the job of an artist is to be an artist
and geology via justin timberlake
my plan of systemically following every geologist on instagram is going well. here are some of my favourites so far:
@pointingatrocks punctuates each observation with a fresh nail colour, which i believe is one step closer to the yassification of geology we all need
@eyes_on_gneiss has a lovely way of telling stories in her captions, and is currently running a series called ‘texture thursday’ which i like to see in my feed
@geologicallyspeaking did a great post the other day about blueschist and their enthusiasm just burst through the screen
@geobeckly gets a special shoutout because she subscribes to this newsletter (hi!) and i like how clearly she explains things and shares a bit of herself in her observations too
i am a strange outlier on geology-gram (if we want to call it that), because it’s not the main focus of my account, and also… i don’t really understand much of it yet. every time i get a geology post on my feed i read it eagerly and then realise i actually have no idea what’s going on. i don’t know what breccia are, i don’t know what concretion is, i can’t identify biotite mica out in the wild. i am just a lowly songwriter! all i can do is go plinky-plonk on guitar!
so what can i offer to the geology enthusiasts of the world?
in school we had a substitute chemistry teacher called mr may, who was a tall bespectacled man whose placement at our school summoned him out of retirement. his type of aberdonian accent always gave the slight impression that his teeth were about to fall out. we loved mr may because his lessons were very easy to derail (when you are 13, these are the qualities you like in teachers).
mr may knew the whole periodic table by song, and any time we asked him to sing it, he would. he would tap his feet and swing his arms while singing “hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium,” and our class of preteen girls would clap rhythmically, with the building menace of a gladiatorial audience waiting for the emperor’s thumb.
there probably is a song out there which lists the geological timescale… oh hold on, i’ve found it. i truly pity the guy who had try and fit the words “ordovician jawless fish” to the tune of justin timberlake’s ‘can’t stop the feeling.’ (🎶 next up tertiary! we got GRASS BEARS PLANTS) also we have this song. i mean we have so many. you like LMFAO? please enjoy ‘fossil rocks are in the ground tonight.’
anyway, songs with facts exist. people can write songs with facts for people to help them remember things or make learning more fun. but i’ve realised that i also have an important job as an artist, and that is to be an artist when it comes to writing songs about geology. and this can be applied to anything, really.
as an artist, it’s your job to make art. to be an artist.
that means, instead of writing songs with just facts, i can and should be writing songs with facts and feelings. we all know about volcanoes, but what about thinking about volcanoes in a way which makes us feel something? how can rivers remind us of someone we love? how can i turn metamorphic rocks into metaphors for personal growth?
basically, as an artist, i can use geology and music to inspire people to reflect about both our planet and our personal lives. it’s about knowing as much as i know, always learning more, but always finding a personal/magical side to each story. it’s okay if i still don’t know what conglomerate means yet (i will google this today).
i think next week’s story and song will be about a landslide. no, not that landslide song. something a bit more dramatic.
music news
i am very close to booking more scotland shows in july! hold tight and watch this space baby.
things i liked
✶ david shrigley’s worried noodles was one of my favourite discoveries as a teenager, and now this song written by him and iain shaw is a new favourite. there is something very comforting about it.
✶ i forgot to include the link to last week’s coheed and cambria recommendation (which i’m sure left all of… maybe 2 people feeling hard done by)
✶ my boyfriend and i watched the climb over the weekend which is a great film about terrible friends and i enjoyed it a lot
✶ this selection of life advice from chess hustlers is a great read.
✶ if you love immersive multimedia storytelling and sci-fi and know nothing about american football, this is for you
✶ big soup.
allllll righty then! that concludes this week’s healthy dose of… stuff.
if you liked this newsletter, hit the ❤️ heart button ❤️ or leave a comment and tell me:
which educational song is a true unironic pop banger? (and why is it this song.) 📻
who was YOUR favourite science teacher? 💡
every day i’m shovelin’,
olivia ⛏