What a great essay. It must have been tough to get rejected by that music community you wanted to join. I must say that I admire your composure and strength of character in the way you handled it. I'm glad some members of that community gave you a couple of pointers and helped you discover new sounds, especially as Tim Hecker became so influential for you. You did such a good job describing the context in which you discovered these tracks for the first time. I can totally see how his music reached you in ways other music perhaps hadn't. I liked all the tracks you shared here, but Chimeras is a proper trip 🔥
PS: As for writing inspiration and the constraints of your Michigan-focused angle, I hear you. The best advice I can give you (as someone who went through something similar a while back) is that your readers will want to read about what moves you. The connection to the "main" topic will sometimes be more obvious than other times, but it's always there. At the end of the day, Canada is just next door from Michigan 😉
Thank you for the thoughtful advice, Andy! And yeah, it was difficult to be confronted with rejection very temporarily, but like I said, it ultimately did me a ton of good to be humbled by them pointing out that I wasn’t some know it all when it came to music. It’s shaped how I listen to music today - with curiosity and not as some sort of superior authority. I feel like the music stack community is an extension of what I sought during those days, constantly pointing out a new artist or album or song I had no idea about. It truly doesn’t get any better than that.
What a great essay. It must have been tough to get rejected by that music community you wanted to join. I must say that I admire your composure and strength of character in the way you handled it. I'm glad some members of that community gave you a couple of pointers and helped you discover new sounds, especially as Tim Hecker became so influential for you. You did such a good job describing the context in which you discovered these tracks for the first time. I can totally see how his music reached you in ways other music perhaps hadn't. I liked all the tracks you shared here, but Chimeras is a proper trip 🔥
PS: As for writing inspiration and the constraints of your Michigan-focused angle, I hear you. The best advice I can give you (as someone who went through something similar a while back) is that your readers will want to read about what moves you. The connection to the "main" topic will sometimes be more obvious than other times, but it's always there. At the end of the day, Canada is just next door from Michigan 😉
Thank you for the thoughtful advice, Andy! And yeah, it was difficult to be confronted with rejection very temporarily, but like I said, it ultimately did me a ton of good to be humbled by them pointing out that I wasn’t some know it all when it came to music. It’s shaped how I listen to music today - with curiosity and not as some sort of superior authority. I feel like the music stack community is an extension of what I sought during those days, constantly pointing out a new artist or album or song I had no idea about. It truly doesn’t get any better than that.
The advantage of taking things seriously is perhaps that it makes able to write such a good text on Tim Hecker! Restacked.