Ok, this is amazing.
And if you wired other nearby plants and trees, would they all play in synchrony?
* * *
Posts Tagged ‘music’
Baddaboom, Shroom
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, music, nature, science on October 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Saturday Night Remixed
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, family, home, inspiration, music on February 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This one’s for my father, who introduced us to Saturday Night Live and to music.
Questlove’s Fantastic Video Mix of 50 Years of SNL Music
Oh this is just delightful: for the opening of his documentary film on the history of music on SNL he co-directed with Oz Rodriguez, Questlove produced what the NY Times calls “a high-speed, six-minute DJ mix of SNL music highlights”. So. Good.
There’s a link to the video in the article. It’s mostly blurred but the audio is still playable (you can watch the full video on Peacock if you have it; I don’t but the audio was still fun).
* * *
Hello Cello
Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, inspiration, music on May 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A few moments of beauty on this Friday afternoon: Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Saint-Saëns’ The Swan | The Kid Should See This.
The video won’t embed for whatever reason but it’s available via the article above.
Enjoy!
* * *
I Remember
Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, art, memory, music, Thoughts on February 6, 2024| 1 Comment »
I tried to resist posting the Tracy Chapman / Luke Combs duet of Chapman’s “Fast Car” because it is everywhere. Why did I break down and change my mind? Because music, like writing and other forms of art, is a transformative time machine.
Tracy Chapman Duets “Fast Car” with Luke Combs
Listening to the performance, I remember who I was when I first heard the original song. I remember the road I’ve travelled to get to where I am. And I remember running down the steps at the Harvard Square T station and realizing that Chapman had been there before me, playing to distracted commuters as she built her own road to the future.
It’s also just a really good song.
And I love that a new generation is getting to hear it in a way that emphasizes the shared humanity, challenges and goals of its singers, and listeners.
* * *
This Guy!
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, art, creativity, inspiration, music, productivity, Writers, writing on December 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I was feeling pretty not terrible about closing in on three years of daily posts here, but this guy! Writing, recording and releasing an album every day? Seriously impressive.
‘Like brushing my teeth’: how Michiru Aoyama writes, records and releases an album every day
For two years, the Kyoto musician has risen at five, watched football, then made an eight-track album of super-deep ambient music – while fitting in a two-hour walk.
I’m still feeling not terrible about my streak, but this gives me an extra dose of inspiration. Win win!
* * *
Wild and Unpredictable
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Kafka, music, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Some days you wake up with a story idea crystallized in your mind, bright and shiny and ready to go. And some days you wake up with “She’s An Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins stuck on repeat.
Guess which kind of day I’m having.
The funny part is that it’s not a song I’ve ever actively liked, I wasn’t dreaming about anything related to its subject, and it’s not the sort of fiction I tend to write. I mean, it’s not as if the song is about the lead singer of a band telling the story of how he stumbled into a dark street one night after a show and into the arms of a beautiful and deadly vampire or anything.
Right?
So maybe there’s a story seed here after all. I still don’t know why this particular song came to me at this particular time, but that’s the wild and unpredictable nature of creativity for you.
“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
― Franz Kafka
* * *
More Than I Know
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, genre fiction, inspiration, music, Thoughts, writing on November 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s funny how much you can absorb without intending to. The other night I put on a classical channel in the background. An elegant but weighty piece came on and I looked up to see that it was by Brahms. Makes sense, I thought.
The next tune was lighter, a sparkling Baroque presence. Telemann. Ah yes, I thought.
Finally, a dramatic, Romantic sound that spoke of strength with warmth. Dvořák, of course.
Of course? What do I know about classical music? Nothing, that’s what. But my father played it all through my childhood and apparently some of it sank in.
It’s the same with writing, I find. I’m not great at picking apart a story into pieces like sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. (That may have something to do with my memories of actual sixth-grade sentence deconstruction. Ugh.)
Whatever genre I’m exploring, I prefer to swim in it, absorb it, dive deep until I am close enough to understand why some readers love it, even if I don’t.
That way, I absorb more than I know.
* * *
This Is Delightful
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #OneDrabbleSinging, creativity, fun, inspiration, music, the interwebs, writing on July 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In my quest to prove that the internet is good for more than trolling, discouraging news and ridiculous conspiracy theories, I give you Typatone.
The act of writing has always been an art. Now, it can also be an act of music. Each letter you type corresponds to a specific musical note putting a new spin on your composition. Make music while you write.
Type directly or use the clipboard icon to paste text. Toggle the music icon to change styles. Click the plus sign to start anew.
* * *
What is the sound of one drabble singing?
And here’s the opening of Pride and Prejudice while we’re at it.
Delightful!
* * *
Just Press Play
Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, history, inspiration, music on June 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
As a bonus Father’s Day gift, today I’m featuring a podcast I know he’ll like.
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
In it, Andrew Hickey discusses the history and culture of rock & roll as seen through 500 songs. He’s up to episode 150.
If you prefer to consume your media via the written word, each episode includes a transcript. I also found myself somewhat at a loss as to which, what and where, so (being me) I made an episode list with links. (If an index already exists, I didn’t see it.)
Note: I built the list by translating episode titles into URLs in Excel and haven’t tested every link, but hopefully they’ll get you to where you’re going.
Enjoy!
* * *
* * *
May the Fourth
Posted in Entertainment, Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #Maythe4thBeWithYou, hope, music, Star Wars Day on May 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
There is a lot of trouble in the world right now, but we are not helpless. We are not hopeless. And if there’s any better way to remember that today than Star Wars, I don’t know it. Just thinking of the theme song raises my spirits. Here’s to building a better future.
For motivation, check out this piece on the history of John Williams’ rousing theme:
Behind The Song: “Star Wars Theme” by John Williams – American Songwriter
And then, of course, there’s our scrappy band of Rebels.
“Would it help if I got out and pushed?”
— Princess Leia
Always.
May the Force be with us.
* * *
-
Recent Posts
She Said, He Said
-
-
Favorite Posts
Archives
Categories
It’s All So Random
What I’m Reading
J.R. Johnson 
You must be logged in to post a comment.