Reinterpretations

Sometimes I feel like I have been conditioned into an obsession with the new. It's no wonder. I am bombarded with messages everyday trying to entice me to consume something so that I can be complete. 

I am part of problem, too. I drop these digs on you five days a week. 

Am I adding to the noise? When I am faced with the prospect of creating something it's hard not to question: Does the world need this thing I am making? 

That question is a part of the diabolical force that lives in my head that tries to keep me safe and sound asleep. 

Who knows if the world needs the particular thing that I am making. That really doesn't matter. It is in our nature to make things. And it is in the process of making things that we get better at making things. 

So this little bit right here...what I am are making today? Maybe that it is useless noise and bullshit. But if I want to be fit to do the work that really matters when the time arises I have to stay in the habit of making things.

It could be that the task is not to create something new. (Is anything really new?) Maybe the task is to reinterpret and build upon the work of others. 

The overall vibe of today's digs is pretty chill. I wrap up the set with the song Undone by the WAYO followed by a remix (reinterpretation) of that song by Contour.

Russian Doll

You know the dolls within dolls within dolls? 

I called this post Russian Doll because I tacked on a ten minute set at the end of the playlist from Dead Fools. I thought it was pretty cool. So a set, inside a set. Get it?

I am still trying to figure out what the Daily Dig blog is supposed to be. I listen to music and a write. The opinions and views are mine but they generally align with what the Slangsmith Brand is trying to represent. 

Creativity and Courage and Expression. 

I say trying because it is a challenge to get things rolling sometimes. To get people on the same page and rowing in the same direction. The team behind Slangsmith has been collaborating for well over a decade, yet there are still challenges. But we all share a common experience and a belief in a set of values. 

We hope to express those values in the stuff we put out...from words, to music, to film, to fashion. 

The Russian doll represents a deeper metaphor. It represents shedding layers and getting to the core of our creative selves. The inner child. The inner genius. 

Listen and enjoy

Like Riding a Bike

The Daily Digs are a collection of songs that of songs that we share first on twitter http://www.twitter.com/slangsmithfm and then on http://www.slangsmith.fm. Follow us to catch them when they drop. Thanks for the likes, shares and flips.

Creative work is not like riding a bike. Even if we can execute the technique and go through the motions, the art and expression can easily evaporate from the work.

That is where I am as I listen to today's digs.

I struggled to get things in order. Maybe the order sucks, I don't know. 

I even struggled with the workflow of creating the visuals and organizing files and stuff. 

And I struggle to put words on the screen. 

We operate under the illusion that some people don't go through these struggles. I think everyone does. Some of us are just better with getting on with the work.

About midway through the playlist you are going to hear some covers and interpretations of work by Madlib and the late J Dilla: two massively creative artists, both known for their work ethic and focus. (talk about being able to get on with the work...I'm not even going into the stories about Dilla making beats on his death bed.) 

Even if you have world-class skills and you love the work you are doing, it is not always going to be easy to show up and do it. The technical aspects of creative work may be challenging, but they are never the hardest part.

The emotional part is.

The stakes we build around the work and our attachment to outcomes can make it hard to move forward.  Paradoxically, the emotional struggle can get worse as we become more proficient and less of our attention is occupied by technique. 

We get good and we create mental space around our work. We get "efficient." 

The best thing we could do is leave this newly earned space clear and give ourselves room to grow. Instead we end up filling the space with fear, doubt, and distraction.  We hide from the work by doing something safer.

Something more like riding a bike. 

The Un-Hinge

The last collection of digs for the week. Catch them when they drop http://www.twitter.com/slangsmithfm. I might have a word or two about the tracks here. Check out the Daily Digs Blog http://www.slangsmith.fm.

By the end of the week, what catches my attention is different than what may have stood out earlier

I start getting bored with what I am accustomed to hearing and I start exploring some of the fringes of my taste.  Take this list. It starts out pretty straight-forward. 

Some funk. An updated interpretation of G-Funk. Some flipped samples.  A modern soulful joint.

Then we get experimental. And...well...maybe a little weird. Weird is good sometimes. It is good to stretch your boundaries. 

Weird or not all these tracks are very well executed.  This is a gentle descent into madness. 

And if you ask "You mad bro?"

My reply. 

Abso-freaking-lutely. 

The Reminisce Trap

Another collection of daily digs. Catch them when they drop! Follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/slangsmithfm If you want to check out what I have to say about the tracks (or while I listen to the tracks) check out the Daily Digs Blog at http://www.slangsmith.fm/digs

One thing good music never fails to do is to spark memory. Experts say one of the major reasons we are attracted to any given song is because there is something familiar about it. 

We like what we like, because of the way it connects us to some fond memory.

They say.

We hear a song, our song--and we are transported back to the place we first heard it. Transported to when it became our song. Something happened at the moment the song played that etched an indelible mark in our memory. 

From then on we are doomed to reminisce. Any other song that is similar enough may also do it for/to us. 

For all my so-called taste in music, could it be that my past is pulling my strings? 

Do I like what I like because a particular string of notes was in the air as something worth remembering happened when I was 18 years old?

Maybe. 

Tracks on this list took me somewhere specific. Maybe because, as I was putting it together, SHE was in the room. And I was recalling conversations that we had.

Don't worry. It's not all feels.

Fair warning. It's some feels.

And some slappers and bangers too. That was sorta how we were, her and I.

If I remember correctly. 

Real Talent Shines Through Imperfection

Daily Digs from June 10. Catch the digs when they drop. Follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/slangsmith.fm. See what I have to say about the tracks (or while listening to the tracks) by checking out the Daily Digs Blog on http://www.slangsmith.fm/digs Thanks for the likes, shares, and flips

There is something to be said for taking your time and getting things just right. When you have a clear idea of how you want your joint to sound and you are relentless about pursuing that sound, that's the stuff of greatness. 

There is some of that in this playlist. Real pros taking their time and crafting their shit.

And there is also another type of greatness in evidence in this playlist. There are some rougher cuts. Some stuff that sounds like maybe some guys were just playing around and happen to be recording it. 

That's the fun stuff. That the stuff I remember most from my time in the studio. Yeah, most of the stuff that comes out at this stage is trash. But all of the breakthroughs also happen here. That unexpected off-beat. That "oh-shit!" moment where you hear that note, that chord, that moment that changes the whole course of the song. 

You might have had an idea when you started. Now you have a different, better idea and you are in a race against your fleeting inspiration to get it down before it is gone forever.

You may need to go back and fix it later, clean it up or whatever. But it is still dope to hang on to these early drafts so you can see where the idea started. It is even doper when you share those early drafts with the world.

The Miracle Of Insect Repellant

The daily digs from June 9. To catch them as soon as they drop follow us on twitter. https://www.twitter.com/slangsmithfm

One of the best investments that I made yesterday was a bottle of insect repellant. I like to sit out by the water, but damn mosquitos. Mosquitos and rats. 

Yup Rats.

I was sitting out at Canton Waterside Park last night after I put the finishing touches on this playlist (gathering artwork, setting the order etc.). The park is adjacent to some of the swankiest, upscale apartments in Baltimore--converted warehouse, loft-style joints with amazing water views through floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Rats running were around everywhere. There is water and there is trash so...

Doesn't seem to go together though.

Rats are symbolic of the gutta, the ghetto. That fact that I see them out there whenever I go and I am still taken aback by it shows how much I have been programed.

Rats have no fucks to give about how rich or poor their neighbors or hosts are. They just show up and eat. 

The rats weren't interested in me, but the mosquito's sure were. So I had something for their asses. Deep Woods Off!

And you might not think the tracks on this playlist go together. You might be right. But I don't think so.