November is National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo). This post is part of my post-a-day challenge. I have picked a theme for the challenge: song titles. These songs have been featured on live albums from KEXP (an awesome alternative radio station in Seattle), so at a minimum you will hear some great music.
If you have read much of my blog, you know that everything I write is inspired by my experiences – a book I’ve read, a conference that I attended, a talk I am giving, etc.
But recently it feels more like recycled air. I’m ok with this as long as the original experience was a good one. There are probably bigger wastes of your time than reading my thoughts on a wonderful book (for example).
That said, I am aiming for more original content and less recycled air. Stay tuned.
Please treat yourself and watch Macklemore perform My oh my.
My oh my. I love his passion – it’s infectious. He gets that he is making art and his first desire is to connect with his audience.
But connecting doesn’t always come easy. Macklemore writes about working on his craft from an early age
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen with the four track bussing
Halfway cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crushing
He’s now 30 years old and has spent 16 hard years honing his craft. What have you worked on almost continually for the past 16 years? For me, the list is short. In fact, there’s nothing on the list. But if you’re like me, you sometimes expect to make Macklemore quality art, without his hard work and dedication.
Making art is hard work and not everyone will connect, but I believe that is ok. You’re art isn’t for those people. Don’t let the critics keep you from making art.
Connection is why Macklemore makes music. If people don’t resonate with his music, then doesn’t feel like he is doing his job. Notice that nowhere does he say that it has to resonate with everyone. He wants his music to resonate with his fans.
Be an artist. Keep honing your craft. I feel like I’ve been making art for close to a year now. By the Macklemore standard, I have many years to go. To keep a long perspective on my journey as an artist, I set a reminder on my calendar for 9/17/2028 to see how my art is connecting. Hopefully it is half as good as what Macklemore is making.
I wanted to end this post with a couple of things:
It’s been a delight to post daily for the past month, and today is my last post for a few days. I want to reflect about what I have learned and share with my readers.
Below is the text of the interview between Kevin Cole and Macklemore. He completely get’s what it takes to make art. Enjoy:
Kevin Cole: My oh my. I’ve had listeners email after I’ve played that song saying that they had to pull over the car because they were just weeping. And it’s amazing to get that response. Just incredible. And the interesting thing about that song, Dave Neihaus, the announcer for the Mariners from day 1 to the end of the season – it means a lot to Seattleites, but it really connected beyond that. If you look at the YouTube comments people are like, “I have no clue who Dave Neihaus is, but this song is incredible.” That’s special.
Macklemore: Yeah…Yeah…When I wrote this song it was more of dealing with the grief and a therapeutic exercise in writing and it turned out to be something that not only are Seattleites relating to, but something that people from all over the country are submitting YouTube comments or whatever are connecting with it. So it’s amazing.
KC: How important is it to get people to connect?
Mac: That’s why I make music. That’s why I write music. This is a oral tradition. This is a language and if people aren’t resonating with what I am writing, then I’m not doing my job.
KC: Yeah, I think what makes that song so powerful though, is that you could write and have it be very nostalgic, but there are so many layers to the song. In fact, you kind of turn you back on nostalgia in that song when you talk about “I don’t collect cards anymore, it’s just cardboard gathering dust.” You turn it into something about being in the now. About living your life to the fullest. Super cool.
Build To Think 