PSA: No new posts for the next few weeks as I'm going on holiday and I reject the notion of always having to be available. Expect new posts starting August 16th. Thank you for reading.
Hark! Hear the rumbling of a new infernal machine, arms, piston-driven, reaching forward, claws firmly pushed into the ground and pulling the entire diabolical contraption forward, inch by inch, slowly encroaching on humanity.
The mechanical evil, eating souls and excreting facsimiles of genuine joy and solace made through pasting together the shredded souls of those it has consumed before, explicitly threatening to supplant the creators of art.
"I think the majority of people don’t enjoy the majority of the time they spend making music," it cries! "It’s not really enjoyable to make music now!"
What a fallacy! Let’s explore.
But! Loose topics
New music first!
Remember Brother’s Keeper? I had a weak spot for their last album, Fantasy Killer, and then it was quiet for a while. And now: a new single, Asymmetrical Warflair, featuring none other than Drug Church? And now… quiet again. No public acknowledgment of this track, it just showed up…
Everyone loves Calvin & Hobbes, of course. And if you don’t, you’re wrong. But ever notice there’s no C&H cinematic universe? No cartoons, toys, merchandise? It’s because creator Bill Watterson never wanted any of that. This lovely article dives into the history and repercussions of that decision.
In the ’90’s, Star Trek was HUGE. And there were quite a few really interesting video games made based on the series, including Borg and Klingon, both full-motion video-based games featuring members of the cast. For a while, they were kind of hard to find, but no more! Play them in your browser here.
Ever feel nostalgic about waiting on digital stuff? The Loading Museum takes you down a memory lane filled with throbbers, hourglasses and beachballs.
Of course the dramatic opening up there is about Suno, an AI music-generating tool; throw in a few keywords and let the slop pour out. ART! ON DEMAND! The quote from the CEO of this damned creation.
It’s all garbage of course. Not because it’s technically especially terrible – the machine has been educated by thousands of human teachers on millions of works, so eager to pull apart every little fibre of sound, only to put it together in new ways that resemble the originals, the final works being passable as long as you don’t hear so much of it that you find the patterns in its weaves.
So now, here it is: your own Midwest emo song about whatever you wrote in your secret daily journal. Your own country song about that stupid fucking truck in your driveway. Art, stapled together just for you and you alone, regurgitated right into your mouth.
Except, creating art really isn’t about making something just for yourself to make yourself feel good, is it?
"The point of music isn’t necessarily just to exorcise your own demons, it’s not about spitting your trauma back at you, it’s about connecting to other people. The reason that you like the artist you like, is because that artist makes you feel seen," I heard The Verge’s Terrence O’Brien say in a recent episode of The Vergecast, which hit home with me.
"If you’re dumping your diary entry into Suno about how you broke up with your girlfriend or you just lost a parent and you add a prompt to it like 'sad country song' or 'alt rock power ballad', I’d argue it’s an exercise in narcissism."
An argument I would support. Added to that, it’s the lack of effort that adds insult to injury. A musician crafts a monument to a feeling, in a way, and it’s the effort and built up skills that create the foundation, using lived experiences and creativity to shape the final piece.
Who amongst us has not had a song find its way underneath our defences and pierce straight into our hearts? I wrote recently about how Fiddlehead’s single Baby I’ll Change has wormed its way into my brain in such a way that now it requires a few plays a day to scratch a very specific itch.
And it’s this that makes a piece of art special. Anyone can create something just for themselves, this blog/newsletter is living proof considering my reader- and subscriber numbers.
But creating something that connects with people is where love lives.1
1For what it’s worth, I reject the notion that art has to be generic to be able to connect. In fact, I find it’s the songs with very specific truths that are the ones that truly make one feels seen.