Strands of Genius: The LXD, Sense of Meaning Matters, Give Songwriters Their Roses
Guest curated by Bennett D. Bennett
This year we’re aiming to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us, by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. Rosie, Faris and Bennett know each other via Twitter and got to know each other better during our Experimental Learning Community this year.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, BENNETT D. BENNETT ::
LOCATION: New York
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: 600 and Rising
Hey! It's good to be part of this. Been a fan of Faris' discourse from my college days, and eventually learned about what he and Rosie have done with the School of Stolen Genius.
Editor’s Note: We knew of Bennett through Twitter and then we got to know Bennett through our Experimental Learning Community. Even without in-person hangs, a friendship formed, and we’re already brainstorming ways to collaborate with 600 & Rising next year. And, we’re crossing our fingers that we’ll get to hang IRL someday in the not-too-distant future.
:: THE LINKS ::
THE LXD
This is a show called The LXD.
It's Hulu's first-ever scripted series. It was ambitious, the first work by Jon M. Chu to really make him worth following in my opinion—overnight successes rarely happen overnight. But! As a music lover, I'm a fan of the process and what gets created to accompany a song or album... Choreography is a favorite, favorite thing for me to admire. It gets me out of my own head.
Anyway, Chu committed to telling a story of this martial art of dance, where each dancer involved generated a cosmic source of invisible energy. Mashups of so many styles. Epic fight and love scenes. And something to keep me coming back every week for about 2 years—stitched together in that feature length. They never brought it back for a second story arc, but for what it put together, it's was one of the most forward-thinking pieces of content made for this generation. (YouTube)
EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH SAYS HAVING A SENSE OF MEANING MATTERS.
Early on in my career, my family home was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. It's a 100+ year old house that needed to be stripped down, renovated, and elevated. A five-year process that wore at me and my sense of joy. In the midst of that, and depression and PTSD built up. That paired with a sense of loneliness as a lone Black writer in an ad agency just put me in a place where happiness was hard to come by.
I think in the midst of figuring out my shit, I came by this TED Talk by Ms. Smith and knew her book was the next thing I'd get. Essentially unlearning the pursuit of happiness will get you much further to a sense of fulfillment in the long run. Made getting through the hard shit in life much easier. (TED)
ROSS GOLAN WANTS US TO GIVE SONGWRITERS THEIR ROSES.
I'd been inspired to write songs since age 14. Ne-Yo was that guy in the 2000s who stepped in front of the curtain as a hitmaker for Mario, Beyonce, Rihanna and so many others. Something about being behind the scenes, making others great appealed to me—maybe why I eventually picked up advertising.
In rebuilding my career, I formally picked up songwriting classes and listening to his podcast just energizes me. Maybe it's the bespoke introductions for each artist. Maybe it's the 'cloth talk' from people like Lance Bass, John Bellion, or Terrace Martin. But it's the kind of podcast that makes you want to make good work, and make the industry good, too. (And The Writer Is…)
Looking for more from Bennett D. Bennett? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from him in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: Pokemon
:: City :: New York, but if traveling: Los Angeles
:: Book :: The Great Gatsby
:: Podcast :: Song Exploder
:: Album :: Another Again, John Legend
:: INNER CHILD ::
Tapping into your inner child is important. I wanted to be a superhero in kindergarten, very longshot dream that led to writing superhero fiction. One day, I decided to live my life to make him proud, and it gives me hope that other kids like him can save the world.
Until next, I look forward to talking soon. Take care.
Bennett D. Bennett
bennett@aerialistcreative.com
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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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