Slow Reads: 1

It’s been a while since we last posted here. Sorry about that! We’ve been giving more thought to how we can attempt to slow down the scroll and provide more food-for-thought for our likeminded friends. Then it occurred to us, that we absolutely should share more of the slow and bulky stuff that makes us tick. So here we are, our first offering of links to stuff we have enjoyed recently and think is worth sharing:

1. I’ll start with an embarrassing admission. I was well into my adult years before I realised that “Peanuts” and not “Snoopy” was the name of the Charles Schultz’s famed cartoon. Another thing that was lost on me in my youthful days, was how intrinsically shaped by music the cartoon was. I now know that Schultz was a serious music lover and prolific record collector which is probably why Charlie Brown always seemed to have a thing or two to say about vinyl. The Vinyl Factory wrote a lovely tribute to Charlie Brown’s record habit here.

2. After being in the works for 5 years, our friends Paul Raffaele & Barbie Bertisch from Love Injection have finally been able to launch their Dope From Hope Kickstarter campaign. 

The limited 30-day Kickstarter campaign is raising the necessary funds to publish the first-ever book compiling Paul W. Klipsch’s long lost cult audio newsletters. The Dope from Hope book will be available exclusively to contributors. So get involved now, if you have your eyes set on a copy. The project is endorsed by the Klipsch Museum of Audio History, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the legacy of Klipsch-related artifacts, and Klipsch Group International. The Kickstarter is live until March 2nd, 2023 with several rewards tiers for pledges, including single books, book bundles, a Klipsch Museum of Audio History year-long membership, and a ‘Bullshit!’ pin, Paul Klipsch’s signature catchword.

You can pledge here until March 2nd!

3. In his new book, psychologist Dacher Keltner examines the sense of awe through his studies of twenty-six cultures around the world. He draws a conclusion that music is the most universal portals to transcendence. Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.

“When we listen to music that moves us, the dopaminergic circuitry of the brain is activated, which opens the mind to wonder and exploration. In this bodily state of musical awe, we often tear up and get the chills, those embodied signs of merging with others to face mysteries and the unknown… Music breaks down the boundaries between self and other and can unite us in feelings of awe… When we listen to music with others, the great rhythms of our bodies — heartbeat, breathing, hormonal fluctuations, sexual cycles, bodily motion — once separate, merge into a synchronized pattern. We sense that we are part of something larger, a community, a pattern of energy, an idea of the times — or what we might call the sacred.” - Dacher Keltner

4. Bob Marley melodically proclaimed; “one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”. Though his concept was metaphoric, could there actually be some overlooked pain relieving potential in music? A fascinating study mentioned in the NY Times: The Healing Power of Music. Patients undergoing surgery who listen to soothing talk and music while under anesthesia may wake up feeling less pain.

Photography: Edan

5. What is Analogue? We never tire of asking this because the answers are so fascinating and subjective. When we asked Edan, he said: “I think it’s earth, but more so than that it’s warmth. It’s like, of the soil, you know? As opposed to a math-based facsimile. Maybe a less symmetrical but immeasurable, natural state. Which is beautiful.” Dig into the entire delicious interview here.

6. Joan Punyet Miró, the grandson of artist Joan Miró, paired art and music for a special playlist for Moma. Revisit the inspiring list here. Miró’ had an unwavering relationship with music that is very evident in his work. How we’d love to visit his record collection. Does it still exist, hidden safely away somewhere? 

Cover artwork: “Particles 14” by Y.Toyoda – mixed media on washi. 2023.