One Thousand Word Challenge 137: Search for Inspiration

They sat there, staring off into a proverbial space, hoping that something would come to them, yet nothing would, for the only way that they were going to be able to proceed was to actually begin, and yet they felt no ability to do so for they wanted that big idea, that big motivation to get them going.

At the very least, a tiny, faint spark was enough for them to get moving, but it was not to be on that particular day and so staring off into a proverbial space was the most that they could muster.

It was going to be a long day and that exacerbated length was entirely of their own creation.

After much nothing for a while, they decided that it would be better to get up and not look at their screen, or anything within the vicinity of the screen. Maybe they needed to take a bit of a break and let the inspiration come from them as the inspiration wasn’t arriving through attempts at conjuring it into a state of existence. They got up, stretched, then walked away.

It was raining quite heavily outside and so there was little in the way of being able to leave the house without getting wet, even with a raincoat and umbrella. Going to the car would alleviate that a little, but it seemed a little too dangerous to drive. Therefore, the only course of action that seemed like the best was to amble throughout the house and see all that had been seen before.

They walked to the rear room where the rain seemed to be at its loudest. Looking out one of the windows, they could see that part of the backyard, due to its being covered in concrete, was filling with water. There was a drainage channel, but it was not large enough to allow all of the water to flow out at fast enough a rate, though this too had to do with vegetation growing around the channel’s entrance and so often when it rained heavily enough this particular part of the backyard would fill up and sometimes flow into the rear neighbour’s place where it would find another part of the drainage channel.

The rain itself was almost deafening, but try as it might, it never reached those levels. Still, it cast a sense of darkness across the room. There still was plenty of visibility, of course, but it was almost as though the day was approaching evening. It seemed gloomy and abrasive, yet quiet and relaxing all the same.

After a while of staring out and not finding anything, they decided to head to another room and see if there was anything else that could possibly spark something. Had they already started writing at this point and the inspiration would’ve come to them, but of course they kept putting it off and of course there was nothing flowing forward from their hands.

The living room seemed more still than usual. Once the record player’s amplifier stopped working the room saw a lot less use, but among the backdrop of the rain there was a greater stillness. It felt used yet untouched. There was nothing that was going t9o happen in that room on this particular day that could lead to anything. No amount of thumbing through records or looking at books was going to change anything and so the room would see the disturbance leave eventually.

More slow wandering occurred and through each room there was the sensation of passing through, though not without pause in each one. The search for anything that could ignite some sort of momentum toward creativity was fruitless and would remain as such, yet still they persisted in their attempts to get something going.

Eventually, after long enough they opened the front door and sat on the patio. It was slightly shaded and sheltered, for only part of it would avoid the sun and that part depended on the time of day. Of course it this also meant that it didn’t do much to avoid the rain. Depending on the heaviness, the small space would likely end up with a fair bit of water within. It was possible to stay dry for a while, though that depended on how uncomfortably you’d want to be on a chair. They did not feel a need, nor a desire to feel uncomfortable and so, not long after sitting down they got back up and stood in the doorway for a while.

The street was still visible, but the rain was thick and heavy and it seemed as though everything might eventually wash away. Still, it was quieter at this end of the house, though that likely had more to do with this part having the roof constructed from tiles rather than some mishmash of corrugated materials. It seemed more peaceful and perhaps more banal, and of course it offered absolutely nothing in the way of trying to get that small bit of inspiration which could be grown into an idea or concept that would drive the desire to write and guide things forward.

After a while they shot the door and headed back to their room. There was nothing on offer that they felt they could use and so they decided that perhaps the best way forward was to keep sitting at their computer and spend the time thinking in an attempt to will something into existence. To them it seemed that if wandering around the house didn’t provide anything, then perhaps they would be better served doing what they were originally doing, and so resuming that pathway to nothingness is what they did.

They sat there, looking at things within the vicinity whilst running things through their head, hoping for something to jump forward, though of course nothing did. They thought and thought and through that thinking the day passed on by, though not without not entering a single word onto the bright screen in front of them.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 17:20:67

Relatively slow and somewhat dull, but I’m fine with that for now.
I was looking more to express some sort of boredom, I think. Maybe.

Written at home.

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Mass of Vegetation

This was taken whilst in The Blue Mountains a few months ago.

Bit of a contrast in this one, I think. A lot of detail against very little.
Feels chaotic.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week.
I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit.

A lot of what people are submitting will likely end up here.

I hope you enjoy.

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From Somewhere out the Back: Deep Shape Blue by nenem

This was started three days ago.
Most of the writing came easy, but there also was a lot of searching I had to do for the preamble which probably took the majority of the time spent on this. Comparatively, the editing took very little. Fixed up quite a number of things but they were easy and obvious fixes.

Anyway, not my best writing and not my worst.

Most of my interview and review work now appears on Culture Eater.
My colleague and I set up a Patreon to further develop Culture Eater as a source of good quality arts coverage from both ourselves and our contributors.

We’re looking at what we can give to supporters as we don’t want to set up a one way relationship, so suggestions are welcome. Podcast Eater is one of the things we’ve got going and (aside from the next few weeks) new episodes are available through there first.

Please consider supporting, or at least sharing the Patreon page with others. Please also check out what our wonderful contributors are contributing.

I hope you enjoy.

The first nenem song I heard was “Oar”.

It was on Sunday whilst I was going through a playlist of math rock someone had put together. I’d been skimming through a few for a couple of days just to see if anything caught my fancy; Perhaps a poor way of doing some things, but valid nonetheless.

Anyway, I heard “Oar” and found it quite effective. It’s a jazzy song that has this sort of relaxed flow whilst also containing a good deal of energy. You can dance easily enough to it; you can also let it move you with its sense of emotional sway. It’s a song that shows a group confident in a gradual build and flow as well as playing with ideas of progression. The pauses are all in the right moment, as is the angular wah bass section. It’s a song from a group that keep looking forward whilst knowing when to come in and fall back; a group playing as a unit. But perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

What I’ve seen suggests that there’s little out there about nenem. Their website no longer exists, though it appears it may as well have shut down well before it actually did. It also appears that their last gig was in 2015. There seems to be no recording of said gig, but there is one of a gig from the same year.

From what I’ve read, they were a group of respected musicians. The members (and some bands / artists they work[ed] with) were:

The group referred to themselves as a rock movie band which makes sense as their music is quite cinematic in places. It also speaks volumes about the importance of the visuals aspect of their music.

Outside of Deep Shape Blue and Cool Dawn Place (an album they released in 2008) the group released two demos and appeared on a compilation (one of the tracks found on the aforementioned album). However, Cool Dawn Place is the only other release of theirs that remains available.

Deep Shape Blue is a mini album, which feels like a different way of saying EP. Of course the definitions of album, mini album and EP seem loosely and sometimes arbitrarily defined by track amount and sometimes runtime, considering that, for example, Jesu’s Heart Ache is an EP and Kind Crimson’s Discipline is an album.

What constitutes an album, mini album and EP probably speaks more about the intent of the artist (or record label) and how they want to present their work more than anything else, but I digress.

Deep Shape Blue came out on the fourteenth of January 2009; nenem played the launch show nine days later. Cool Dawn Place was a more energetic release with some chilled, relaxed moments; Deep Shape Blue seemed to have taken the chilled side of nenem’s music, as well as the jazzier elements and pushed them forward.

There’s a fair bit of focus throughout Deep Shape Blue; it’s a release with a sense of coolness and smoothness, but nenem don’t rely on that. Instead they make use of a great deal of interplay, with rhythm as the dominant driving force. There’s also a sense of the relaxed and energetic running throughout, neither at odds with each other. On each track nenem really lean into what they’re doing whilst holding back from going full bore; There’s enough sound for each track, but nothing feels sparse.

“Granada” reinforces that cool without leaning heavily on it; it’s just a byproduct. Keys and guitar move around each other whilst bass plays thick and percussion rides the snare. At times the song feels a little funky; at others more jazzy, but it keeps itself the right amount of upbeat throughout. However, it gets a bit more dancy in places and alters the melody enough to keep progression going whilst retaining familiarity to the opening sounds. At the end nenem refuse to go into a full-on climax; They instead ride a metaphorical wave and really get their groove on whilst some kind of folding noise absorbs them. After this occurrence a gentle and delicate reflection of what came before plays the song’s end.

“Fjord” starts things a little more gentle, with echoing keys shimmering out and off into somewhere. Then moving bass comes in and takes away any suggestion that this is going to be a peaceful song, though of course it isn’t violent either. Once the percussion and guitar come in a steady rhythm flows forward. At points nenem shifts and the keys tighten up, dancing on the rhythm for a bit before the song sort of cycles back. “Fjord” doesn’t really look for many diversions; it prefers to flow linearly through a tight performance.

“Desertdub” kind of sticks out a bit, considering the three prior-mentioned tracks seemingly come from the same kind of world. The various genre influences come together neatly whereas here nenem play a fairly straightforward dub / reggae track. It’s slow, relaxed and very precise if that makes sense. Even when it “picks up” in the “chorus” sections it remains very relaxed. The song has this openness to it, and guest Tabu Zombie’s almost lonesome, smooth trumpet further builds a setting through providing narration. It’s an easy piece to listen to and makes more sense upon repeat listens of the whole mini album.

Well, that covers Deep Shape Blue, but what about the title track? Well, it is as far and away from the other tracks as it is close. “Deep Shape Blue” starts with a quiet loop. Soon keys come on, keeping space and emphasising. Steady bass follows, flowing and driving forward; guitar adds softly moving harmonics. The percussion enters, playing with clear, striking hi-hat / kick / snare interplay.

During the “chorus” sections more texture and tone come to the forefront. Keys slowly descend and the guitar plays with a bit more electricity to provide more definition and breadth.

By the second “verse” the song’s language changes and now strings come in, gliding along with the groove, adding more range and drama. The guitar provides a bit more layering over what it was doing before, though through a different playing method. Slowly and gradually the song seems to unfurl and progress, carrying the sense of landscape, quietness and solitude. The string sounds emphasise without overtaking, functioning more as a punctuation, though all of this is not to last.

“Deep Shape Blue” is a great, calm track that carries mood well. It’s cinematic, pretty and atmospheric, and flows with great ease. This said, at one point it becomes something akin to a disco track in a manner that almost feels off. The bass suddenly plays with wah and the music becomes livelier and far less about mood and atmosphere, but it doesn’t necessarily feel brash or aggressive. It still remains pretty; Maybe nenem felt a need to expand upon the track that added contrast. The section is an interesting inclusion and makes more sense upon repeat listens; It’s also relatively brief and disappears in time for the song to return to its opening notes before fading out.

If there is one specific thing that weighs down Deep Shape Blue, it’s that the mix / master is quite loud. To be fair, this is a bass-heavy release; it was probably going to sound loud in places regardless of the end result. That said, these songs need more space than what was provided. Still, their quality comes through, and so it should as this mini album came from a group that knew how to get the most out of their performance.

At no point does nenem go for an easy payoff which ends up paying off. They know where and how holding back works best and they sound like they function in unison. Their ability helps the songs flow rhythmically and melodically, and they keep things nicely balanced. The songs are tight; no moment goes to waste and no moment falters, helping the whole thing provide a satisfying listening experience.

Get Deep Shape Blue if you can; highly worth it.

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Gull Against the Sky

Just a photo of a gull that I rather quickly took.

I think the gull was turning. Not really sure.

A lot of space in this shot, and perhaps the gull doesn’t take up enough of hte frame, but I like this as it is.

I hope you enjoy.

 

 

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Ominous Ibis

This was a sketch of this ibis.

Whilst working on this I tested how it would look with some sort of sunset colour. Liked the result so instead of doing any clouds I went with sunset colour instead.

I hope you enjoy.

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Hot Coals

Just a photo of hot coals in the process of cooling.

There’s not much to say about this really. I feel I could’ve done a better photo, but I do like how these feel devoid of context other than what is directly visible.

I hope you enjoy.

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Peeling the Skin Away

This one was started in 2016 and finished today, though I may be incorrect on that one and it may have started in 2018.

Anyway, the original idea came to me after a friend of mine quote a lyric from a band we like. Maybe it was due to a conversation involving fruit, or some sort of silly image. Can’t remember. However, I do remember getting the idea of doing a planet that had part of it removed and the heart inside.

I also thought about doing a peel (I think) for the part of the planet that had been removed, but instead I went with fruit as I felt that would be more in the realm of my skills.

I know that I did some work on this in 2018 and then put it aside. I’m pretty sure I did some work before then though, but I can’t remember. I think that I did the heart in 2016 and then put it down as I’d stopped doing MS Paint stuff at the time, then the first form of the lemon in 2018.

During a stream earlier today I redid the lemon and then did the peel.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1004: Morning Stretches Out

And so the morning stretches out and the footsteps in the distance find their way echoing through a world without enough surfaces to sustain said echo, but the sun is out and at least there is a hint of relaxation, or tackling the day.

From the winter comes the spring and in that everything wakes up and realises what is and what is not, but there remains the need to consume and eat food and then find new energy to persist in a way that makes further sense as it were. There is no telling as to how that food will be found, but I’m sure it will be.

Still, that does not matter so much as the walk that leads to things and finds destinations, and that does not matter so much next to the season of spring having begun a little more than a month ago. All still feels a little like winter; all is sleepy and sluggish, but all continues its persistence to do what it needs to and has always done.

The walking continues around quiet streets and on that walk many an animal are heard, though mostly that many an animal are birds; there is little else. Still, it is a pleasant experience and it feels like things waking up in a way that suggests things waking up, though of course those birds are likely to have been awake for a while now, or at least long enough to no longer be in a state considered waking up.

Still, it is a quiet and still morning. Little in the way of movement, though the occasional vehicle suggests otherwise. The steps echo out to nowhere in particular and the movement continues in the forward direction. Little in the way of sound and little in the way of disturbance, though really it is more accurate to say that there is little in the way of sound considered detrimental to the idealised scenery and experience, for the morning is here and the experience is most certainly idealised.

A corner is turned and a new direction is followed, though of course all remains moving forward rather than backward. Suddenly new scenery is visible, though it is much like the previous scenery. The structures are just different. However, there is more vegetation and of course on a morning of mornings more vegetation is always appreciated, for it helps take a little bit of the imposing nature of the urban landscape away, if only for a few brief moments.

There is a little more shade and a few more sounds considered as pleasing find their ways through the branches, and a bit more of a spring in the step helps the motion come off as more smooth and flowing, but of course it soon ends for the footsteps echoing out in this world and place lead toward home, though of course it is only a temporary visitation as there remains a strong desire to return to the outside world once more.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:55:37

This one took a bit longer than I had anticipated.
I started churning out the words but early on I began to think about what I was writing and so the speed dropped quite a fair bit.

Not sure if it paid off, but I do think that at least some of this reads okay.

Written at home.

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A Building in the Quarry

This is near the brick pit in Sydney Olympic Park.

This sort of feels quiet, I think.
I do like the warmth in the photo, as it helps bring forward the colours without taking attention away from how ragged this particular bit of area appears.

I think the building appears really small and it likely is.
It probably still serves some purpose, but what that would be, I’ve no idea.

This is my submission into the one hundred-and-sixty-eighth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.

The theme for this one is “Seen Better Days“.

I feel this image fits as, whilst it is seeing some sort of rejuvenation, I can only imagine that it would’ve look less scarred before it became a quarry.

The challenge is hosted by four people and cycles weekly:

Week 1 – Patti

Week 2 – Ann-Christine aka Leya

Week 3 – Amy

Week 4 – Tina

This one is curated by Tina. The next one is guest-curated by I.J. Khanewala of Don’t Hold Your Breath.

I recommend participating in the challenges. They’re enjoyable and allow room for interpretation of the theme without straying too far. If you don’t participate, then I recommend that you at least check out what others of the Lens-Artists community are submitting.

I hope you enjoy.

 

 

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1003: No

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

 

 

Yes.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 04:24:71

I thought about doing this a long time ago, when I first started this challenge series.
Didn’t end up going ahead and, after a year or so of occasionally remembering, I forgot about the idea until earlier today.

This… well, it wasn’t tedious, nor frustrating, but it did feel time consuming. On the plus side, it may get the point across.

Written at home.

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