Missive #4, September 2020
Coveting unusual instruments
With all kinds of instruments available with a web browser and a credit card, it's refreshing to hear a whole set of somewhat obscure but very cool-sounding percussion that you can't grab at the local Guitar Center. NPR is something I alternately enjoy and making fun of. File this under enjoy.
In a series co-produced by The Kennedy Center, this episode explores unusual instruments across different regions of India. It is my understanding that some of them were developed in a sort of isolation, that is, people working alone, without outside influence, just invented them. This episode could be called “beyond the sitar and the tabla".
The brilliant ArtVee aggregates fine art from a range of sources, with all items free to download
Sources include The Smithsonian, Boston Public Library, Art Institute of Chicago. If you have access to a good printer, or want to use a service like Zazzle, you can make your own prints at a very reasonable cost.
Brilliant article encapsulates my view of the United States
I only aspire to write as well as a professional. The challenge of any creative endeavor is to translate a feeling, sentiment, an idea from the synapses firing in the brain, or the sensations in the body, into a format that others can consume and understand. Whatever the domain, whether writing, ballet, sculpture, or a pop tune, I believe the challenge is the same.
For decades now I have remained perplexed that the United States doesn't create robust, intelligent, compassionate systems to support its people. Of course, there are a dozen reasons why, starting with ownership of our political system by the wealthy, meandering through very low levels of political engagement of its citizens, and making a side errand through legalized corruption. But I digress.
If you don't want to worsen your situational depression by reading the whole article, here is the TL;DR
In desperation, people have turned to crowdfunding critical needs such as life-saving surgeries, getting the kids fed, or keeping their aging vehicle running so they can get to work. Call it the GoFundMe economy. Remember that old hippie bumper sticker that is somehow trite and true at the same time:
It will be a great day when the schools have all the money they need, and the Air Force has to have a bake sale to build a bomber.
That's pretty much it.
The Lesson Americans Never Learn
Trying to replace the government with personal initiative requires an impossible amount of energy.
This piece comes from The Atlantic, a magazine I believe has been publishing excellent work in recent years. I bought a digital subscription, only $50/month, because good journalism isn't free. I strongly encourage you to do the same with a news source you respect.
A desert island disc
From time to time I will feature some of my favorite albums. Sondre Lerche’s Heartbeat Radio is a literate, inventive pop masterpiece. In an alternate universe, where literacy and musicianship are prized over the ability to twiddle an autotune setting on your laptop, this work would top the charts. Certainly, pop music makes many twists and turns, and we could certainly see a renaissance of music like this. After all, Paul Simon's Graceland is one of the most popular, best-selling albums of all time.
** Note: I hate linking to YouTube, because it's a rabbit hole, but it doesn't require a login, and if you can tear your eyes away from “The one carb that is killing you slowly”, it's usable.
Review of “The Death Drive”, or how social media is destroying us
I QUIT TWITTER and Instagram in May, in the same manner I leave parties: abruptly, silently, and much later than would have been healthy. This was several weeks into New York City’s lockdown, and for those of us not employed by institutions deemed essential—hospitals, prisons, meatpacking plants—sociality was now entirely mediated by a handful of tech giants, with no meatspace escape route, and the platforms felt particularly, grimly pathetic. Instagram, cut off from a steady supply of vacations and parties and other covetable experiences, had grown unsettlingly boring, its inhabitants increasingly unkempt and wild-eyed, each one like the sole surviving astronaut from a doomed space-colonization mission, broadcasting deranged missives about yoga and cooking projects into an uncaring void.
I hate to close on a distressing note, but this is an excellent review, and just like the above article, encapsulates a lot of what I've been feeling. I started this newsletter because I found Facebook to be terrible for my mental health, and not even especially useful. Twitter and Instagram are really no better. Yes, they can be helpful, but to get to the delicious trout and walleye downstream, you have to wade through toxic algae blooms and discarded, rusting cans of Four Loko and Bud Light.
Okay, let's try a more positive idea. Here's a multimillion dollar startup pitch, just waiting for someone to run with it. It's not original, but I think it's incredibly valuable, both in terms of potential profits, but also as a way to direct online communication to a more positive route. It's simple: make a social network that is much like Facebook, charge a small monthly fee, eliminate all or most ads, limit the number of “friends” one can have, and clamp down hard on nonsense and misinformation. You could even build in warnings when someone is spending too much time on the site.
I'm not going to pursue this, but I hope someone will.
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My friends, please get your influenza vaccination this fall!
Not only will it provide you extra protection against seasonal influenza, but it will protect other, more vulnerable people around you, and it can help forestall a combined Covid-19/seasonal influenza surge.