Making Contributions

As children, we concoct imaginative aspirations for adulthood. We want to be astronauts and firefighters and superheroes…we want to save the world. Yet as adulthood rears its ugly head around the corner, our aspirations shift gears. We start to understand the concept of “standard of living” and see no other option except maintaining it. To get there, career aspirations shift in favor of the almighty dollar, leaving us with degrees that lack specificity and more importantly, heart.

We believe that these degrees, these cubicles, these white-picket fences verify ourselves as contributing members of society...but what are contributing members of society actually contributing?

They’re contributing more waste, more CO2, more malaise and entitlement. Why to be a contributing member of society do you need to keep within the box of conformity, when it’s that box that got us in this mess in the first place?

Today, the individuals making a conscious effort to actually make the world a better place are a rarity. People are much more concerned with leaving a financial legacy for their family than doing something that will truly leave a legacy and make a difference. And unfortunately, some people who want to make a difference are stuck not knowing what to do…how to help…where to start. You can’t search on Craigslist for a job to “make a difference” or pick the “superhero” category from a drop down. How do you gain the knowledge and qualifications to help save the world? What do you major in to get there?

So going back to childhood, the time where hope isn’t jaded and creativity is in it’s purest form, can we start teaching future generations that the way to contribute to society is to actually make it better? That a cleaner, safer, smarter, happier and healthier world is so much cooler than conformity. I would love for that to be my legacy. I’m just trying to figure out how to get there….

Urban Decay

Part of me still calls Detroit home. A city that I never really knew. Streets I never really walked down. People I never had the chance to meet. I look at Detroit now like a decaying work of art. It's like a faded painting where you try to picture the vibrancy of the colors, but so much of its beauty relies on imagination. I saw this photo today and it make me want to cry. 

Photo of United Artists Theater by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

When in Doubt, Beatbox

Beatboxing in hip hop is as frequent as harmonizing in folk duos. But when you throw it into a different genre, it adds a new layer of dynamic complexity that really makes a song "wow." 

Bjork turned to the Godfather of Noyze and former member of The Roots, Rahzel, for her Medulla album. Amid a collection of a cappella ballads, Rahzel's contribution adheres to the rawness of Medulla, while providing a unique and unwavering distinction that seems to ground the work as a whole. 

More recently, I've been listening the British duo, Nizlopi, quite a bit. Comprised of Luke Concannon on vocals and guitar and John Parker on bass, guitar and beatbox, these guys turn to beatboxing as their percussion instrument of choice and seamlessly blend their love of hip hop into heartfelt love songs. 

So if you have a great song, and drums just aren't doing it for you, consider adding a beatbox to the mix. It might be just the thing your song needs to take off. 

Attaining Greatness

I have had endless love affairs with music. Some songs are quick flings, even one night stands. Others I find newness in months, years, even decades after our first encounter. So this got me thinking: what makes a song not just good, but great?

I think that a song is only as good as where it takes you. That's what makes music so personal...so unique to each and every individual. With any relationship, sometimes there is chemistry and sometimes things fall flat. With a song, it either speaks to you or it doesn't; makes you think a different way or feel a different way, or leaves you hollow and disappointed.

I listened to a song today and it gave me goose bumps. It literally made me tingly all over. It was wonderful. 

Finding My Own Voice

I work as a copywriter. It's OK if you don't know what that is. Most of the time people think I help people copyright their work. These people obviously don't know me very well...they're also probably not the best spellers.

Copywriters create a voice and tone for a brand to speak to the brand's target audience. This voice is then used in ads, newsletters, web sites, etc. That being said, I'm trained to be clever. I'm great at puns, double entendres, innuendos and one liners. I'm also good at telling a person why their voice isn't working or how it could get better. What I'm not good at yet is finding my voice.

Not my voice for my job. A voice that doesn't have to follow a set of standards or speak to a specific audience. A voice I can use when I'm just writing to write. When I need to speak my mind about something or just make sense of my thoughts.

So that's the purpose of this blog. To provide me with an outlet to speak in a voice that's 100% my own. Please bear with me while I figure it out.