I guess we haven't evolved so much from the days when your entire personality (your entire being, even) could be summarized by the song lyric you put in your AOL away message.
Although I guess the fact that it's not a signifier you apply to yourself, but one generated by the all-seeing, all-knowing Algorithm is significant.
Everyone in my family but me is obsessed with Apple Watches and FitBits and all that stuff they use to monitor how many steps they're taking each day. I find that kind of surveillance, even self-surveillance, incredibly triggering, but YMMV. It's like the ghost of Steve Jobs is accruing merit points for them in heaven or something. We are so desperate to reinvent the Panopticon.
I was raised secular and yet I’m very into MBTI/astrology/tarot/any granular discussion about literary genres and uh...I guess I have to unpack what that means now, thanks!
Also to your point about singular tastes - I think Spotify Wrapped can make your music tastes sound more interesting than they are. One of my top genres for the past few years was Art Pop. I still don’t know what that means, and I’m pretty sure it was solely based off my love of St. Vincent.
But I think the algorithm has generated enough mini-genres to make your listening patterns sound cool, even if they’re using genres that you would never claim for yourself. Perhaps that is also part of the appeal? That a higher power is even more convinced of your singularity than you are?
Curious--did you write this post by hand? How does your journal communicate with your word processed and/or published work? You make me think of V. Woolf typing up her handwritten drafts and then, when her income increased, paying someone to do this for her, and also of Henry James, suffering from writer's cramp and resorting to dictation (to someone who, I seem to recall, recorded him directly to typescript). There is this task, typing up handwritten notes and manuscripts, that feels to me v appropriate to a monkish life, with even a rustic Zen, raking the garden sort of vibe. Followed by blue pencil or red pen editing and correcting, ditto.
I didn't write this by hand. I try to keep the newsletter breezy. But I am writing a novel by hand. I've committed to writing it only by hand and only in these particular little notebooks. It's nice having that in contrast to my other way of working. There's always a by hand component to my books. There's always a phase when I print it out and mark it up. And then re-enter. Sometimes retyping.
For me, I feel that I can -see- the book better when I edit by hand. It just seems clearer to me somehow.
I am curious how this new novel in progress will feel when I get around to typing it from my notebooks. But for now, I am just enjoying the feeling of accumulating pages. I do feel that I write differently by hand. Freer, looser. There's a sketch-like quality to the work almost. I also feel that each word is somehow heavier? It matters more? It's a weird paradox.
I wrote the first draft of my latest novel by hand (and using a propelling pencil from the 1930s because the novel was set in the 1930s but really in the hope of finding some way to write that felt different to sitting in front of a computer all day at my paid job). The voice generated by writing that way was quite different to the voice of my usual writing but it was also a voice that was almost universally loathed by publishers. The words 'jolly hockey sticks' and 'girls-own annual' came up a bit in feedback. Still, it was good to do.
Someone once said that 35 percent of human brain function is in our hands. So writing by hand engages more of the global bodily intelligence? Thus has more gravity?
BRANDON! Way to out me for my Benedictine chickens.
And I do miss real letters. I'm old enough that I was in my 30s when email came in. I wrote so so many long letters. When a first love died a few years back, I was so glad I have those three letters on birchbark left, and one long one on paper.
this is spinning off from the main theme of your post (which i quite enjoyed, as i do most all of your thots), but your notebook-coveting got me wondering if you've tried that stone paper product: https://www.karststonepaper.com. pros: no trees, no spilled water buckling, and the writing looks so smoooooth; cons: $$$ and apparently quite heavy?
I enjoyed this post so much that I'm going to have to read again. The precision of word choice and your explorations...👌🏾 Just... thank you 💜
If there is one consistent thing folks in my world know, I always have a soundtrack. I started packaging them for my benefit, but have always been that friend that compiles and shares (we're talking back in cassette times). And speaking of algorithm, those that listen to my monthly playlist, report appreciated improvements to what Spotify surfaces for them.
For my own benefit, I'm mostly interested to see how my intentional curation shows up in an annual review like Spotify Wrapped. A few years ago, when I had less rigor, a system for digging into the music and tracking back, it was a little more of a surprise. Now it's more of an affirmation, because as you put it "...it tells us who we are." Or better, as you explore in the post it is "...an attestation of one’s individuality."
P.S. I love the little Myers-Briggs nod they did with the ENVU slide. Admittedly, it felt much less "personalized," as I've yet to see any other variants. On the other hand, as a techie, I can appreciate the limitations of personalizing for such a large user base.
I love this thought about what modern life has replaced in its search for the sacred and orderly.
I used to use the term Judeo-Christian and think it was inclusive. Then a Jewish professor pointed out that it's mostly used by Christians, some well meaning, but problematic in that it implies a trajectory, like, Christianity is what Judaism grows up into if it's good and comes to its senses. And that Judaism is just fine on its own, and there are other Abrahamic religions and traditions that preceded Christianity. Now I just call it Christian, the one I was raised in, which seems more fair, and covers a ton of variation anyway.
Wow. So much to unpack here. First the religion bit, which made me think of how two Christmas traditions - Santa and Elf on the Shelf mimic the idea of the all seeing God. Secondly, I am firmly in the Bujo/Maker space (definitely not an influencer though. Ha!), and this gives me a lot to think about with respect to how I present that content to my community. I don't use Spotify, but Deezer, and I think they have a similar year end thing, I will check. Also the latest thing seems to be AI generated avatars. Have you seen those?
I just got a Spotify account for the first time in my life. Not sure I want to be wrapped, but love the idea of a musical Myers’s-Briggs test. Can’t wait to spy on my girlfriend’s! Great piece. Thanks
What a fun and insightful post, Brandon. Thank you. I’m an old white guy who listens to mostly older music—soul, rock, old blues—but Spotify Wrapped made me sound like the coolest dude in the world!
So funny. Love your wrap on the memetic. You’re so good at describing the vibes and what’s behind them. Social media has a lot of people chasing their tails.
I guess we haven't evolved so much from the days when your entire personality (your entire being, even) could be summarized by the song lyric you put in your AOL away message.
Although I guess the fact that it's not a signifier you apply to yourself, but one generated by the all-seeing, all-knowing Algorithm is significant.
Bring it back, I want to go back there 😭
Everyone in my family but me is obsessed with Apple Watches and FitBits and all that stuff they use to monitor how many steps they're taking each day. I find that kind of surveillance, even self-surveillance, incredibly triggering, but YMMV. It's like the ghost of Steve Jobs is accruing merit points for them in heaven or something. We are so desperate to reinvent the Panopticon.
I was raised secular and yet I’m very into MBTI/astrology/tarot/any granular discussion about literary genres and uh...I guess I have to unpack what that means now, thanks!
Also to your point about singular tastes - I think Spotify Wrapped can make your music tastes sound more interesting than they are. One of my top genres for the past few years was Art Pop. I still don’t know what that means, and I’m pretty sure it was solely based off my love of St. Vincent.
But I think the algorithm has generated enough mini-genres to make your listening patterns sound cool, even if they’re using genres that you would never claim for yourself. Perhaps that is also part of the appeal? That a higher power is even more convinced of your singularity than you are?
Curious--did you write this post by hand? How does your journal communicate with your word processed and/or published work? You make me think of V. Woolf typing up her handwritten drafts and then, when her income increased, paying someone to do this for her, and also of Henry James, suffering from writer's cramp and resorting to dictation (to someone who, I seem to recall, recorded him directly to typescript). There is this task, typing up handwritten notes and manuscripts, that feels to me v appropriate to a monkish life, with even a rustic Zen, raking the garden sort of vibe. Followed by blue pencil or red pen editing and correcting, ditto.
I didn't write this by hand. I try to keep the newsletter breezy. But I am writing a novel by hand. I've committed to writing it only by hand and only in these particular little notebooks. It's nice having that in contrast to my other way of working. There's always a by hand component to my books. There's always a phase when I print it out and mark it up. And then re-enter. Sometimes retyping.
For me, I feel that I can -see- the book better when I edit by hand. It just seems clearer to me somehow.
I am curious how this new novel in progress will feel when I get around to typing it from my notebooks. But for now, I am just enjoying the feeling of accumulating pages. I do feel that I write differently by hand. Freer, looser. There's a sketch-like quality to the work almost. I also feel that each word is somehow heavier? It matters more? It's a weird paradox.
I wrote the first draft of my latest novel by hand (and using a propelling pencil from the 1930s because the novel was set in the 1930s but really in the hope of finding some way to write that felt different to sitting in front of a computer all day at my paid job). The voice generated by writing that way was quite different to the voice of my usual writing but it was also a voice that was almost universally loathed by publishers. The words 'jolly hockey sticks' and 'girls-own annual' came up a bit in feedback. Still, it was good to do.
Someone once said that 35 percent of human brain function is in our hands. So writing by hand engages more of the global bodily intelligence? Thus has more gravity?
BRANDON! Way to out me for my Benedictine chickens.
And I do miss real letters. I'm old enough that I was in my 30s when email came in. I wrote so so many long letters. When a first love died a few years back, I was so glad I have those three letters on birchbark left, and one long one on paper.
this is spinning off from the main theme of your post (which i quite enjoyed, as i do most all of your thots), but your notebook-coveting got me wondering if you've tried that stone paper product: https://www.karststonepaper.com. pros: no trees, no spilled water buckling, and the writing looks so smoooooth; cons: $$$ and apparently quite heavy?
I find that paper rubbery and it turns out they use so much water to make it. 😭
ohhhhh. thanks for the review!
Monastic life beckons
Ugh... all of it. We really need meaning, huh
I enjoyed this post so much that I'm going to have to read again. The precision of word choice and your explorations...👌🏾 Just... thank you 💜
If there is one consistent thing folks in my world know, I always have a soundtrack. I started packaging them for my benefit, but have always been that friend that compiles and shares (we're talking back in cassette times). And speaking of algorithm, those that listen to my monthly playlist, report appreciated improvements to what Spotify surfaces for them.
For my own benefit, I'm mostly interested to see how my intentional curation shows up in an annual review like Spotify Wrapped. A few years ago, when I had less rigor, a system for digging into the music and tracking back, it was a little more of a surprise. Now it's more of an affirmation, because as you put it "...it tells us who we are." Or better, as you explore in the post it is "...an attestation of one’s individuality."
P.S. I love the little Myers-Briggs nod they did with the ENVU slide. Admittedly, it felt much less "personalized," as I've yet to see any other variants. On the other hand, as a techie, I can appreciate the limitations of personalizing for such a large user base.
I love this thought about what modern life has replaced in its search for the sacred and orderly.
I used to use the term Judeo-Christian and think it was inclusive. Then a Jewish professor pointed out that it's mostly used by Christians, some well meaning, but problematic in that it implies a trajectory, like, Christianity is what Judaism grows up into if it's good and comes to its senses. And that Judaism is just fine on its own, and there are other Abrahamic religions and traditions that preceded Christianity. Now I just call it Christian, the one I was raised in, which seems more fair, and covers a ton of variation anyway.
Absolutely, "Judeo-Christian" is a term invented by Christians to make themselves feel inclusive.
Wow. So much to unpack here. First the religion bit, which made me think of how two Christmas traditions - Santa and Elf on the Shelf mimic the idea of the all seeing God. Secondly, I am firmly in the Bujo/Maker space (definitely not an influencer though. Ha!), and this gives me a lot to think about with respect to how I present that content to my community. I don't use Spotify, but Deezer, and I think they have a similar year end thing, I will check. Also the latest thing seems to be AI generated avatars. Have you seen those?
I just got a Spotify account for the first time in my life. Not sure I want to be wrapped, but love the idea of a musical Myers’s-Briggs test. Can’t wait to spy on my girlfriend’s! Great piece. Thanks
That first sentence! Thank you for this beautiful piece.
“Wow, $200 for a to-do list?” 💘
Of course. Interesting & very different points of view. Thanks.
What a fun and insightful post, Brandon. Thank you. I’m an old white guy who listens to mostly older music—soul, rock, old blues—but Spotify Wrapped made me sound like the coolest dude in the world!
So funny. Love your wrap on the memetic. You’re so good at describing the vibes and what’s behind them. Social media has a lot of people chasing their tails.