Strands of Genius: Joe Rogan & Spotify, Wordle, Family Estrangement, The Life & Death of the Mix CD,
plus our thoughts on: playlists & feel good folksy music
WRITING FROM | Isla Mujeres, MX
WORKING ON | Final updates for the new School of Stolen Genius design, new business proposals, catching up on email
LOOKING AHEAD
Jan 26-Feb 5 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Feb 5-26 | Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 26-March 7 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
March 7-10 | Isla Holbox, Mexico
March 10-16 | TBD: Holbox or Cancun, Mexico
March 16-20 | TBD: Atlanta, GA
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
It’s not just the sun that’s offered us new perspectives, but being next to the ocean and feeling the expanse of the blue next to us, the wind on our cheeks, the salt in our hair.
While my dad has had a house here in Isla Mujeres for more than a decade, this is only my second trip with my middle sister. Last Lillian and I were here together, she hadn’t even met her husband Jason, and this time, we’re here with her and her three kids, along with my dad and his wife. The coconut we planted before the house had even been built is now a palm tree with, well, more coconuts! Time flies, things change, children and trees grow, so slow you can ‘t see it and so fast it takes your breath away - hopefully we do too.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Supergoop unseen sunscreen (not an sponsorship, just a genuine product endorsement/recommendation for anyone who hates sunscreen), (this is Faris, I want to second that, I hate the way sunscreen usually feels and this is really great), the sunshine, the pool, the ocean, the hooded orioles, all of the lizards, Dad & Teresa, Lillian & Jason & Simon & Porter & Vera, Casa Vaya Vida, Javier, Hank&Sofia, Elliott & Tessa, Kathy & David, micheladas, The Joint, golf carts, outdoor yoga, Greenville Yoga & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
PLEASE DO NOT LET SPOTIFY CONVINCE YOU THAT JOE ROGAN IS A CONTENT MODERATION PROBLEM + WORDLE VS THE APP STORE
If you’re not already subscribed to Garbage Day by Ryan Broderick, it’s one of my favorite newsletters. In this edition, he covers two things that Faris and I have been talking a whole lot about: Spotify & Joe Rogan, and Wordle. Regarding the former, yes, there are dummies out there spreading misinformation on plenty of platforms, but as Ryan points out — and one of the things we keep coming back to — Spotify paid $100MM to become the *exclusive home* for Joe Rogan’s podcast. They knew exactly what they were doing. YouTube, on the other hand, banned Dan Bongino for COVID misinformation (and prior to that, repeatedly blocked his ability to make money.) Ryan’s got a little more nuance though, so it’s worth a read. He also has a hot take based on the success of MSCHF and Wordle… Is this the beginning of the end of the App Store stranglehold?! (Ryan Broderick) PS… If you’re a fan of Worldle, and a fan of Taylor Swift, you’ve got to check out Taylordle ;) (Or if profanity is more your thing, there’s also Sweardle)
WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT FAMILY ESTRANGEMENT
Anne Helen Peterson has curated 14 stories about family estrangement, which are worth a read, and feature some wonderful wisdom, regardless of your own familial situation. She begins by writing, “Most people who aren’t estranged are very, very bad at talking about it; in society at large, estrangement remains something to be “sorry” about: a regret, a sorrow, a throbbing absence… All of these stories, as one of the respondents put it, are “beautifully complex.” If you’re estranged, I hope they make you feel less alone in some way. If you’re not, I hope they offer some insight into how to talk with and support those who areestranged — but more importantly, that they push you to think about what’s lost when we rely so fully on family as our primary source of support.” (Anne Helen Peterson)
THE ART OF MAKING A KILLER MIX CD
“In the age of endless playlists, the limitations of the compact disc are exactly what make it so special.” I’ve written more below about my journey into creating playlists last week, but I really loved this piece from Allison Guass on Medium detailing her thoughts of the features of a good mix. (Medium )
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: PLAYLISTS ::
Back in the day - for me, high school and college, when I had a car, and CDs were a thing - I would spend immense amounts of time making mix CDs for friends.
I’m not sure what I loved more: selecting the tracks, or the listening party that was inevitable, or the feedback from the receiver. I would title each and every mix CD, and carefully hand letter the track titles/artists in order in various colored Sharpies. The titles ranged from the obvious, “80s Are The New ‘00s” (featuring songs we ‘discovered’ on Oldies 96.3 FM) to the cheeky, “It Must Suck Not To Be Us,” which featured a collection of favorite tracks from me and my friends.
I can’t take all the credit for the singer’s current popularity, but I will say that my most popular mix CD in high school featured a demo recording of Your Body Is A Wonderland - something that had passed over my dad’s desk, from a then unknown artist called John Mayer. The song wasn’t available on Limewire, and there was little information about whoever John Mayer was, and yet - or perhaps because of that - that went on nearly every mix CD I made.
I wanted to communicate a love of more than just country music, a love for the unknown, a keen ear, sure, but mostly, I just wanted to share this track that I couldn’t stop playing on repeat with friends. And I knew that they would receive it best as part of a collection, rather than on its own.
As Allison Gauss writes:
It’s important to give the listener what they want, but nothing’s better than giving them something they didn’t know they needed. The only wrinkle in my plan is that we will be taking her new car which, at less than a year old, is one of many vehicles that don’t have a CD player.
So, I will build the mixes with her streaming service of choice, Spotify, but these will not be endless lists of loosely related tracks. As tempting as it might be to succumb to the overwhelming possibilities, I know that the magic is in the choosing. Rather than generated or shuffled by an algorithm, I will carefully order the songs, composing an experience and constructing memories.
The access to and diversity of music that we now have at our fingertips is a spectacular privilege. We can hear people thousands of miles away. We can comb the annals of history and listen to something new every day. But in the age of excess, curation is its own medium, its own art form. And our infinite access is only as powerful as our intent to connect.
It’s been years and years since I burned a mix CD. But it’s not just mix CDs… I hadn’t made playlists in years, either.
And then, the other week, I had to do some deck design and I needed a break from looking at Keynote, and I decided it would be a good time to make a playlist on Spotify. (Clearly this was Procrastination speaking…) And y’all. It was so much fun.
My Feel Good Folksy playlist is perfect for afternoon hangs at the pool, or fireplace cozies in the mountains. I’ve used it as a yoga playlist, as a wake-up playlist, as a good-vibes-while-working playlist. The order is mostly curated. But it’s nearly 100 songs, and every time I listen I end up switching up the order of some songs. I find that I prefer to listen to it on shuffle because I want to listen to the good stuff at the end, too. So after reading Allison’s article, I ended up making a mix CD version.
If you’re looking to discover some new music, or re-discover some old music, and you’re into folksy vibes, here’s a link to the full playlist, and here’s a link to the condensed, mix CD version :)
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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