LDLW

Welcome to the next episode… Over time this intro will take its form and represent something more substantial. It’s a delicate balance to want to keep a newsletter focused, distilled and carefully curated while still adding value with thoughts of my own on a variety of topics. For now, I’ll keep things light and err on the side of brevity.

The theme of the week has been listening to what the world is or has been telling you. This is something I’ve always felt strongly about and lately it feels like the fine tuning knob got twisted just the right amount so that the static is reduced and the signal is clear.

So much of the world we live in and consume from is full of nothing but noise or frequencies being beamed at our brains like waveform guns in a sci-fi film. Put up a forcefield. Shield yourself with just one weapon. Intentionality.

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1️⃣ Something I heard…

FAQ PODCAST: Episode 59 – Young Guru – Sound Advice

In episode 59 Fuzzy and Quincy talk to audio engineer, DJ, producer, record exec and so much more, Young Guru.

Any hip-hop head will know the name Young Guru from his various call outs on a range of Roc-A-Fella Records artists (most notably, Jay-Z). This interview showcases the master of craft that Guru is across various disciplines in the art of creating captivating sound in the form called music.

Several gems throughout, but my two favorite moments in the episode are towards the end (in chronological order vs. importance).

1. One of the hosts dials up Dr. Dre to share with him that Young Guru uses his _2001 _album to sonically tune a studio space. The episode was recorded one week prior to Dre’s Super Bowl halftime show performance. It’s refreshing to hear genuine appreciation between artists that many would assume have ego in the way.
2. When asked how growing older has shifted his thinking and priorities, Young Guru states so eloquently, “You get to a certain point… You stop trying to obtain and you start trying to achieve.” Fuck if that’s not a beautifully distilled summation.

2️⃣ Something I saw…

A boathouse in Southern Tasmania

This beauty came via Linear Magazine’s Twitter feed.

3️⃣ Something I read…

Jony Ive chooses the 12 tools of his trade | Financial Times – www.ft.com

This article has made the rounds, so chances are many of the readers of this newsletter may have already seen it. I’m including it because a) it’s awesome and Jony Ive can use whatever goddamned tool he wants and b) the burried lead is the pen that the FT article doesn’t do justice on just how particular Jony is with his pick.

The article refers to item 7 as “Fountain pen: Vintage pen from Montegrappa” and links to the Montegrappa website. Here’s the link to the acutal pen and oh by the way it’s made from fucking mammoth tusk that’s 70,000 years old.

Cured by nature for more than 70,000 years, ancient mammoth ivory features a rich, organic grain, and a handle echoing epochs predating humankind. Found above the Arctic Circle in the Siberian permafrost, this rare material is ethically sourced and carries its own certificate of origin.

Credit to Brad Dowdy for his investigative research and leveraging his personal relationship with the head of Montegrappa to get to the bottom of this… Not as tough as mining permafrost for mammoth ivory, but close. The story gets covered on episode 513 of his Relay FM podcast The Pen Addict.

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Angles Outside 180 📐

This section is only for the folks that scroll to the bottom of a newsletter the way true fans sit to the end of the credits in a movie hoping for a little more…

• Speaking of burying a lead… Anyone get the “next episode” reference in the opening that forecasts the Dr. Dre 2001 album reference in item 1️⃣?
• Jony’s weather station (tool # 12) looks like it could have been a Braun design from Dieter Rams himself.
• While many of the tools in Jony’s kit are the kind of high-end prices you’d expect from a designer that can afford the best, how many of us are going to order the $3.69 set of hex keys/wrenches so that we can say we’re working with at least 1/12th of Jony’s toolkit when we design anything?