Listen š§š¼
Ripple, Robert Hunter, and Bob Weir on the Broken Record Podcast
I was listening to one of my two favorite Grateful Dead songs, āRippleā (the other being āBrokedown Palaceā) today and was reminded of an astonishing recent discovery: Robert Hunter (Dead collaborator and songwriter) wrote both songs along with āTo Lay Me Downā in a single afternoon session. Whatever happened during that mystical afternoon in London in 1970 is beyond me and seemingly even beyond Hunter himself.
I think there may be an answer in the best line of āRippleā itself:
Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
If your cup is full, may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men
If thereās more true writing about music and art, I havenāt found it. The perfect summary of what they give us and where they come from.
To tie it back to the third subject of my headline: I recently enjoyed a podcast with The Deadās Bob Weir and illustrious music producer Rick Rubin on the latterās podcast, Broken Record. Itās an amazing conversation with many highlights, including a segment during which Bob likens studio recordings to photographs and live music to paintings.
Thereās a specific part of the conversation that connects to this line from āRipple,ā where Bob describes his belief that a song is not something of this world and not created by an artist. Instead, itās something else entirely:
A song is a life form. An alien life form. Itās organicā¦ it comes and visits us. It comes through certain people for whatever its reasons are. Itās coming to this world to visitā¦ The characters in those songs come and they tell their stories. And they just want to be heard.
Bob gives an example with a story of Jerry (Garcia) introducing him to a new song in a dream and thew two of them being literally āinā and āpart ofā of the song.
Whether or not you buy into Bobās deeply spiritual take on this, I think the framing is a beautiful and powerful way to view art: something both ephemeral and infinite that comes to visit us from that ethereal fountain and fills the cups of our souls.
[Side note: if you needed a clearer answer on whether or not this is solely a business-focused newsletter, this section should suffice! I hope I havenāt lost all of you š].
Watch š„ šŗ
Liziqi
My Twitter friend Jerry is to thank for the most interesting creator and video I discovered this week:
Liziqi is fascinating, for so many reasons. Probably most striking are the differences between her tone and scope from nearly any western creator Iāve seen. Her appeal across languages and cultures is up there, too. I watched a few of her videos and this one of her building a bamboo couch was my favorite. She literally builds it from scratch:
Itās serene, therapeutic, beautiful, and unbelievable. Oh, and at the time of this writing, it has 43 million views on YouTube alone. Iāve never truly understood the appeal of ASMR, but this video is as close as Iāve gotten to buying into it (and itās not even intentional)! A friend noted that Liziqiās content is essentially Animal Crossing in real life. I dig it.
Most content creators are in some way or another aspirational. But Liziqi takes it to a new level. Check out the comments on that video.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
If for some sad reason, the only āAvatarā you watched in the late 2000ās was the James Cameron film, Iām so sorry. I have some good news, thanks to Netflix. You have a second chance.
Where to beginā¦ Iāll try to spare you all the endless praise Iād like to give this show in lieu of one simple goal: convincing you to give it a try.
First off ā donāt trust me. Trust just about everyone: it quickly became the #1 show on Netflix after coming to the platform about 10 days ago. If you donāt trust the public, all three seasons have a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
I first watched the show when it aired on Nickelodeon from 2005-2008. After re-watching over the past two weeks, I can say with confidence that it lives up to the hype.
Despite a million odds (kids show, Nickelodeon, the controversies typically associated with anything that looks like western anime, a horrible film adaptation thanks to M. Night Shyamalan, and so forth), the show hits on the best of the fantasy genre: accessible yet complex themes, brilliant and nuanced characters, and a fantastic and curiosity-inducing world. Most impressively, itās consistently self-aware and goes out on top.
My advice: dive in. If you can make it to the end of the first season, Iām sure youāll be hooked. The second and third seasons are the showās best. As an added bonus, youāll be ready to nerd out with the rest of us when the live-action remake comes to Netflix in a few years and it dominates pop-culture conversations.
And for those who are curious, Iād definitely be a firebender.
Read šš
Creativity, Inc
A critical caveat ā Iām only about 1/3 of the way through this book (noticing a trend? Maybe this newsletter will motivate me to finish things). That said, I wanted to share a bit about a particularly compelling chapter.
The book details why Pixar is so continuously creative. Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar shares a mix of frameworks, anecdotes, and learnings from building one of the most creative companies on the planet.
The chapter of note focuses on Pixarās ābraintrust,ā a formal group of company leaders and creatives that acts as a counsel of critique for its filmmakers. More specifically, Ed writes about the importance of honesty, or more specifically by his framing, candor for creative greatness to occur. One of the most fundamental aspects of Pixarās culture is this radical, unselfish, and well-intentioned candor that enables its people to sharpen each otherās ideas.
One of the ideas I liked most is what Ed calls āgood notes.ā Theyāre a form of feedback that ādoesnāt make demands; it doesnāt even have to include a proposed fix.ā Rather, than focusing on the person who originated an idea, Pixarās culture focuses on the idea itself: prodding, testing, and scrutinizing it. Accountability with intrinsic respect and humility that pulls back the ego.
Itās funny ā while reading about this notion, the most immediate thing that came to mind is my relationships with my closest friends. The kind of friends that are willing to risk ego and its implications for my sake. Thereās a special nature to this kind of feedback: that which slips through the cracks of personal pride and fosters growth. Iām eager to employ that in business and in life.
I know this was on the lengthier side. My goal is to limit the number of recommendations and stay away from summaries. Rather, I hope these emails feel like little bites from the broader meals these recommendations offer and encourage you to dive into them yourself.
Thanks for reading. This is new, and Iām still figuring out what works. Iād love any feedback if you have it, and any thoughts on these recommendations or related ideas. Feel free to leave a comment or tweet me @jacksondahl.
Cheers!
Jackson
Going to be listening to the audio book version. Thanks!
Great newsletter! I enjoyed watching some of Liziqi's videos and thinking deeper about Pixar's "good notes" strategy for evaluating ideas. Looking forward to future editions.