When You Were Young
I saw The Killers a few years ago. They ended the night with When You Were Young, but before they played it Brandon talked for a bit.
He said when they come off a huge first album and were writing for the follow up, they were more than a bit lost. Immense pressure. What kind of album, what type of songs come after an album like Hot Fuss.
Then, a few months into the process, at the tail end of an unremarkable writing session the bass player started tinkering with some chords. It changed the room, everyone came to life. It was When You Were Young.
Brandon said, “That’s when we knew everything was going to be ok”.
If you’re an artist you’ve been to the depths, not knowing where to go next or what to write next. Thinking that all the good songs have already been taken. There is nothing left. Having unremarkable writing session after unremarkable writing session.
And then you uncover an ace, you’ve reached the clearing beyond the fog, the joy and the magic have not left the building or your career…and finally everything is going to be ok.
Forgiveness and Consistent Details
Give your fans a little slack, a little grace. Forgive them. They’re not going to get everything that you do. They’re not going to pick up on every heartfelt nuanced detail that you pack into your thing.
And when they don’t get it, don’t dumb it down.
Keep doing it. They’re with you. Be consistent. They’ll get more of it.
Unexpected Familiar
The Fear Of Missing Out
It’s always available and you’re always right: there is indeed something else going on that is better, more exciting, more stimulating than what you are currently doing.
Something that’s always available and you always get to be right about can be a pretty tough offer to pass up. It’s ever present fuel.
But I don’t think it’s the type of fuel you were hoping for.
In all that fear of missing out, what actually gets missed is the beauty of happening now.
The Gift Of The Last Step
The last step on to the stage.
That last step does something, gives you something, uncovers something unlike any other step.
The last step from the dark into the spotlight, admitting you want to be up there, that you have the nerve to put on a show. It’s a mind warp.
What a gift. And the last step isn’t look for a thank-you, it just wants you to go out there and deliver.
»» The Coldplay documentary is still streaming on Amazon Prime and right towards the beginning see if you catch what Chris Martin does on the last step getting on stage.