In The Open

"Statistically speaking, you will die having missed almost everything." This is the sad truth in life. 

I came across this article from NPR from two years ago and it kind of hit a nerve. We all know the days we have in this lifetime are short and precious thus, some of us live it meaningfully while others go batshit crazy and start saying 'YOLO' in attempts to make life more adventurous.

Though the article doesn't actually go that route. It focused more on being well-read and knowledgeable about books, music, and films and how it is physically impossible to know everything especially since new content is being made every second of every minute of every hour. Now that everything is practically handed to us, it is our choice to decide what we'd want to be well-versed in. This is a problem for me because sometimes I feel like I want to watch all episodes of the The Office and Arrested Development or watch all of the classic Doctor Who which is about 695 episodes or know all the words to every Black Keys song and there's at least a hundred of those or watch all of my dad's dvd collection which I can calculate as 200+++. There's so much to be taken in when there's only one of me and 24 hours in a day. That's why sometimes I end up falling asleep at four in the morning while listening to some podcast that I probably wouldn't be conscious by the time it finishes.

Although the reality that I'll die having not known about some film that could've changed my life is a little bit haunting, I guess, the flip slide to all of this is that this just makes life more interesting and giving you something to look forward to. There'll always be something new to discover, new records to excite you, new films that will inspire you, and new books that will bring you to another universe. If I had finished my list of everything I want to see, read, hear, and everything else, then I'll probably end up being bored to death. But then again, I'm pretty sure my list will never stop growing.

Linda Holmes concluded the article well saying,

It's sad, but it's also ... great, really. Imagine if you'd seen everything good, or if you knew about everything good. Imagine if you really got to all the recordings and books and movies you're "supposed to see." Imagine you got through everybody's list, until everything you hadn't read didn't really need reading. That would imply that all the cultural value the world has managed to produce since a glob of primordial ooze first picked up a violin is so tiny and insignificant that a single human being can gobble all of it in one lifetime. That would make us failures, I think.  

If "well-read" means "not missing anything," then nobody has a chance. If "well-read" means "making a genuine effort to explore thoughtfully," then yes, we can all be well-read. But what we've seen is always going to be a very small cup dipped out of a very big ocean, and turning your back on the ocean to stare into the cup can't change that.

Read More. 

 Here's what you missed last week on the radar.

The Lumineers covers Talking Head's This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody). (Listen)

Haim + Lorde is the kind of equation we'd want to see. Thankfully, they've already given us the answer with a cover of Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough. (Listen)  Plus, listen to this dark and edgy cover of Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Lorde for The Catching Fire soundtrack. (Listen)

Disclosure with Nile Rogers and Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes gives us an epic song with Together. (Listen) Also, listen to this new track from Jamie xx. (Listen)

Get to know Kurt Vile with this interview by Pitchfork. (Read) Here's an excerpt.

Pitchfork: As someone who's read a lot of biographies about musicians, does it frustrate you that we're living in an era where one's legacy doesn't have proper time to breathe before it's analyzed?

KV: I've accepted that. It bums me out, but what are you gonna do? Cry about the times changing? They're always changing. Someone can just make up some shit and post it now, but even with all those books, you’re just listening to people retell history the way they remember it when they’re older, so they're not exactly true, either. I mean, magazines are becoming extinct, and I'm finally eligible to be on the cover of a magazine now. But that's just a white man's complaint. In the past, musicians had massive budgets, too-- I would love to have that opportunity. You can’t help being nostalgic, but you can’t turn things back. You've got to be in your own moment.

Have you heard of Arcade Fire's new mandatory dress code yet? Apparently, they want their concertgoers to dress for the occasion. If you're going to one of their shows, will you abide? Also, is this a ridiculous idea or kind of genius like Yeah Yeah Yeah's no cellphone policy? (Read) While we're at the subject of Arcade Fire, watch Win Butler perform Reflektor with a mariachi band. (Watch)