This morning I spotted one of those famous gradients out my window about 30 minutes before sunrise. Oh how I live for these gradients.
This reminds of me of a note that I jotted down this week: The sun shines on everyone and everything equally and does not ask that you hit like on it in return for this service it provides.
This week on Elliott’s Podcast I go over some books that I’ve been reading lately (I’m always cycling through a pile of them), a chat about sleep, tips for dealing with the holidays and it closes out with a playback of Amazing Grace on the lap steel.
The Amazing Grace cover on its own is below. I got a request for Metallica by John M. in the comments so I’ve been working on a gypsy-klezmer style version of Enter Sandman for this week.
Thank you to Adam B. for being my first Patron! A piece of member-exclusive content I have posted there is the initial ten-minute version of Amazing Grace done in my pyjamas. I think that version is even better than the one that got posted.
The main thing that being a patron unlocks is a monthly report of different experiments I conduct on myself for sitting down to make music, but I might increase that to weekly. And of course you get videos of me making music in my pyjamas that I can’t really post on social.
But the bottom line is that this is for super fans only. The super fans will come naturally over time if I just sit still and focus on the music. I’m not here to make people feel guilty about not being a patron. Instilling guilt in people is not a nice thing to do and I never want to be a part of that if I can avoid it. Coercing people to do something is your first sign that something is out of alignment. The Patreon is just a fun extra platform to engage with if you think my work has mind-altering effects on you.
If the Patreon is a bit much, all I ask is that you just simply enjoy my work if it speaks to you. Enjoyment for the enjoyment alone. That goes back to the sun shining without asking to be liked. I just want to work on music and keep improving my chops here.
Discussion topic of the week: What is the biggest mess you ever made?
In junior high we were getting ready to go on a field trip in the science class and I did a little dance like Elaine and lightly tapped into an overhead slide projector stand (by accident), knocking it off, and it smashed to bits on the floor.
It was the most shocking thing I had seen up until that point. The teacher said something like “F It” and we just fled the scene so we could get out on the field trip. I felt awful that whole day. Can you top this mess?
Ok I have to run to pick up bagels for my parents and then I will hit some golf balls with my dad indoors.
Elliott “Bread Loops” Fienberg
p.s. Thank you Claudia for sharing Let Love In over on her new substack. Check it out!