One thing that has been constant this year aside from pandemic statistics has been walking. And it occurred to me recently that I was doing it all wrong.
I realized I could either walk in one of three ways: The first being in a circle around the block, the second is a zig-zagging route of random decisions, and the third is a straight line.
In many ways the straight line is similar to the circle around the block because ultimately you have to return to your point of origin at some point. But my big epiphany hit me recently when I realized there is a nice long street that I can walk on with not too many cars or people.
And this street rewards me with a vista looking out at nature when I’m finished. The long street is perfect because it guarantees a lot of steps and it works in almost any weather condition, as opposed to a nearby trail which can become a sheet of ice or a swamp of mud depending on the season.
Do you walk around the block, zig-zag in a random pattern, or find a straight line? Maybe you work with a combination of all the above?
New Piece of Music: Detach
This piece was one of those where things clicked into place. For me, it speaks to the idea of what are the most essential elements needed to create a piece, with nothing more and nothing less?
Four Track Snack Pack Playlist
There are some nice selections here, definitely a lot of string sections.
Serge Gainsbourg made it in after watching the old French New Wave film Jules and Jim on the Kanopy app recently.
This Andrew Bird piece is quite lovely and he’s an interesting character too, doubling up as a musician and an actor in his pursuits.
The Revenant Theme, oh I loved seeing that movie in the theatres. A guy went to sleep inside a dead buffalo. In the movie that is.
The YouTube playlist swaps out the studio version of Anne Müller’s piece for a live video.
Or listen on YouTube
Ballade de Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin
Glad - Andrew Bird
The Revenant Theme Live - Ryuichi Sakamoto & alva noto
Solo? Repeat! - Anne Müller
Elliott Writes About Stuff
I wrote an article about how your work creates rather than takes.
Thanks for hanging out with me today, I hope your Sunday is filled with lots of bagels and potato chips. I imagine the pandemic will be over one day?
💜 ➰
Elliott
My walks include both ritual and newness. I have a creek I like to walk near my house. Sometimes I power walk it. Sometimes I run it. Sometimes I do it counter clockwise. Sometimes I do it in the pouring rain. Sometimes I do it when it's snowing. It's all the same, but it's all different. For me life is only mundane if we allow it to be. Thanks for sharing Elliot.
Zig zag. And then it is more of an amble than a walk