Music

Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life

-- "Panic", the Smiths, 1985

I occasionally go to concerts, though my best memories of those lie well in the past. As for actually producing instead of consuming, I have little to offer on that score. I took piano lessons for six years as an adolescent; I studied viola from September 2000 to December 2001 (suspended due to shoulder problems) and cello from September 1999 to September 2014 (suspended due to frequent travel and the difficulty of keeping a cello properly humidified in my apartment). I bought an electric guitar and amplifier in October 2015 (inspired by a busker about my age who was a regular in the Civic Center MUNI station in San Francisco), though I can't really do much with them so far. Starting in January 2021, I began to acquire synthesizers and effects boxes, and can now make decidedly amateur electronic music.

Here are five discs I would suggest that you listen to, if you asked my opinion:

1. David Bowie, Hunky Dory (1972)
2. Wire, Pink Flag (1977)
3. Gang of Four, Entertainment! (1979)
4. Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
5. Belle and Sebastian, If You're Feeling Sinister (1997)

Shout outs to: Gillian Welch, Janelle Monae, Sleater-Kinney, Merrill Garbus, Allison Mosshart.