Tag: music

“The World Is Tough on Beautiful Things”

On By Dean BrooksLeave a comment

Just a brief rant. This might constitute reason #874 for why I hate country music.

I’ve been traveling recently. And one night I happened to stop at a Dickey’s Barbecue. Dickey’s is a chain BBQ place with a Southwest vibe. There are wagon wheel chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and other Old West-style decorations and paraphernalia. I ordered a brisket combo, which was okay. The sauce was decent.

I sat in the back completely alone. Well, that was until one of the workers started sweeping and mopping and setting up chairs on the tables in preparation for close. It was only around 7PM, and they closed at 9pm. More than enough time to NOT have to be kicking up dust and dirt around me while I ate. But whatever, I guess a two-hour head-start should be commended.

Naturally, there was country music blasting from the speakers. That’s another pet peeve of mine. Loud music playing in an enclosed space, or just music being played loudly at all. That it was country made it even worse. But at least it wasn’t rap or death metal or something.

Anyway, I’m sitting there just trying not to let the many annoyances of the ambiance get to me when I hear what might possibly be the stupidest lyric in a song ever:

“The world is tough on beautiful things.”

I’m not sure who the singer or band was. It was just some country crooner twanging to some sweetheart, consoling her, evidently, over her hard life, which was due to her being beautiful. At least, that’s the gist I kind of picked up on it.

As I sat there trying to finish my brisket, with the employee sweeping right in front of my feet, I thought, well, if that isn’t the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my 44 years of life.

The world is tough on beautiful things. What? It’s the complete opposite. The only thing the world is nice to, period, is beauty. Beauty is loved, cherished, protected, guarded, admired, and preserved. Ugliness is reviled and disregarded. Why is the Mona Lisa hanging behind bulletproof glass, with armed guards surrounding it? Because it’s a hideous example of artistic talent? Look at all the national parks like Yellowstone. Why are those natural formations preserved under Federal law? Because they are just so wretched to look at? What kinds of attractions do people travel thousands of miles and spend thousands per year to see? Are people crossing oceans to see a pile of garbage or something like Niagara Falls?

Well, wait a minute, I thought. I tried to wrangle out what this guy might have been getting at. Maybe he had a point, and I was just missing it. What if he meant “life is tough on beautiful things” in the sense that an attractive person has to deal with the pressure of attention and optionality in terms of mate selection. Hmm…is that really tough, though? That’s the definition of a privilege. Nobody would consider my life tough if because I was such a hot guy that I had to choose between dating three supermodels who were into me. Nor would they say some cover model’s life is tough if she had to choose between a millionaire, an astronaut, or a Harvard-trained surgeon to marry. That’s not really a tough life there.

Beauty is privilege, power, and often compels people to preserve and protect it. I mean, sure, it comes with some baggage. Some unwanted attention here and there. But I don’t think anyone, if they could choose their looks, would choose to be unattractive. Make-up and fashion are two billion-dollar industries devoted to helping women and men look good. People spend six figures on nose jobs and surgeries to look younger. There’s a whole looksmaxxing obsession going on right now. Is that because if you look better the world will be tougher on you? Are people trying to look better so that their lives will be harder?

Attractiveness is nothing but an asset. You’ll have an easier time socializing and making friends if you are good-looking than if you are not. Especially growing up in school. You’ll have it way easier dating. People are more apt to trust an attractive person than an unattractive one. Being hot is like living in a higher dimension almost. There is virtually no downside.

“But beauty is in eye of the beholder.” GTFO with that. Yes, some women might find Danny DeVito cute, sure. But no guy wants to look like him. And even fewer women would want to fuck him. They’d pick a guy who looks like Brad Pitt or Chris Hemsworth a hundred million times before DeVito.

No, it’s just a stupid lyric. Quite possibly the stupidest one ever, too. And I’ve heard a lot of stupid lyrics over the years. But now I have even more reason to hate country music. Because it isn’t beauty the world is tough on. It’s stupidity.

Our Decades Don’t Have Cool Nicknames Anymore

On By Dean BrooksLeave a comment

The Trumpy Twenties? The Terrible Twenties? The Turbulent Twenties? The Spendy Twenties? Just spit ballin’ here.

Photo by Viridiana Rivera from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-2025-planner-with-pen-and-plant-29996971/

I truly believe that in the year 2000 our timeline somehow got diverted into the Shithole Dimension in which we currently reside.

How? I blame Y2K. We were supposed to let that supposed “glitch” play out, not “fix” it. Instead, we collectively ctlr+alt+deleted our way into this nightmare world.

That, or the gods simply hated those stupid “00” New Year’s Eve glasses everyone was wearing celebrating the Millennium, and decided to punish us with two and a half gray mushy mash no identity decades. What is the difference between the year 2003 and now? Seriously. None. If you stuck me in a Delorean and sent me back, I’d hardly notice any changes. The clothes, the tech, the political scene — all virtually the same.

We left the “Go-Go 90s” or the “Gay 90s” or “The Decade of Peace,” for the “Oughties.” Or is it just the “Zeroes?” Or the “Two-Thousands?” Boring and WTF either way.

Even IN the ’90s, we used to say, “It’s the ’90s, baby.” On New Year’s Eve of 1999, I remember partying with some coworkers at a popular resort named after a Roman emperor to Prince’s song “1999” the moment the ball dropped. It was awesome. It was like we knew we’d reached an Apex of Cool and the universe had serendipitously rewarded us with our very own anthem for the year with a song written way back in 1982. How’s that for a pre-expectation of good times? People were excited for the ’90s already in the ’80s. Who the fuck was looking forward to 2009? 2013? 2017? 2023? The current year?

“This the ’80s and I’m down the ladies.”

Then just today I’m driving along and I hear the classic 1989 song “Funky Cold Medina” by Ton-Loc, which includes the line I quoted above. The previous seventies decade may have been the “Me Decade,” but even in Ronald Reagan’s America people were ready to get down. And that was with the Cold War still going on. The “Swinging Sixties” were turbulent, sure, but defined by great music, social changes, and apparently swinging. It was a decade marked by sexual experimentation and liberation. So like the ’70s, ’80s and ‘90’s, it had a certain sex appeal. Then before that you had the “Rockin’ Fifties.” Also known as the “Fabulous Fifties.”

It wasn’t all fun and fornication, of course. You had the “Fighting Forties,” due to WWII. The “Dirty Thirties” thanks to the Great Depression. But before them you had the “Roaring Twenties,” because of the skyrocketing stock market.

Meanwhile, the 2000s, or “Oughts” or “Zeroes” has no real nickname. The “War on Terror Decade?” Too negative. “The Age of Premptive Strikes?” No, too cynical. “The Bush Years.” Come on, man.

Okay, forget the 2000s. Onto the “teens.” Or “twenty-tens.” Or “twenty-teens.” This decade doesn’t even have a proper numerical designation. Can we hope for at least a halfway decent nickname? I’m drawing a blank here. The “Troublesome Teens?” The “Tiresome Tens?” Oh, I know. the “Transformative Teens.” Kind of a catch-all. Plus it subtly alludes to the whole transgender craze starting during the latter part of the decade. And it was a transformative decade, for sure.

Which finally brings us to this decade. The twenties. We’re halfway through and I’ve yet to hear any kind of a definitive nickname. I’ll refer you to my suggestions up at the very top. The “Terrible Twenties” sounds too dramatic. The “Trumpy Twenties” is too specific.

Besides —

We don’t yet know how the next five years will shake out. For all we know, we’re all of us gifted with unicorns that piss gold coins and shit Godiva chocolate in this decade’s latter half. In which case we’d be the “Enchanted Twenties.”

It could maybe be the “Twitter Twenties,” if it hadn’t become X. I like “The Spendy Twenties” best as it alludes to high inflation and the costs for everything getting completely out of control. I went to the supermarket recently and eight chicken wings cost $18. Eighteen dollars. Fuck it, I’ll just eat carpet.

I’m not ready to write off this entire decade just yet. I’m willing to give it a chance. But unlike the ’90s or ’80s, the twenty-twenties has got no vibe. It’s got no aura. No zip. No rizz, as the kids like to say. Frankly, I’m embarassed to be living in it. Especially when I’ve had better. Way better. That’s not good. We need to reset those computers back so they just read two digits again, so we can spring out of this bizarro pocket dimension of identity-less decades and back into our old reality. We should have had the “Duuude-Thousands,” then the “Terrific Teens,” before living smack dab in the middle of the “Friendly Twenties.” Instead, we are lost and adrift, and without a name.

Taylor Swift is Giving Her Fans Amnesia

On By Dean BrooksLeave a comment

And God only knows what she could be doing to Travis Kelce.

Source: Made with Midjourney by the author. Taylor sitting on her pile of gold.

Taylor Swift is a woman of many talents. A global pop queen and beauty icon, serial boyfriend dumper, and one of the OG YouTube success stories. With her massively successful Eras Tour now in its international leg, and her docu-concert movie premiering in theaters this week, Taylor Swift is well on her way to becoming a billionaire.

Well, you can add brain damager to the growing list of her innumerable accolades.

Attendees of Taylor’s Eras Tour concerts are reporting a strange side effect that’s causing them to forget large gaps of her performance.

Fox News reports, according to Dr. Nathan Carroll, a psychiatrist at the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, that this is actually a legit neorological condition called transient global amnesia. Or TGA.

Says Dr. Carroll:

Individuals who experience TGA will attend an event (like a concert, wedding or festival) and later report undeniable gaps in their memory.
For example, during the event, it may look like you’re acting normally and answering questions — but later, you may not recall some of your conversations.
Unlike other amnesias, memory loss is very limited, only lasting about a day, and people don’t forget [autobiographical] information.

In other words, Taylor Swift is so damn good she’s literally blowing people’s minds. Hey, nothing wrong with that, right?

Dr. Carroll goes on to explain that other things like poor sleep, dehydration, anxiety, and anticipation can also cause the brain to blackout portions of activity. Somewhat frightening is also how Swifties don’t even realize TGA is happening to them until much later when they ironically remember that they forgot so much.

TGA reminds me of that weird driving phenomenon called “highway hypnosis.” This is where you drive for long periods of time without recollecting most of the trip. It can happen on short drives from work, or lengthy drives across the state. No doubt blasting “Shake It Off” makes it even worse.

Dr. Soha Salman, another psychiatrist working at the ridiculously wordy Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, also blames other unique aspects of Taylor’s concerts like the nostalgia vibes and the emotional connection fans have to her music.

The doctor mentions how things like elevated blood pressure, stress hormones, and the release of cortisol and adrenaline could also be causing the mass short-circuiting of Swiftie brains.

But it’s what Dr. Salman had to say about the use of cell phones that interested me most:

By simultaneously trying to use your phone and watch the concert, you may overtax your working memory and affect your ability to store those specific memories.

Studies have also found that when we are recording something with our smartphones, we are relying on them to remember for us. This could lead to poorer recall of the event later.

Experiencing concerts and other events through the smartphone is something I’ve noticed has become a bizarre modern trend. I realize many are using social media apps to share what’s happening with their friends. But then aren’t you short-changing yourself by missing out on what’s happening right in front of you by acting as a virtual host? Seems counter-productive and unnecessarily burdensome.

Real friends would tell you to pay attention and enjoy the show, and not worry about sharing every second of it with them. Live in the moment. But then I guess everyone feels entitled these days to digitally inhabit someone else’s point of view. “If phone says I can, then I should,” is the mantra.

People vastly overestimate how much “mental bandwidth” they’re capable of sustaining. And in the case of TGA, they’re overextending themselves and losing their memories in the process.

Not to mention their wallets. Taylor Swift tickets ain’t cheap. At her last U.S. stop at SoFi stadium some tickets were going into the five digits, with the cheapest in the nose bleed sections as much as $700 or more. A hefty price for what turned out to be, well, a forgettable experience.

Ms. Taylor Swift could do her devoted fans a big favor by telling them to put away the phones during the concert. At least for a little while. That is, unless she wants to be forgotten.

Thanks for reading. I’m also a novelist. You can check my books out here.

Make $5000+ a Month With This Fun, Musical Niche

On By Dean BrooksLeave a comment

Niche Knowledge #3: White Bat Audio

Source: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiteBatAudio

Synthwave music has become a popular subgenre of original music on YouTube.

Synthwave is electronic, sort of like modern techno music, generally free of or with limited lyrics, that reflects a certain theme or mood, and often meant to evoke the sci-fi, horror, or action movie genres. It contains themes such as “80’s crime thriller,” “cyberpunk,” or “dark dystopian.”

It’s great to listen to while exercising, studying, getting into the “zone,” or even just relaxing.

Overview

White Bat Audio writes great, original, royalty free and copyright safe synthwave compositions. The artist Karl Casey asks that they be credited “Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio” if their music is used. White Bat Audio’s music can’t be used for remixes, re-recordings with vocals, or simply re-uploaded under another name. However, their music can be used for things like YouTube videos, livestreams, video games, and podcasts, with proper attribution. This even includes videos/projects that are monetized.

Whole albums and songs are available for download on their website, as well as on sites like Spotify and Bandcamp.

White Bat Audio is an active producer, generally uploading content every few days. Their videos come with striking, possibly AI-generated artwork, that makes for very bold and clickable thumbnails, that reflect the mood/genre of the music.

Fo example, here’s a screenshot from a video titled “Cyberpunk Darksynth Remix — Brainscan.”

Source: https://youtu.be/Y_tMyeyBslI

As of now, the channel has 570 uploads, and 135,000 subscribers. Its most popular video, a two-hour Synthwave mix called “L.A. Sunset” has 1.8 million views.

Monetization

According to AK Records, a recording studio based in Albania, musical artists can earn about $6 USD per 1000 impressions on YouTube, from Google Adsense ads. Artists can also generate income through YouTube’s Content ID, which only works for original music. Content ID automatically scans for whenever someone uploads a video using an artist’s music, and then pays the artist a cut from that video’s ad revenue.

Social Blade estimates that White Bat Audio currently makes anywhere from $344-$5,500 a month just from Adsense revenue, and upwards of $66,100 a year. But that’s only one part of the overall revenue potential one can generate in a music niche.

Source: https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/whitebataudio

In addition to selling their music in downloadable packs, White Bat Audio also sells clothing merch on their website.

The channel solicits donations to a PayPal address on its videos.

Interestingly, it does not make use of affiliate links to music or related products. Companies like Bose, and chain stores like Target have affiliate programs, which could potentially provide another source of income for an artist like White Bat Audio. But the channel appears content with its current monetization set-up.

Even without taking advantage of affiliate links, it’s likely the channel till makes a strong, livable income from its music. White Bat Audio uploads frequently enough to indicate the creator either works on the channel full-time, or at least as a dedicated hobby. And there’s no putting a price on the satisfaction that comes from seeing your work used and enjoyed by others.

Niche Deets

Obviously, the synthwave music niche is not for everyone. You have to be able to write music using software or on instruments. But it does show that talented musicians and artists can find a strong and lucrative following on YouTube, no matter how “small” or unusual their particular niche. I had no idea the synthwave subgenre even existed until very recently, and since then, I’ve become a fan.

However, like many other content niches, finding success on YouTube in the music space requires consistency and patience. White Bat Audio has been uploading since June 13, 2017, but only saw significant growth after about three years. Check out the charts below to see what I mean:

Source: https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/whitebataudio/monthly

Views and subscribers didn’t start to ramp up until around late 2020, early 2021. Unlike other niches like cryptocurrency, that can experience sudden massive upticks in popularity whenever Bitcoin starts mooning or a crypto news story goes viral, the growth of a musical subgenre is likely to be more steady and incremental.

And, of course, YouTube is not the only platform in the game. Spotify has a massive user base. According to Ditto Music, Spotify pays anywhere between $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. That’s $3-$5 per 1000 views. There’s the potential for “double-dipping” revenue by cross-posting between YouTube and Spotify, and other platforms as well. Carl Kasey also has almost 62,000 monthly listeners on Spotify in addition to his large YouTube base. And some of his songs, like “Hackers,” have almost 900,000 streams. Even at the low end of the scale, at $0.003 per stream, that might equate to around $2,700 for just the one song, on Spotify alone.

Looking at White Bat Audio’s YouTube, Spotify, download, merch, and PayPal donation income, it’s not hard to see the artist bringing in a six-figure annual income. If the brand used affiliate links, that income could potentially be way higher.

Summary

Synthwave may not be the most lucrative niche to get into speaking strictly in business terms, but that’s besides the point. White Bat Audio makes great original music that millions of people enjoy, and offers their music for free for other content providers to use in their projects.

Based on the views and subscribers charts above, the future looks bright for the channel, and for others in the same space. If you’re a musician or an artist of any kind, YouTube is a powerful platform to use for distribution and exposure. Securing a reliable income may take some time. But once you’ve built even a small audience, there are all kinds of opportunties to leverage that following and become a succesful, working artist.