Everybody loves to complain about social media. Well, it’s just another mirror for human nature isn’t it? I have mixed feelings about them all, mostly because engaging in them takes time.

LinkedIn is a particularly puzzling to me. People really seem to like their jobs over there. Fair enough, some get lucky. And naturally it’s a place where you hang out if you need to recruit or if you’re looking for a job or a new job.

Not to mention all the people working on their brand. Polishing this or that. Freelancers seeking to be top-of-mind and career climbers bragging about their achievements. It’s not hard to see the psychology at work.

And still, it’s a strangely unnatural place. Everybody behaving as if they are at a job interview. Smiling a little too much, trying to look relaxed and confident, yet eager to work, to show ambition, or grit or exaggerated positivity. On the inside, people may be at the the end of their rope. Unemployed, marriages falling apart. And God knows what.

Even though I find it exhausting, I’m thinking it could be a really interesting scene to explore for human drama. I might have to look into it with some anthropologist-glasses on.

A medal is a silly thing. A piece of metal. An unnecessary impact on our environment. And still, having crossed the finish line I couldn’t make myself to say no thank you, which had been my intention. After all, I’ve thrown all previous medals in the recycling bin. So why bring another one home.

Yet, I think there is something in the moment of reception. On your best day it’s a way to celebrate your achievement on your lesser day it can be moment of acceptance. You gave it your best shot, you finished – and it is still an achievement.

If you think practically about things, there’s a lot of silly things in our culture. But then, we’re not really practical but emotional creatures. A medal is a silly thing. But so is a birthday cake or a wedding ring. It’s not the thing itself but the meaning and value we charge it with.

Everybody has their own race to run. Many run in spite of obstacles we don’t know about. Some run on talent or youth, some on willpower we can’t imagine. There’s little point in comparing yourself to anybody else, and there’s no point in complaining about the advantages others may have had. The race is yours, and it’s about choosing forward, as Amy put it, no matter the circumstances.

Today, I’ll be following the blue line. I run because I want to. I don’t know for sure what race I’ll be running. What kind of day it is or how it will feel. But in one and a half hour I’ll be on the start line to follow the blue line til I cross the last line.

Amulets come in different forms. Some might be worn like a necklace, like a small cross if you’re a Christian.

I might not have a mystic approach to these matters, but I realize I have amulets too. Objects of power that connects me to what I love. It’s a reassuring feeling to put my hand in my pocket and feel that an angular piece of plastic is lying there, promising a different life than the corporate powerpoint presentation I’m sitting through.

The guitar pick. It seems it’s of little use without a guitar. But actually, I tend to play guitar with my fingers most of the time. The main function of the pick is connection, solace and identity.

On certain days, when not making music is all that awaits. A guitar pick is not comfort enough. That’s when I need to slip an instrument in my bag. A small synth. A field recorder. A harmonica. Anything to promise me music is possible.

I might even wear an Ableton t-shirt under my shirt to really remind me of my superpowers.

It’s a shame there are so few public phone booths left for changing outfits these days.

My day job office is located in an old sugar factory. A big brick building from, I suppose, the 19th century. Located in the harbour. It took a lot of bricks to build it. Laying down each brick probably wasn’t fun. It was work. But the building got built. 

I think of this as I head to get half an hour of guitar practice during my lunch break. Nothing sensational. Another brick. But if I keep at it. Who knows what skills I can build.

Well, is that banal or profound? Or both? I’m reminded of something else, all those moments in the past when I daydreamed about having started something earlier and imagining how good I would have become, how successful I would have been etc. 

In September 2023 I’ll turn 50. I don’t daydream like I used to. I put down bricks. One by one. To get something built before it’s too late.

Tears, oceans and french fries. Salt is essential. When it’s missing you know. And when it’s needed you probably need it pure. Without added flavours. There’s nothing wrong with being creative of course. But when you need salt and all that is available is some mixed “herbal salt” you really run the risk of ruining the whole dish.

I think this might be true for a lot of sounds as well. Effects are cool. Just not all the time.

I have postponed shipping my music for a long time. The excuses have been of the regular kind. It’s not ready yet, it’s not good enough, I’m not feeling it anymore. Big plans of albums and EP:s have resulted in nothing. So, I figured. Let’s do it song by song. Ship often and compile once there is a body of work. Let’s just get over the threshold.

I have many songs ready to record, and many half-finished projects in my files. So now my idea is to just keep finishing them. It would feel great if I could release one song every two weeks. A year of 26 songs would be something!

Last night, I uploaded my first song onto DistroKid for distribution on all major streaming services. It’s not perfect, it’s mixed in the box, and Bob Ludwig had nothing to do with the mastering. But it feels great that it’s there. It’s nothing spectacular, nothing grand. But I think there’s something human and sweet.

(For some reason, I fell for the temptation of setting a on week later release date. So, here it is on Soundcloud:)

Two weeks ago, Valborg, a big spring celebration in Sweden took place on April 30th. Valborg is also the name of a song by Håkan Hellström Sweden’s and Gothenburg’s biggest rockstar. So, it wasn’t without logic that said artist would do a surprise performance in the Azalea valley of local park Slottsskogen on that particular night.

Unannounced they drove a big truck with a trailer as a mobile stage into the park. Played a few songs until the police had them leave for not having a permit.

Most people like surprises like that, even those who wear uniforms. It’s however not the job of the police department to like surprises, so apparently it’s now a crime investigation. And as a result people are complaining about the police. Which is unfair, since what job does the police have but making sure everyone plays by the rules.

What I find interesting is to see how often the things that make a society and city feel human is about someone breaking the rules. Street art. Food trucks without permits. Buskers. Skateboarding. 

The city comes alive from creative mischief, people breaking rules. I wonder if maybe it’s good that not everything is allowed. Because if it was, what would be the point.

I’ve heard the following: In a political context with two sides, in which we root strongly in favour of one, it is common that we associate our own side with the the charachters we admire the most. Whereas we see the other side represented by their worst examples.

We are biased, we exaggerate our likes and dislikes and turn reality into more black and white than it really is. The good vs The bad. We are more likely to forgive the rotten apples in our own bunch, whereas bad behaviour from the other side is just to be expected.

I’ve forgotten where I read it. So don’t trust me. But I think it’s quite common. Most likely it’s one on the long list of cognitive biases that make us more foolish than we need to be. I should read up on this, but I haven’t yet.

I’m thinking there might be a parallel here when we bring our art to an audience. We experience fear. Fear of being criticized. And yes, we might be. But, the problem is that we project the negative criticism of a single voice onto a whole crowd – and make that rotten apple a representative for the whole.

Criticism and ridicule stings. Many artists have testified about how negative remarks seem to take over. If they are praised by 99 and critized by 1. It will still be the 1 single critical voice that speaks in their heads.

Projection apparently is a big problem for many. Having a name for it might be a good start for learning how to deal with it.

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

Mark Twain seems to have said or written a lot of cool lines, but apparently the quote above is from the psychologist Abraham Maslow. It’s an amusing quote and it isn’t that rare that you get to experience people showing it to be true.

Physical tools aside, I think it’s interesting to consider our thinking as a toolset. In today’s world of gurus there’s no shortage of intelligent people who have arrived at a number of clever and reasonable conclusions. Reading their blogs can be educating, but you might also see patterns emerge. To serve their teaching they are busy finding examples in the world that prove them right. Telling parables, analogies and anechdotes. Just like Jesus did and Aesop with his fables about animals.

That’s not a bad thing. But there’s a different quote that I’m very fond of, attributed to different people according to Quote investigator. I’ll settle for Bertrand Russell: “The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.“

Since I started blogging again, I’ve been employing a method which was suggested to me. “To look at a thing and ask yourself, if I was to blog about this what would I write?”

It’s a great way to inspire creativity, pattern recognition, to come up with analogies and metaphors. What I wonder is, what if I just go around using objects and peoples like mirrors. Looking for self-validation and proof of my beliefs? Maybe this method of blogging teachers could be challenged somehow.

From an intellectual perspective, wouldn’t it be more interesting and admirable to look for things that could challenge your world-view? A method that would rhyme more with Karl Popper’s idea of striving for the falsification of your hypothesis.

Put simply, that the job for anyone seeking knowledge is to try to prove yourself wrong. Rather than to prove yourself right.