Showing more work
I am very likely to get the "I Want" number for MELISANDE scored by the end of the year, probably even before Christmas, which makes me extremely happy.
(I shouldn't have to explain why this makes me happy, but, you know, doing good work, setting and achieving goals, developing an accurate sense of how much can be completed in a certain amount of time, taking this musical one step closer to its workshop, etc.)
In the meanwhile, I want to share two more bits of work with you:
The first is the latest installment in my monthly personal finance advice column at Vox, titled "Why is money hard?" I ended up writing an extended metaphor on holiday spending, which may be relevant to some of your interests (as the kids used to say).
Nicole Dieker Finley
The second is a cabaret song I wrote in 2011 called "Jingle Bell Geekrock."
Look, it's obvious that what I was told by an industry professional in Los Angeles (back when I was trying to make it as a musician in Los Angeles) is true. "You're a good enough singer," he said, "and a good enough performer, I can tell you've had classical training, but you're not great. However, you might be a great writer. Why don't you try focusing on writing?"
I don't want to say and everything fell into place after that, but it kind of did (and the truth is that it had started falling into place a few months earlier because I had already started pitching and completing my first freelance writing jobs).
The point is that the song is still good even if the performance is only slightly above average, and with that in mind here are the lyrics. Please forgive the imperfect rhymes; I hadn't yet committed to perfect ones.
JINGLE BELL GEEKROCK
JINGLE BELL SCIENCE
JINGLE BELL SEASON THAT SEEMS TO DEFY ITS
HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS NOT TO MENTION ITS RELIGIOUS TENETS TOO
IT'S BECOME
JINGLE BELL SHOPPING
JINGLE BELL STAMPEDES
IN THE NAME OF JINGLE BELL TRADITION WHAT IS IT WITH THESE
INCESSANT PROCESSIONS CONSUMING OUR AIRSPACE
AND PUSHING ALL REASON OUT OF OUR BRAIN
JINGLE BELL FAMILY
JINGLE BELL CHILDREN
AND FOR SOME OF US JINGLE BELL FAITH
AND FOR THE REST OF US JINGLE BELL EVERYONE ELSE IS PARTICIPATING
MIGHT AS WELL GET IN THE RACE BETTER MAKE SOME SPACE 'CAUSE YOU'VE GOT TO PUT ON YOUR CHRISTMAS FACE
JINGLE BELL DON'T ASK QUESTIONS IT ISN'T THE TIME
JINGLE BELL IT'S TIME TO GET IN LINE
AND SWALLOW YOUR STATEMENTS AND BUY STOCKING STUFFERS
PRETENDING YOU DON'T KNOW BASIC ECONOMICS
NEVER MIND DOUBT AND NEVER MIND PROOF
IT'S TIME TO GO PUT UP THE LIGHTS ON THE ROOF
AND HOPE AT LEAST THIS YEAR YOU GET SOMETHING AWESOME
LIKE HAN SOLO FROZEN IN CARBON-ICE
AND I DON'T KNOW ANYONE
EXCEPT FOR THE CHILDREN
WHO LOOK AT CHRISTMAS AS ANYTHING BUT A TEST OF FAITH
SO FOR THE REST OF US WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO FOR THE REMAINING
[NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS] MORE DAYS
AND THEN TWELVE MORE DAYS
AND THEN THREE HUNDRED FIFTY FOUR MORE DAYS
WELL JINGLE BELL MY SKEPTICS
JINGLE BELL MY REASONERS
JINGLE BELL IT'S TIME TO ACCEPT THE SEASON
AND DRINK UP THE EGGNOG UNLESS YOU'RE A VEGAN
AND SING HOLIDAY SONGS EVEN IF THE WORDS ARE WRONG
IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, YOU KNOW THAT FEELINGS JUST COME FROM YOUR BRAIN
SO LET THE NEURONS DO THEIR THING AND DON'T COMPLAIN
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT, YOU JUST HAVE TO SHOW UP
'CAUSE ALL TOO SOON IT WILL ALL BE DIFFERENT
AFTER ALL, CHRISTMAS HAS ONLY BEEN LIKE THIS FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS
BUT EVERY DAY WE UNDERSTAND THE WORLD A LITTLE BIT MORE
AND WE'VE GOT TO BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH WILL PERSEVERE
WE'VE GOT TO BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE WILL PERSEVERE
WE'VE GOT TO BELIEVE THAT REALITY WILL FORCE ITS WAY TO THE TOP AND PERSEVERE
SO JINGLE BELL GEEKROCK
JINGLE BELL SCIENCE
JINGLE BELL HOLD YOUR TONGUE AND SMILE
AND FIND EVERY WAY THAT YOU CAN TO ENJOY IT
'CAUSE SOON ENOUGH IT'LL ALL BE GONE
ALL OF THOSE IMPULSES THAT YOUR BRAIN IS TURNING INTO A NARRATIVE WILL SOON BE GONE
EVERYTHING IS MOVING ON!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
EVERYTHING IS MOVING ON!