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Krusty the Klown is one of my favourite characters from the sitcom The Simpsons. A recurring situation for the character is having his name mentioned in a scandal, usually related to his fast food chain, the “Krusty Burgers”. The few times he is the target of positive comments, Krusty is always frightened by the fact that such a thing as positive publicity might exist.

I often remember Krusty when I see phrases that have become so common that they may no longer catch your attention: “Please like and share”, “please leave a comment”, “help us share this video” so on and so forth.

These much-too-much-overused phrases do not represent bad publicity per se and I use them too, ok?, but it is very worrying how the hunt for likes or a position in the trending topics has become the focus of a huge number of people, either because apart from the entertainment, there is not much to show in terms of talent, or because they simply do not know any other way of behaving not only professionally, but also in any other field of their lives.

The change from the style of “what you do on stage is important” to “what happens on stage is just a detail” may be wonderful to those who make a lot of money by sharing every single moment of their day, reporting on their lives, personal problems (even the most embarrassing ones), but from the point of view of the musical quality it is a disaster.

Remember when the answer, “That is my personal life” was not only acceptable but respected? It used to represent a limit for the others.

The fact is not to be nostalgic or stuck in relation to the past. Actually, this sort of shallow arguments are usually used to mock of critic thinking and, consequentently to praise the choices someone else took for us. The point here is to call attention for the impoverishment of music in relation to the musical field itself. In other words, it seems that music has become a guest of show business.

Everything is more important: where, when and in which hip restaurant the band had lunch, the new sneakers of the singer, the new mansion of the drummer, the private jet of the band, the new diamond implant in the tooth of the guitarist, the new silicone prosthesis of the producer, everything seems to be more important than the composition process, the stories of the songs, the arrangement, in short, the music has become a mere supporting role in the musical scene.

I say this fully aware that there is fantastic, pulsating music, the kind that can truly be called art, that is being made right now, at this moment, all over the world. Even though I did not know it before, my 2020 experience interviewing 39 musicians from around the world for the QuaranJazz: listen while you are home podcast proved to me that, fortunately, outside of the mainstream, music is doing just fine, thank you.

So why is what we hear, in most radio programming and major events, so uninteresting, and sounds just more of the same? My guess is that there is a configuration of factors that include from an impoverishment of our listening capacity to an infantilization of society as a whole. For a wealthy minority, making a living from music has become increasingly distant from making a living doing anything merely related to music.

My point is summed up in a delightful 2007 film by Claude Lelouch called Roman de Gare (Airport Novel). a man reveals himself to be the ghost writer behind the successful detective novels by a hip writer, who lives the life of we usually call a celebrity, including endless parties, frequent trips and flashlights.

Faced with the disbelief of one of her fans, he argues: “And how do you think she would find time to write, with all the parties, manicures and interviews?”

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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The Girl Code is the tenth episode of The Simpsons 27th season. Its first segment holds a delightful scene at Springfield Elementary:

Principal Skinner: “Welcome to computer coding class, which, uh, replaces our last educational fad -mindfulness. Did anyone ever figure out what that was?”

Class: “Uh… Uh… Uh…”

Milhouse: “Uh, shutting up?”

Principal Skinner: “Sure. Why not?”

I just love the definition of mindfulness as ‘be quiet’ because it is impossible to argue with. The episode came right to my mind, when I heard about J.O.M.O.

Oh no, another hipster acronym? Probably, but this one might interest you for the Joy of Missing Out may be a form of liberation.

Do not worry, we are not talking about happiness through alienation (never worked for me), but the ability we have, but which we increasingly give up, to enjoy the here and now. that is, it is mindfulness with a touch of happiness.

You not only do not do stuff, you choose not to do them! I have already written about the right not to do things, which sometimes seems like a taboo. Well, J.O.M.O. is not about defending a right. It is about having a choice. What kind of choices? All kinds, from staying informed but not watching all the news (is it just me?).

It has also to do with not feeling pressured to watch all the series and, instead, rewatch an old movie or maybe go back ten pages in the book I am reading, just for the pleasure of rereading a passage.

The way I see it, J.O.M.O. has mainly to do with knowing what your priorities are and recognizing that for every door we open, several others remain closed. It is not possible to do everything, all the time, and this is not easy for me to recognize.

I am usually that person who is constantly applying for calls, while looking for gigs in the summer and (why not?) filling out forms for artistic residencies during the winter. Not to mention the “almost finished” article that the magazine asked me to write . .. last year. In short: I am the one who tries to open all the doors or at least peek through the keyhole.

As much as I love what I do, it is always necessary to know how to put limits on the to-do list. After all, not even the most organized of the agendas can change the fact that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, regardless of how many activities you schedule to perform.

As much as “overcoming internal challenges” is a frequently repeated subject nowadays, there are times when the best thing to do is to embrace external limits and invite them to dance.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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“Jazz is freedom. You think about that.” – Thelonious Monk

How many lockdown weird habits did you acquire so far? Now don´t be shy, we are all together in this pandemic crazy cruise and it is absolutely fine to find a chill-down activity. My thing is to re-watch cartoons, mainly The Simpsons. Name an episode, any season and I´ve seen it at least twice. To be totally honest with you, the show has been my comfort content for quite a while (check out season 15, episode 22 and find out how I got inspiration for the name of this blog), but since the pandemic started it got way worse, proportionally to my need of being comforted. Before you think I could have found a less silly way of being comforted, let me say that the references on the show already led me to many interesting discoveries, such as the oeuvre of Edgar A. Poe, whose poem The Raven was the basis for my song Nevermore and, lately, the 1967 British television series The Prisoner.

The Orwellian, avant-guarde, psychedelic social critic saga of former secret agent Number Six (“I´m not a number! I´m a man!”), brilliantly interpreted by Patrick McGoohan trapped in an idyllic, yet in many aspects creepy place known as The Village comes as a reference in the sixth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season. I could not understand the many hints to the series at first, but after a little research… boom! I got totally hooked on it. I watched all the episodes, read the critics on them, saw the interviews with cast members about the many behind-the-scene stories, learned about Portmeirion and the Six of One appreciation society and, most of all, I enjoyed the music of the show. The irresistible mixture goes from classical music to Carmen Miranda, from spirituals to The Beatles. And jazz. A lot of jazz. 1960´s jazz combined many elements from Africa and Latin America, so expect congas and a very intense mood, which fits quite well the tense plot.

The inspired soundtrack alone could be the reason for my enchantment, not to mention that many issues addressed in the series, such as living under the constant surveillance of cameras and the limits of freedom are more relevant than ever, but I believe that the main element that made me fall in love with The Prisoner was empathy. Being one of the “happy few” still strictly following the hashtag #stayhome, I immediately related to the anger and confusion of the protagonist and his urge to get out, although lockdown in the Village sounds like a super premium triple upgrade to me right now.

Having a home is a huge privilege and I am sincerely grateful for mine, so do not consider this a complaint. I am just pointing out that sometimes, as the main tune in the last episode of The Prisoner says, all you need is love. Love is all you need.

Be seeing you!

G.F.