Inspir | §231001

Fuzzy Overdrive, Renegade Computers, Red Dudes, and Heavy-handedness

Another reminder for all of you out there staying up to date with this newsletter via Linkedin - the better version is over on my Substack. I also publish some of that content here because why not, more reach, but the mostly fleshed out stuff resides over at that repository.

And, really, I quite like it (meaning Substack) - simple formatting, ease of distribution, strangely refreshing publishing community, good place that I find myself drawn to not just to write down all these thoughts/opinions/recommendations/anecdotes, but to see what others are doing, to. Highly recommended if you think that's your thing.

But that's enough of that, on to the archived content here, on the abridged version of Above & Below!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind - you’ll discover what that’s all about in an upcoming Above & Below release, but in essence change is afoot! And while change is never the most stable ride - it necessarily requires re-evaluating certain aspects of oneself and its situation within its varied environments - I’m a relatively seasoned vet of change management, and so I’ve planned out a reasonably comfortable trip ahead.

Part of that, of course, is having creative resources and inspirations to push on towards the goal. Thankfully, I’m also a seasoned vet of exploring the unexplored when it comes to the arts and entertainment, and the below are some of what’s seeing me through to the end!

Music: Blushing

I’m not sure how I feel about the old adage about not judging books by their cover. On one hand, yeah, nothing’s perfect and your own past experiences color your perception of what’s placed in front of you, so there’s certainly at least some reason to take that message to heart. On the other, its the fucking cover - the first thing that is presented to your audience, whom you ought to be marginally familiar with, so you better try to get it right.

And here we have Blushing, a Texas 4-piece comprised of 2 married couples playing some of the dreamiest Shoegaze I’ve heard in some time. What does that have to do with book covers? Blushing is quite possibly the most appropriate name for a Shoegaze band since Slowdive, and they totally hit the mark.

Listen to Blushing on Spotify

Movies: 8 1/2

I’ve been having some weirdo dreams lately, presumably due to all of the novel stimulation I’m receiving in my current adventures. And then I wake up, brush off the indeterminacy those oneiric sojourns, and saunter into the daylight realms… also full of indeterminacy, but subtly more navigable.

And, that’s, like, what 8 1/2 is about. Its sorta frustrating seeing it reliably referenced as Fellini’s magnum opus to the idea of The Cool, as that evaluation totally misses the point. The Cool is the package that wraps the odyssey in a visual narrative, but is not that journey in and of itself, is merely reflective of it.

Which isn’t to (fully) equate myself with The Cool or to call myself some sort of master storyteller like Fellini, buuuuuuuuut hey that’s what art is there for, especially in times of flux - to look at, engage with, and search for some semblance of yourself within the echoes of someone else’s experience in order to keep your own feet on the ground as it endlessly shifts.

Watch on The Criterion Channel

That's It!

As I mentioned at the start of this (and most of the releases on Linkedin), this is an abridged of Above & Below. If you want to read the whole thing, and discover much more, head on over to Substack and check it out. If you dug this, you'll almost certainly dig that.