I’ve occasionally talked about feeding—or falling prey—to my own creative indulgences. For the record, I am very easily impressed and I can from time to time, become madly infatuated with a song, video, movie, picture, etc, almost instantly. Those who know me well have heard me utter these same seven words in different contexts all the time: “This is the best thing I’ve ever...” then insert any verb [tasted, heard, touched, etc...]. But, there are those few things that do more than just feed my impressionable heart, and instead, bloom lasting inspiration.
MUSIC
This year, as I have endeavored to write more or rather, more generally, create more, I have been fiendishly seeking for projects to do the latter. Words, melodies, shapes, colors, images, whether corporately (as in, combined together) or independent of its whole, can carry their own creative weight and can tell their own stories. For example, I've just recently stumbled upon a band called Monophonics via another group called Orgone. These two bands are amazing instrumental-funk-soul groups that create beautifully lush and deliciously cinematic soundscapes that I often find myself getting lost in the scenes they create. But, Monophonics does this great version of “Summer Breeze” on their newest EP called Mirrors and all I can think is: That it feels more like fall, as an autumn hue sweetly intermingles with the syrupy sound of every note. The song is drenched in gold, so we dream vermilion. Our hands are dipped in honey and we paint the waves below the fading horizon. It is slow, and warm, and mysterious like the undercurrent sound of waves crashing underneath the music. The salty air carried in the West Cost breeze is gravelly and coarse as it spills out of the speakers and into my ears, nose, and tongue. It is a study in synesthesia, engaging all of our senses at once and mixing them to see with our ears and listen with our eyes. The mystique in this music moves dreamily like a dress worn by an ancient muse: Inspiration.
MOVIES
This leads me to this amazing video/movie/commercial that just recently released called: HomePod --Welcome Home by Spike Jonze -- Apple. Everything I tried to describe about that song above, was perfectly materialized in this video. From the otherworldly magic of color, singer-song writer FKA Twigs' charming and ravishingly magnetic presence, to Anderson .Paak's fiendishly mesmerizing song "Till Its Over", this mini-movie is pure unapologetic inspiration at its most devious. Ensnaring you slowly as the music builds and reality folds. Colors bend and bodies move. Its smooth and it slithers it’s hold over you until you move together—bewitched—in it’s fantastically warm and charming rhythm.
I’ve always heard people describe things as humming when brimming with energy. I always thought it was something people just said to fill a word count or to try and poetically describe something with high energy. But, this movie actually made that description real to me. This film hums in the same way the Earth hums as it moves. There is an energy coursing through the music, Twigs, the color and occasional fits of magic, that it almost moves off the screen. It reminds me of the classic ballet romance The Red Shoes. It’s a story told much like a fairy-tale, split between two worlds. We’re marched through the painstaking drudgery of the real world, where heartbreak and pain abound. Only to then be whisked off our feet as the music swells and crescendos in a vast array of color, romance, and otherworldly enchantment. It is breathtakingly beautiful film. That, to me, is this video. Sure, it’s a commercial. Sure, it’s part of a marketing plan. But, above all, it is art! It is beautiful, moving and fun. And it’s worth watching repeatedly to ensure that more things of this nature are created.
MUSINGS
This blog was an exercise in patience, as this video was released about a week or so ago. Like I mentioned above, there are certain things that grab me immediately, but with time, loosen their grip and I callously leave them by the wayside. However, after sitting with this video and blog for about a week, having real conversations with myself about this video and it’s affect on me, I can say this is haunting, in a good way. It’s left it’s lasting impression on my mind, and I feel like this has been a catalyst in creating genuine inspiration. But, I hope this isn't the case just for me, but for you too: The writer, painter, poet, photographer, artist, creator...YOU! Much like it did with me, I hope that this movie, it’s images and music, can form colorful new worlds for you to explore and through it, feel your art flourish; first in your mind, then on to the world at large. We're ready to experience your greatness and to be inspired by you.
Long story short, if you haven’t seen this video yet, drop what you’re doing, and just watch it right now. I promise you'll feel better about your day, your week, your year the second you check it out.
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J.