Joseph’s BrainWeek in Review [7/20/20]
LOVING:
My sister got a puppy - this is Tilly.
she’s been occupying a lot of my brain space this week. <3
READING:
I’m solidly not smart enough for this article POSTHUMAN ART: TOWARDS FULL-SPECTRUM POSITIVE VALANCE AMPLIFICATION but it was an interesting read nonetheless. Conversation with Sam Barker, pioneering DJ and “paradise engineer”, on inspiration for his recent work and debiasing the experience of hearing music. I thought the cognitive/behavioral science approach as it relates to music was particularly interesting. Made me wonder about how that manifests in pieces of classical music that everyone loves, or even in the western system of tonality, based on dissonance and consonance. Manipulation of the various parts of the equation on various scales to maximize effect. I dunno. Then I listened to his stuff and now I think he should write an opera.
“Music producers [composers? performers too?] are kind of designing clever programs using punishment and reward, or suspense and release, and controlling people’s behavior.”
“…people, I think, get some kind of kick from when the predictable happens. They say, yep. There you go. I knew that was going to happen. That’s a little dopamine rush, but I think it’s sort of a cheap trick.”
LISTENING:
Bell The Band (Caitlin Bell) and I met in high school at an arts summer thing. She was the OG Anna Moffo lover in my life (link to my MOFFO OBSESSION episode) and we went to Oberlin Conservatory and studied voice together. I love her music and voice and personhood. Yes, if you’re wondering, she has always been immeasurably cooler than me. :)
<—-She released this John Prine tribute video this week, gorgeous stuff all around. Check it out.
EATING:
I had an awesome meal at Blacksheep on Boundary in Beaufort, SC. Distanced and masked and all. What I really loved was that the whole place feels personal and curated and intentional. In a lot of ways, it struck me as a good goal for what OSSIA can hopefully be. Multifaceted, thoughtfully considered, hyperlocal, globally influenced, well-connected, high-brow, low-brow, challenging, brave, accessible - but it mostly just felt honest. It was enjoyable to get a clear sense of the chef/owner Matt Wallace’s style and tastes; how he experiences the world. There was a comfortable cohesion to it all: the highly personal website language, the food, the experience. I also just love food and this was an amazing meal. From the website:
Blacksheep is the singular reminder to me of the power we all possess in following the tiny little light inside of us instead of going the way of the masses … Blacksheep is a reminder to trust yourself, even if it means being remarkably uncomfortable in the process. Blacksheep is everyone who's ever chosen to go the other way for the curiosity of what may be and the hope to learn about yourself in the process.
Blacksheep is at the corner of Boundary and Harrington in the Historic District of Beaufort, South Carolina. It's a tidy 900 square feet of space with a wood burning oven and a small dining room. It's a hodgepodge of the things I like and the things I could afford to get the doors open. It's domestic beer and fancy bubbles in 1920's stemware. It's classic cooking from a menu that's as small as the dining room. It changes a lot and, at times, may be more adventurous than others. It's not pretentious but it's polished. It's not loud or boisterous but intentional and unapologetic.
