I hope you are well as you read this blog post!
Today I have been inspired by the aphorism “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
You may have seen it on posters, coffee mugs, etc. — attributed to Albert Einstein.
But according to an online search, there is little evidence that Einstein ever said it.
Instead I learned that a writer — Rita Mae Brown — created this quotation and attributed it to a fictional character in her 1983 book Sudden Death.
Thank you, Ms. Brown!
I think about this aphorism when I am reminded that one is supposed to budget an equal amount of money to market/promote/advertise one’s product as one has spent creating it in the first place.
Yikes!
I have never done this.
Other than maintaining my website, pitching a few songs to music bloggers, and writing this blog, I have spent very little money to promote my music.
However, this particular piece of marketing advice comes up fairly often when I am reading books/articles and watching videos about how to navigate the business of making music in the 21st century.
Now I must pause for a moment for a digression…
Over the past thirty years, I have observed that the music business — like life itself — is always changing and evolving.
So it is virtually impossible to do the same thing over and over again for more than a year or two.
And as a result of personal computers entering our daily lives, we have to keep endlessly learning the latest versions of many different programs/applications — as well as updating our hardware and software.
So as much as I would love to be able to do the same thing over and over again — while drafting new songs using Apple’s GarageBand or making videos using Apple’s iMovie, for example — I am forced to learn the latest updates (and alleged improvements) in order to continue making music.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
This has always seemed to me to be a huge waste of time AND money in order to make a few tech company owners, tech company employees and tech company stockholders rich.
I keep hoping to find a research study which would document the billions of hours which we human beings have wasted in the process of learning — and re-learning…and learning yet again — how to use various computer programs.
I would also like to find studies which explore the cumulative toll on our mental health due to the Sisyphean frustration of having to update and re-learn so many basic tasks/skills on an ongoing basis.
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
So I am happy to report that my friends Molly Ruggles, Ellen Epstein, Michael Cicone and I went in a pre-industrial — and some might even say late-Paleolithic — direction with our most recent song release which we recorded a cappella.
You may remember an earlier version of “My Sweet Honeydew” (recorded with pianist Doug Hammer) which I featured in a blog post from January 8, 2022.
You are welcome to click here and visit — or re-visit — that blog post if you are so inclined.
A couple of years ago singer/songwriter/pianist Molly Ruggles took my original version, added an entirely new section of music + lyrics, and then arranged it for four voices to perform a cappella.
Our new version is in the player at the beginning of this blog post.
You may recognize Molly as a vital part of my trio recordings with Carole Bundy.
I have known the other two singers on this recording — Ellen and Michael — for decades.
If you are a fan of contemporary folk music, you may be familiar with them as part of a musical trio with singer/songwriter/guitarist Cindy Kallet for forty-five years.
Ellen and Michael have released three beloved CDs of music with Cindy as well as appearing on many of her solo recording projects.
So I feel very honored and excited that they agreed to be part of this recording!
Now I will circle back to the aphorism that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Molly and I are doing something new with this recording.
We have hired a fellow singer-songwriter, Erik Balkey, to help us promote it to folk radio programs/stations around the USA.
Erik puts together compilation CDs of new recordings every two months and sends them to a couple hundred folk DJs and program directors.
We were surprised — and pleased — to learn that he chose “My Sweet Honeydew (A Cappella)” to lead off the second CD in his July/August promotional compilation.
If you happen to listen to a folk program in your neighborhood — or maybe far away from your neighborhood via an internet radio station — please let me know.
Then I will check and see if Erik sent his July/August promotional CDs — including “My Sweet Honeydew (A Cappella)” — to your favorite station/program.
It will be interesting to see what does — or doesn’t — unfold regarding airplay for our song this summer…
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
Thank you to Erik Balkey for his radio outreach.
Thank you to Doug Hammer for his collaborative production skills (and spontaneous photographic impulses).
Thank you to Stephen C. Fischer for his graphic design gifts.
Thank you to Molly Ruggles for creating this new version of my song.
Thank you to Molly and Michael and Ellen for learning, performing and then recording it.
And thank YOU for reading and listening to yet another blog post from/by me.
One final deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
P.S. You are welcome to stream “My Sweet Honeydew (A Cappella)“ on your favorite digital music platform by clicking here.
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
Thank you Will, Molly, Ellen, and Michael for a bit of vocal cheer. May the new album with Erik promoting help make the constant change a little more worthwhile. 🎤🎹😊
You are very welcome, Brad. And thank YOU for reading and listening and commenting, Brad! I am listening to birdsong through an open window right now, and I have not had to deal with any updated software for a few days — so all is well…Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
😊
I hear you on the weariness from constantly learning new technology, Will. I often wonder if all these constant “upgrades” are necessary.
I am guessing that most of them are not necessary, Michelle. Some updates might be important to fix security vulnerabilities (created perhaps because a product was rushed to the public by the marketing department before the engineering department was ready…) But the features I knew how to use in Photoshop from 20 years ago were PLENTY helpful (and truly did not need any upgrading). This is one reason why I love working with musicians who play actual instruments. After many years of study and practice, they have achieved mastery — and do not have to keep learning how to play an abruptly updated version of their piano or their guitar or their flute. And popular instruments have been played for decades (or maybe even centuries) in their current form. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Just another symptom of our throwaway culture, and how we’re conditioned to always want “new and better” when what we have is adequate.
Yes. The word “enough” is a powerful concept! It goes along with gratitude and satisfaction with what one already has in one’s life…
I’m not familiar with the saying, but it does sound more like Rita Mae Brown than Einstein. 😊
Self-promotion is hard and takes a lot of time! I am not very good at it.
Thank you for the cheery morning song (no tanks in the street indeed!). I smiled at the kiss/photosynthesis rhyme.
I don’t listen regularly anymore, but WXPN in Philadelphia has a few shows of folk, Americana, etc. The song might also fit “Sleepy Hollow” on weekend mornings. https://xpn.org/program_guide/
You are very welcome! Thank YOU for listening AND for giving me a radio station outreach idea. The fellow singer-songwriter, Erik Balkey, whom we hired to help with promotion lives in NJ near Philadelphia. So I am guessing he may have sent one of the July/August promotional CDs to WXPN… I will doublecheck! ps: The metaphor I am using as a guiding image for my ongoing promotional efforts is an urban tree gradually growing bigger and pushing up (and in some cases cracking) the sidewalk above. I and my music are the slow-growing tree, and our culture — in denial about climate change, overconsumption of shared natural resources, the need for active engagement in our political process, etc. etc. etc. — is the sidewalk… I am hoping that slow and steady might end up winning the race!
I’m also in NJ near Philadelphia, and I’m sure Erik must know of XPN. They host lots of concerts in the area, too.
Wow–that metaphor is doing a lot of work! 😊
What fun to listen to both versions of this song ! Both “sweet” in their own way.
I have to hand it to you for keeping up with software. Currently I am just digitalizing my scores on to forScore. I know it will be so worthwhile when I am done, but now…
Just in case your aren’t familiar with Central Mass stations: WICN Worcester has a Thursday night folk program. I haven’t listened much to radio for a while, but back in the day I had a weekly program of Medieval and Renaissance music, and found the station to be very open to different ideas and local musicians. WCUW from Clark University also features a wide range of musical styles, and has a small venue for live performances. Although they are small stations in range, they are both also online.
Hope this helps!
This is very helpful, Julie! Thank you for these leads. I am acquainted via FB with the guy who is the DJ for the folk program on WICN. I will now investigate the Clark radio station… PS: How cool that YOU used to be a DJ!
This is very exciting, Will!
We shall see what if anything unfolds… I called this morning and spoke with one of the DJs at the Cornell radio station, where one of the promotional double CD samplers had been sent. One new connection at a time to be cultivated and nurtured!
Wonderful, Will. Yes, one new connection at a time… 😀
Today a Trader Joe’s thank you card goes into the mail to thank the DJ for speaking with me on Sunday morning… and gently reinforce that I am hoping he and/or his fellow DJs might play the song at some point.
Nothing better than a handwritten card, Will. It sure beats just sending an email. Keep us posted!
I find, as a creative, technology is so frustrating ! It’s a real hurdle and quite off putting. I enjoyed your song, which put a smile on my face, as I woke up this morning.
I agree, Morag. I go to make a simple video after an absence of a year and find I need to watch a new round of educational/explanatory videos on YouTube in order to do what I used to be able to do quite seamlessly. Deep breathin. Deep breath out. Thank goodness for the helpful video bloggers who are willing to keep explaining eall of the updates and “improvements” to the rest of us! PS: I am glad the song put a smile on your face this morning!
You are right about all the hours learning new computer programs! At the moment I am trying to learn the Apple watch. It’s frustrating, but I tell myself that any cognitive exercise, even learning things that are pretty useless, is good for the brain.
Yes, learning new stuff IS apparently healthy for our brains! I guess I’d like the learning to be on my own terms adn following my own curiosity (rather than being forced upon me as a result of unwanted and seemingly unnecessary updates).
Rather auspiciously, I happened to be drinking a bottle of honeydew and lemon juice when I opened this! I loved the recording, and it was heartwarming to see the photo with you and Michael together. Your annoyance with the continual upgrading and re-learning of software programs is one that I share! As someone who relies heavily on learned workflows for productivity, I dislike the interruption of “new and improved.” I hope you are well. Paula
Hurrah for drinking a bottle of honeydew + lemon juice while listening to our new song release! It has been a pleasure to continue to interact with Michael in this manner. I hope YOU continue to heal well from your injuries, dear woman. I recently got a new health diagnosis (perhaps due to the various — and occasionally experimental — drugs I’ve been taking for the past six years due to a different health diagnosis) which means that I get to experience a bone marrow transplant (likely in September). So life continues to be full of surprises! I have been undecided about how much — and with whom — to share this recent health news… but it certainly does inspire me to keep working on music every week. THANK YOU for listening and then leaving such a sweet comment!
Hi Will. I just had to look up what is involved in a bone marrow transplant. I’m sorry you have to experience that. Life does indeed bring surprises. I’m glad to hear that at least one of your responses is to work on your music regularly. It’s important to stay connected to the things that ground us in joy and creativity. I hope all goes well. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
By now, we’re probably in the trillions of hours since Windows 95. It’s really a pain, and the companies know it. Wonderful song! I just listened to it on Apple Music, along with “This Heart of Mine,” which played automatically.
Trillions of hours! What else might we have done with our lives using those hours? THANK YOU for listening to my latest song (plus autoplay of another recent release!) on Apple Music. It will affect their mysterious algorithms (regarding which songs they recommend to other music-lovers) in a positive manner!
With those hours—OMG, so many things! It’s my pleasure, Will. I’m a heavy Apple Music user, so hopefully I’ll be listening to your songs on there often.
Thank you very much, Edward!!!
You’re so welcome.
What a sweet, sweet song, Will. It speaks to a better world — or to trying to live as if we were in a better world.
Thank you for reading, listening and commenting!!! I am glad you like the song (and Molly’s four-part arrangement of it…