This quote really struck me: “People who have a creative side and do not live it out are most disagreeable. They make a mountain out of a molehill, fuss about unnecessary things, are too passionately in love with somebody who is not worth so much attention, and so on. There is a kind of floating charge of energy in them which is not attached to its right object and therefore tends to apply exaggerated dynamism to the wrong situation. “ - Marie-Louise von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales.

And it reminded me of Kris Kristofferson (RIP) quoting William Blake, explaining his decision to drop out of the military and become a country musician (via Austin Kleon’s newsletter): “I love William Blake…. William Blake said, “If he who is organized by the divine for spiritual communion, refuse and bury his talent in the earth, even though he should want natural bread, shame and confusion of face will pursue him throughout life to eternity.”

Basically, if you’re meant to do something creative with your life, and you don’t, you’ll be miserable inside and make the people around you miserable as a result (one of the reasons I started this newsletter was to have a creative outlet to avoid that…)

I’ve started using a product called Brick to reduce my screen time, and this thing is a game-changer. You choose what apps you want to block, tap your phone on the little 3D printed magnet, and now there’s enough friction between me and TikTok that I no longer pick it up for a mindless scroll. Plus it keeps track of your “non-screen time”, and the longer it is, the longer I want to keep it going. My high score is 12 hours!

Music: Finneas’ new album, For Cryin’ Out Loud, which is also the name of his single that’s been stuck in my head. Speaking of earworms, Good Graces by Sabrina Carpenter is in there too. And now, some rapid-fire songs that have caught my attention in the last week or so: “El Michels Affair”, “City of Sound”, “Running Away (Vocal Remix) [adult swim]”, “Wonderful Nothing”, a cover of “Tainted Love”, “Stand” by Yebba (who sounds just like Adele), “Boy Toy” (Weezer energy), “Deadman”, “Mi Tormenta (feat. DannyLux)”, “Far Rockaway”, “Lay Down On Me”, “Laredo”, “La Vie Te Mène”, “In the Living Room”, and a Tiny Desk concerts by The Marías and Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso. These will all be in the GOTI Spotify playlist by the way!

Billie and Finneas break down their hit song “Birds of a Feather” for Billboard Magazine, and Billie gets a whole arena of fans to hold silence while she layers her vocals live for “When The Party’s Over”.

Evan Monsma, one of my favorite YouTube creators, is doing a daily video challenge for all of October. Evan’s style is totally unique on YouTube, blending handmade projects with storytelling and rich, textured visuals. I find myself pressing pause just to look at everything in the frame or appreciate the composition of a shot. He also has a Discord and paid community if you want to explore further!

A good reminder from Keri Smith: “How to Feel Miserable as an Artist”.

Art: I discovered Artcyll’s work when Moo Deng was suggested to me on Instagram - they’re amazing! Check out this underwater converse illustration too.

An hourlong conversation between Finneas and Guy Raz (former NPR host), on Guy’s show The Great Creators.

Beehiiv co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk writes a great email newsletter called Big Desk Energy - and the homepage looks like an old Microsoft desktop. I don’t really keep track of the VC/tech world, but he writes good breakdowns that always have a valuable takeaway (and is in a never-ending beef with ConvertKit’s CEO, which is entertaining).

This anime-inspired music video reminds me of Roger Rabbit.