I decided I wanted to do something just for fun, you know?
Quirky, or witty or whimsical. Whatever. Didn’t matter. But I was feeling the need to focus on something interesting and positive and … well … fun.
Like a lot of people, this past year has gotten me into a bit of a funk. It’s really only recently that I feel like maybe I’ve been digging out of it a little bit. Only recently that I find myself having periods where my mind is feeling like it’s ready to be creative again. April was the first month in a while that I’ve actually been creating words. And, so, against that backdrop I decided I wanted to find a way to do something that was simply fun.
I am nothing if not a touch analytical in nature, so it was only to be expected that my first questions were, well: “what is fun?” and “fun to whom?” After much noodling and a couple cups of coffee, my answers were the monumentally astute: “Fun” is whatever I point to and say, “hey that was fun.” Which therefore, of course, says that “to whom” is, by definition: Me.
The next question that dawned on me was “what will these Fun things be and when will I do them?” The long-term answer to these are a big fat “I dunno.”
For now I figure most of them are going to be links to things I’ve found on the internet—mostly because the majority of what I’ll kindly call my leisure time for the past year has been spent, like a lot of folks, fiddling on the net. Regardless, I intend to document my progress, assuming there is any, here on Typosphere, because, well, what else would I do? This place has been around since the mid-90s. It’s got a lot of who I’ve been in it. No reason to stop now. And, as far as timing is concerned? Well … we’ll see.
But I’m starting today, and that’s a … well … a start.
I’m going to start with a video from Lake Street Dive, a group who I first saw as a random link on the side of my YouTube screen, and who I explored more deeply because I have a findness for Chicago and their name reminded me of that city. They are not, however, from Chicago. Such is the folly of expectation, right? What they are, however, is interesting. And good. A few minutes listening to them drew me in, and … well … if you get drawn in, you’ll find what I found.
Here is their Wiki Page.
Here is their Web Site.
And the twitter necessary, right?
Knock yourself out.
This entry is about fun things, though, meaning something specific. Hence let me point your attention at this video, which is their live version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
They have a studio version that is a little cleaner, and also quite fun, but for my tastes, the live version is sublime. It’s hard to imagine a single guitar, a stand-up base, and a small drum set can manage the song, but it’s brilliant and beautiful and funny and … well, I don’t know what else to say about it. Despite them being together for some time, I had not heard of Lake Street Dive before—which I admit strikes me as a thing, too. Every creator works in their own circles, and those circles don’t include you. Until they do.
If you’re a fan of Queen, I’d expect you’ll be split, because Queen is Queen. But either way, if you’re simply a fan of really good musicians doing interesting things, I think you’ll find this amazing fun.
If you do, follow the YouTube link and find their original stuff, which is also quite good—and maybe hit on their covers of a few other classics. Like Lola, and a really fun rooftop send-up of Don’t Let Me Down.