I spend a lot of money on art.
You mean like buy paintings?
No. I don’t buy paintings. I don’t spend that kind of money on art.
So what do you mean?
I spend money on more obscure, strange, underground forms of art?
Like what?
Contemporary independent novels, obscure records, experimental cassette tapes….
Cassette tapes? Cassette tapes are still around?
Yes. They have made a huge resurgence. Lots of independent, experimental, strange and remarkable “music” is being put out on cassettes. It’s wonderful.
Interesting. So you spend a lot of your money on these cassettes and books and records?
Yes. They are my life-line. They keep me from stepping in front of a train. It sounds silly, but really, they feed my hope, my creativity, my soul, my sense of what is possible. It is like two people having a good conversation underground. These records, books and cassettes fill me with ideas that keep me going.
Do you think that it is because you are so isolated from humans that you depend so much on art?
Probably. Or maybe I just find the artistic expressions of human beings more interesting and inspiring than the humans who make them. I don’t know. But these forms of art really do give me a deeper sense of meaning. They make the existential pain easier to tolerate. It is good to know that there are people out there creating these sort of things. Gives me some kind of connection to a world I want to be apart of. The world of work, popular entertainment, politics, news- it is just so filled with banal ideas. Ideas are so important. It is the substance that we are made out of.
Ideas?
Yes. Our souls are made out of ideas. The more banal our ideas, the less substance we have.
I see.
The world of art given to me through these books, cassettes and records- this is a world that I love. It is a world I feed from. I’m very grateful to these people for creating these remarkable ideas.
Makes life less boring?
Possibly. Fills life with more magic and awe. I am very grateful for the independent art that grows out of counter cultures. It is my psychiatric medication. It is my addiction. It is my best friend. It is my religion. It is what I value. It is my hallucinogen. It is my lover. It is my space travel. I really do not know what I would do with out it. I am grateful to have discovered it. It keeps something very important in love inside me. I really don’t know how others live without it.
Yes. You are lucky to have found this. Erasmus said, “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
Yes. I have always liked this.
What are you listening to now?
I am streaming a cassette tape by Sparkling Wide Pressure called ‘Answerer’ on Bandcamp.
Good.
Yes. Yes. Just made me realize how much I appreciate this stuff. I look as forward to a trip to the book or record store as a Jesus lover must look forward to going to church. I know it sounds dramatic but this stuff helps me hurt less.
Good. Keep listening and reading. Keep exploring.
Yes. You too.
I will.
Good.
The Fantastic Life Of No One In Particular 