greatest hits

There are times in a your life when you're simply unsure of everything: everything you've done, are doing, or will ever do. Whether it's an existential crisis, a cry for attention, or simply a curse of being too well read is ambiguous and ultimately unimportant. It's a feeling you can't blow off and can only be pushed to the back of your mind with the help of a few drinks, but which will return with a vengeance when you're laying in bed hungover and alone the next morning. It's something indescribable that has no name and really can't be understood or "thought through." Only with time will it wither away: a slow, and oftentimes painful process. I exist here. Everything's moving quickly, at my own will, busying myself with an endless agenda to hopefully arrive at a higher ground, whatever that looks like. I'm lost in my own head with thoughts about the direction in which I want to steer my life. I've plotted myself at a metaphorical crossroads where I must choose how I want to spend my early 20's; uncertainty is the bane of my existence. I'm unsure of even the most basic things, about what I'm looking for in life. Nothing seems to satiate the stubborn, unyielding sensation of attaining something, anything to be happy. Essentially, I'm driving myself insane with the urgency to make decisions that I believe will make it or break it, change my life for better or for worse.

Paradoxically, I know exactly what I'm doing.  I'm in a good place, and I have the utility to do whatever I want. I'm intelligent, reasonably attractive, funny when I want to be, sassy as hell, comfortable with who I am. And I'm young. Maybe I'd rather be lost. Maybe I enjoy not knowing. We all do. I tell myself I do. But do I? 

Problem is this independence is crippling. For the first time I'm actually on my own, and alone is unsettling. I want to be reckless, but I want to be safe at the same time. I suppose this is all part of "growing up", but fuck is it hard. A crutch is a short term solution, one that sounds insanely attractive, but a man shouldn't and can't solve my problems.............right?

The other day I was trying to think of when I'm happiest. The best I could come up with is when I'm surrounded by people whose company I truly enjoy, when I can be myself and speak my mind and not feel insecure or stupid for thinking the things that I do. Those are the brief moments when I feel complete and uninhibited euphoria, but how to contain them and stretch them out is life's greatest, and most beleaguering task. I don't need to be happy right now (I suppose it's good for artistic expression?), but what else is there to life besides achieving your nirvana? Will someone just tell me if this pit in my stomach is what they call "drive"...or if it's depression? Reveal the punchline to me already. I don't want to figure it out for myself. What's the reward for toiling until the end? What's the payoff? I don't want everything to just be a means to the end, but tell me if it is.

I want to feel exhilarated, to turn all of this into motivation, but hey, easier said than done. 

fitter, happier, more productive

I've gotten a lot of grief recently about not being clear in defining what I consider avant-garde or culturally significant art, so I thought I'd give you a better sense of what I mean through an an exemplar piece of work from an artist that has boggled my mind and society's mind since the early '90's.

Hailed by the notoriously elitist Pitchfork as the best album of the 1990s, Radiohead’s OK Computer not only delivers an impeccable sound but also captures the essence of the Digital Age. Though not explicitly recognized as a concept album or ordered as a narrative, its lyrics and album artwork resonate a common theme: dystopia. OK Computer expresses how the Digital Age has transformed the roles of the working class, the corporations, and the government, and the fears of what our affection for technology may lead to.  It reflects on the aftermath of an order, the world before industrial technology and global politics, disrupted by the pollution of dangerously powerful technology, values dictated by hyper-consumerism and capitalistic interest, and political apathy. Yet, the album does not leave us without hope, for it forces us to reckon with the true culprit of the matter and guard ourselves with the necessary set of ethics to keep from falling victim. Because OK Computer’s widespread reach and influence has blossomed the album to an extremely significant and particularly meaningful emblem of our generation, the message and ‘call to action’ behind the art plays a central role in popular culture. 

OK Computer gives life to a polluted order. Packaged in modern ethics, or lack thereof, the pollution is the notion of solving all of our most intricate problems using technology, the idea of material possession as the chief unit of measure, and the concept of the democratic government gradually losing its power. “Fitter Happier,” with a prophetic voice, is the most emblematic song of the technologic takeover, of machines dictating our very being. The lyrics, essentially a laundry list of actions to take in order to regulate and automate human behavior, describe a machine that is running a program to ensure a “fitter, happier, more productive” public. The agenda “more productive” should be given special attention because it is key to understanding the climate of the polluted order where personal worth is judged on productivity. 

In response to pollution, society has attempted to stretch the old order to encompass the new perspective. Because the shift was incrementally achieved, an illusion exists that old ethics have been preserved.  Yet, the dissonance between the old and the new is far too great for the standards to coexist. “Karma Police” perfectly embodies this struggle for power. From the experience of the narrator, a citizen living in the polluted order, we are able to get a sense of what it is like to live under such circumstances. He goes back and forth between what he has to do and who he is, which makes clear that his morals are not compatible with his duties in society. The narrator painfully repeats, “For a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself/Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself,” but it is not obvious which part of himself he has lost. From the lyrics, we understand that he suddenly gained an awareness of right from wrong and a sense of duty to report the crimes committed by his peers; the karma police is in fact his conscience. Then he remembers “I’ve given all I can/But we’re still on the payroll,” and he sinks back into the order of bureaucratic society. No matter how many times the circumstances play out, the only solution he sees to disband this cognitive dissonance is to choose to remain a member of society and thus forgo his values. Keeping up with the polluted order means losing the good – there is no place for selflessness, freethinking, or patriotism. And the result: a desensitized, disconnected, and disenchanted heap of people. 

“No Surprises” most perfectly encapsulates what pollution has made of our lives. “A heart that's full up like a landfill/A job that slowly kills you/Bruises that won't heal/You look so tired-unhappy.” Our protagonist has conformed to a lifestyle dictated by bureaucratic culture, which has suffocated his being. He sings, “Bring down the government,” but his lackluster tone of voice shows he does not even believe in what he is saying.  He may only be revisiting his ambitions as a young man, now clichéd and ludicrous as an adult. In fact, this is his “final fit,” “final bellyache” and there will be nothing but “silent silence” from him here on out. He has accepted what his life has become and will die in complacency. He muses, “Such a pretty house and such a pretty garden” to justify the passion for life he has compromised.

OK Computer is a tale of modern alienation. In the words of British rock critic, Nick Kent, “It cast a complicated spell over millions, who found something deeply illuminating in the record's insinuated struggle to find a humane set of values amid the numbing paraphernalia of the lap-top mind-set." The album is a reminder to think for yourself instead of allowing computers and corporations to think for you. It is encouragement to take control of your life by relying on nothing but your own mind. And, it is a warning of what the future could look like if you neglect the individual. OK Computer is truly an avant-garde piece of work, not just of the musical distinction, but of genius in all realms, against all criteria. With a simultaneously modern and futuristic vision, this album makes a very important social observation that will be relevant for decades to come, so long as the influence of technology and corporations continues to reign over society.

things worthy of nostalgia

I realized that the last post made me sound like a cynical jerk so I thought I'd attempt to lead you away from that perception by sharing with you a list of things that I am nostalgic for.  

The world before the Internet: I have a theory about how the Internet is killing/has killed any prospect of the coming of a cultural movement in the 21^st century, but I’ll spare you. All I’ll say is I feel that the Internet has robbed us of the magic and mystery of the world, and that the trend in corporations hiring qualified college grads to fill newly created social media vacancies is complete and utter bullshit. The greatest good that has come out of the Internet is Reddit. 

The world before technology in general: Technology has made it virtually (pun observed and fallen flat) impossible to get away with a lie. Paper trails exist for infinity in cyberspace. You seriously have to be an idiot to even consider attempting murder in this day and age.

The advertising industry circa the 1950’s: Mad Men enthusiasts understand my sentiments exactly.

Newspapers: If you haven’t heard already, the news industry is going south. I can’t be the only one who’s sad for the downfall of the “iron core” of accountability news and the fact that our kin will be Perez Hilton guzzling idiots.

Roald Dahl: My childhood (and book reports) would have been dull without this fellow.

90’s Nickelodeon Cartoons: I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up during the last decade of quality cartoons. The Spongebob generation and beyond have lost the privilege to important moral takeaways from shows like Hey Arnold.

Traditional Post: Tangible mail is meaningful to me. The idea of someone going through the trouble of writing the letter by hand, purchasing a forty-five cent stamp, and dropping it off in a mailbox makes the sincerity in the “sincerely” so much more authentic.

The Renaissance: I know, I contradict myself, but how awesome and obsolete is the idea of artists being celebrated and commissioned by the wealthy. Seriously though, it would only take a couple of Medicis to get people excited about fine art again. And who knows, maybe a few Da Vinci reincarnates will be revealed.

James Dean: James Franco doesn’t hold a match to him.

Badass blues musicians in the likes of Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf: They INVENTED a sound that many will unsuccessfully attempt to replicate forevermore. 

Vocals pre-bullshit auto-tuning: I won't discount the magnificent Adele and the highly regarded and personally despised Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, but I wish pop singers today didn't have auto-tuning to fall back on. Their voices must have to really suck for producers to think that distorting them to a degree that sounds alien is more desirable and more marketable. I wish the music industry would snap out of it and start searching for the Robert Plants, Brian Wilsons, Stevie Nicks, and Fiona Apples of our day. 

College: Summer vacation, winter recess, spring break, self-discovery, fast food diets, kegs, living a block away from your best friends, needing only one explanation for your actions (it's college!), meeting some of the most intelligent people you have met or will ever meet, sleeping 'til the sun goes down, taking the first step toward independence, pushing buttons, pushing boundaries, pushing drugs (kidding!), and realizing how much you've grown in four years are some of the perks, to name a few, of college life. Enjoy it kiddies! 

things unworthy of nostalgia

Feeling extra-critical today, I compiled a list of things from the past that aren't worth our yearning. Only after much consideration did I arrive at the few items below that made the cut. 

Woodstock: This will undoubtedly come across blasphemous especially in hindsight of brochella, but if you've actually read accounts of people who attended the festival, the music is always mentioned second to either the heat, the contaminated water supply, or the inescapable smell of sewage from overflowing porta potties. Plus I'm bored of "Woodstock" as everybody's answer to "If you could travel back in time to a specific moment in history, which would it be?" What about James Brown live at The Apollo in '62 or the mega jam sesh in '88 between Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jeff Beck, Elton John, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Neil Young, the Beach Boys, and Les Paul and the Drifters. There are better options imho. 

Moustaches: Congratulations, Millenials! Moustaches have persisted to be more than a transient fad. Not only are they appearing on fratbro, hipster wannabes, but on necklaces, coffee mugs, and baby bibs, too. Please don’t try this one at home; I promise you won’t be able to pull it off like Tom Selleck or Frida Kahlo.

Silent movies: The 20th century has bred an increasingly ADD-prone population and I include myself in that category. While some contemporary actors and actresses are so unbearably terrible that I wish films were still silent, geeking out to Star Wars and LOTR just wouldn't be the same without sound. 

Cassettes & CDs: Although there are few sounds I adore more than that of a needle hitting the periphery of a vinyl record, I cannot deny the convenience and flawless sound of digital recordings. Cassettes were a bit before my time, but I remember what a hassle it was to carry around my case of CDs in addition to my walkman and clunky headphones. 

Typewriters: I have author-hopeful friends who attempt to channel Hemingway through writing on typewriters, but honest to god, all typewriters are is a hindrance to creative output. Not only do they require constant maintenance and repair, but also my hard-earned 120 wpm goes to shit. Why not use a computer and get down to business?

The Middle Ages: Hollywood period pieces make the days of the Monarchy look so goddamn glamorous, but if there’s one underappreciated technological innovation that I couldn’t live without, it’s modern plumbing. And the rampant diseases are definitely worth a mention…dysentery, ergotism, leprosy, small pox, typhoid fever…god bless modern medicine.

College: Homework, exams, papers, grades, obnoxious classmates, near brain dead classmates, alcohol-induced brain dead classmates, three-hour lectures, greek life, disgusting living arrangements that could afford an entire year of food for a third world village, feigned interest in football, the fine line between non-consensual sex and date rape, broken bones, broken morals, and broken souls are a few aspects of college, to name a few, that deserve scorn. 

interview with nathan

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Nathan Hazard, A&R Coordinator at Warner Bros. Records, to learn more about the condition of the music industry. He was knowledgeable, personable, and supremely generous in providing me with all the information I needed. We began with some general questions about his department and moved our way into the logistics of the division’s business practices. Though the majority of my questions were relatively matter-of-fact, Nathan did not hesitate to provide his own insight with colorful anecdotes.

Tiffany: How would you describe what A&R is to someone who has no knowledge about the music industry?

Nathan: A&R, which stand for Artists and Repertoire, is the division of a record label that deals directly with the artists and their management and acts as the liaison between the talent and the label. It’s also the unit in charge of scouting and signing new artists and fostering them throughout their career, acting as a sort of in-house management that ensures all their needs are met within the company.

How long have you been with Warner and which artists are you responsible for?

I’ve been with Warner for six years my roster includes The Flaming Lips, Jenny Lewis, Iron and Wine, Devo, Built to Spill, and my personal favorite, Jeff the Brotherhood.

Could you tell me a little bit about your previous experience and how you got your foot in the door at Warner?

I went to the University of Oregon where I majored in Intermediate Design and was heavily involved with the radio station. I moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduation ‘cause I knew it was a place conducive to creative work, and began freelancing in music video productions. I immediately began working to build up my network and got an in with Warner Bros. Records through someone in the Marketing department. Six months later, I applied for a competitive position in A&R, and, to my surprise, I was selected. I always knew I wanted to work in A&R because I think it's the most creative division of any record label.

What are your major responsibilities within the department?

I serve as a production coordinator, relaying information between the technical and business sides of the production process, scout new talent, paying attention to musical trends that are not only reacting and in vogue, but sticking, court artists (going to two to three shows per week), and attend to daily administrative needs.

Could you take me through the process of how an artist gets signed?

Well this happens in a couple of ways. Most commonly, the deal is either a business transaction (plain and simple, the label “shops” for an artist) or a courting practice. If an A&R rep finds an artist with label potential, he immediately starts a relationship with them, seeing what they want to do and what their long-term goals are. I always compare this process to dating: Relationship building and trust is the most important thing. If the scout and the artist find that they want to work together, the scout offers a pitch to the company, and if upper management approves, the artists are brought in for a meet-and-greet and a more extensive conversation. Assuming this all goes well, the label creates a proposal and the two teams of lawyers settle all legal matters to reach an agreement and form the final deal.

How many demos do you receive everyday?

It’s actually slowed down a lot. It used to be three to five per day. Now it’s one or two a week. The majority of those are from urban artists, country and hip hop, which are the two genres that have very much stayed faithful to old school, traditional ways of doing things.

What differentiates a good artist from a great artist with label potential?

“Career artists,” those with real long-term potential and a bright mind, who think outside the box and take themselves seriously as an artist. They can tell you their goals twenty years down the road. You see, scouts have to be slightly clairvoyant. To be tempting on a label level, an artist must show signs of growth and has to be something that is not already out there or on the label.

Has the digital movement impacted the way A&R conducts business?

Of course. But the current media landscape has not made his job more difficult, just different. It is now a lot easier to retrieve information. Whereas you once had to perform all your research by reading a lot of trade magazines and blindly going to shows, today it only takes a few keywords and the click of a button.

Do you think there will always be a need for A&R?

Absolutely, A&R will remain sustainable because curation of information will always be necessary.

I had a great time chatting with Nathan and he equipped me with a lot of new knowledge to share with you all. A&R is a department that I have always been interested in, and learning more about it has only fed the intrigue.

Though it was inspiring to see the enthusiasm in Nathan’s eyes as he talked about his work, what I enjoyed most was getting to know him on a personal level. I found out that he channels his other passions for food, photography, and writing in his blog, TheChocolate of Meats, and his podcast, The Table Set. He also dispels the saying about not mixing business with pleasure, claiming that he is more passionate about music recreationally than ever and at the end of the day, still listens to the music he likes to listen to.

a little about me

Since we all like to know about the person whose writing we're reading, I'm going to use this post to tell you a little bit about myself. In less than a month I’ll embark on an endless journey to make my mark in advertising, but for now, I’m enjoying my final days in college by making as many interminable memories and impressions that hopefully won’t be interminable to my psyche. I live and breathe:

Advertising - I always remind myself how fortunate I am to have discovered my calling. Since senior year of high school, I had been taking on jobs and internships at companies ranging from American Apparel to my dentist’s office. And by sophomore year of college, I had accepted that I was going to have to deal with being passionless. But everything changed that summer when I was introduced to the world of advertising by a stroke of luck internship I acquired. Anyone who’s in advertising will tell you it’s not nearly as glamorous as Mad Men makes it look. It’s long hours, mediocre pay, and often heartbreakingly fierce competition. But in turn you get to work in an environment that is progressive, entrepreneurial, and inspired where you’re surrounded by the most creative minds in the workforce. In short, there’s no looking back for me. If you can’t be bothered with my love affair with advertising, then I’m not your copy. 

Reading & Writing - I’m generally a fan of non-fiction and the works of Vonnegut, Dostoevsky, Murakami, and Klosterman. But honestly, I don’t read nearly as much as I’d like to. Here are a few books that have been on my summer reading list since, well, summer: Full Dark, No Stars, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Everyone Worth Knowing, A Picture of Dorian Grey, and You Remind Me of Spam. If you must know, I enthusiastically purchased all of the aforementioned. That might be a pretty defining characteristic; I’m regrettably whimsical. Oh, and that last title is actually one of the prospective names for the future bestseller I hope to pen.

Food - I plan my day around food. As pathetic as that sounds, I’m not ashamed. There’s so many reasons to love food and it’s only brought perpetual contentment to my life so I won’t turn my back on it. And I mean that quite literally; I’ve never lasted more than a day on a diet. Cooking has always played a big role in my life because it’s a way for me to bring joy to the ones I care about, not to mention to satiate my visceral, gluttonous tendencies. I can’t really tell if I’m a good cook or not, ‘cause you never know when your friends and family are just trying to be nice. So my general rule of thumb is if they’re going back for thirds, I’ve succeeded. 

I don’t know where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing in 10 years, 10 months, or even 10 days, but that’s the beauty of this moment in my life. As I work toward my goals, I’ll try everything once, live with reckless care, and realize the boundless opportunities around me ‘cause after all, as the great Jack Kerouac once said: “Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream.”

generation ?

You'd think the hipsters started it all: Bell-bottoms, Jackie-O frames, red lips, Elvis-inspired blues, rockabilly a la The Everly Brothers. The retro resurgence has pervaded every medium and compartmentalized today’s consumer behavior. It is impossible to turn a corner without being bombarded with some kind of nostalgic reference in the form of a vintage re-creation in the form of an overpriced commercial product.

Some things are rightfully never forgotten, but it seems that everything “retro”, the good, the bad, and the painfully misguided, has been reincarnated by a generation of culturally lost consumers. While it is the role of the self-proclaimed cosmopolitan tastemaker to obsess over the latest obscurity, what has compelled the trickle down effect to morph into a colossal cascade that has invaded the plebian periphery? 

At the start of 2000, the world’s artistic momentum reached a plateau in lieu of the Y2K prediction, and we were left with nothing but the inspired cultural innovations of the past fifty years to gaze back on longingly. The world lost track of the future and found itself at a standstill. And the only way to move forward was to sell nostalgia. We have yet to cover any ground since then, our popular culture but relics from the idealized decades we struggle to reconstruct.  The only sorry excuse we have for anything that slightly resembles a popular culture is “electronic,” or dare I say, “rave.” But again, been there, done that. 70’s Krautrock or 90’s Acid House anyone? Sure, we’ve arguably built on past movements and no doubt has reinvention always existed and been a legitimate art form, but nothing of the past decade has persisted to be more than a transient fad.

An optimistic rationale of this is that our right brains have been sitting idle for so long that, out of convenience and laziness, we have become hesitant to seek out new inspiration. A grimmer prospect is that we have digressed as a society and lost the ability to summon a thought-provoking, progressive aesthetic. 

The Millenials lack an identity. The avant-garde has run dry and surely, the current media landscape has not been conducive to counterculture. The days of anti-establishment, free love, and ‘bricolage’ are long gone and the faint ring of subversion is only left sounding in their parents’ teenage memories. It has been long enough to safely say “popular culture has drowned itself in the past” without sounding insensitive. Today’s society is steeped in an ideology that is unconscious. We lack a collective energy because we have become complacent and unquestioning. I love/hate to reference Radiohead, but could the eerie prophecy of OK Computer be coming true? 

What are your thoughts? 

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