Analogous to Life

The point of art has never been to make something synonymous with life, but to make something of reduced complexity that is nonetheless analogous to life and that can thereby clarify it.

Robert Adams, Beauty in Photography, “Photographing Evil,” p. 68

Tinkering, Learning

My interest in software and app development falls somewhere between that of a professional and an amateur in almost all areas of my activity. So I still read, say, Macstories or Daring Fireball or Six Colors to keep an ear to the ground for Apple-related stuff. There used to be more blogs that drew my attention in this way, most of which seem to have fallen by the wayside or my interest dwindled: Patrick Rhone’s Minimal Mac, Shawn Blanc moved into more personal-motivation than Apple stuff (his Sweet Setup site, however, remains a kind of bridge between the two), MacSparky is still going, The Brooks Review. There were several more of these blogs I can’t remember the names of, sort of shopping guides, lots of productivity tips. Lots of stuff about Apple. Growl was a modifiable notifications app and something else before that, a system extension, maybe? There was a whole scene dedicated to a kind of system info display, lots of graphic stuff embedded in the desktop that evolved into present-day widgets. Tinkering in WordPress, setting up a self-hosted rss reader with Fever, grabbing images and graphics (app icons, drive icons, wallpapers,etc.) from DeviantArt — these were all sort of harmless ways to learn how operating systems and graphics systems work without having to learn too much about them. Or mostly harmless — my professional developer and programmer friends have always had to bail me out once in a while.

Something similar recently took hold when I established a small recording and then mixing setup for myself. It has been as much a necessity as a desire to simply understand better how the equipment and software work. Recording as much of myself as possible keeps costs down considerably; likewise mixing my recordings. I should add, however, that although my work is adequate so far, it is not up to the level of professionals, on whom I still rely for technical and aesthetic help.

I’m not sure everyone has this kind of curiosity. I find a great deal of it in the blogging communities I lurk and take part in. Most of us with our own sites tinker with them, change colors or themes, experiment with galleries and audio posts and other platforms. I find that the artists and writers and musicians and poets I know and admire and support all have something of this curiosity, which to be clear, is a kind of wonder at things, not just an attraction to gear. It’s very much a kind of consuming interest in things outside one’s own work, like poets who play pickup basketball or other sports, painters who are amateur musicians, musicians who fuss over blogs, all of whom find a way to distract themselves just enough to clean the slate for a new round of work.

As far as I can tell, there is less and less of this as time goes on. Social platforms suck up time and expression in equal measure and although we might see more photos, even good ones, or dances, or therapy tips, or elephant rescues, kittens, unlikely animal friendships, and people’s homes, it’s not clear to me how much we benefit from these exposures. By now, we’ve all made some valued connection or discovery via Facebook, X, the Fediverse, Instagram, or Tik Tok. But there isn’t really much to do with these platforms but express oneself in support of something or not. There’s not much room to create stuff or learn how to distinguish between large and small feelings. Everything on social platforms is the same size as everything else. Whether or not you agree with me on this, I’m certain you know what I’m talking about.

Here’s a solo flute piece by Claude Debussy. I believe it’s called “Syrinx” and I’m not quite sure how I found it. It pops up in Apple Classical’s The Story of Classical, which is a pretty good series if you’re new to the genre or want some leads to music you might not have heard before.

One great consequence of this homogeneity of size, this compression of ideas and feelings into feeds most of now look at on our phones, is that we start, have started, to assume that the feeds are our venue, our forum, our gallery, our channel. And, of course, they are those things, have become those things. But I think it’s still important for amateurs, people who have interests and commitments outside their professional lives, to make room for those activities. We were mostly drawn to them because we could muck around a bit, try to make things fit how we wanted them to fit.

So if you don’t have a blog or poetry or music site or gallery site anymore because you got caught up in Facebook or your personal brand, or just don’t have (make) time for it anymore, I’m probably not the only one who would like to see from you now some more of what you used to be up to.

Favorite Albums of 2023

My favorite albums of 2023 list is up at BrooklynVegan. It’s my third such list for them and the third time I’ve immediately had other thoughts about my selections. I failed to include Bex Burch’s There Is Only Love and Fear, for example, not because I don’t think it one of my favorites from 2023, but because, embarrassingly, I forgot about it. Also Jeremy Chiu or New Future City Radio, the latter of which was most powerful and inspiring when I saw them here in New York. But that’s just one record label and so seems narrow for the purpose of a favorites list. I suppose this is the difference between a favorites list and a best of, that the favorites is simply preferences while the best of is a more direct and public critical view. All of which is to say that my favorite label of the year was once again International Anthem. Their ongoing effort to sustain a consistent release schedule, an expanding roster, and a holistic listening culture is, to me, currently unrivaled.

Another aspect of this process that comes to mind is the common sight of Andre 3000’s New Blue Sun on many end-of-year lists, including mine. I wonder how we’ll all feel about this record in the near or distant future. I imagine it won’t hold up as well as, say, Shabaka Hutchings’s Afrikan Culture, another recent release inspired by flute experiments. Hutchings is a woodwinds and improvisation virtuoso. Andre 3000, on the other hand, is more of a lightning rod for certain kinds of taste and atmosphere, always hip, always demonstrating a unique flair for contemporary preferences. It’s a different kind of innovation, I think, a sort of placeholder to remind us what we’re into, even if we haven’t heard it yet.

All of which is to say that the 2023 list reflects an honest, if not altogether thorough, appraisal of what I enjoyed this past year. I hope you find something there to enjoy yourself.

Thoughts on Notes on the Anniversary of 9/11

Here’s the annual link to what I thought about 9/11 back in 2012. I might write it differently today but I still feel that way.

It’s worth noting, I think, that COVID has killed far more people here in New York City (and around the world) than the 9/11 attacks, and isn’t through with us yet. But even COVID, or perhaps especially COVID, has spread as it has from neglect and a failure to react by a government whose election and appointment grew out of the fear implanted by 9/11.

One consequence of this fear is a perilous distrust, mangling, and confounding of information and its sources. Another is a perilous belief, in the form of retreat and denial, that we can control or evade the other consequences of the attacks on behalf of our own privilege, entitlement, comfort, and self-interest. We are stoned on this and dying from it.