTER she had gotten out of the hospital for a surgery. Room went silent, and she said, "I'd re-tear my ACL running faster than those losers to tackle him." She was pissed for a good month.

Daniel Mote (@daniel_mote) I, an Alabama fan and an Auburn student (the most despicable of fans), was standing in the Auburn student section, staring in disbelief and horror.

The best of the Alabama #struggleface http://pic.twitter.com/q1dp3HDVR1

— BlackSportsOnline (@BSO) December 1, 2013

Jeremy Hudson (@jermkeith) I and my wife, who is also an Alabama alum, were watching at home, having just finished decorating our apartment for Christmas. We knew Auburn was talented but believed we had the better team and were on our way to being three-peat national champions.

I opened the door and prepared for a victory sprint down the stairs and around our apartment complex. I had total confidence the ball was going in and we would win. And, when it left Griffin's foot, it looked good, so I was slightly disappointed when Davis caught the ball.

This quickly became confusion and then, even quicker, dread. About the time he crossed his own 20, I muttered out loud, "He's gone." It was too obvious. His blockers were set, and we didn't have anyone on the field capable of catching him. My wife and I sat there in stunned silence as we watched him race.

Finally, I shut the door, and we watched the end of the telecast, trying to digest the disaster we'd just experienced.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Restaurant and food memories that far exceed mine.

Payne Walker (@Payne_Train18) I was at Outback, and a brawl broke out on the other side of the restaurant five minutes later. Food was free. Best. Night. Ever.

Andy Boulle (@Theandyboulle) I was at a crazy burger place and debating whether to get the two-pound burger. Once I saw Auburn do a miracle, I thought I could, so I ordered it. I threw up.

Coleman Bahr (@ColemanBahr) I just finished my shift at work and went to a Mexican restaurant with my family to watch the fourth quarter.

I actually fell out of my seat. Then some family started yelling at me. I didn't know what they were saying because, one, I don't speak Spanish; two, I was in awe of what I’d just witnessed.

Alexander Kilpatrick (@alexhatesdogs) Watching at my father's house. Threw a bowl of trail mix in the air, which then broke, to make fruit, nut, and shattered porcelain trail mix.

Mike (@mikelaskey) When Alabama seemed to have the game in hand in the middle of the fourth quarter, my wife — who doesn't watch football at all — came into the living room and said Auburn was going to win. I bet her and gave her good odds: if Bama won, she's have to make us popcorn; if Auburn came back, I'd do her least-favorite chores for a month.

We both ended up shouting at the television for different reasons.

Clisby Wilson (@Crispy_Goodness) I was working for a pizza place in Auburn. I was already disappointed that I wouldn't be able to attend after just witnessing the Prayer at Jordan-Hare a couple weeks earlier.

So I came prepared to listen, any way possible. I had my phone hooked up to the Tune-In app, radio on at work, and game on the TV in the lobby; there was no way I would miss any moment of it.

I remember the fourth quarter specifically. I had just went out for delivery and got to listen to the Marshall-to-Coates touchdown. I was banging on the ceiling of my car, trying not to crash. After I delivered the pizza, I was trying to get back to the store in time to see the rest, but I knew I wouldn't make it. So I pulled over on the side of the road, sat in my car, and listened to radio.

As soon as he said, “Auburn's gonna win the football game,” I lost it! I got out my car, ran around it a few times. I may have climbed on top; I don't remember. I was just happy we won after so many people had doubted us, including myself. As soon as I got back to the store, I screamed and hugged my boss.

But the best part of the night was seeing my sad co-workers who were Alabama fans being left speechless.

Isaac (@firejimmora) I was in Grand Central Terminal in NYC, walking to meet my mom and stepfather (a huge Bama fan) at a restaurant in the lower levels. I was early, so I was pacing around the upper levels, listening to the Auburn radio call on my phone.

The Kick Six happened, and I lost my damn mind. I literally sprinted through a crowd of confused and annoyed New Yorkers down to the restaurant with a huge, shit-eating grin and saw my stepdad, who was desperately refreshing his phone to see what’d happened with :01 left.

When I broke the news, he thought I was joking. When I showed him the video, he looked like he was having an aneurysm.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Assorted other hollering

Scott Bryant (@ScottBryant_10) Immediate reaction was to storm the field. No debate, no thought, just a reaction. Had no idea what I was gonna do when I got there either. Passed [ESPN’s] Tom Rinaldi in the crowd. He looked like he was about to cry, just like his GameDay piece.

Jason Kirk (@JasonKirkSBN) My little brother-in-law had died seven days earlier. We were in Kansas for a family memorial coinciding with Thanksgiving.

That Saturday night, I’d skipped a family photo to stay at my aunt’s-and-uncle’s house by myself and work. (I’m the college football editor here, and it was Rivalry Saturday. They would’ve let me off work if I’d asked.)

About 20 hours before my little brother’s memorial, I was already in a fragile state. Davis found the sideline, the words “everything just changed” went through my mind, Alabama was done, Auburn would play Missouri for a title shot, I stood and screamed, “Oh my god,” and sat down to this in our work chat ...

... and this on Twitter ...

@RJ_Writes oh also I still have the screenshot http://pic.twitter.com/uBIvfNpMhg

— actioncookbook (@actioncookbook) March 29, 2017

... and to Spencer writing about a thing, Auburn, that couldn’t possibly die, no matter how final it’d seemed.

Erin Smith (@e_k_smith) It was my senior year, my last home football game as an Auburn student. I was sitting in the end zone directly behind Davis as he caught it. I was in complete shock; the guy sitting next to me fainted and hit the ground.

Katherin Ward (@aukat1988) As soon as Davis cleared the 50, it was like a bomb went off in that stadium. I jumped into the welcoming arms of former Auburn football player Jamar Travis, who I did not know previously. I kissed my brother on the cheek and began skipping like a child up and down the concourse, screaming about how Bama's run to a three-peat was over.

My dad and brother had driven separate, and they hauled it to the car to try and get home to Birmingham. I, on the other hand, went to get on the field. Security was trying to not let anybody else on, so I ignored them and grabbed some of the shrubs from the field, which I have encased today.

Autumne Bennett (@autumnebennett) My first Iron Bowl.

My husband is an '00 alum, and we live in North Carolina. We didn't make it to the field, but we made it to Toomer’s, rolled the trees, got shirts from J&M hot off the presses (literally), and took one last selfie before our phones died from all the texting from friends and family.

Rode back to Raleigh with 'Gotta Second?' on the rear window, wearing orange and getting honks and thumbs up nearly all the way.

Tanner (@tannermunk) I was at my girlfriend's Thanksgiving with her dad's side. They were a super formal family. They rarely ever watched sports, so I did not ask to watch the game. We were all sitting around the living room when someone turned the TV on, and I asked to switch it to the Alabama vs. Auburn game (unaware of the game situation).

We flipped to the channel right as Griffith attempted a game-winning field goal. While Auburn was taking the kick back, the room remained silent, unaware of the impact. I politely asked to go to the restroom and ran outside, fist-pumping in their driveway (not a Bama fan one bit; Hook 'Em). One of the uncles saw me through the window but never brought up the incident.

Emily (@HereComes_Emily) I was in the stands. What makes my story different is that I'm a Gopher fan from Minnesota. My sister and I have a friend in Auburn, and for several years we'd tried to go to the Iron Bowl. This happened to be the year.

Time was up, and Auburn had upset the No. 1 team. Fans started rushing past us to storm the field. Now, as Gopher fans, my sister and I have never experienced this, and my sister had often said it was her dream. I looked at her and said, "This is your chance!" But she didn't move. She was excited, but said, "We can't." I assume it had something to do with it not being the Gophers. I wasn't about to run out there without her, so I spent five minutes convincing her that this was right.

That night, we were Tigers. I'm still not sure what did it, but she finally said okay. We found an opening (thread-bare gap, really) in the hedge and hopped onto the field. Suddenly we were on the 50-yard line, high-fiving strangers, and singing whatever words we knew of the school song.

I lost my voice and most of my hearing, and the line for the bus home was an hour long. It was one of the greatest nights of my life. War Eagle!

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Your turn. Please keep adding to this collection in the comments below!

0 notes

cstesttaken · 7 years

Text

Craig Simpson's Top 10 Must Read Books for Marketing Professionals

Photo: Sandra Starke/EyeEm | Getty Images

Image 1 of 1

Photo: Sandra Starke/EyeEm | Getty Images

Craig Simpson's Top 10 Must Read Books for Marketing Professionals

Entrepreneur Reads is a series designed to bring to our readers the best books we've found to help motivate your entrepreneurial drive. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be notified of new features.

We've asked direct marketer and Entrepreneur Press author Craig Simpson for his favorite books that he believes our readers will enjoy.

Successful Direct Marketing Methods by Bob Stone and Ron Jacobs

This seventh edition of one of the foundational books in the field of direct marketing has been updated to fully integrate web opportunities and methodology. Here you’ll discover all the basics of devising effective campaigns for finding new customers and nurturing existing ones for optimal lifetime value. Each chapter provides a Case Study and ideas for new applications of techniques, making this a full course in designing and executing a direct marketing program that can build a business fast.

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got by Jay Abraham

If you want to take a great idea and grow it into a profitable business, here’s the manual to help you do it. We are surrounded by unseen opportunities. This book will help you learn to see what’s right in front of you (like the entrepreneur who looked at a ballpoint pen and got the idea for roll-on deodorant!. But having a great idea is just the beginning. Abraham then shows how to take that idea and capitalize on it.

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy is perhaps one of the best-known of the legendary marketers. He was often referred to as “The Father of Advertising.” By 1962 he’d revolutionized the way copywriters created ads, and that year Time magazine dubbed him “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.” In this book, he lays out his thinking process that created some of the most successful ads of all time. Fascinating reading – that’s also fast-paced and enjoyable.

The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

Holmes is a highly sought-after business growth consultant and trainer, with an emphasis on marketing. He helps his clients turbocharge their businesses by focusing dedicated effort to improving the areas of greatest importance to the overall health of the business, such as sales, marketing, and management. In this book, he explains how any business can ramp up its effectiveness and profitability by spending time (even just one hour a week) on boosting each of these areas. Very practical and a real eye opener.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

This is another one of those classic works that should be read at some point by every businessperson. Some have called it the most important financial and success book ever written. Hill studied more than 40 millionaires and drew his conclusions on what were the most critical factors determining their success. Then he laid out all his principles in a step-by-step fashion for readers to apply for themselves. For anyone who wants an edge in not only the business world but in every aspect of life, there is much wisdom to be found in this book.

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples

John Caples was a dominating force in the world of direct-response advertising for most of the 20th century. His legendary career had its big start in 1926, when he wrote the fabulously successful (and often imitated) headline: “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!–” The ad was successful because of the measurable response it produced, and scientifically measuring response was what John Caples was all about. In this book he lays out his tested findings for writing more powerful headlines, increasing the selling power of copy, designing ads that attract attention, and more. It’s like a master class with a master advertiser.

The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan S. Kennedy

Great sales copy is essential to any successful campaign, and when it comes to writing great sales copy, Dan Kennedy is one of the best. In this book, he shares his experience and knowledge about why some sales letters work, while most don’t work at all. He also explains the basics of writing copy that you can use to write successful pieces, no matter what business you’re trying to promote. And he does it in straightforward language, with clear instructions, that readers can put to use right away to write and evaluate sales copy that brings results.

The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier

Robert Collier was a fabulously successful direct mail marketer who ruled the field during the first half of the 20th century. He is believed to have written sales letters that brought in upwards of $100 million during the 1920s and 1930s. Today, that would amount to $1 billion. This book is like an advertising primer. In it, Collier analyzes the letters from many of his major campaigns. As we learn why he tried certain techniques, and see how they turned out, we become aware of how much thoughtful insight Collier applied to each of his sales letters based on his deep understanding of human nature. Anyone can become more adept at influencing others by understanding how Collier did it.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This is the book on achieving success has changed countless lives since it was first published in 1937. Carnegie believed that a major factor in success, far above knowledge and skill, was the ability to communicate, lead, and “arouse enthusiasm among people.” In this book, he taught these skills so that relationships with others fulfilled your own goals while elevating the experience of everyone concerned. This book is as true and necessary today as it was when first written.

The Advertising Solution by Craig Simpson and Brian Kurtz

The marketing geniuses of the past have a great deal to tell marketers of today. You could benefit from their wisdom, but you may not have the time to read their original writings yourself. Fortunately, now you don’t have to. This book presents the most powerful principles used by the greatest marketers of all time – the ones who invented the business – who sold billions of dollars worth of product – all distilled down and applied to today’s marketing environment. Online applications of timeless principles are covered in detail.

Become a better marketer by picking up some of these impactful books.

The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

Published 12:00 am, Friday, November 25, 2016

Source

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Craig-Simpson-s-Top-10-Must-Read-Books-for-10633048.php

0 notes