kalm, nieuwsgierig, vastbesloten
What tickles me and gets me going.
He had already ended his life when I first caught on to his music, and this is a cover (original by Leonard Cohen), but ever since I first heard Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley, it has sent shivers down my spine. And it even sometimes makes me cry.
This song encompasses everything a great song needs: wonderful lyrics, great melody, hooks, and nerve-racking delivery.
Careful, do not listen to this song too much!
[spotify:track:5qv0ohJV2QNwga79jLNDYQ]
I read the book inDutch (“Het zijn net mensen”), but it has been published in English as well. Which is great, because it lets me tell you about it on this blog. And I do believe this book os interesting to anyone in the Western world, and perhaps even in the other parts as well 😉
Although this might not be as big an eye-opener as it was when the book was published (2007), it still applies. Any international news that you consume through media channels that are operated by editors, are filtered and keyed towards impact. Not information or knowledge, but the amount of ‘thrill’ or news-worthy-ness decides if the story is broadcast to you. And even then, the story is (most of the times) constructed from bits and pieces of content that were prepared by – get this- the subject itself.
Because regular journalism requires being able to research your sources, check facts, find information. None of that exists in dictatorships. However, the journalist has no means to get that message across to his audience, because it would not constitute ‘news’.
We need to understand that we consume filtered news when we do. We need to realize that, unless we take an interest to the local ways of any place that we hear news from, we cannot really gauge the impact of anything reported. This is a big task for any regular citizen. Luckily, the internet helps us here. There is still hope, if we only make the effort.
[amazon_link id=”184668384X” target=”_blank” ]”Hello Everybody!” on Amazon.com[/amazon_link]
“Het zijn net mensen” op Bol.com
This year, I would like to share with you the people and companies that inspire me. There are plenty to choose from, so I had trouble picking the first one.
Luckily, it is January. And January is the month that Eurosonic Noorderslag Conference takes place in my hometown of Groningen. A music conference, one that I have attended for a lot of years. At first as an aspiring musician, later on as a music industry bystander. Which makes it easy to pick the first person to highlight.
When we thought we were doing pretty wel highlighting the new developments in the Music Industry with our blog Lopend Vuur, all of a sudden we were overtaken by this new blog ‘Eerste Hulp Bij Plaatopnamen‘. With daily posts and keen insight, Niels details all relevant new developments in the Dutch and international music industry. By allowing plenty of room for real life examples from real bands, his blog really has become the main inspiration point for a lot of bands with regards to the way they can take their future into their own hands. The new way.
That is one of Niels’s favorite sayings. He is featured in online content all over the place, but not too much is in English. I found this video, shot at last years Un-Convention Groningen (which, not so incidentally, also takes place this week in Groningen).
While storming past our Lopend Vuur by frantically blogging about the Music Industry, Niels also managed one of The Netherlands biggest music stars of 2009: Kyteman. By putting his money, time and effort where his mouth was, Niels (and the incredible team arond Kyteman) proved that it is posible to really Do It Together, without involvement of traditional Major Labels. Kudos for that.
Niels knows how to talk, but he also is very good at converting the attention he gets into real product. He will be releasing his book “Doorbraak” (Breakthrough) on February 11th, both detailing the story behind Kyteman and documenting the ‘new way to do it in the music industry’. I can’t wait to read it.
Niels’s blog Eerste Hulp Bij Plaatopnamen (Dutch)
