I’ve had a difficult relationship with exclamation marks.
Whilst a lack of them made me come across dry and unenthusiastic..
The moment I employ them, I felt like whatever I had to say felt cheapened.
But when people recognise you speak from your heart anyway, it doesn’t matter whether you add it or not.
And I feel the same way about adding unnecessary flourishes to my tracks.
“And they lived happily never after”
Clichés are useful as devices because they set up expectations powerfully.
When we employ a cliché, we are setting up our audience’s attention so we have the opportunity to..
..betray them at at the end of it.
The magic of clichés lies in never finishing a cliché as expected.
Oooooh!
Ahhhhh..
Owwww.
It’s quite nice that people come together to watch things explode in the air for a bit.
Which said like that, feels like a weird thing for humans to do..
But actually, a well presented firework is a masterclass in capturing attention.
The suspense, sudden bursts of colour, mixture of patterns, all happening live, holding our collective gaze.
And I’m all for things that bring people together.
Yes, you only live once.
But using YOLO as an excuse to make short term decisions you’re guaranteed to regret later makes little sense.
So a better excuse is..
You’re only young once.
In which case, you smash that ninth jäger bomb you spring chicken.
Intention belongs to the creator, but meaning always belongs to the audience.
And whatever reason this cosmic gloop of energy and mass called the universe exists..
Its meaning belongs to those who endow it with one.
So if you’re looking for the meaning of life..
It is what you want it to be.
An no one can take that away from you.
You’re only as good as the excuses you let yourself be stopped by.
Tradition can (and does) protect an art form from having its spirit contaminated.
But clung onto unquestioned, it stifles innovation too.
Is it unequivocally bad practice to sample from a youtube video?
Is our iPhone microphone really an unusable source of audio?
If questions like these aren’t asked before we honour tradition, we don’t do it for the spirit..
We do it because it’s safe.
And safe is a tough box to escape from.
Shock value does well to grab attention.
That alarming jolt through our body can’t be helped when we’re shocked.
It’s how we evolved.
But the problem with shock value is – it only really works well the first time.
So shock value comes under the category of novelties.
And if you want to matter for longer than a quick fright..
It’s worth digging deeper.
The deadline is a guillotine, finalising our process whether we like it or not.
And without a deadline, it is quite possible the world will never see a finished piece of art again.
The deadline is the only antidote to our fears, doubt and creative procrastination.
Here I am again, up against the razor hot daily deadline, pitting my creative insecurities against my principles.
But thanks to this line, I will deliver another piece today.
See you tomorrow.
Our emotions have a filter.
And how we experience reality depends on how it functions.
What was that look from that person?
Are they judging your outfit?
Or maybe, they’re wondering where they can buy it from.
When we choose the most negative interpretation possible, everything always feels grey and overcast.
But the most radiant people I know strive for positive interpretations where possible, promoting good vibes like sunshine.
We have a choice.