Fuck Trump and anyone who supports him.
Like that piece of shit Musk.
I deleted my Twitter accounts. I had a number of them for all sorts of purposes (back in the day the API was an interesting tool). Now it’s a white-nationalist cesspool of vile propaganda.
I realize this is a trivial thing in the scheme of things, but nonetheless, if you have a Twitter account, delete it. Stop propping up that fascist scumbag Musk.
You should do the same for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, for related reasons. Zuckerberg is happy to spread utter bullshit propaganda that literally gets people killed, all for pure greed.
Billionaires are not your friend.
My musical output has been greatly diminished since the death of my wife.
It changed me.
So, I’ve been looking for ways to, essentially, trick myself into starting pieces.
On trick is to compose ringtones and notifications for my phone.
I got tired of the same selection of notification sounds, so I set out to make some that were more distinctive. I came up with, so far, 8 (I think), though same are variations of a common core.
The first custom ringtone I made was actually done a few years ago, when I dated someone briefly, around 2021. I thought it would be nice to have a ringtone specifically for her. That relationship didn’t last, but the ringtone remains. (TBH, though, towards the end I was associating that ringtone will a feeling of dread, which it still sort of does.)
I’ve written two more since then. It’s a good get-going trick because I’m mostly looking to get something that suits a purpose. But in the process I find myself playing around with melody and harmony, and instrumentation. All things that have been giving me ideas for longer pieces.
These ringtones aren’t meant to reflect or describe the associated person. As I try out different melodies, I ask myself if the piece is somehow suitable for the person, perhaps in a way that would only makes some sense to me. I check to hear if it somehow “works” in the given context.
I’ve not played the recent ones for the people they are for, and I have no idea if they would even like them. They have a certain angularity and chromaticism that I think sounds odd to many.
This chromaticism, etc. is a result of early versions sounding too “nice” or obvious or trite; I will write a piece, listen a bunch, use it, then later listen again to see if I still like it. That is when I start tweaking things (or starting over with some core part of the original, recast).
In the end, since I’m the one who is going to be hearing these, I have to like it. But I’d like to think these friends would too.
At some point I think I will collect these ringtones and notifications and assemble an album for release.
I’ve been stuck in a creative limbo since the death of my wife a few years ago.
A big part of it is that so much of my sense of self was based on my relationship with her. So much of the joy of making art of any kind came from sharing it with her. She didn’t always care for what I made, often referring to my music as “scratchy guitar” (a term I came to embrace). But when she died there was, unsurprisingly, this great void.
I’ve added more items to my Suggested Listening page, now at about 140 possible new finds for you.
I've assembled a page of music by artists I think merit your consideration.