16 Comments

Dear Henrik, this is such a fantastic essay. The way two separate learning processes have contributed to a behemoth of musical excellence and expression is a wonderful story or movie waiting for you to pen down. This reminds me of an experiment done in India, probably sometime around 2005 (?) , a group set up PCs in a box without any instructions in an economically disadvantaged section. Within a week, kids had self taught themselves on how to use it and were passing the learning.

Opportunity is a huge blessing, as it seeds possibilities.

Thank you again for a superb piece

Shirish

Expand full comment
Mar 23, 2023Liked by Henrik Karlsson

This is a fun documentary. There's no Part 1, but there's parts 2-6 about the Swedish pop miracle, where you get to see many of the guys you write about in action.

https://www.youtube.com/@leighhutton3549/videos

Expand full comment

Great piece. Many such examples exist. The Homebrew Computing Club was one,

"From the ranks of this club came the founders of many microcomputer companies, including Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs (Apple Computer), Harry Garland and Roger Melen (Cromemco), Thomas "Todd" Fischer (IMSAI Division, Fischer-Freitas Company), George Morrow (Morrow Designs), Paul Terrell (Byte Shop), Adam Osborne (Osborne Computer), and Bob Marsh (Processor Technology). John Draper was also a member of the club, as was Jerry Lawson (creator of the first cartridge-based video game system, Fairchild Channel F).[13] Li-Chen Wang, developer of Palo Alto Tiny Basic and graphics software for the Cromemco Dazzler, was also a club member, and Lee Felsenstein was moderator of the club meetings.[14][self-published source] Steve Inness was a primary designer of one of the early cell phone touch screens as well as a business partner with John Draper.[15][16][unreliable source?] Liza Loop was also an early member and the first woman to join.[17]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_Computer_Club

See also the San Francisco Writers Workshop,

"The San Francisco Writers Workshop is one of the oldest continuously running writing critique groups in the United States, meeting every Tuesday night, except for major holidays, since 1946. Successful published authors who first workshopped their books in the group include Khaled Hosseini,[1] David Henry Sterry, Aaron Hamburger, Joe Quirk, Michelle Gagnon, Kemble Scott, Tamim Ansary, Erika Mailman, Zack Lynch, Zarina Zabrisky, and Ransom Stephens.

Tamim Ansary moderated the workshop for twenty-two years until his retirement in 2015. Currently, the workshop is moderated by Kurt Wallace Martin, Judy Viertel, James Warner, Monya Baker, and Olga Zilberbourg. The workshop is free and open to all interested writers and genres, providing a forum to share work-in-progress and receive constructive critiques from other writers. The group meets at Noisebridge, in San Francisco's Mission district."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Writers_Workshop

For more of a "scene" proper, the Haight Ashbury music scene of the late 60s,

Several bands exploded from the San Francisco scene as the Bay became the new capital of the peace and love movement.

GRATEFUL DEAD - The Golden Road

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - White Rabbit

STEVE MILLER BAND - Space Cowboy

BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANYPiece of My Heart -

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Run Through the Jungle

MOBY GRAPE - Murder In My Heart For the Judge

SANTANA - Oye Como Va

BEAU BRUMMELS - Laugh, Laugh

BLUE CHEER - Summertime Blues

CHOCOLATE WATCH BAND - Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)

COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH - Fixin' To Die Rag

CANNED HEAT - Going Up the Country

SCOTT McKENZIE - San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY - White Bird

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE - Fresh Air

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE - Everyday People

https://playlistresearch.com/article/haight.htm

Expand full comment

What you speak of here - making music from a place of ego to try deliberately to impress - ensures the making of music which celebrates lies instead of truth. We can literally receive a direct transmission of truth from music which comes from a place of personal honesty. Sharing this with fellow musicians is a high art. Out music says so much about us.

Expand full comment

This a fascinating dive into Swedish compositional history. I was moderately distracted by Beatle Sir Paul McCartney being described twice as Paul McCarthy when his legendary songwriting was compared to Max Martin’s, though.

Expand full comment