Link – Infinite Yes

The Art of Dying

This is a very long but absolutely incredible essay, by a NY art critic I’ve never read before. It includes many brilliant aphorisms and reflections, such as “Don’t waste the chance to have truths, great and small, burst upon you” and “If God is a human invention, good for us! We had to come up with something.” Trigger warning: it’s about dying.

Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) by Jeff Tweedy | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

I’ve been devouring Jeff Tweedy’s autobiography for the past week and it’s amazing. He’s one of my all-time heroes, probably the best songwriter of my generation, and the book talks a lot about his music – but it is also hilarious, emotional and philosophical.

Yesterday I came across a line that perfectly encapsulates my approach to life: “if you don’t ask, the answer’s always no”. I always ask, too! It’s like you know me, Jeff!

Highly recommended read, especially in audiobook format.

Interviews with the Judges: Josh McNorton

I’m judging an art prize next year and I was interviewed about my history in the arts. Have a read (and note the amazing facial hair I once sported!)

≫ Barcelona vs Berlin vs Lisbon vs London vs Vancouver | City comparison

I recently discovered the website Versus and it’s blowing my mind! Here’s a comparison of my 5 favourite cities in the world. London & Lisbon are clearly the winners, in my view.

Gord Downie, a Canadian Rock Legend, Sings Goodbye

So many great articles and posts about GD today. This one is my favourite.

‘Our minds can be hijacked’: the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia

Great article. I would like to use my smartphone as an occasional communication tool rather than an always-accessible mini-computer / time waster. Easier said than done, though.

Exit Music: How Radiohead’s OK Computer Destroyed the Art-Pop Album in Order to Save It | Pitchfork

Two months from now will be the 20th anniversary of an album that changed my life and arguably stretched the boundaries of popular rock music forevermore. Pitchfork has been rolling out content this week to celebrate the album and thus far it’s all been great. I particularly enjoyed this essay, with the highlight being these concluding lines:
“[Radiohead] were open-hearted doomsayers who pushed the disquieting power of classic art-pop at a critical time. They took advantage of the present while creating a strange balm for the future. They were smart. They were skeptical. They were lucky.”

Twelve Visual Artists Interpret the 12 Songs on Radiohead’s OK Computer | Pitchfork

Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)

I probably watch and enjoy scary movies more than most people and the one that’s been staying with me as utterly terrifying (and real!) is the documentary “Going Clear”. Watch it at your peril.

How to Fix the Biggest Problem with Live Music

I attend less concerts, on average, in London than I did while living in Vancouver. This isn’t for a lack of options, not having access to tickets nor a declining interest in music. This excellent article in Esquire analyses what I’ve been frustrated by for a while: a shift in the behaviour of live music audiences, which I assumed was cultural (“a London or UK thing”) but perhaps it isn’t.

In my experience, a noticeably large portion of the audience at gigs (especially big shows and festivals) are more interested in “having been there” and spend more time talking to their friends, drinking, and using their phones than absorbing the show. As a music fanatic and someone who loves to dissect a live performance, this is really disheartening and has played a part in why I’ve chosen to spend more of my time and money on theatre.