Charlie, while I haven’t known you for too terribly long, it’s been really cool to watch you hit your stride with this newsletter. You’re a fantastic writer, of course, but there’s a newfound element of confidence/excitement/“settling in” (if that makes any sense) that’s just bursting from your writing now. I love the layout, the personal anecdotes, the allowing yourself to muse and meander a bit (I’m glad you liked that quote from my essay, too 😆). IMHO, I hope you don’t niche down. I like the takes on philosophy, on literature, on AI, on personal stories, on teaching, on writing, etc. This may be a ~cold~ take, but I’m not so sure slapping a label on our foreheads so people can better digest what we have to say is the way. I think we should think big and write big and be big. It’s hard to do that from inside a box. Keep going, Charlie, you’re crushing it!
100% seconding what Grace says here. In Italian football we say “squadra che vince non si tocca” (never change a winning team). And good luck with your surgery (even though it’s in the Summer).
Thank you so much! What a great, resounding co-sign. The varied takes will keep coming. Man the essay was great but that one line especially was like a lightning rod right to my soul.
First, funnily enough I was reading your newsletter as your comment on Circle popped up about "niche celebrities" which I don't think I had enough "hahahas" to describe how funny I thought it was. I also felt warm tingles about Pauls' comment so I was happy to see it here.
Second, I really enjoyed this newsletter and clicking into your essays that I had missed. Originally, I was going to comment that I wasn't sure how I felt about this statement, "I felt that you can’t be an aspiring musician who seriously wants fans, and expect new listeners to just sift through all twenty of your albums." But then truthfully, it was SO helpful to have a list of your latest essays. I've been catching up on people's Substacks and it was great to be like ah, here's one I missed that I think would be interesting. Which btw, your story with the ADHD medication was absolutely wild.
Another great newsletter Charlie! I've really been enjoying your essays and curation pieces and am looking forward to the next one as well.
Thank you for the several compliments. Yes it was a weird ~36 hours on those meds haha.
As for lists of stuff, I was saying to CansaFis above, I don’t think that they need to be mutually exclusive, but I think that extreme prolificness needs to be accompanied by a very strong sense of your own aesthetic so that you welcome rather than overwhelm new audience members--if you want fans that is.
Great writing (as always), Charlie! I loved the anecdote about the musician and how you described it as "haunting."
And of course, HUGE kudos for running your CBC and setting a date for the next one. I'm pumped for you and look forward to showcasing your journey as a case study in my newsletter. Guaranteed it will inspire others. Thanks for the shoutout!
Dude produce the Thought Bananas movie...that would be literally bananas...but real talk question for you...if you were to look over all your content what would be the most easily adaptable, or the most interestingly adaptable piece you have written (in that it could make it to another medium and shine the same)?
Also as for the musician who haunts you...what advice would you give to someone who values prolificacy over specificity and curation? In the music circles I used to run in there were two camps...the noiseniks who recorded everything they did and then released it (literally any music they made was a product...generally an edition of 10 cassette tape), and those who focused on designing records periodically (one a year, etc...)...I struggled to know which was preferable, and from a business perspective actually saw some of those who erred on prolificacy succeed in ways the others did not...
...is all of life art, or just the moments we hang that sign on?
As to your second question, that’s a really good one, and I don’t know the answer. I think that what bothered me about the musician (and what I try to avoid) isn’t necessarily that he was extremely prolific, but that he had no sense of audience--no sense of what it would be like to encounter his music. Given this is probably more of my baggage than a general statement on artists, but I feel like the best artists pull off both--like they put out a ton of art but also have an incredibly developed sense of what it’s like to be a observer and take them in. I think the Grateful Dead is a great example of an act that did both really well. They recorded everything and encouraged people to pirate and exchange their music, but they also knew what people wanted to hear and had an incredibly strong aesthetic that they leaned into.
Charlie, while I haven’t known you for too terribly long, it’s been really cool to watch you hit your stride with this newsletter. You’re a fantastic writer, of course, but there’s a newfound element of confidence/excitement/“settling in” (if that makes any sense) that’s just bursting from your writing now. I love the layout, the personal anecdotes, the allowing yourself to muse and meander a bit (I’m glad you liked that quote from my essay, too 😆). IMHO, I hope you don’t niche down. I like the takes on philosophy, on literature, on AI, on personal stories, on teaching, on writing, etc. This may be a ~cold~ take, but I’m not so sure slapping a label on our foreheads so people can better digest what we have to say is the way. I think we should think big and write big and be big. It’s hard to do that from inside a box. Keep going, Charlie, you’re crushing it!
100% seconding what Grace says here. In Italian football we say “squadra che vince non si tocca” (never change a winning team). And good luck with your surgery (even though it’s in the Summer).
Thank you so much! What a great, resounding co-sign. The varied takes will keep coming. Man the essay was great but that one line especially was like a lightning rod right to my soul.
First, funnily enough I was reading your newsletter as your comment on Circle popped up about "niche celebrities" which I don't think I had enough "hahahas" to describe how funny I thought it was. I also felt warm tingles about Pauls' comment so I was happy to see it here.
Second, I really enjoyed this newsletter and clicking into your essays that I had missed. Originally, I was going to comment that I wasn't sure how I felt about this statement, "I felt that you can’t be an aspiring musician who seriously wants fans, and expect new listeners to just sift through all twenty of your albums." But then truthfully, it was SO helpful to have a list of your latest essays. I've been catching up on people's Substacks and it was great to be like ah, here's one I missed that I think would be interesting. Which btw, your story with the ADHD medication was absolutely wild.
Another great newsletter Charlie! I've really been enjoying your essays and curation pieces and am looking forward to the next one as well.
Thank you for the several compliments. Yes it was a weird ~36 hours on those meds haha.
As for lists of stuff, I was saying to CansaFis above, I don’t think that they need to be mutually exclusive, but I think that extreme prolificness needs to be accompanied by a very strong sense of your own aesthetic so that you welcome rather than overwhelm new audience members--if you want fans that is.
Great writing (as always), Charlie! I loved the anecdote about the musician and how you described it as "haunting."
And of course, HUGE kudos for running your CBC and setting a date for the next one. I'm pumped for you and look forward to showcasing your journey as a case study in my newsletter. Guaranteed it will inspire others. Thanks for the shoutout!
Thank you! Looking forward to a debrief call with you, Eric and Steven!
Dude produce the Thought Bananas movie...that would be literally bananas...but real talk question for you...if you were to look over all your content what would be the most easily adaptable, or the most interestingly adaptable piece you have written (in that it could make it to another medium and shine the same)?
Also as for the musician who haunts you...what advice would you give to someone who values prolificacy over specificity and curation? In the music circles I used to run in there were two camps...the noiseniks who recorded everything they did and then released it (literally any music they made was a product...generally an edition of 10 cassette tape), and those who focused on designing records periodically (one a year, etc...)...I struggled to know which was preferable, and from a business perspective actually saw some of those who erred on prolificacy succeed in ways the others did not...
...is all of life art, or just the moments we hang that sign on?
Man I’ve thought about your first question, and I’ve actually had a few ideas.
I thought about doing a podcast with my Mom to get across the main idea of this one: https://charliebecker.substack.com/p/get-into-character
Same with my Dad for this one: https://charliebecker.substack.com/p/to-go-and-lay-down-in-the-sense-of
I could do this as a documentary: https://charliebecker.substack.com/p/a-pilgrimage-for-book-people
And even though it’s a little rough, I think this would be a cool artsy short film: https://charliebecker.substack.com/p/1159-in-dearborn
As to your second question, that’s a really good one, and I don’t know the answer. I think that what bothered me about the musician (and what I try to avoid) isn’t necessarily that he was extremely prolific, but that he had no sense of audience--no sense of what it would be like to encounter his music. Given this is probably more of my baggage than a general statement on artists, but I feel like the best artists pull off both--like they put out a ton of art but also have an incredibly developed sense of what it’s like to be a observer and take them in. I think the Grateful Dead is a great example of an act that did both really well. They recorded everything and encouraged people to pirate and exchange their music, but they also knew what people wanted to hear and had an incredibly strong aesthetic that they leaned into.
Man, my own personal writing productivity has taken a nosedive in 2023. So this is impressive to see. Inspiring stuff.
Thanks Thomas! I hope to start getting some stuff to the STSC