Five Bullets 4.25.25
Gatsby, Creativity, Heavy Metal & more.
Good morning and happy Friday friends.
If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, I hope you’re enjoying Spring. Here in New York City we’ve had beautiful weather - sunny blue skies and temperatures at a moderate 60-70 degrees F. Plants and trees have bloomed and the parks have never looked better. At the end of last year I was gifted a hydroponic gardening kit and I started growing grape tomato plants back in January. I’m happy to report that I’ve got my first tomato growing.
I finished reading
’s How To Listen To Jazz this week. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I picked up the book simply wanting to read more of Mr. Goia’s writing. I love jazz and didn’t think I need to a how-to on listening to it but I boy was I wrong! The book is an entertaining, easy-to-follow read packed with nuggets designed to get you listening to jazz now. I learned a ton from this book. More to come in a future post.I’m working on my website, migrating from Squarespace to Notion and archiving my blog posts from Substack. I seem to revise my website every few months but so far Notion is checking all the boxes for me. Text-based content looks great and I can have fun with more formatting options than on Substack. I will link to it when it’s completed! [You can still read all my long-form posts here].
Here’s five bullets capturing my attention this week.
Books: The Great Gatsby turns 100 this month. I think I first read it in middle school, or maybe high school, I’m not sure. Over the past few years I’ve returned to it, reading it over and over especially when New York City gets hot and humid and I can imagine myself on a train car passing George Wilson’s garage. I learned from reading about the book’s history that the book finally became a success when a pocket-sized version was distributed to U.S. troops during World War II.
Creativity: Have you ever focused on something so much you lose all objectivity and perspective? This can be especially difficult when writing or crafting a song. ‘Ear’ fatigue and the point of diminishing returns coalesce to make us question whether something is even any good. Sometimes it’s not until we step back that we can ‘see the forest for the trees’. I explore this idea and offer some tips to regain objectivity.
Music: Black Sabbath may be known best for creating the ‘heavy metal’ genre with it’s low-tuned, sludgy, and loud sound. In this short animated video, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi explains how losing two fingertips in a factory accident forced him to create a new sound. Inspired to continue playing guitar by Django Reinhardt’s example, who lost the use of two fingers on his left hand, Iommi improvised, melting a bottle and covering his fingers with the plastic. Iommi said: “Of course losing my fingertips was devastating but, in hindsight, it created something: it made me invent a new sound and a different style of playing.”
New York City: “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD.” On October 30, 1975 the Daily News ran this now-famous headline after President Ford promised to veto any federal bail-out when New York City was in danger of bankruptcy. Drop Dead City, a documentary about the 1975 fiscal crisis, is now playing at IFC Center. The film is the first to dive into the how and why behind this important moment in the city’s history.
Photography: AIPAD’s Photography Show returns to the Park Avenue Armory this weekend. I really enjoyed seeing this show last year. The variety is remarkable - there’s something for everyone, from early photos of Abraham Lincoln, to nature photography, to classic shots of The Rolling Stones. Even if you’re not in the market, seeing the galleries gathered in one location is an interesting experience.
That’s all for this week. I really enjoy sending this newsletter out each Friday. I get to dive into my interests, learn more, and share it with you so thanks for reading.
Have a great weekend,
Keith.