A few mornings ago, I was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, watching the movie Rushmore. The house was quiet in that sweet way it only is before your ten year old child wakes up. Then you hear the wrestling noise… boom boom boom… down the stairs, hair messy, eyes half open, and he looks at the screen and says,
“Is this Harry Potter?”
I laughed. “No, bud. This is one of Daddy’s favorite movies… Rushmore.” .. He then says.. "Can I turn on Youtube."
In a slight panic, I thought: Oh my gosh… am I failing him in the great canon of childhood? Sure, he’s seen Toy Story. He knows the Minions. But he’s never seen, nor read, Harry Potter. I’ve never walked through Middle earth either. In fact one time when I worked at Science Center of Iowa I was made fun of for not catching a Harry Potter reference from some of my co-workers.. My son is quite versed, though, on 35 year old YouTube influencers playing Fortnite and vintage sports highlights from before he was born. We all have our own bag to fill.
One of the greatest things about parenting is getting to share music and art with him that I love.
Here’s something I’m learning, though.
There is no expiration date on being exposed to earth shattering, spine tingling art.
Years ago, I put Labi Siffre on one of my album covers. I was obsessed with him, still am. I discovered him on Pandora around 2009, and the hunt was on for his records. Those years I was traveling a lot on tour, and I would walk into any record store in America, let's say.. Amoeba Records in San Francisco and ask the clerks if they had any Labi Siffre records. They’d stare at me like I was an alien from another planet.
“How do you spell that?”
“Who is that?”
And I’d think: How do you not know this? You work at a record store.. This shit is incredible.
For years, it felt like carrying a secret. I wanted everyone to hear. I wanted the world to feel what I felt.
And now… present day… suddenly, because of TikTok and Instagram, Labi is everywhere on my feed. People are discovering him every day. Years ago, this might have pissed me off. But instead of feeling possessive, it warms my soul. It feels right. One good thing the internet can do. Exposing legions of people to great art. It doesn’t matter that they’re late to the party. There is no late. There’s only the moment when the song finally finds you or you find the song.
That’s what I’ve realized being a parent for ten years. Trust me, I’m so guilty of being that guy who would say, “What the fuck, you’ve never heard of Laura Nyro?” or “You’ve never seen 8½?” Just like those Science Center co-workers of mine with Harry Potter.
Sometimes you need to realize… the art will wait for you.
This morning it hit me again because we released a new episode of the Soldiers of Sound podcast on Discograffiti. I got to participate in this episode with Rudy Fischmann and our Australian friend Adem Kerimofski. Adem exposed us to the Australian indie rock band from the 90s called Custard, True they are from halfway around the world, but I was still surprised I somehow had never heard of them. And.. guess what they’re incredible. I love that. I love that there are still entire worlds of music from my supposed “era” of Indie Rock that I have no clue about. Thank you for showing me Adem Kerimofski
Rudy’s mind was also blown when he found out one of the members of Custard is a voice actor on the kids show Bluey, a show he and his daughters adore watching together. That connection. That bridge between generations. That’s the magic.
Again, my son knows about Bluey. We have just never watched it. And that’s okay. We still have time.
We don’t have to use what we’ve seen or heard as the CURRENCY OF COOLNESS.
There’s this temptation, especially in creative circles, to treat art like social capital. “Oh, you haven’t seen that?” “You don’t know this band?” As if knowledge equals status.
But over the years and countless asshole moments.. I’ve learned that’s not what art is for.
Art isn’t currency. It’s communion.
I always try to tell my son it’s more important to try to create more than you consume. I honestly believe that. But consuming art, letting it wash over you, surprise you, shape you, that matters too. It teaches you what moves you. And more importantly it helps you figure out what you want to make.
Some of my favorite moments in life have been when someone handed me a record, a film, a book, and said, “You need this in your life.” And it’s the best feeling getting to do that for someone else.
Not as cred or a flex. Not as proof that I was there first. But as a gift.
That’s the only currency that matters to me.
And if someone hasn’t heard or seen it yet?
They are the lucky ones…
It just means they still have time to discover it.
Listen to the brand new episode of the Discograffiti Soldiers Of Sound Podcast right here. https://www.patreon.com/posts/246a-soldiers-of-151345357...
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