Whether you’re interested in music, art, culture, or countering venture capital influence and online platform decay (enshittification), this great interview of Liz Pelly by Damon Krukowski is worth a read. https://dadadrummer.substack.com/p/music-is-too-important-to-be-left
Liz Pelly “Music Is Too Important To Be Left To The Marketplace Read More »
So I deleted my Instagram account. And my Facebook account. And my Threads account. Oh, and even my Bluesky account. (And I do want to delete my WhatsApp account.) So, how am I going to share myself and my work now? I mean, it’s not like we have to share the intimate details of ourselves, even though our surveillance capitalistic world does push that message. But as an artist and entrepreneur (yeah, I want to come up with ways to earn a living with my art and my artistic process and experience), I do need to share to provide examples,
I deleted my social media accounts …mostly Read More »
I recently read an opinion piece in The Guardian titled “I Study the Resistance Against the Nazis.” It resonated with me for a couple of reasons, as I try to figure out my role and routine in the world nowadays. Part of my now-years-long transition away from being a full-time academic to full-time…um…artist?! The author, Luke Berryman, uses his analysis of stories of little known people who resisted the Nazis to provide some insight into how people in the US can resist far-right authoritarianism and fascism. He describes how the resistance hasn’t worked well so far, proven by the fact
Taking lessons from Nazi resistors Read More »
Shawn Reynaldo, it is an outstanding newsletter First Floor, asked an important question for not just folks like me, but any world that values thriving culture: Everyone says they want independent music culture, but is anyone willing to pay for it? When I read Shawn’s work, I tend to imagine Eeyore, rather than Tigger or Christopher Robin. I’ve never met him. But mostly his articles are gloomy and follow the unfortunate journalistic writing of “bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, glimmer-of-hope.” He’s no solutions journalist. And I don’t mean to suggest he should be or that all journalists should be (we
Busking, even e-busking, adds magic to the world Read More »
So, how have things been since I decided to leave social media? The most important aspect is that the benefits I anticipated are clear. I don’t miss 99% of it. The 1% I do miss is mostly the memes that my wife shared with me on Instagram. While I could easily find funny cat videos elsewhere, having those moments to laugh together is something special. However, I truly don’t miss much else. Instead, I subscribe to newsletters from artists, organizations, venues, and even restaurants that interest me. I’ve even started using an RSS feed for their Instagram accounts. I would
Since leaving social media… Read More »
This live loop, well, isn’t live because I forgot to press record. So I recorded a live mix, which is apparently almost as challenging for my brain to keep track of as when I’m playing an instrument at the same time. This idea was based on a sample from John Lithgow’s reading of Timothy Snyder’s twenty lessons on fighting tyranny. Those lessons are from Snyder’s 2017 book; each chapter expands on the twenty lessons. I read the book back in 2021. Studying nationalism, fascism, and terrorism (particularly US-based domestic) has been a thing for me for many years, both because
Stand out. Someone has to. Read More »
Are you a United States federal employee? Were you one? Were you recently terminated? This looping session is for you. What Trump and Musk are doing to so many federal employees and the service they provide is not just concerning; it’s cruel. I composed this session around samples I took from a talk by Everett Kelley during the recent Federal Unionist Network “Save Our Service” mass call. It was an inspiring call. Kelley’s words are incredibly motivating. His words apply generally too: We can resist the takeover of the country and government by billionaires and oligarchs if we organize and
Stopping the hostile takeover Read More »
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t insecure about my prospects for success doing music and audio professional full-time. There’s a lot in that sentence to unpack, which I will do down the road. But writing the post about what Big Stitch’s genre is (or genres are?) got me reflecting on genre (yet again). Simply put, thinking about genre makes me think I won’t be able to find an audience and will not be able to build a community and connect with individuals who enjoy my music or my music-making process. Why? Well, as is my nature, I’ve done
Genre makes me anxious Read More »
