Is it naive to have hope right now? Is it just the daffodils and forsythias, explosions of yellow and green that seemed to appear overnight, tricking me into thinking things will eventually get better? Are warm breezes carrying the scent of an awakening earth leading me astray? I don’t know. It’s important to recognize hard times and be realistic about the world as it is, but I also find myself, again and again, coming across things that give me hope.
Random acts of kindness, a shared smile with someone getting gas at the next pump, inspiring stories of people who are working hard to create a society where we take care of each other instead of tearing each other down – these are things I’m holding onto. It certainly helps. Not always, to be sure, but thus far, it’s enough.
My Picks
There is so much cool stuff out there that it’s tough to pick just a few things to share, but this month’s selection has a lot – amazing performances, a great game, and dozens of free ways to get creative online.
James Brown & The Famous Flames on the T.A.M.I. Show
Whenever I need a little pure, undiluted joy, I know that this 1964 performance by James Brown will do the trick. It’s said that Prince played this on a loop in the lobby at his Paisley Park studio, and that The Rolling Stones were mortified at having to follow. It’s easy to hear taglines like “The hardest working man in show business” and be dismissive, but this set puts that debate to rest. (And, lest you think it’s a one-off, here he is nearly 20 years later on Letterman.) So much of his indelible sound has infused itself into today’s music that it’s hard to imagine just how innovative it was back then, particularly as white audiences were just getting exposed to it.
French indie game developer Darren Keller has created a beautiful cozy-adjacent city-building game that’s unlike anything else I’ve played. I really like that you don’t have to learn complicated strategy or track dozens of data points, you just place tiles, explore the land, experiment, and follow the story. There’s a kind heart at the center of the experience, where the time you spend restoring the land and respecting the inhabitants is rewarded (or not, you decide).
I’m always looking for high-quality online creativity tools to share with my students and friends. This collection is the best I’ve found, with dozens of different choices. All kinds of art, music, and coding resources are here, and all of them are both free and kid-safe. You’re likely to see some of my favorite entries highlighted in future newsletters, too.
Recently Published
Here’s what’s new on the site:
Wrestling with the Ethics of Generative AI
Lots of people I respect and admire are dead set against AI these days, and have some good reasons for it. My experience with it has been mixed: I see both the potential for it to exploit and cheapen the quality of our lives and the potential for it to be a groundbreaking new tool for the common good. This in-depth post details how I tried to determine whether or not I was deluding myself by using AI, what my use of it means, and what I should do about it. The process changed my thinking and behavior in a big way.
The Hidden Advantages of Being a Generalist
I can always point to someone who knows far more than me about just about anything because I’m not a specialist, and the world often doesn’t seem as though it’s built for someone with lots of interests like me. The more I get on in years, though, the more I realize that there are some real advantages to being a generalist. In this post, I highlight the benefits that have had the most impact on me.
In the Groove
I’ve had another month of small but steady musical explorations, and I think I’m finally ready for a new, full release in May. It’s a departure from my other work in many ways, but I’ve always wanted to work with ambient music, and I am super pleased with the results thus far. It’s turned me down pathways that are more grounded in experimental and industrial acoustic spaces, which is a surprise, but somehow works.
My evolution as an electronic musician is always bringing me to unexpected places. It’s delightful, and a strange part of it is that the creations don’t really feel as though they’re mine. Rather, it feels like I’m a conduit, letting my intuition and curiosity guide me to results that I could never predict. It’s more a process of discovery than anything else, shaping sound over time to see what happens. Very strange, but pretty cool. I just have to make sure that I’m not noodling if it’s getting released into the wild. Time is a limited resource, and listeners need respect.
Until Next Time
Thanks for reading this far. Next month I’ll be sharing that ambient project if all goes well, plus whatever interesting rabbit holes I’ve fallen down by then. Until May, keep finding those small moments of good stuff wherever you can.