On social media, I said I sounded like I was writing an essay, so I thought I might as well expand on my thoughts. Whether that bores you to death or not, is up to you — but onto the business at hand…
Fellow artist and creative, Joe Goodall, has released another single this week, called ‘Coffee Shop Dates’. You can stream it on platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube.
Believe it or not, I only came across Joe and his music about a week ago, if that. I connected with the fact that he is nineteen (a year or so younger than me), and trying to break out into the music industry as an independent artist. It is honestly quite a struggle to build an audience, and create a community. So, whenever I come across creatives that I feel I can support and connect with, I must do that. In other words, creatives must support each other because we all — to a greater or lesser extent — understand the struggles of trying to get our work to be seen, heard, enjoyed, and to be discussed.
What struck me the most about Coffee Shop Dates was the fact that it is very upbeat and refreshing. As soon as it begins playing there is a feeling of clarity, a feeling that things will get better. It's this sort of song that you could play at 3am for a boogie (if you felt so inclined).
As much as an artist can — obviously — create art, to a certain extent it is up to the consumer to connect with that piece, and interpret it in a way that best resonates with them. In turn, that adds extra texture, extra layers. In a way, we could say that an artist is a facilitator. For example, although this song is upbeat, for me there is also an undercurrent of sadness, in terms of figuring out our purpose, and figuring out where we stand in life; regardless of the ‘true’ meaning. To further cement my point about the interpretation of art: if we break down the idea of a painting, it is just a combination of colours on a canvas — so why should it mean anything? It is the way that we interpret the colours, the meaning, and why the artist has created said piece of work, that creates that resonance. At the core of the song (as you can perhaps guess!), are the themes of romance, connection, and looking for the people or people right for you — and that is something that all of us can understand in our different ways.
Once we connect with a piece, we want to share it with others, because we want to share that love, we want to share that passion. From there, a snowball effect is created; the more people that connect with the piece, the more people that are going to share it. This general sense of community and mutual understanding is built. I feel that is what is most beautiful about music, and any creative practice; the way that we can take our own insights, our own feelings, our own experiences, and turn them into something that other people can enjoy and relate to. After an artist has done their work, it is up to the listeners, readers, and audience, to make their own judgements. By extension, discussions are formed surrounding broader situations that affect everyone.
What I'm trying to say is: stream it, help Joe out. Because he's worked hard on this single, and it brings with it a sense of good. Something that we could all do with in these times I feel this song could appeal to a lot of people: it's just a matter of finding those people and encouraging them to engage with it. Once they do, they won't regret it.
The lack of cohesion in this blog post is testament to how many thoughts I have, and how much the piece resonated with me on so many levels. So please excuse the perhaps messy nature of this blog, but also take this as a sign.
Also take the fact that Joe never once asked me to write about it — listening to the song itself spurred me on to write this blog post (as in, I NEED TO WRITE ABOUT THIS!). I literally picked up my phone and started dictating this blog post as soon as I had listened to the song a few times. That is testament to the power of this song. That is testament to the power of music. That is testament to the power of creativity.
You can check out Joe's Instagram and music here.
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