T-Pain, king of autotune, put on an amazing Tiny Desk performance back in 2014, and the internet lost its collective mind because it was so dang good.
This reaction affected T-Pain in way I hadn’t expected, which led to this quote from This is Pop documentary:
“There was a point where I just got more angry.
Like, it was such a surprise to everybody.
Did you think my whole success was based off software? You still gotta write good songs, you still gotta produce good beats.…In one light, it showed how much people respected me more. In another light, it showed how much people didn’t respect before.
So, my philosophy at this point is to make myself happy. I just wanna make music that makes me feel good, and if you don’t like it, I didn’t make it for you.
And if you do like it, welcome to the club.”
What Something You Do Just for You?
Let’s channel T-Pain and do something that we love just for us.
Personally, I’ll be making terrible, terrible music on my violin – I started taking violin lessons again!
Also, this newsletter is for me. I’m glad you happen to like it!
Make something this week, just for you:
- If people happen to like it, awesome.
- If other people don’t like it, it’s not for them.
What are you making this week? Hit reply and let me know.
The Nerd Out: Arrival Revisited
Last night, I revisited Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, for the first time since seeing it in theaters many years ago.
I was blown away yet again, even though I knew how the story ended. It’s worth a watch on Amazon Prime, especially if you remember how it ends.
Amazing science fiction, beautifully shot, incredibly well scored, and a story that will sit with you for long after the credits roll.
Arrival is based on a short story in Ted Chang’s Stories of Your Life and Others. Chiang’s ability to combine world-building, heady science fiction, and thought-provoking questions into a few pages is nothing short of brilliant.
This book and Exhalation, are must-reads for any sci-fi fan.
I want to give a quick shout out to Arrival’s hauntingly beautiful soundtrack too – I often listen to this 30-minute looped version of On the Nature of Daylight from Richter to get into a flow state.
Villeneuve also directed Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, Dune (and its upcoming Part 2), and has firmly reached the directorial status of “I will see whatever he movie he’s attached to, no questions asked.”
Big thanks to T-Pain, Denis, Ted, and Max for putting their work out into the world.
I’m gonna go make stuff too.
-Steve
PS: Also yes I have seen the Juvenile Tiny Desk concert too, and it’s delightful.