TAGQ (That's A Good Question)
TAGQ (That's A Good Question)
Bear vs. The Worm
Have you ever wondered how a simple idea blossoms into a full-fledged song? In today's episode, we share the enchanting journey of musical creativity, filled with personal stories and unexpected sparks of inspiration. We'll talk about the magical moment when a fleeting idea takes root and the joy of capturing it with tabbing tools. From the intuitive control we wield over our instruments to the delightful process of layering sounds, you'll get an inside look at the heart of songwriting and composition. Plus, hear our thoughts on how AI could revolutionize the creation of promotional video clips for our podcast.
Our conversation takes a quirky turn when a Zoom glitch leads us into a chat about technology and the whimsical "Zoom spirits". We'll then shift gears to an unusual yet fascinating discussion on classical guitars, their design, and the peculiarities of language. Brace yourself as we dive into the complexities of financial investments, corporate propaganda, and the ethical boundaries of advertising, all while questioning our participation in potentially harmful systems. This episode is not just about music; it's about the larger societal issues that intersect with our creative world.
Relationships get a fun twist as we tackle the playful yet surprisingly profound question, "Would you still love me if I were a worm?" This whimsical query opens up deeper discussions on relationship dynamics, revealing how trivial questions can stir significant emotions. We'll even touch on the curious origins of worms in North America and the societal implications of a bear encountering a man in the woods. Through these light-hearted yet meaningful conversations, we emphasize the importance of understanding different perspectives and the growth that comes from engaging in thoughtful dialogue. Don't miss this rollercoaster of an episode filled with laughter, insights, and a touch of whimsy.
one, two, one two, three, four oh, you cut off the song.
Scott:I could. I could hear the singers coming in and everything. Wow. Yeah.
Ben:Wow, wow, you could hear it, huh.
Scott:Yeah, I've got the uh.
Ben:Hmm, you just got that special.
Scott:No, I've got it off. Actually there's a musician's option and it says it's off, so somehow it still came through.
Ben:Even the guitar came through.
Scott:Yeah.
Ben:A mystery. Zoom really needs to figure it's you know, yeah, yeah. So you have that kind of songwriting, mind that just you hear a tune you hear a note you hear a few chords, you hear a progression and then it just keeps going. Huh.
Scott:I recently found out, I do wow, have you been writing songs? Yeah, I've been using this tabbing tool to like compose, like beats, like you know, 16 or 32 or maybe longer, where I just I hear the bass part in my head. I hear the song in my head but the only part I can capture and quickly transcribe and I just hear it vaguely. Like you know, it's playing a few blocks away but I can hear the bass part.
Ben:It's like if it was, you know we were. We grew. I grew up within walking distance to white oaks elementary and when I would come home during college like spring break or something I'd be out gardening and I could hear all the children playing from a few blocks away, Almost make out the games they were playing. Is that kind of how you hear the music a few blocks away or when recess?
Scott:was yeah, okay, I could hear. I could hear the your example wasn't musical, but that's what threw me there for a second.
Ben:The noises of children. What's not musical?
Scott:about that. And then I, I just tab that out for a few bars and loop it, and then it's like, okay, what are the drums that go under that? You know what's you know? Then picking. Third, what's another Guitar piano? Yeah, it's fun, yeah it's fun, and, and uh, I kind of view it as just sort of channeling music you're channeling. Yeah, that's that's I mean, it's you like. It's a discovery process. It's not sure there's creation in your choices of you know what you accept and what you discover.
Scott:You know yeah, yeah, yeah but I don't know, trying to big brain write music never worked for me.
Ben:You know who does that work for? No one, but now I understand, yeah.
Scott:It's just like oh. I'm just going to be. It's like well, it's really more like an unconscious thing. That, um, it took learning to play instruments and and have you know, your limbs are kind of, uh, controlled unconsciously. Your, your limbs are kind of uh, controlled unconsciously. Your, your voice is kind of controlled unconsciously, right. Um so just trust, trusting those same unconscious things to, uh, you know, make noise like you do.
Ben:Um noise like you do. Um, that's the fun of it. Like I do, like I do make noise like I make noise, I make noise unconsciously.
Scott:Yeah, I make noise you've got pretty good rhythm.
Ben:Ah, ah, thank you, thanks, thanks, thank you.
Scott:Yeah, did you like that? As you saw, I've been working on video promo clips.
Ben:I did see that. Yeah, did you make those, or did the AI make those?
Scott:Pardon.
Ben:Did you make those, or did the AI make those we should have?
Scott:AI make them. That's a good idea, but AI doesn't have an adequate the one you sent me was pretty good. Yeah, no, that's just like the intro one, and then I did another one for episode one that I haven't shown you yet. But, um, where do I put them?
Ben:Whoa what happened to the listener.
Scott:There was just a blip in the zoom display and it, like Ben, jumped toward me about three feet instantly. Oh, really.
Ben:Yeah, that's what happened. I saw a blip on my screen, but there was no blip on yours.
Scott:Let me mark the recording we're channeling. No, this is the place I go back. We're channeling.
Ben:The Zoom spirits are with us right now. Can you feel that um?
Scott:yeah, that's a, that's that's a maybe they're just over here, that's a good question um, that's a good question.
Ben:You got what?
Scott:what? What's the story of that guitar you're playing, which I can hear?
Ben:The story of this guitar is that it's so. The little story of this guitar guitar is it? It's. You know, it is humaned by lewis. Lewis is guitared by this guitar. I see, in other languages they don't in, in a lot of indigenous languages they, they don't actually have possessives and so when you say something is quote, unquote, yours, you say I am, I am guitarred by this guitar. Yes, and this guitar is human by Lewis. That's good. No, this is Lewis's guitar. It's a classical guitar. And the little trim on it, the little design here, the little, you know, what do you call this hole? Probably a mouth, I?
Scott:think so.
Ben:Or the lips of this mouth.
Scott:Yeah.
Ben:Where it's all decorated, you know, and where guitars usually have tattoos on its lips. It's the little flowers look like they're out of like a Pokemon game. They're highly pixelated. Oh, so that's another piece of the story to this guitar. It's a classical guitar, so it's almost feels like a practice guitar, which probably isn't a good practice guitar because the strings are so far apart. So I feel like I have I don't actually have a really good understanding of what it actually takes to like, strike a chord rock and roll, you mean sorry rock and roll, rock and roll I know, I know I don't have a good understanding of rock and roll.
Ben:Is that what is that? Is that what you're implying?
Scott:um, or it's just a it. It's um, I don't know, I'm not sure Nylon and steel. It's the difference.
Ben:It's the difference between the strengths right yeah, how far apart they are or what they're made out of.
Scott:Yeah, I didn't. I didn't know classical was farther apart. But what do I?
Ben:know. I thought I remember hearing a friend tell me that, but maybe it's just a child's guitar, I don't know. That's the story. Okay, not much. I mean, I'm sure that it has a. It's not the story, it's a story and it doesn't. Did that story really have a beginning and an end? I don't, it's is it. Is it a story? It was a character description. Yeah, it's a piece of exposition and the much larger story about this guitar. Can you hear that? I can hear that Listener, listener, listener. Can you hear that listener? Not sure. I think we lost him. Yeah, okay, I'm not sure. I think we lost them yeah.
Ben:Okay, so how much money do you have in the stock market? I don't actually answer that, please 30%.
Scott:Whoa, whoa, wow, that's wow, okay, maybe more because, of growth.
Ben:Oh right, because you just yeah, yeah. At this point, it's more than that.
Scott:But no, I probably not.
Ben:Is property part of that percentage? Is that 30% of, like, all of your assets?
Scott:No.
Ben:Liquid or otherwise?
Scott:No, no, so it'd be smaller, it'd be a quarter or something. Okay, if you can add in real estate.
Ben:Real estate only drops it down to 25%. Never mind, we don't need to get into this right now. That's a lot of generational. Yeah, I'm not sure. Okay, I'm not sure of the numbers.
Ben:Well, you know hanging out with young people, and a lot of us wonder what does it mean to have money in the stock market? And how implicated into the industrial system do we want to be? And my opinion is that there are a lot of people that use the stock market. There are a lot of companies that use the stock market. There are a lot of companies that use the stock market. The stock market exists, and if you are choosing to abstain from it, you are putting yourself, however, many steps behind all those other people that are actively using it too. So if you really want to make a difference for the world, isn't it like? Isn't the best thing you could do is become as rich as jeff bezos and then use that power to the best of your ability?
Ben:no well, that's true, because becoming as rich as jeff bezos, because this is why I?
Scott:think when people get angry at corporations and, like you know, then assume that economic interchanges between all humans is bad.
Ben:No, no you're putting more into their mouth.
Scott:You're missing the point which is the thing to get angry at is the corporate propaganda, yeah right Things that negatively impact your life as they tell you what's not true, like smoking is not bad for you, and the list goes on from there.
Ben:I mean and energetic exchange between humans. We're not saying that that's a bad thing.
Scott:We're saying when that energetic exchange is actually funding dehumanization and destruction of ecosystems and when people's bread missing of nature, then that's when it starts getting where anybody who's in the business of making you believe something that's not true for their economic benefit. Um, I was like well, I, I, I don't really want to hang with them.
Ben:Yeah, Capitalism thrives to hang with them. Yeah, capitalism thrives in that shit, though. Yep, yeah.
Scott:So is all advertising evil no. I want to advertise this podcast. Is that allowed in the system of Questions are?
Ben:too small. Small, of course, like you can't just ask a question and include a superlative in it, like it's all advertising bad. Well, no, because it's superlative, of course it's not bad like yes, no right, it's the misinformation, it's that simple. The answer is probably.
Scott:Or that you want to be literate to avoid. You want to avoid misinformation.
Ben:Yeah, right, right, right. That's one thing that gets me about people that are always complaining about the media and companies and everything and talking about them like they're media and companies and everything, and talking about them like they're they're evil and all that stuff. And I just uh, when you consume things like you got to remember that you have a lot of power just as an individual and you can show up and say and smell bullshit. You can get really pissed off that other people don't. But at that point it's a conversation about separating out what you can control and what you can't. And if you're getting all dysregulated because you're annoyed that Fox News exists, then it's like man, you gotta learn how to self-soothe and you gotta learn how to let some shit go well, yeah, you're right.
Scott:This is like jesus saying there's always going to be caesars. It's like no, there's always going to be Caesars. It's like no, there's always going to be advertisers.
Ben:Jesus of joy.
Scott:Or people abrogating more of the world to themselves than nature would have had intended. Yeah, but I like Hollywood. I mean, I like the town, town, and when you're there you feel like okay like hollywood as a town well no, when you're there you just feel like, okay, that is an unpopular theater, it's, it's just a inside out theater, everybody's business of show, and in Hollywood and you like that you like a real like like going on to a movie lot, except it's this movie city like going into a like, truly like incorporated city and then thinking like, wow, none of this is real.
Ben:They have a government just like everyone else, but it's just all theatrics. I love how just inauthentic all of this is, isn't this fun?
Scott:Yeah.
Ben:You love that, huh.
Scott:It's like watching. Tv.
Ben:It's like going to Disneyland. Yes exactly that. Huh, it's like watching tv, you know, it's like going to disneyland.
Scott:You know, yes, exactly. Well, the cool thing about that is that is the more refined version of the point. I feel like I'm. This is all a disney production here. Yeah, and it is. You know, they own the time. The Times Square of Hollywood, yeah, yeah.
Ben:And I it's also. Hollywood admits, he calls it out for what it is too. You know, it's like it's aware that that's what's, at least to an extent, and it it owns up to it. But in a place like I don't know, there there are theatrics everywhere, and in a place like Seattle, for instance, you know, walking around the UW campus, there are theatrics that play there too, but people don't really actually see it for what it is. So maybe, maybe in a way, hollywood's actually even a little bit.
Scott:You mean as as uh people?
Ben:performing. It's just people performing in their own little ways. You know, we're always performing. Oh actually in this culture. You know, we're not yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Performing just because of societal cultural expectations but you're not necessarily, they're not necessarily, they're not necessarily in show business.
Ben:Right, exactly, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then in the Midwest the performance is just a little bit different. It's just a different vibe. Yeah, yeah.
Ben:I found out recently that there's a comedy night that happens every wednesday. I think it started last week, the comedy night that happens now every single wednesday at one of the local uh taverns. It's actually the the place I took you and mom like two or three years ago pretty much three, almost three years ago at this point um, when we visited during the heat dome and we got a beer at uh, this little brewery, the place that has like the two businesses side by side.
Ben:Yeah, so we went into ogres brewing. Yeah, and the place that's hosting the comedy is Bailey's Corner Store, which is next door, and it's hosted by someone from Los Angeles, where actually he grew up on the island but spent 15 years or something being a comedian and a movie maker and he recently moved back to Whidbey and, yeah, he's hosting comedy nights now. Friend told me this last night. It was just. I just knew exactly what it meant for me.
Scott:And now I have to work on my five minutes.
Ben:Oh really, how many you got? Yeah, I mean it's like a 10 minute drive from on the island. There's no boat involved. How many minutes do I have? I have none right now. I don't have any material, okay, but I how do you generate material? I don't know. That's my question. How do I generate stand-up material, dad? Um the very you as the, as a very well seasoned uh watch for funny things yeah, have you ever heard of the question um? Would you still love me if I was a worm?
Scott:if you were a? What?
Ben:if I was a worm a worm okay you still love me.
Ben:Apparently it became a thing because heidi klum dressed up as a worm. I've been investigating this as a potential launch pad for, for at least a few minutes as a. I was out volunteering for the food bank garden yesterday and a friend of a housemate of mine got to talk about worms and she asked me like I don't know, I can't remember this person I'm dating right now. I think my house may ask that. Well, it does seem to, If you don't love her, if she was a worm? And then I was like well, first off, love is a weird word to use in this context because we hung out like 11 times. But anyway, do you have a question? Sorry.
Scott:Do you have a question? I was going to ask about the worms rolling. All you threw me off.
Ben:I think it's a stupid question. I think it's a stupid question.
Scott:Oh, I know what I was going to say it's like that was my first emotion when you said this question. I want someone to make fun of this. Uh huh, yeah, because what do you?
Ben:mean, yeah right, it's like lord, this is what. What do you? Mean leave your love underground, or I can't imagine it being yeah right, it's like what you're a worm, now it's. I don't know if I would.
Scott:What kind of still I worms were not indigenous to north america right what about leafworms? Yeah, I mean there were something, but the you know the kinds of nightcrawlers, those kind of things. They weren't here until we brought the.
Ben:Europeans. There were analysts of some sort that taxed them. Had to have been here before.
Scott:Tell me if it's not true.
Ben:I don't know. I've investigated this question before and it's really confusing.
Scott:Oh, really Okay.
Ben:I have. Okay. It's like people on Reddit get very angry with each other regarding this question. You know this would be an amazing way to keep the set going. I could spend the entire five minutes talking about worms. I'll probably base it on that. That's a really good idea wow, that's.
Ben:That's kind of cool yeah but yeah, it's a stupid question, isn't it? And apparently, according to the internet, like people like, if this, this drives a fissure, it just takes a big old wedge and just sticks it right in between couples, probably couples that have really insecure attachment to begin with More than the bear versus the man thing. I'm not familiar.
Scott:Okay.
Ben:Some of our listeners will be familiar. Well, if the listeners already know, maybe you could tell your co-host which, what, what this?
Scott:uh oh, it's just a question of like. If a woman is alone in the woods, would she rather run into a bear and that's driving a wedge between couples. That question it's that kind of question yeah, right, right, and I just like.
Ben:In those instances it's like wait, that that's all you need to do. You just need to drop in a question. That's that dumb and shallow, in order. Well, it's not that that question's not that dumb, because it actually point. Yeah, that's actually a real conversation to be had right there of like, would you rather run into a bear?
Ben:And it depends on the species of bear. So we should get clear on that too. And what time? Anyways, point being, that's actually a really scary question to be asking, because a fem bodied person really has to decide. Fem-bodied person really has to decide, and I mean, even I have to decide between that of like I, I don't know what. I would rather, who I'd rather run into. Yeah, anyhow, I just want to lay, get, get a lay of the land and let people know that I understand the complexity of that question and it's kind of a freaky one to be posing.
Scott:We're talking about worms, aren't?
Ben:we. No, I'm talking about the bear and the man question, because that one actually has some important implications for just society and patriarchy and abuse in general. But if that's all you have to do, is you just have to ask a single question and the people that are asking each other the question can't approach it from a place of, like, just discussion and that's like really causing arguments between couples. Maybe your relationship is meant to expire, like maybe you got some shit to work out by yourself and maybe you should say goodbye for a while.
Scott:Or maybe it's about something else. Well, that's also true, they should figure out what to talk about.
Ben:As in, they should just forget about asking each other questions ever well, no no just don't.
Scott:If you're a man, don't get all who cares. If you're a man, don't ask your partner any questions no, no, no, it's like who cares if we think differently about this worm question?
Ben:yeah, right like okay yeah, exactly, yeah it's like well, yeah, are you willing to surrender up a little bit and just like realize how, just play with it for a while and not make it about everything you know?
Ben:it's like, and if you turn into a worm and your partner says, well, what do you mean? I don't, like, would I still love you? And like, if that's the response you get from your partner, like, be, like, okay, yeah, I think that's actually a really reasonable response because, like, I'm a worm and you can still love me and then just let me do my worm thing, I'm not going to keep you in my house. Like what? What do you mean? Like? Expand your definition of love, please, because my, I think also the difference is like well, what do we actually mean by love here? For me it's a matter of like well, I can see you as a being still full of light and beauty, and if you a worm, I'm not going to be cooking you dinner every night. But that's not really what. Like cooking, cooking you dinner every night, it's not necessarily love. That might be an expression of love. I'm not. I'm not going to be doing that anymore for you.
Ben:If you're a worm, what am I going to? I'm not. I'm not going to make a worm bin for you in the kitchen, because then there are going to be thousands of other worms and then I'm like am I going to know? I can't pretend that some magical instance. I would just know I would be able to pick you apart from all the other worms you're having sex with. By the way, you'd be getting fucking molested by worms all the time. They'd be coming by with their goo and just like sliming all over you all the time and you'd probably enjoy it, because that's what worms do it's like. Would I still love you? Like, in the context of all of this, would I still love you? Like, yes, I love you, but I don't know where you are anymore, so I'm just going to let you outside and go into the forest and do your fucking worm thing with all your worms. Go be free. Wow, the same thing will bring you joy, wow yeah.
Scott:There you have it, tonight's third entry in our stand up evening. No improv, no, this is stand up. Don't get confused, don't get confused.
Ben:Well, that was improv pop. I knew it yeah. Do we have a sponsor for this. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we have a sponsor.
Scott:Bragg's.
Ben:Apple Cider Vinegar Bragg's Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar. I drink that stuff almost every single day.
Scott:I'm drinking it right now, that's the. It's one of the few fermented products you can find in the grocery store that is not pasteurized that looks like you water it down yeah, I water it down it's the kind of bottle that has a lot of advice written on it uh, no, that's, that's, that's more of this old guy advice, but it's actually.
Ben:It's not unsolicited, because I don't know what's the definition of solicit something, about selling you something right, or just just the, the wrapper or whatever it's like.
Scott:looks pretty old timey.
Ben:It does look old timey but it's separate from but it's not, it's not preachy, it doesn't have the 3000 words on it that Dr Bronner does. It's probably a little preachy. I haven't looked closely, though.
Scott:Yeah, and it's good for what? Cleaning your car.
Ben:Well, some people do an apple cider vinegar wash for their hair. So people that are doing no shampoo on their hair how it? Strips. You know the natural ecosystem and I know some listeners might squirm a little bit when they hear the word ecosystem and air in the same sentence. Um, and use it for you can use it to as an anti-fungal agent if you're trying to go no shampoo, and so you won't develop like weird skin funguses.
Scott:It probably makes a better looking lava when you mix it with baking soda.
Ben:It probably looks similar.
Scott:It's not white Well it's more like lava.
Ben:For all intents and purposes, you still gotta put some food coloring in it. Yeah, but, maybe it would be an earthy or red if you were to put some red food coloring instead of that weird pink uh, but I like to drink it because it's really, really good for your gut, gut microbiome and also is actually, according to a permaculture instructor I have, and this guy well, we'll see if he ever listens to the podcast- permaculture he needs to hear this.
Scott:Maybe this is actually good feedback he wasn't one of the people that stuffed carcasses with blossoms and buried it underground. He's not one of those people. Permaculture is separate from the people you worked for in Northern California.
Ben:Carcasses filled with blossoms. Oh yeah, carcasses filled with blossoms. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. You know, we would fill intestines with chamomile blossoms and then we put that at a year-long running spring and then in a year we would dig it back up and then we'd add it to our compost, and that way we would unlock the cosmos as we spread that compost around.
Scott:This is an advertisement for apple cider vinegar. Yeah, by the way, I did that.
Ben:I stuffed harvest newly harvested intestines from a cow and I stuffed them with chamomile blossoms. Yes, I did that because I'm open-minded. Do I think that it actually means that your tomatoes will be healthier? Yes and no.
Scott:Yeah.
Ben:Anyway, apple cider vinegar you interrupted your commercial.
Ben:This permaculture instructor says that you should drink apple cider vinegar if you have gastric reflux because it's so acidic and that when it goes into your body your stomach actually compensates for it by producing more alkali, synthesizing more alkali elements and secreting more alkali things. So it actually ups the the ph of your stomach more generally. So things are kind of rest a little bit easier and I like, from a embodied perspective, I kind of could see how that would be the case, because I really really like it.
Ben:Just in between my meals I'll drink a glass of water with some apple cider vinegar bragg's apple cider vinegar, raw with the mother and it helps my, my system settle a little bit more and it's uh oh, it's a weak electrolyte too, so it like just adds electrolytes to your diet also for the listener ben just lost conscious thought there for about three four seconds. Two and a half to four seconds yeah, yeah might have been longer than that. Yeah. I don't know. I just thought it was a sense of time.
Scott:That was it. You went somewhere, some other universe.
Ben:I went into the emptiness. That was my brain for a bit. Ah when you stand over your desk full of papers you're like where'd it to go?
Scott:where to go. I'll be sure I don't edit that pause out, since we made some much of a story about it. Well, thanks to the apple cider vinegar people at at brags.
Ben:brags, there's either one or two older looking white people on the bottle. I'm sure 90% of listeners know exactly what I'm talking about. Shout out Braggs. Thank you for sponsoring this episode, for fueling the brand new realm we have a few reoccurring segments to do in our last. I can't remember.
Scott:A few minutes Check the mailbag, anything in the mailbag, yet.
Ben:Let's see. No, I'm just no. No, just a lot of to-do lists that I don't know how to keep organized and therefore I don't actually know what I'm supposed to be doing with my week that's why you keep them in the mailbag yeah, yeah, because I don't be consolidated, I just don't know, oh, I. Just a bunch of newspapers in the bag.
Scott:I was playing a lot of Beatles on drums before this podcast and I I'm kind of surprised I liked. Honestly, I find a lot of their catalog too sappy. I really just like their like hard rocking songs and I realized that that's always been the case.
Ben:I didn't grow up with the Beatles.
Ben:There was a weird thing getting like later into high school and into college, realizing that like, oh, the beatles are considered like the greatest rock band of all time and I don't know if I've actually ever listened to their albums. I know songs of theirs but I actually don't know a lot of songs of it. One time a friend was playing the song blackbird at the campfire and they're like here's this song, and if actually don't know a lot of songs with it. One time a friend was playing the song Blackbird at the campfire and they're like here's this song, and if you don't know this song, then fuck you, you should know this song. And I was like, oh my God, I don't know this song.
Scott:Anyway, you were just surprised me that go before I ever heard anything else. It's like I still had this bias toward raucous stuff, which I think had to be tied to organ music, which is what I liked Loud, raucous.
Ben:Is that what Church did to you? Church, yeah, jethro Tull, yeah, totally, he did flute and organ.
Scott:So that's our podcast.
Ben:That's our podcast. Go listen to. Go listen to some jeff rotol everyone and let us know what you feel about it in the comment section. No, actually snail mail, that's all we send it there's a link.
Scott:There's a link in the description at the bottom.
