I recently watched one of many Beatles documentaries in my life and something stuck with me. In the film it was said that upon arrival in an Australian city, 300,000 people (half the city) came out to greet the Beatles. 300,000 people! That's a huge crowd. I thought back to scenes of fans waiting at the airport for the Beatles to walk out of the plane. I thought about Shea Stadium and how the screaming was so loud that you couldn't hear the music. And then I thought, why doesn't this happen anymore? Is it because, in a very high brow answer, "there will never be another Beatles?" No, that's not it.
In an age of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, StubHub, etc. shouldn't we have larger crowds forming for our artists because of the faster communication available to us, unavailable to Beatles fans? We have better, faster transportation too! What is stopping another Beatles-like invasion from occurring? I acknowledge that in the era of the Beatles, there was Elvis, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan: very big legends. But do we have legends today? It seems to me that our biggest stars are artists like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. There's nothing wrong with them as artists but they definitely are not The Beatles. What about U2 or Coldplay? Or Jay-Z and Eminem? They fit the mold a bit better but why aren't huge crowds awaiting them at every airport? Why aren't crowds screaming so loud these artists think about not performing live anymore? Is it the artists that are not good enough to garner the reactions the Beatles did or is it the people in societies across the world that have fallen into an apathy or boredom over music? Somehow I don't think it's either of these. I don't have all the answers but if I had to choose one, I would say this: I believe there is a genuine effort on the part of some suppressive element on this planet to create an atmosphere where artists are kept in line and the public is kept at home. In my hometown there were hardly any live music venues so artists hardly ever performed there. We were forced to admire artists from afar while watching them on TV. There's nothing wrong with TV or the internet but I think there should be more encouragement to go outside and do something, to interact with other people just a bit more. If that happened I think our artists would become inspired enough to want to do more shows. We should be waiting for our favorite artists at the airport. We should let them know what they mean to us in bigger ways because at the end of the day we don't go home and look forward to watching the evening news, we look forward to listening to our favorite band, watching a movie, reading a book, catching an episode of our favorite show. Let's make sure we catch more shows in person, because i think that'd create another Beatles Invasion, except we could turn it into an Artists Invasion, and that would truly change the world. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates.
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Kevin Smith loved movies but never thought he could make them until the idea was actually presented to him by a friend that was interested in working in film. It was the first time he ever met someone that in any way, shape of form was connected to movie making and the idea excited him. He decided to make a movie himself and used the convenience store he worked at as the location and inspiration for his film. He used his friends for actors and even cast himself in one of the roles. Most people would be stopped by the fact that you need professionals, a big budget and a ton of other out of reach resources in order to make a successful movie, but Kevin Smith, a convenience store worker proved this entirely wrong.
Coming up with the story was not a problem for Kevin but he did need some money to make the movie so he went to some pretty interesting sources for it. He sold a large portion of his comic book collection, maxed out at least eight credit cards with $2,000 limits, dipped into some money he had set aside for college and some other money he got from an insurance company when his car was lost in a flood. In total he had $27,575 and that's all he needed to pull off one of the greatest underdog stories in hollywood. The movie was shot at night from 10:30pm to 5:30am (that's when the convenience store was closed) and Kevin worked during the day as well, so he could only sleep no more than one hour a day during the 21 days it took to shoot the film. That's right, the movie was shot in 21 days. After the movie was finished it was entered into film festivals, including Sundance and was picked up by Miramax and despite only being released in no more than 50 theaters, made over 3 million dollars and launched Kevin Smith into a career in Hollywood. His movie shot in 21 days for $27, 575 is now widely considered a cult classic and has even appeared on several lists including film magazine Empire's list of the 500 greatest movies of all time list, coming in at 361. This is the story of someone that had very little real working knowledge of the motion picture business and yet despite every reason there could be to not make a motion picture, he found a way and got together all the money he could, all the time he could and just put all of his passion into making something he loved; a piece of art that has entertained thousands and will continue to entertain for years to come. Finding a story like this is more than inspiring. This kind of tale is what we should all strive to achieve in our respected fields. We need to dig deep and let loose a tidal wave of passion and belief for our creations to the point that we would go without comic books and sleep to make something we had no guarantee would yield any more return than our own self satisfaction that we'd made something we could feel complete pride in. Kevin Smith has went on to make multi-million dollar budgeted movies and several more critically acclaimed ones. He's living an incredible dream and I challenge myself and anyone reading this to aspire to something similar. Go without sleep, go without your comic books, and make your movie. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. I remembered a friend in college gave me a CD that had some Bob Dylan on it and I didn't really like his singing at first. A short time later I was consuming a very high volume of music in general, exploring every genre and really diving into the greats and there was no escaping Dylan. I think it was watching D.A. Pennebaker's documentary "Don't Look Back," considered one of the greatest rock documentaries of all time, that got me hooked like I was a kid when my dad showed me comic books. Bob Dylan has released over 40 albums and I have most of them. Why? He's the greatest rapper of all time.
Before Bob Dylan, most mainstream music contained simple lyrics with simple themes. After Bob Dylan, mainstream music changed dramatically. He influenced the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and most musicians since. When he hit the world stage no one had heard music so complex and significant. His words painted pictures that did not match up to reality or matched up too frighteningly close to home. Up until this time most mainstream music was Frank Sinatra type love ballads or "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?" or early rock n roll music. What Bob Dylan did was make it okay to make lyrics that did not have to be easy to understand or simple or apologetic or any of the other safe ways songwriters approached writing. His words were puzzles, left scattered across our paths for our minds to play with. Listen to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and tell me Bob Dylan isn't a rapper. And if he's a rapper, name one greater. His lyrics and music transcended popular music and created an entirely new kind of popular music, one where the lyrics mattered and the songs meant something more than just background music you calmly and politely listened to while having dinner. No, his music and all that came after carries with it the idea that you must push some boundaries somewhere, you must work out a way to describe things better so in some way you can find a way through the ever evolving landscapes of living on our planet. What is hip hop? It is the idea that despite the dangers of our environment we can find some good in it and overcome all obstacles through the power of art and self-determinism. Bob Dylan was a musical prophet, spitting unmatched verses about our world so resonant they remain just as valid now than they ever did. How do you determine a man's impact? Look at his products, his art, his works, his creations. If you haven't had the pleasure of partaking in the genius of Bob Dylan's music, do yourself a favor and run to his canon of music history as well as the current hits he still churns out (they're just as good). He's over 70 years old and tours constantly, catch him if you can, he's a real OG. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. I was there opening day for Marvel Studios' "The Avengers" and it was a flawless execution of one of the most anticipated superhero movies of all time. Joss Whedon, the writer and director of the movie did an amazing job establishing and introducing each character and putting them into situations that were believable and interesting. The story moves and flows right along from the very beginning and you're never, ever bored. By the time the Avengers team is really formed and the action starts, you realize that this is something never really seen on film, at least to this level of perfection. Never before have we seen such incredible action sequences and fluid camera shots of one superhero going to another and then another and then another and then another. It's extremely exciting to see the visual feast of what a real world would look like with superheroes in it, fighting to save the world.
Previous superhero movies mostly featured one superhero fighting one villain or one villain and his army but this is really the first time we get to see a real superhero team fighting together and what that would really look like. Ok, there were the X-Men films which were great, but the level of production and special effects that went into this movie are leaps above. Maybe it was Joss Whedon's ability to draw out the personalities of each hero and get them into just the right scenes but "The Avengers" is a special, unique, never before seen kind of superhero movie. It could not possibly disappoint and by all indications, appears to be on track to be one of the biggest movie openings of all time, superhero film or not. It's a great film period. Make sure to stay after the initial credits for a "hidden" scene and then stay after the full credits for a second "hidden" scene. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. If you've watched TV, looked at city buses or had a Dr. Pepper recently, you may have noticed what hopes to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, The Avengers. Not only is this a super hero movie but it features one of the earliest super hero teams and promises to deliver yet another hit for Marvel Studios. With all of the hype and promotion I couldn't help but think how close the entire thing came to almost not happening. It was a very real scenario at one point in time that there might not be an Iron Man, Thor, Incredible Hulk and most of what is now known as the Marvel Universe. The story goes like this: a young Stan Lee, was tired of his job publishing comics that followed the latest craze, whether it was detective or western or war story, and wanted to go off and be a "serious" writer. He had given it a lot of thought and made up his mind that the next day he was going to quit his job publishing un-original comic books to go do something better. You could hardly blame the guy, he wanted to be a real artist, not a hack pretending to be one, following the latest fad in story genre. So he walked into work the next day ready to quit but there was something he was not anticipating: his boss' news of a super hero team book called "The Justice League." He had played golf with the executive over at DC Comics and learned the super hero team book was selling really well, so of course, like he always did, he told Stan Lee he wanted a super hero book. His boss' enthusiasm for the idea was too high and he decided not to tell him he was leaving until later. He went home and told his wife about his conversation at work and how he didn't want to do it anymore. His wife gave him some good advice. She said, "why don't you write the book the way you would want to do it, not the way you think they want you to and if they hate it then you'll get fired and you didn't want to work there anyway, but if they like it and it sells then you've achieved writing something you want to write." Stan Lee took her advice and wrote a story of a super hero team unlike any other: "The Fantastic Four." The phenomenal success of "The Fantastic Four" gave Stan Lee the green light to create a whole new universe of characters that were unlike superheroes of the past. His heroes had problems and weren't always perfect. They were relatable and people connected in droves. He went on to create another superhero team "The Avengers," as well as Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Silver Surfer, The X-Men and his most famous creation: Spider-Man. Regardless of his other successes, Stan Lee faced opposition when he pitched the idea of Spider-Man. His boss just couldn't see how a pimple faced, weakling of a teenager would be a believable super hero and told Stan Lee to toss it. Luckily, he didn't toss away the idea and instead slipped the story into the last issue of a series that was about to end. He figured it wouldn't hurt the series any and at least he'd get his story out there. When the numbers finally came back months later for Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, it was one of the biggest selling single issues of the decade. It goes to show that you must always create from a joy of creating, not from the financial need to or to produce something you think will fit into what everyone else is doing. Being original and making something that was not there before is the real reason why we create at all or we might as well just go enjoy the art we tried to copy. Stan Lee had the good sense to listen to his wife and do what he wanted to do and damn the consequences. I think it's a good example to follow when it comes to tackling your work. Always create and do what you want to because in the end you only have yourself to please. I'm glad I knew his story and excited I get to see the characters that almost never were, come alive on a movie screen. Artists Run This Planet! Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. Recently, in an interview Obama said he prefers Jay-Z's music more than he liked Kanye West's music. Back when Kanye made headlines by grabbing the microphone from Taylor Swift, Obama called him a jackass. That time and his more recent comments about Kanye West reminded me of a time, not too long ago where he attacked Matt Damon and said his movie "The Adjustment Bureau" wasn't very good. What do these comments and actions say about Obama? They speak volumes about his character and the state of our country. Ideally our president should be above making comments like this. He should be the guy that finds the good in everybody and seeks to uplift all of mankind, not the guy that makes small verbal attacks towards artists. Regardless of political preferences like political party or ideology, the President of the United States should find the high road and not get into these small matters. It's very high school of him to do. Matt Damon and any other citizen of our country has the right to question government leaders and their policies but no government leader, especially the highest ranking person in government, has the right to use their podium in the public spotlight to attack an artist's works. When Obama says Matt Damon's movie wasn't very good as a way of attacking him for being critical of his policies, we should be very concerned because it means we not only have a mis-emotional, morally questionable individual running our country but he also demonstrates that amongst all of the problems he could be putting his attention on, he chooses to focus on the quality of a movie by an actor and how he prefers the music of a former drug dealer to a college drop out. I think it's very interesting how Obama prefers Jay-Z's music given the countless times he has glorified drug dealing, materialism, and continues to call women bitches, even his own wife, Beyonce. My point is not so much against Jay-Z because I can enjoy much of his music, but is more so against Obama's choice of Jay-Z over Kanye West. I'm not saying Kanye is better, but why is this even something Obama is addressing in an interview and why even make a choice at all? The best thing for him to say would have been something like, "I appreciate all artists because they are the true creators of our future and picking amongst them publicly isn't something I want to get into. I'm focused on solving the problems that face our country and our world, but I want to thank them both for making their art." Now that would have been nice but instead we get a very low brow, insult commenting President that somehow sees it worth his time to say Jay-Z is better than Kanye and Matt Damon doesn't make good movies if he's against his policies. Those are not the actions of a President of the United States, they are the actions of a teenage girl. At the end of the day, his actions matter not because it is not the politicians that determine the outcome of our civilization, it is the artists. If that wasn't true then why would he say anything bad about any artist? I think he's jealous, he knows he's just a talking head spouting out regurgitated ideas that don't progress mankind forward one bit and wishes he was an artist. Me, I choose Jay-Z, Kanye, Matt Damon, every artist on Earth and that one day Obama gets more creative and leaves the podium for an easel, because "artists run this planet."
Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. I wanted to write something about music and my first inclination was to talk about how disappointed I am in what passes for good hip hop on mainstream radio but then I realized I don't want to focus on what I don't like. Instead I thought, why not write something about what's going on in music that I like. The first name that came to me was Lana Del Rey. You may not know who she is but that's okay, I didn't either until a few weeks ago. I was watching American Idol with my wife and they brought out a new singer (not a show contestant) and talked about how her music was hitting number one across Europe. That got my interest up and I paid attention, always evaluating for successful actions from artists. After only a few lines into the song I was hooked. Her haunting lyrics, the sound sold me. Beautiful visuals of old black and white movies played in the background and the whole aesthetic took me into a new style. That one song alone made my go to iTunes and buy her album. This is the song (Video Games) that made me buy the album.When I buy an album I find that I only like a few of the songs but I found myself liking the whole album. The songs were an infusion of many different styles of music, pop, rock, classical, jazz, hip hop, etc. although the theme of the album was simple: lost love. Every single song was about an old love, how beautiful it was and how sad it was that it was over but yet the viewpoint was a mature one. Lana Del Rey understood that it had to end and that it didn't lessen the relationship in any way, it was still a beautiful, pure thing to cherish. She hit something like Norah Jones did on her first album, a place creatively where her voice, emotion and words all worked together to create great music. Not the kind of music you manufacture but the kind where you're trying to really say something because it means something to you.
I was impressed with the album so much I mentioned it to a few friends, including my producer Dan. He liked it right away too. Being a musician I am always trying to figure out the style of a song and what it's supposed to do. I'm sure there's some musicians that just go into the recording booth and say whatever and don't care what the producer does to the track but me and Dan are different. Our group X-Ray Poetz goes after a particular sound, a particular message, with everything we make. When I listen to Lana Del Rey I find her music to be inspiring because she found her sound and her message, and her producer did an equally amazing job and for me it makes my day, my week, my month, to find an artist that found their voice and laid it down exactly how it should be presented. I recently met an aspiring actress/singer. I was excited to meet a fellow musician and asked her what she sounded like. She mentioned a few popular singers. I asked if she had heard Lana Del Rey yet. She said, "Yeah, but she doesn't sound great live." I thought it was sad that her first words about her were negative, taste aside. I changed the subject but I kept thinking I should have said, "I found her live performance so great it made me buy her whole album," although I think she would have felt invalidated had I gone there. But it made me realize that even amongst artists we can lose sight of what is most important when it comes to art. Take some time to discover a new artist today, whether it's Lana Del Rey or someone else. We spend so much time consuming much of the same each day. Same food, same TV shows, same company, same route to work, it's worth while to find something different to look at, listen to and feel each day. If we spent as much time and money finding new art to appreciate as we did on stocks, bonds, politics and the evening news, I'm sure our investment would pay off a thousand-fold. Art is not only entertainment to amuse but is also a communication channel for ideas. I hope you're open to receiving some today. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. For those not familiar with the term "higher toned" it refers to the Emotional Tone Scale that plots human emotion on a scale from Body Death at the bottom of the scale, up to Enthusiasm at the top of the scale, with all of the various emotions in between. The higher up the scale, the more likely you'll survive, the lower down the scale, the more likely you'll succumb. It has been my observation, being a comic book and superhero fan, that Superman has experienced a decline in popularity in society while Batman has experienced an increase in popularity over the last two decades. Why is this important? I believe it tells a tremendous amount about us and I want to explain why it is all tied up in emotional tone level.
Superman was the first real comic book superhero and his popularity spawned an entire boom in comic books across the world. Kids looked up to him and he symbolized what was best in people, a real hero that did what he did because it was right and no one had anything to fear because Superman would save the day. His emotional tone level was high, right around cheerful or higher, if he ever came down the tone scale it was when he was disguised as Clark Kent, but even then his tone level was conservative. He was popular decades ago because his tone matched the tone of society. Superman's first years were spent in an America convinced it could do anything. It was a productive country where you felt you could work hard and build a good life for yourself and your family regardless of where you came from, and Superman was an immigrant too. Something happened to society after a few more decades. No longer was there the cheerful George Reeves version of Superman or TV shows like Happy Days. Things got a little more serious right around the late 1970's and a big shift occurred in the 1980's which saw society exchange one hero for another. Batman used to be a colorful personality in the Adam West TV show version of the character. When Batman and Robin punched someone it looked animated like a cartoon and a big "Kapow!" showed on screen. But when the 1980's happened people were phasing out of a Christopher Reeve Superman and headed into a Tim Burton Batman, much darker and inspired somewhat by the graphic novel "The Dark Knight" by Frank Miller. Soon Batman got darker and darker, taking us to the most recent Batman films, "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." By the time we get to "The Dark Knight" Batman has become way more serious in tone. He goes from a cheerful/conservative guy in Adam West's version to an angry, resentful hero. More alarmingly is the fact that the last Batman film won more fans for the villain of the movie rather than Batman, Heath Ledger's Joker being the real star of the film and the one kids sport on t-shirts everywhere. We've gone from a higher toned society of people looking up to a cheerful Superman to a society connecting with the dark, brooding, anger of Batman, to now one that idolizes the Joker, a psychotic villain that paints his face like a clown and wields a knife: a classic, covertly hostile character. Forget the tone level of current television with it's Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, Nip/Tuck and Gossip Girl, and cast aside popular music like Lil' Wayne, Lady Gaga and Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, what does the tone level of our superheroes tell us? When we see Superman tossed aside for Batman and Batman tossed aside for the Joker, we should be concerned. The hero is no longer the guy in the white hat, he's now the guy in the black hat. And you may argue that it's more fun to root for the bad guy and say what's wrong with liking Al Pacino's Scarface character? There isn't anything wrong looking at and confronting evil, but there is something wrong when our society as a whole starts wanting to be more like it. I have hope in mankind. I know that tone levels can be raised. I know that it doesn't happen overnight. I know that I am not alone in my observations and that some of you may relate to and understand what I am saying enough to do something about it. I know my course of action: to create higher toned entertainment and art and try my best not to support lower toned entertainment, especially low tone superheroes. For the record I enjoy Batman. I know a criminal killed his parents and he's out for revenge because of it but an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I'd rather have Batman working to rehabilitate criminals so they never commit another crime because if you just lock them up they come back worse. I look forward to the future and I hope it takes a turn up the tone scale instead of further down it. I know it'll be an adventure either way and maybe someday we'll get as high toned as Erol Flynn's Robin Hood. I really hope we all hit that target. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. Click here for more on the Tone Scale. Without a purpose you're lost, whether as an artist or anyone. If you had a ship, no matter how well equipped or fancy it was, if you didn't know why it was sailing, it would wander aimlessly in a sea of unrewarding confusion. In the daily challenge of getting through this thing we call life, it helps to have a purpose. When you have one all of the difficulties, the obstacles, the rude comment, the traffic, all dissipate and vanish. Every day I try to remind myself of why I'm doing what I'm doing. I look at the world and compare it to what I'd like it to look like and then get to work making that ideal scene happen. Why do this? Because the alternative is a life filled with ill feelings and frustration. Also, and most importantly because it feels good creating something that wasn't there before.
I like to think every day, each moment I have a blank canvas on which to paint. If I make a mistake which I often do, it's okay because that canvas is limitless and comes with a big eraser. My purpose is to leave something on that canvas that wasn't there before and that helps make the world into something better, helping as many people as possible. When I paint, create, write, make music, whatever, I think about my purpose and never let it leave if I can help it. It sometimes does but I recognize those times easily because it's in those times I am not quite me, not really happy with my activity and reach out once again for my purpose to get me back on track. I've been guilty of listening to others' opinions or accepting false information as truth and wandered off my purpose line. I know how easy it is to get lost in a world filled with so many contradictory viewpoints and spectacles. However, I have learned that if there was one thing worthy of years of your time, energy and effort, it is finding and knowing your purpose so know one and nothing could ever cause you to even make you look away from it. The truly great human beings we have all immortalized knew what they were doing and why. They kept their eyes on the prize and never gave up. I may have lost a few battles but I like to think I never sold out my purpose of helping make this world better, stronger and more able. It has taken different shapes and forms but the purpose has always been there. Whether it was carrying a stack of books from the library as a kid or sitting in a Congressional hearing or recording controversial lyrics or picking up a paintbrush, I have known my purpose was there. When you see me reading a comic book, don't see a grown man indulging in a childish or immature activity, see a man studying new universes created by artists where human beings are powerful and see me searching for ways to use the story to inject it into ours. Hundreds of years ago there were no iPods, CDs, DVDs, computers, telephones, telegraphs, airplanes, radios or automobiles. There was no Harry Potter, no Superman, no Sherlock Holmes, no Robin Hood. My point is that the world constantly changes because courageous artists, creators and individuals are out there every day working to put a future out in front of mankind and they all have a purpose that motivates them to get us there. Take time today and examine what your purpose is. If you can't pinpoint it right away, don't worry, keep at it until you can. It's worth doing because you decide what tomorrow will look like. It's best to have a plan going into it and to know why you're going there in the first place. Join my mailing list to receive new blog posts and updates. |
David CarusI'm David Carus. From overcoming one of the most dangerous cities in the country and graduating from one of the most prestigious colleges in America to leading an educational movement as a teacher and running for Congress at the age of 25, I decided the best hope our world has is through art. Archives
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