What an amazing time to be a human.

It's a GD dumpster fire with sparkles and unicorns.

I was listening to a podcast today! Is that the new "toast with avocado"?

Anyway, I was driving into the BIG city, navigating my way while tuning into a music podcast. The host, an English fellow with a delightfully quirky demeanor—think proper tea and biscuits—was interviewing a music engineer I hadn't heard of, discussing a band I "kind of" knew and a specific album. Despite my limited familiarity, I was intrigued.

As they chatted, I became excited to check out the album. WOW. It was everything I’d want in a record. The layering of samples, the beats, the pacing, and tone—it all came together with thought, intelligence, and a dash of delightful weirdness. I'll add it to the EAR HOLE section for you to discover.

This album was released in 1991. It’s now 2024—33 years later. That's the magic of music. This album has been out there, filling ear holes, inspiring people, creating memories, and lighting up dance floors, and only now am I discovering it.

It got me thinking about the interconnectedness of everything. Without the technology to create podcasts from home, would I have ever found this gem? Thanks to the World Wide Web, I was able to link up to a satellite, streaming the podcast to my phone while driving. That phone has revolutionized how we interact with the world—and each other, or maybe more accurately, how we don't.

Let’s give the phone a break for a minute. It’s more about the apps that consume our time. I remember my first iPhone; it didn't hold me hostage like today's distractions do.

And then there’s the podcast streaming through my car speakers via Apple CarPlay. Remember the days of tape adapters for CD players? Someone had to design that phone, that car, the microphone used in the podcast, and the cable that charges my phone. Someone built the road I was driving on, decided we should drive on the right, and invented the steering wheel. It's all interconnected.

We are all connected. It's part of our shared human experience.

Now, I have a favor to ask. Go out and see some live music this month. Support a musician, an artist. They’re out there, fighting the good fight, even as Spotify and the tech giants try to squeeze them out. They do it for the love of connecting with people, sharing energy in a room full of fellow humans. They are brave, carrying their gear from home to car to venue and back, night after night. How incredible is that?

So there I was, listening to this podcast, driving to meet friends because we're planning to take over an art gallery. Our goal? To create a space for real human interaction, to see, feel, hear, and touch art. I’m listening to that inspiring album as I write this. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Stay tuned for more details about the gallery. For now, just know it’s called IRL MFG. (In Real Life, Manufacturing). Get it? ;)

For all the good and the bad, it's a wild time to be human. Technology is advancing at an incredible pace, reshaping our lives in ways we never imagined. The political climate in the US has shifted dramatically in the last ten days. A former president faced an assassination attempt, the current president stepped down from the race, and now we have a mixed-race female candidate running. That's FKCN crazy and amazing! The times are indeed wild in the streets. Now, if I could just figure out how to make some $$ like these GD kids on social media, things would be alright.

Give the album a listen, and let’s get inspired together.

Are you enjoying these. Please leave a comment and let me know. Do you like the MM Dispatches, or should I stick to the story and get on with it?

Love & Light;

MM

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