To be honest, Ted, there are some good ideas in the thread (I've looked through the 56 comments), but I bet that many of us would be happiest if you kept on writing about and posting whatever comes to your own mind. I find your expressed creativity when combined with your breadth and depth of knowledge to be stunning ... in a very good way.
I’d like some deep dives into music from far away, and foreign cultures. I was watch a film from Iran last night and there was incidental village music, not as part of the storyline, just in the background. I knew so little about it, and I’ve collected world music a fair amount. You seem to be well informed about so much. What do you find intriguing along those lines?
(1) If we were to really fix the sick/broken system of how royalties are paid to artists per stream what is a viable alternative moving forward? Who is pushing forward technological innovation and how? [I realize you touch on and around these subjects, but more and deeper dives would be welcome.] (2) What about interviews with famous artists and hitting them with the same 5 questions each time related to the music business and like one story they've never told before? (3) Explorations around WHY sound itself hits us on a pre-linguistic, emotional level. Like stuff on the origins of music? (4) The best venues for live music now? (5) The history of given instruments like the violin, electric guitar and bass, drums, organ, etc.
I'm a poet and heard about you first as "Dana Gioia's cool brother." I'd love a joint article between you two, trading stories back and forth. Or a podcast with both of you! As to the content, I feel like I'd enjoy wherever the conversation took you. I'd be curious to hear if your attitudes towards music and his towards poetry have areas of overlap, or areas of disagreement, or just how the worlds of writing music and writing poetry - and/or writing about music and writing about poetry - cross and connect.
I emailed on this a few months back, but would love to get your reflections on growing up in Hawthorne in the wake of the Beach Boys. I am genuinely curious, since you're a Hawthorne HS alum, what it was like being there a little over a decade after the Wilsons passed through
I love your insight into peculiar stories in the History of jazz. Articles that I loved include: “When Duke Ellington Made a Record for Just One Person—Queen Elizabeth”, “The Plan to Turn Thelonious Monk into a Jazz-Rock Fusion Star” and “The Worst Day in Jazz History”. So yeah, more of that! Thanks and happy 2023 :)
I think music, industry and society are inseparable. I like the way you balance the threads and I wouldn't mess with that. I especially like that you write about news and new talent.
open mic suggestion: people talking about how "how did you meet up with friends or listen to music when you were 16?" I think the varied answers from different ages, even small differences, would be fascinating to see.
I'd be interested to read you on the topic of *local* music cultures, with this lens: how to engage with them, how to contribute and involve yourself, how to help build/rebuild them. This can all be a bit of a mystery to those who weren't born into a vibrant local music scene or family. For instance, one thing I've found disorienting is that when you do look outside your room/laptop to find people to play with, local tastes and communities of interest may not overlap with yours at all. Another angle: I was interested to hear a Tank and the Bangas interview a few years ago discussing rebuilding/regrowing the NOLA music scene after Katrina. Short story it took until 2020 (and a lot of conscious effort) to get it back into a recognisable, living, organic state...then COVID turned the clock back again. As we transition out of pandemic time, surely many will find themselves in a similar situation and may benefit from guidance. Appreciate you have discussed what makes an innovative music culture in your book Music: A Subversive History (especially demographically/geographically), but I'd be very interested to hear you write about it with a generalised, forward facing, 'what can one do where one is' perspective. (Apologies I wrote this on my phone)
Ted, I listened to a good part of your "100 best of 2022" music. I have to admit, I couldn't stand most of it. But this is on me! I admire you so much for being so open to it, despite being (careful here!) beyond 20-something age.
So maybe a deeper dive into HOW you appreciate some of this stuff and what you see in it, which is so different from what we Baby Boomers grew up with? I don't expect that I'll magically just start liking it, but maybe I can give it more than a brief listen.
It would be great if you periodically “took apart” an album that you think is great, under-appreciated, significant, etc and made some part of your level of appreciation available to the rest of us.
I don’t mean Kind of Blue significance – – something less discussed. Btw: During the year you did get me to re-appreciate Stan Getz, so thank you for that.
I find myself consistently impressed with your open and welcoming approach to fresh ideas!
My biggest curiosities would be things that are farthest off the main path, especially:
1. how you seem to balance so effortlessly this mesmerizing slate of interests, including presumably regular music listening, reading, writing, spending time with loved ones, reader interaction, other hobbies (?!), etc.
2. niche topics that you feel the least likely to have general appeal (but which you harbor outsized fascination with)
Best wishes for a 2023 filled with effervescence 🌿
This is tough! Overall, I love every direction The Honest Broker takes with its writing. There are a lot of things mentioned in this newsletter that I don't see written about anywhere else. I think the writing about the music industry is what I find most important. Articles about the creative economy, incentive structures, and business models, how that compares to the past, and what it means for our future are articles that I find myself coming back to and referencing often. They have most definitely shaped my outlook as an artist and musician.
Really enjoyed the recent article about Barnes & Noble, it was a great case story. But I also love a great jazz history story as well! The Lester Young and Bing Crosby stories were great. Have you ever considered your own podcast? I would love to listen to you conduct some interviews on topics such as these.
Also, articles like "12 Books That Changed How I Hear Music" has been a treasure trove of suggested reading. It seems like you get your hands on lots of obscure and out of print books (and recordings), I always love hearing about those.
Also I must say, I absolutely LOVE the new book. Always looking forward to the next chapters. It's everything I've always wanted in a music book. I hope it comes out in print form!
To be honest, Ted, there are some good ideas in the thread (I've looked through the 56 comments), but I bet that many of us would be happiest if you kept on writing about and posting whatever comes to your own mind. I find your expressed creativity when combined with your breadth and depth of knowledge to be stunning ... in a very good way.
I’d like some deep dives into music from far away, and foreign cultures. I was watch a film from Iran last night and there was incidental village music, not as part of the storyline, just in the background. I knew so little about it, and I’ve collected world music a fair amount. You seem to be well informed about so much. What do you find intriguing along those lines?
(1) If we were to really fix the sick/broken system of how royalties are paid to artists per stream what is a viable alternative moving forward? Who is pushing forward technological innovation and how? [I realize you touch on and around these subjects, but more and deeper dives would be welcome.] (2) What about interviews with famous artists and hitting them with the same 5 questions each time related to the music business and like one story they've never told before? (3) Explorations around WHY sound itself hits us on a pre-linguistic, emotional level. Like stuff on the origins of music? (4) The best venues for live music now? (5) The history of given instruments like the violin, electric guitar and bass, drums, organ, etc.
As a Brazilian musician, it would be great if you'd write some articles about our music.
Thank you
I'm a poet and heard about you first as "Dana Gioia's cool brother." I'd love a joint article between you two, trading stories back and forth. Or a podcast with both of you! As to the content, I feel like I'd enjoy wherever the conversation took you. I'd be curious to hear if your attitudes towards music and his towards poetry have areas of overlap, or areas of disagreement, or just how the worlds of writing music and writing poetry - and/or writing about music and writing about poetry - cross and connect.
I emailed on this a few months back, but would love to get your reflections on growing up in Hawthorne in the wake of the Beach Boys. I am genuinely curious, since you're a Hawthorne HS alum, what it was like being there a little over a decade after the Wilsons passed through
I love your insight into peculiar stories in the History of jazz. Articles that I loved include: “When Duke Ellington Made a Record for Just One Person—Queen Elizabeth”, “The Plan to Turn Thelonious Monk into a Jazz-Rock Fusion Star” and “The Worst Day in Jazz History”. So yeah, more of that! Thanks and happy 2023 :)
I think music, industry and society are inseparable. I like the way you balance the threads and I wouldn't mess with that. I especially like that you write about news and new talent.
open mic suggestion: people talking about how "how did you meet up with friends or listen to music when you were 16?" I think the varied answers from different ages, even small differences, would be fascinating to see.
How about a focus on our next generation of Creators? What can we do to ensure that our educational and other social institutions do what it takes to raise our kids and grandkids to develop to their full potentials? See: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.
I'd be interested to read you on the topic of *local* music cultures, with this lens: how to engage with them, how to contribute and involve yourself, how to help build/rebuild them. This can all be a bit of a mystery to those who weren't born into a vibrant local music scene or family. For instance, one thing I've found disorienting is that when you do look outside your room/laptop to find people to play with, local tastes and communities of interest may not overlap with yours at all. Another angle: I was interested to hear a Tank and the Bangas interview a few years ago discussing rebuilding/regrowing the NOLA music scene after Katrina. Short story it took until 2020 (and a lot of conscious effort) to get it back into a recognisable, living, organic state...then COVID turned the clock back again. As we transition out of pandemic time, surely many will find themselves in a similar situation and may benefit from guidance. Appreciate you have discussed what makes an innovative music culture in your book Music: A Subversive History (especially demographically/geographically), but I'd be very interested to hear you write about it with a generalised, forward facing, 'what can one do where one is' perspective. (Apologies I wrote this on my phone)
Ted, I listened to a good part of your "100 best of 2022" music. I have to admit, I couldn't stand most of it. But this is on me! I admire you so much for being so open to it, despite being (careful here!) beyond 20-something age.
So maybe a deeper dive into HOW you appreciate some of this stuff and what you see in it, which is so different from what we Baby Boomers grew up with? I don't expect that I'll magically just start liking it, but maybe I can give it more than a brief listen.
It would be great if you periodically “took apart” an album that you think is great, under-appreciated, significant, etc and made some part of your level of appreciation available to the rest of us.
I don’t mean Kind of Blue significance – – something less discussed. Btw: During the year you did get me to re-appreciate Stan Getz, so thank you for that.
Please write about your approach to discovering new music.
I find myself consistently impressed with your open and welcoming approach to fresh ideas!
My biggest curiosities would be things that are farthest off the main path, especially:
1. how you seem to balance so effortlessly this mesmerizing slate of interests, including presumably regular music listening, reading, writing, spending time with loved ones, reader interaction, other hobbies (?!), etc.
2. niche topics that you feel the least likely to have general appeal (but which you harbor outsized fascination with)
Best wishes for a 2023 filled with effervescence 🌿
This is tough! Overall, I love every direction The Honest Broker takes with its writing. There are a lot of things mentioned in this newsletter that I don't see written about anywhere else. I think the writing about the music industry is what I find most important. Articles about the creative economy, incentive structures, and business models, how that compares to the past, and what it means for our future are articles that I find myself coming back to and referencing often. They have most definitely shaped my outlook as an artist and musician.
Really enjoyed the recent article about Barnes & Noble, it was a great case story. But I also love a great jazz history story as well! The Lester Young and Bing Crosby stories were great. Have you ever considered your own podcast? I would love to listen to you conduct some interviews on topics such as these.
Also, articles like "12 Books That Changed How I Hear Music" has been a treasure trove of suggested reading. It seems like you get your hands on lots of obscure and out of print books (and recordings), I always love hearing about those.
Also I must say, I absolutely LOVE the new book. Always looking forward to the next chapters. It's everything I've always wanted in a music book. I hope it comes out in print form!