Thank you for the music, Wordle, and a crossword
I’ve been thinking about music. And pictures (saving that rabbit-hole for next time).
I usually can’t work while having a song playing in the background as my mind tends to fixate on the words in the song. However, I discovered many years ago that if the words in a song were in a language I did not understand, I could focus on the task at hand. That’s when I became a fan of international music and bands like Madredeus, my go-to piece for deep work and excuse for never wanting to learn Portuguese.
I owned a Discman at that time. I felt retro-cool as I walked around the neighborhood with what, in retrospect, looked like a small animal around my belt. Today, besides Madredeus, my preferred listening while working is various LoFi beats on Spotify. I can’t recommend them enough if you’re also an “I can’t work with the music on” person.
Thanks for the music, Madredeus, Abba, and John Ross…
Abba just released Voyage, their first new material in 40 years. It reached #2 on the Billboard 200 in the US. Take a listen if you’re in the mood for some disco nostalgia.
Abba reminds us that we’re never too old to create new things!
John Koss passed away recently. He helped invent a portable phonograph with a set of stereo headphones. The rest, as we know, is history.
“The sound was just ‘bouncing in my ears,’ he said of the earliest pair he helped invent. It had cardboard cups with three-inch speakers and a cloth pad, all attached to a headband made from a bent clothes-hanger covered with a rubber shower hose.
It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect. Just put it out there (like this newsletter :)
Wordle needs no introduction. It’s incredible how it wasn’t even a word four months ago, and now, we can’t seem to stop talking sharing about it.
Besides its addictive gameplay (beat yourself, beat others), universality (one word/day for the whole world), purity (no ads or upsells on the game’s website), and virality (sharing your efforts), it is a shining example of great storytelling - of the importance of “The Why.”
Before they acquired it, the New York Times appropriately said, “Wordle is a Love Story.” It was built by NYC-based Josh Wardle for his partner, Palak Shah, who loved playing word games. Heads up: lots more coming-up on storytelling in future letters - including a free workshop from our team at StreamAlive!
While we’re on the subject of word games, I have to share this gem I chanced upon at WhatsApp University. Do read the four “down” clues too - it’s just brilliant how they all work both ways:
Words matter. And, they can unify.
(Warning: stolen Indian joke from the Twitterverse) Speaking of competing factions, we’ll be watching the Superbowl finals, Modi vs. Didi, aka Rams vs. Bengals, this evening with friends. The game is just an excuse to get together. While on plans for the day…
As a reward for sending this newsletter out, I’ll be having brunch with Tina (my wife) at a diner. We’re on a mission to visit a new one every weekend, as you may have seen in my NPAT last week on traveling near and narrow. And, it doesn’t count if we don’t take a pic. This one is from last week (NJ readers; ping me if you’d like to join us some time)
Stay well. It’s good to be back.