Art is Inherently Dumb

A couple weeks ago, some friends and I jumped over to San Francisco for SketchFest 2024. We saw some absolute titans of comedy do their stuff, filled that cup of inspiration, and are all the better for it. When I wasn’t laughing, I noticed a common thread among these performers - they would begin their interstitials with something along the lines of:

“So this is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever written.”

“I don’t often perform this song live, for reasons that will become obvious.”

“God, this is niche.”

“None of you can leave, sorry.”

And accompanying words that by themselves seem self-deprecating, or harmful, or rude, were these wry smiles and gleaming eyes that transformed their epithets into:

“I love this stupid thing I’ve made.”

“I’m so happy I get to perform this song in front of you.”

“You get me.”

“We are all here having a shared experience that nobody else would love as much as we do.”

This is what it is to love your work. Not believing every word you write or thing you say is brilliant, but knowing that even when you are baffled by the connections that work has created for you, it delights you.

Recent Gigs

Since my last update, I have provided additional voices for the following shows:

• The Weakest Tamer Begins a Journey to Pick Up Trash - Episode 2

• The Witch and the Beast - Episode 2

• Hokkaido Gals are Super Adorable! - Episode 2 & 3

• Bucchigiri?! - Episode 2

Consume!

I’m trying to diversify my media intake in the new year, so I’m catching up on movies and TV shows I’ve missed. And some homophobic jokes aside, I’m convinced that “Mannequin” is ahead of its time.

I can’t remember the last time I saw every actor in a movie having the time of their lives? Whether it’s Kim Cattrall strutting around in increasingly ostentatious outfits, or Andrew McCarthy mooning over inanimate objects, or Meshach Taylor doing literally anything, every performer is giving 120% percent, and critics had the gall to call it ahem “A pallid shopfloor fairytale”, “stiff and spiritless”, and “one of the stupidest movies ever conceived.”

I refer you back to my opening paragraphs. The team that made “Mannequin” likely knew it was a stupid movie. They loved it anyway. That is crystal clear.

Also this is the movie that gave us “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, so that’s a net good in a cosmic sense.

Performance of the Week

“Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” is easily a stand-out in the last few seasons of anime. In a time where the market is oversaturated with some variation of isekai fluff, I really needed an honest-to-goodness fantasy with an introspective, slow burn plot and grounded characters.

The dub does the show justice, and this week I want to give a shout-out to Jordan Dash Cruz for his portrayal of teenage warrior Stark. Jordan has a talent for over-the-top comedy that has propelled him forward in his career, and here in “Frieren” he seizes a fantastic opportunity to use that gift as an accompanying spice to an earnest, lived-in meal of a performance.

Head Empty, Heart Full

The concept of art is ridiculous.

It is a distinguishing characteristic of sentient beings to fiddle around with the world around them, pose everyday objects in unusual lights, make strange noises to provoke a reaction, build bridges with string.

When and where did this caricature of the self-serious artiste spring from, and why do we model ourselves after a sad, creatively-blocked tyrant who doesn’t know how to articulate his feelings? Why do we put up with the angry clown who insists that you aren’t laughing because you’re too dumb to understand his genius?

I want to count myself among the artists who find joy in the unexpected, who buy impractical tools and instruments just to see how they can be used, who write lyrics about poop to a 12-piece orchestral background, who are unapologetically weird because they are certain that somehow, somewhere, there are enough people who want what they’re selling to fill a concert hall.

Head empty, heart full. That’s who I want to be.