Issue 1: Miles
Welcome to the first issue of Everything Is Made Up and sorry for the delay.
“My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.”
Miles Davis
Good morning/afternoon/evening to everyone. This is the first issue of my newsletter. Let me get the preamble out of the way first.
Firstly, apologies for the delay. I was supposed to start this the Sunday I reached 10 subscribers. I don’t have a substantial excuse other than forgetting, laziness, and tiredness. See, no substance there at all.
You may be wondering what the name is about? It comes from a quote by Darius Epps from hit US series, Atlanta. While eating a “breakfast cup”, his friend Earnest “Earn” Marks says “you made that up” to which he replies “everything is made up, ni**a. Stay woke.” That spoke to me and while thinking of a title for this newsletter, that stuck out. Done deal.
In terms of format, it’ll go like this. Each issue is named after a famous person or thing along with an associated quote. Today’s is dedicated to Miles Davis (who is also the inspiration for my son’s name, Myles Davis by the way). Then I’ll do a preamble as above then get into the nitty gritty of the newsletter. There’ll be a list of links to articles and videos I found that you might find interesting. I’ll categorise them as For The Mind, For The Ears, and For The Feet (inspired by the way George Michael split his greatest hit compilation, Ladies and Gentlemen).
What do I want to achieve with this? A form of discipline I suppose. I don’t keep up with things very well. I’m currently working on an album a month for a project series (which I’ll discuss in more detail in the For The Ears section) and that’s been difficult, 3 months in. I can’t guarantee I’ll publish this every Sunday morning but I’ll do my best and apologise profusely at the start, hopefully with some better reasons. It’s also nice to share interesting writing, music, videos, whatever. The internet can be a scary place with a lot of lies and nastiness. I try to keep within a particular bubble for self care reasons so everything I share will be from that. There are plenty of other newsletters and outlets that share things that push people out of their comfort zone - you can get what you need from there. I won’t be joining that stream of consciousness.
Okay, enough jibber jabber. Let’s start.
For The Mind
How Trent Reznor Turned His Anger Outward - A previous girlfriend was heavily into Nine Inch Nails, and while I appreciated Trent Reznor’s genius, I didn’t engage with it until after we broke up. It also threw me off when I read that Michael Jackson’s Morphine was heavily influenced by the band’s music (I love that song). This interview was conducted last year and it sees the musician discuss the inspiration behind the band’s latest album and future work. He’s a man who accepts his flaws and works to turn the energy into something productive. An inspirational human.
What Is the Meaning of Life? - Even if you’re not a soccer fan, you’ll have heard of Eric Cantona. I love him. Yes, he played for my old childhood club and his rugged charm wooed many other fans (as well as rubbing some up the wrong way) but his charisma transcended infamous quotes and behaviour. His essay for The Player’s Tribune is a heartfelt story of what football meant to his life and what his life meant to football. He traces his genealogy back to the First World War and makes a case that without those moments, he wouldn’t be where he is today or who he is. A must read.
The death of the manager - Another football one and this is written by a subscriber (who has not paid me to endorse this, it’s just very good). Jon Mackenzie is arguably my favourite football writer and his penchant for discussing Roland Barthes speaks to my soul as I love him too. In this article, Jon looks at the psychological impact Ole Gunnar Solskjær has had on the Manchester United squad since taking over on an interim basis. This then leads into a question of how much power a manager truly has on a team and that’s where Barthes comes in. As above, you don’t need to be a soccer fan to appreciate this. I do love a Barthesian essay.
For The Ears
Starchildluke - BOWSERTAPE - I feel like I’ve written this a million times when promoting these albums so I’ll keep it brief to save my sanity and my fingers. I have a series going called #Road2Switch where I’m releasing a new album every month and all proceeds go towards a fund. With that fund, I aim to buy a Nintendo Switch. The idea came from a chat with a friend on Twitch (who is also doing a similar thing, although recently he explained he won’t be doing one a month to avoid burnout which is a noble consideration). I’m on my third album and this is called BOWSERTAPE. It’s an alt-love album and I think it’s great. Listen/share/download/pay what you want.
Jessie Ware - Tough Love - Firstly, congratulations to Jessie Ware on her new baby. She won’t ever read this but I’m putting it into the universe. I also have a crush on her. But you didn’t need to know that. Ahem, anyway. I revisited her second album a few weeks ago and had forgotten how good it was. It’s not better than the first but rather an evolution of her debut and therefore worthy of plaudits on its own merit. I played it through without skipping which is rare for an album I’ve listened to before. There were no skippable songs. Her voice and lyrics are glorious.
Korgy & Bass - 2500=4:26000 - I love a bit of electronica that pushes the standard boundaries of composition and rhythm. I recommend listening to this in a quiet room with your headphones in to get the full experience. Korgy & Bass are a beat-making duo from Portland, Oregon, with Alex Meltzer on the pads and Barra Brown on the drums.
For The Feet
Drunk Billie Jean - An icebreaker for those who don’t know me that well. In my teen years, I’d vowed never to drink because of what it did to people. But in a bid to impress a girl (the one in the chair on the left), I drank. Vodka, Diet Pepsi, and Pro Plus. Yep, Pro Plus. Fortunately, it was diluted by the amount in the jug (I didn’t have very much as I was, and remain, a lightweight). To “seal the deal”, I said I’d dance to Billie Jean. This performance is my drunken attempt at recreating MJ’s 1992 live performance in Munich. Prior to this, I’d been practicing it for about 2-3 years. I thought I did pretty well given my lack of space and diminished coordination. Only done it once more after that.
Romario Goals Compilation - One of my favourite strikers of all time is Romario. A true maverick and scorer of some audacious goals, he’s now a member of the Senado Federal (Federal Senate) in Brazil. Watch him bamboozle everyone in his wake and truly “walk it in”.
Usain Bolt’s 200m Final win at London 2012 - I love Jamaica. I love their Olympic team. Naturally, I was rooting for Usain Bolt in this final but I wanted a 1-2-3 for Jamaica. I got my wish. Up to that point, I had never screamed so much in my life. When they all crossed the line together, I could have exploded. My Jamaican mum was with me and I’d never felt so much pride for my heritage. Still makes me well up thinking about it. Gwan Jamdown!
Well I’m gonna make like a chef and say “that’s shallot”. Thanks for reading and join me next week for more of the same. Any comments or suggestions, get in touch!