484 entries for 2021

Samba De Fato: Eu Não Quero Saber

A song about moving on. The melody revisits me from time to time, and lately I find myself enjoying the lyrics. The first disc of the album has a bunch of other great tracks, worth a listen.

Dona Onete: No Meio do Pitiú

Body-shaker that is, as I understand, named after smelly fish.

Caetano Veloso: Ofertorio (live)

I’ve been learning to sing and play some songs on guitar from this album. Many feature a deceptive simplicity and create a diversity of feelings by re-using smaller parts. I feel somewhat ashamed that it took until my second trip to Brazil to know about this artist.

J Dilla Instrumentals Mix Vol 1

Hours and hours of J Dilla's hip-hop instrumentals. If you’re not familiar with Dilla beats, introduce yourself to the supreme sonic masterpiece that is Donuts.

Tigran Hamasyan: Revisiting the Film

Kaleidoscopic colour shifting, intricate rhythms and interplay between subdivisions and the meter, and yet a consistent flow (if you can hang on through the chaos)—a meticulous freak out. @flying_fisher thinks the voice sounds like mine. The melodic style reminds me of Pedro Martins’ album from last week.

Kevin Seddiki: Cuban guitar groove

Treating the frets as a percussion instrument.

Harry Mack’s improvised freestyle for a man’s late fiancé

This has a backstory that for me underlines the importance of sharing outwards and encouraging vulnerability.

Creativity in the Digital Age

[Analytics shows me that 'How I do …' performs better than 'How to do …']

[Negative feedback or people correcting you can help you learn cool stuff. Publishing a book is a free life-long education.]

Don't preach to a choir, don't argue with a choir.

Heavy Baile: Carne de Pescoço

Also from Brazil: incredible funk beats (not the jazz kind but the Brazilian genre). Check out this mixtape with some dope dancing in a basketball court.

Pedro Martins: VOX (2020)

I’ve been getting into Pedro Martins lately. He’s actually from Brasilia. A genius guitarist and it seems like he definitely spent time with Toninho Horta’s work. His latest album is a celestial dream.

Billy Hart: Enchance (1977)

If you’re into free jazz…

How I Became More Confident

[People can't distinguish between fake and real confidence.]

[Most people have the spotlight on their own lives and are not judging other people constantly, so stop doing that and you might relax more.]

[Every one is friendly but you have to make the first move. Most people are afraid to go first.]

[Practice baby steps like asking the time, directions, asking a question at the end of a presentation. Normalize speaking up and talking to strangers.]

What Makes People Successful?

[Plug your unfair advantage in the video so that people know what cannot be replicates.]

My Top 10 Tips for Aspiring YouTubers

[How can I generate as many video ideas as possible? How can I refine them into thumbnails, titles, and hooks? How can I create them in parallel? How can film them in batches?]

How To Overcome Self-Doubt

[The spotlight effect is a term for the phenomenon of being overly concerned about your own performance in the presence of others, as if everyone is actually focused on you completely. The reality is that they are concerned with themselves and their own issues.]

[People don't know that you graduated from med school last week: they are looking for help with their problem, focus on how you can help them with your expertise, ask when you don't know.]

[Be a guide over guru: share what you have learned so far.]

How Writing Online Changed My Life

[There is a paradox of beginners simultaneously wanting and being afraid of the masses seeing their stuff. You wouldn't want your first post to go to a million people: smaller audiences are a safe place to experiment and refine.]

[Smaller audiences make it easier to find friends.]