093: Music Monday

This week, it's all about music.

1.

Endless Summer — artwork and playlist by Mary O’Neil

From the Community

It's rare to find a designer or illustrator with

Mary

’s stylistic sensibilities, let alone a commitment to that style. By commitment, I mean that she has spent time cultivating her expression, always coming from someplace new yet always acknowledging the inspiration. I've seen designers do work 'inspired by vintage', and I find that a lot of them are either a.) just bad designs or b.) completely derivative of an earlier trend.

A bit harsh? Yes? I know...

Some of you may know that I am a brand designer by trade... so I've developed a certain taste and sensitivity for good design. It's often said that design isn't art, and there's a certain truth to that. Design almost always occurs within a context where it has to fulfil a function - to communicate a message and fundamentally to make you take a specific, practical action e.g. to look, to click, to buy, etc.

While art almost always communicates a message, its interpretation is very much up to whomever is looking, and they will do with it what they will. Art is primarily about the artist's self-expression, and less about its utilitarian function. In other words, art is not a hired gun, in the same way that design is.

BUT. Really good design, I would argue, IS art. And Mary's pieces are a great example.

They're beautifully executed from a design perspective, but they also evoke a certain nostalgia for 'times gone by'. No, I wasn't alive in the 70s or 80s... and in the 90's I was a toddler (as was Mary!). But I am human, and I understand the experience of nostalgia.

I first came to the UK from the Philippines at age 11, and I discovered the joys of a public multi-media library. I would take home in my rucksack as many CDs as I was allowed to check out, and spend entire evenings laying very still on my bedroom floor because my Walkman jumped at the slightest disturbance.

I would 'rip' the albums I loved onto the shared family computer, and make mix CDs for my friends.

When I was a little older, I would spend my weekends rummaging through charity shop bins, looking for 'cool, non-mainstream' music. The selection largely comprised of 'best of' albums from the 60's. Of course, I knew nothing about 'cool music' so I mostly bought stuff because I liked the cover artwork. Turns out - it wasn't a bad way of exploring music.

When I was 21, I bought my first car - a blue Peugeot 406. It only had a cassette player. I invested £5 on a job-lot sale of cassette tapes. It was a sizeable box that took up the entire footwell of the passenger seat. I re-discovered Mariah Carey, Mandy Moore and The Corrs… there was also Neil Young, Dire Straits and Fleetwood Mac.

Anyway...

To me, these designs express an important feature of my adolescence, and so I experience a connection to them and to Mary. It's like... "Oh, hey! You're here too! We're alive in this world at the same time... and you see what I see too."

Mary also has impeccable taste in music, and her curated playlists paired with her original designs are just such rich and delightful experiences.

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2.

Herb Sundays 001 — the first

Herb Sundays

playlist by

Sam Valenti IV

From Substack

Speaking of playlists and impeccable tastes in music... I knew I wanted to share

Herb Sundays

with you in this issue. I spent quite some time deliberating which issue would be 'the one' and just as I was beginning to lose my bearings in the rabbit hole, I came across his very first playlist.

You can find the original post below, where he also shares some thoughtful reflections on how to honour your creative practice (whilst staying sane). 👇🏽

Herb Sundays 001: SV4 + [Notes on 100].

I've been following Sam for some time. I love the eclecticism in what he offers, and how each song is included not for 'coolness kudos' (unlike my mix CDs from senior school) but because it simply moved him that day.

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3.

Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield — by Buffalo Springfield

From the Library

I bought this CD from a charity shop when I was about 19 years old. It was brand new, still in its cellophane sleeve. There was a sticker tag showing its value of £1.00. I liked the artwork... and honestly, I'd had enough of looking through the CD bins and the charity shop smell. I wanted to leave, but I didn't want to do so empty-handed because I had invested too much time in there.

I went home and listened to it on a new, not glitchy, Walkman with a secondhand pair of Sennheiser headphones. Oh my...

I played this album on repeat for months and not once did I ever get bored of it. Within a couple of years, I had scratched the thing to the degree that it was unplayable. Luckily, the likes of Apple Music were on the rise, and Spotify wasn't too far behind.

Anyway... enjoy!

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❤️‍🔥 THE CO-CREATE SPACE MEMBERSHIP ❤️‍🔥

You might have noticed it's been a little quiet here in the last couple of weeks. I've been cooking up a new offering! Introducing the Co-Create Space Membership.

This is a community of powerful creatives who turn vision into reality. It's for artists, musicians, poets, and writers who want to unapologetically put their work out in the world to be seen by the people who value their art.

When I started writing Three Things Weekly, I had a vision of building a community... but I couldn't quite see exactly what that looked like, or what was needed. Two and a half years later, I've come to know certain things. I know that:

🖤 We want community. Creatives (well, humans) are not designed to function in isolation - despite the 'lonely writer' tropes.

🖤 We need accountability and discipline. Turning our creative ideas into reality is something we all want to accomplish, but it can be a long process.

🖤 We cultivate inspiration and curiosity. Creative block is a real thing... but we’re not powerless against it.

🖤 The world needs art, poetry and music... yet these things are not necessary to our survival. Rather, these things are what we survive for. As a society, we have convinced ourselves that art has no 'utilitarian value', yet it's the very thing that feeds our spirit, and connects us all at a deeply human level.

🖤 We want to be seen, valued and loved for our art. And we want to inspire people.

The key to all of that is in having a community of creative allies where you'll find the confidence, accountability and discipline to turn your vision into reality.

Join the waitlist and be the first to know when the doors open. You will get early access and a discounted rate for life ❤️‍🔥.