Hot Dog

Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. Brain Pickings is one of my favourite sites on the internet. I could (and regularly do) spend hours getting lost in the endless wisdom contained within it's pages. This post titled 10 Rules for Students, Teachers, and Life by John Cage and Sister Corita Kent is a new favourite. I liked it so much I printed a copy of the rules to put on the wall above my desk.  — “Rule 6: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.”
    
2. Austin Kleon is an author and artist that I've mentioned in several other posts. In this interview, he talks about his artistic process, his books and his thoughts on what it takes to live a fulfilling ‘creative’ life. Definitely worth listen if you are a creative individual or want to be!
    
3. “Labels are releasing cassettes again, but there's a place where they never went out of fashion: prison” From last week's episode of 99% Invisible. Are cassettes making a comeback?
    
4. Hearing Buddy Rich's drumming as a teenager is what inspired me to start practicing and to take my drumming seriously. This video is a fine example of his genius.
    
5. Ólafur Arnalds is a classical and electronic musician from Iceland, and someone I find incredibly inspiring. He has a huge body of work and regularly shares it for free, including this beautiful song “Study for Generative Piano (i)”. You can download sheet music for a lot of his songs on his website.

That's all for this week. If you liked this, check out my previous Five Things posts or sign up to receive future posts straight to your inbox. Enjoy!

What did you do?

Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. Austin Kleon shared this great Louis C.K. quote on having an audience in his weekly newsletter (it's very good, I recommend you subscribe). The quote comes from this conversation on The Bill Simmons Podcast. It's a great insight into Louis C.K.'s creative process and ethos. Just a heads up, it does contain some ‘adult’ language!
    
2. On Monday I finished reading The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin. The message throughout the book is that in this hyper connected world we all have the opportunity to pick ourselves, to leave our comfort zones and to create something meaningful. I loved it and found it really inspiring. If you are unfamiliar with Seth's work, his blog is an excellent place to start.
    
3. Courtney Barnett's ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’ was one of my favourite albums from last year. I'm not sure what I love more, the catchy choruses or her witty lyrics. Pedestrian At Best is a fine example of both and has fun video too. 
    
4. If you're anything like me and take quite a few photos on your phone, you might like the Pocket Tripod. It's a portable tripod that, as the name suggests, fits in your pocket. I bought one a few weeks ago and it's been really useful.
    
5. Earlier this week I wrote a post on my favourite drum books. If you are a drummer, check it out. I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations too.

That's all for this week. If you liked this, check out my previous Five Things posts or sign up to receive future posts straight to your inbox. Enjoy!

Photo from rehearsal with Coco & the Butterfields a few weeks ago

Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. This article on Soviet-era bootleg music recorded on X-ray plates came across my twitter feed earlier this week and it reminded me of this episode of 99% Invisible on Bone Music. It's a great episode by one of my favourite podcasts. It's also only 14 mins long, so what are you waiting for?
    
2. Do you think you could draw a bicycle from memory? Turns out it's not as easy as you might first think. Designer Gianluca Gimini asked friends and strangers to complete this seemingly simple task and the results are brilliant. As are his 3D renderings of these imagined bicycles.
    
3. This episode of Startup on the rise and fall of Grooveshark is fantastic. “Their mission was a noble one: bring an end to online piracy by offering cheap, convenient, and legal access to music. Their execution, however, was less than thorough.”
    
4. Some great advice from Mark Feldman of Bang! The Drum School on becoming a better drummer and getting the most out of your practice. Aimed at drummers but applies to anyone learning any instrument.
    
5. If you haven't seen it already, check out the animated video for Radiohead's new single Burn The Witch. It is wonderful. Very much looking forward to hearing the whole album!

That's all for this week. Enjoy!

Scribbled notes for a set I'm learning for some gigs over the next few months — Emphasis on the scribbled.

Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. Stefan Sagmeister on Creative Live — I'd not heard of Stefan or his work but I found this interview on his creative process fascinating, in particular his policy of taking a one year break every seven years... hmm tempting!
    
2. I recently discovered the music of American contemporary classical composer Nico Muhly. This interview with him on Meet The Composer is fantastic. I'm also really enjoying his album Mothertongue.
    
3. Over the weekend I started and finished reading Man's Search For Meaning by Victor E Frankl about his experiences in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. An incredible book, I struggled to put it down. Recommended reading.
    
4. If you haven't seen this week's episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, go watch it. Next time you see a news report starting with the phrase “Scientists say...” or “A recent study suggests” you'll know to approach it with a healthy dose of scepticism.
    
5. Yesterday this video of Sting's Seven Days featuring Vinnie Colaiuta on drums came across my Facebook feed. The 5/4 groove on this track is a fine example of Vinnie's genius. He makes the odd time signature feel quite normal, so much so that most people wouldn't notice it. Sting knows how to pick his drummers! 

That's all for this week. Enjoy!

Trance Frendz by Nils Frahm & Olafur Arnalds

I'm launching a little experiment. Every Wednesday I'm going to share five things that I've recently discovered and enjoyed. These things might be books, videos, interviews, podcasts, albums, playlists... You get the idea!

So here we go. Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. Chase Jarvis interviews Seth Godin as part of CreativeLive's 30 Days Of Genius series — Seth Godin is one of my favourite thinkers and this interview is well worth the 62 minutes of your time. Seth is incredibly smart and he doesn't mince his words. I recommend you check out his books and blog too.
    
2. I really enjoyed the recent Freakonomics podcast on the debate over talent vs deliberate practice called “How to Become Great at Just About Anything”. It features a great discussion with research psychologist Anders Ericsson, who is an expert on the science of expertise and led the research behind the 10,000 hour rule popularised by the writer Malcolm Gladwell.
    
3. Last week I finished reading “So Good They Can't Ignore You” by Cal Newport in which he debunks the belief that following your passion" is good advice. The book came highly recommended by one of my heroes Derek Sivers. I found it to be quite repetitive but nonetheless full of useful insights. It's definitely worth reading and I wish I had done so sooner!
    
4. As the debate on the UK's membership of the EU rages on I came across this satirical video featuring Patrick Stewart “What has the European Convention on Human Rights ever done for us?”. Very funny and makes some good points. It also features some strong language, you've been warned!
    
5. For the last few months I've been listening to and loving Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm's most recent collaboration “Trance Frendz”. The album name is pretty daft but don't let that put you off. The music that makes up the album was recorded during sessions filmed at Nils Frahm's studio in Berlin, the video is up on youtube and worth a watch!

That's all for this week. Enjoy!