Posts tagged 010923
The relief of not trying to be cool

Often, I’ll be in the middle of editing a video when I hesitate over a particular moment.

“I just looked really awkward right there,” I might say to myself. Or I cringe a little because I’m coming off as overly earnest or sanctimonious.

However, in order to share my work on the Internet, I’ve had to accept that the earnest, awkward person in those videos is the same one I look at in the mirror. The likeness is accurate.

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Gleaning from the galling

I haven’t taken too many guitar lessons in my life. Though I spent years as a guitar teacher, ironically, I’m mostly self-taught.

Almost every teacher I tried did that thing where you pick up the guitar and do a fast run to show off.

No piano teacher I ever had did this. It must be something about having the instrument in your hand, just begging to be played.

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The people already doing it

For the longest time, I really struggled when I encountered work from people who I perceived were farther down the path than I was.

They were more established, more accomplished, and more polished. Seeing their stuff made me want to not even bother.

Stage One was just that -- not bothering. Sadly slipping back into my cave like Puff the Magic Dragon.

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What other people think

At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, Fiona Apple, at not quite twenty years old, accepted her award for Best New Artist with a speech that earned the criticism and derision of many.

“This world is bullshit,” she said, her choice of words bleeped by the censors. “You shouldn’t model your life about what you think that we think is cool and what we’re wearing and what we’re saying and everything. Go with yourself. Go with yourself.”

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