We watch all of our content on streaming services right now, but considering buying a DVD player because our local library has tons of them! Maybe it will feel like going to Blockbuster again which was a childhood experience I loved.
If you do a snail mail exchange I will participate!
Going to Blockbuster really was a ton of fun. I think streaming makes it hard to accidentally discover shows/movies that are next to the one you’re looking for. The chance encounter is lost.
Mailing Things - I'm going there as a recording and visual artist. I think about the effect that direct mail marketing works on me. I don't need anybody cremated or the lawn fertilized, but it's on my mind. What if I was getting odd art things in the mail? I would definitely spend time with them.
Love the line "Inefficiency has value." I think about that too in terms of restraints. Being unable to 'efficiently' do something or use the correct tools is a boon for creativity, in my opinion!
Also someone looped me in to this newsletter 'cause you were asking about ways to discover music and movies without an algorithm. Yesterday I wrote up a list of ways to listen/discover music without Spotify so perhaps our brains were synced up! I know how much of a faux pas it is to barge in and link your own work in someone else's comment section BUT... if you wanted to take a gander, amble over to my Substack and you'll find it under 'most recent posts' 🌈🏔
So many things have been discovered / invented because someone had to figure out a way to do a thing because they didn’t have the right tools or whatever.
I actually already had that tab open lol so I’ll be looking! Thank you
- find some good radio stations. if you don't have any locally, get the radio garden app. I keep my car tuned to three stations here in Austin, and I never listen to my phone or cds when I'm driving: (KUTX, our public music station, KOOP, our community station, and KMFA classical)
- record store! I've been to 3 this week. here's one in Madison that looks good: https://strictlydiscs.com
- I actually skim the NYTimes watching newsletter every week. it's sort of normie, but I come across good stuff.
- follow individual critics on social, etc. I like Stephanie Zacharek and Matt Zoller Seitz for film and P. Maciak for TV: https://pjmaciak.substack.com (that's just a few off the top of my head)
Most important, I think, is to keep a little apple note or a notebook with all the things you've been meaning to try. I have an app called Reelgood that I use for keeping track of TV and Movies. (I think Letterbox is the obvious thing most people use.)
From your tabs to mine! 🤩 Seeing many things I also love (I just devoured Amelia’s zines about artist publishing), but spotting new things too. Your animation collab this month is an absolute joy. 🖍️
Great post. So many great links in here! Thanks for sharing. Always loved the idea of snail mail zines, postcards and flyers. I’ve been writing up my zine making journey from over the years and hoping to get make new ones soon!
Love mailart… used to participate regularly years ago, but haven’t in a while. I am game for joining any groups doing it.
Regarding dishing the algorithm, I recently bought a lot of 335 books for $8 at auction and it was a wonderful find. It was from an estate, and it was really interesting to think about the people who brought these books together.
Oh, what a shame mailing from one continent to another has become so expensive! I’d love a snail mail club too! There’s something different happening when you draw or make physically something for another human being. The mindset changes, and I miss that sensation. Plus, thanks for the links and inspiration!
Did you ever hear of a website called Nervousness? I stumbled on it in college and it was essentially a collective of people creating via the mail. Artist cards, zines, traveling journals, penpals. It was amazing. It went defunct long ago, a result of the people who took it over making it far too structured. I’d love to participate in something like that again.
Also, there is a social media app for creatives called New Digital Commune. I have an account but haven’t done anything with it (mostly because it doesn’t have a desktop component) but I should take a look and see where it’s at in development.
I have not heard of Nervousness, but it sounds cool. That’s what I would be interested in doing. It might be hard to find that balance of structure and freedom, but probably worth some trial and error.
I’m here for all of this, but namely the snail-mail exchange! Keep noodling, please. You’re always introducing me to new ways to make art, so thanks for the little idea dump!
I'm on a similar journey: Disentangling from Big Tech, making zines, and working on ideas for some sort of print club for paying subscribers. The future is physical media (or so I choose to believe)! Btw love the animation, especially after learning how it was made!
For movies and music, just about any thrift store these days will have DVD players for less than $20 and shelves filled with dvd and cd titles. Lots of great and random possibilities. While I do still stream things, I supplement with thrifted music, movies, and definitely loads of books.
We’ve been going to thrift stores more often recently and I’m realizing they all have huge stacks of DVDs for like $1. You just have to spend the time going through all of them.
Here's how I avoid the online entertainment stream:
I got a new-in-the-box DVD player at a yard sale. My library has tons of DVDs and CDs. I also got a CDROM that lets me rip CDs to my computer. I find DVDs and CDs at yard sales and never pay more than a buck for them. Little Free Libraries are also good.
I’ve started getting some DVDs from the library and that has been a treat. Sometimes they take a while to become available and it’s a little surprise when it finally shows up.
What a trove! Thanks for sharing so much great stuff. Might be just what I needed to get out of a rut. Zines on the way BTW.
Got your package! Thank you Mark
We watch all of our content on streaming services right now, but considering buying a DVD player because our local library has tons of them! Maybe it will feel like going to Blockbuster again which was a childhood experience I loved.
If you do a snail mail exchange I will participate!
Going to Blockbuster really was a ton of fun. I think streaming makes it hard to accidentally discover shows/movies that are next to the one you’re looking for. The chance encounter is lost.
Mailing Things - I'm going there as a recording and visual artist. I think about the effect that direct mail marketing works on me. I don't need anybody cremated or the lawn fertilized, but it's on my mind. What if I was getting odd art things in the mail? I would definitely spend time with them.
I think that’s why companies still use direct mail. There’s something about getting something in the mail that is hard to shake.
Hi Mitchell!
Love the line "Inefficiency has value." I think about that too in terms of restraints. Being unable to 'efficiently' do something or use the correct tools is a boon for creativity, in my opinion!
Also someone looped me in to this newsletter 'cause you were asking about ways to discover music and movies without an algorithm. Yesterday I wrote up a list of ways to listen/discover music without Spotify so perhaps our brains were synced up! I know how much of a faux pas it is to barge in and link your own work in someone else's comment section BUT... if you wanted to take a gander, amble over to my Substack and you'll find it under 'most recent posts' 🌈🏔
So many things have been discovered / invented because someone had to figure out a way to do a thing because they didn’t have the right tools or whatever.
I actually already had that tab open lol so I’ll be looking! Thank you
Anti-algorithm ideas:
Music:
- find some good radio stations. if you don't have any locally, get the radio garden app. I keep my car tuned to three stations here in Austin, and I never listen to my phone or cds when I'm driving: (KUTX, our public music station, KOOP, our community station, and KMFA classical)
- record store! I've been to 3 this week. here's one in Madison that looks good: https://strictlydiscs.com
- try an individual show like Walter Martin: https://www.waltermartinmusic.com
Movies/TV:
- I actually skim the NYTimes watching newsletter every week. it's sort of normie, but I come across good stuff.
- follow individual critics on social, etc. I like Stephanie Zacharek and Matt Zoller Seitz for film and P. Maciak for TV: https://pjmaciak.substack.com (that's just a few off the top of my head)
Most important, I think, is to keep a little apple note or a notebook with all the things you've been meaning to try. I have an app called Reelgood that I use for keeping track of TV and Movies. (I think Letterbox is the obvious thing most people use.)
OH: THE LIBRARY! The recently returned shelf.
From your tabs to mine! 🤩 Seeing many things I also love (I just devoured Amelia’s zines about artist publishing), but spotting new things too. Your animation collab this month is an absolute joy. 🖍️
Ha! We’re just passing tabs around. I’m glad you like the animation. It’s fun to try and figure out ways to get him involved.
Great post. So many great links in here! Thanks for sharing. Always loved the idea of snail mail zines, postcards and flyers. I’ve been writing up my zine making journey from over the years and hoping to get make new ones soon!
Thanks Vaughn! A couple friends and I used to send postcards to each other and it was so great getting a personal note amid the junk mail.
Love mailart… used to participate regularly years ago, but haven’t in a while. I am game for joining any groups doing it.
Regarding dishing the algorithm, I recently bought a lot of 335 books for $8 at auction and it was a wonderful find. It was from an estate, and it was really interesting to think about the people who brought these books together.
That’s a lot of books! I think discovering new things involves just taking a chance on some things. Like 335 books.
It was a no-brainer for the price, I am looking for a home for the full box of French language books.
Oh, what a shame mailing from one continent to another has become so expensive! I’d love a snail mail club too! There’s something different happening when you draw or make physically something for another human being. The mindset changes, and I miss that sensation. Plus, thanks for the links and inspiration!
Yes! “I’m making this for (insert name)” is something quite different.
Thanks for the shout-out! great post!
This has triggered my semiannual urge to rework my website. THANKS MITCHELL!
SURE THING!
Did you ever hear of a website called Nervousness? I stumbled on it in college and it was essentially a collective of people creating via the mail. Artist cards, zines, traveling journals, penpals. It was amazing. It went defunct long ago, a result of the people who took it over making it far too structured. I’d love to participate in something like that again.
Also, there is a social media app for creatives called New Digital Commune. I have an account but haven’t done anything with it (mostly because it doesn’t have a desktop component) but I should take a look and see where it’s at in development.
I have not heard of Nervousness, but it sounds cool. That’s what I would be interested in doing. It might be hard to find that balance of structure and freedom, but probably worth some trial and error.
I’m here for all of this, but namely the snail-mail exchange! Keep noodling, please. You’re always introducing me to new ways to make art, so thanks for the little idea dump!
Sure thing! Thanks for the feedback, Emily
I'm on a similar journey: Disentangling from Big Tech, making zines, and working on ideas for some sort of print club for paying subscribers. The future is physical media (or so I choose to believe)! Btw love the animation, especially after learning how it was made!
I hope you’re right!
For movies and music, just about any thrift store these days will have DVD players for less than $20 and shelves filled with dvd and cd titles. Lots of great and random possibilities. While I do still stream things, I supplement with thrifted music, movies, and definitely loads of books.
We’ve been going to thrift stores more often recently and I’m realizing they all have huge stacks of DVDs for like $1. You just have to spend the time going through all of them.
Time digging for good stuff in thrift stores is the appeal of thrift stores to me. Like crate digging in record shops.
Here's how I avoid the online entertainment stream:
I got a new-in-the-box DVD player at a yard sale. My library has tons of DVDs and CDs. I also got a CDROM that lets me rip CDs to my computer. I find DVDs and CDs at yard sales and never pay more than a buck for them. Little Free Libraries are also good.
I’ve started getting some DVDs from the library and that has been a treat. Sometimes they take a while to become available and it’s a little surprise when it finally shows up.