Last week, with Twitter going nuts for the oh-so-rad Northern Voice conference, a phrase floated up from Mikala Taylor of Backstage Rider that made me smile: “Have fun with stupid ideas.” Took me all of two seconds to retweet that one.
There’s a similar phrase I use often, one I stole from my student newspaper editor back in university. One editorial meeting, amid a flurry of criticism for some poor soul’s just-voiced idea, he raised his voice over the commotion and proclaimed: “We’re going to consider all ideas to be good ideas. No criticism allowed first go-round.”
It’s amazing what can happen when you give ideas a chance. The stupid ones are often simply not the safe ones. Of course, this is no Hollywood. Not every visionary rises on the wings of … um … triumph. But I will always applaud the people who try, and be in awe of those who can both give it their best shot, and hold their pet ideas loosely at the same time.
So this week I present a short litany of the stupid ideas that are inspiring me to keep working at my own.
- Trinity Orchestra a critically-acclaimed student-run orchestra (stupid idea #1) from Ireland, tackled Daft Punk’s “Discovery” album in its entirety. Out-of-the-box creativity, youth and talent = crazy inspiring.
- My friend Micah Towery & Co. run a brilliant little web publication over at TheThePoetry. Who reads poetry these days? And on the web? Apparently, lotsa folks: TheThe is booming. High five to Micah.
- Maker Faire is coming to Vancouver! Maker Faire is the kind of event that’s dedicated to the worth of stupid ideas. Watch the video and remember why nerds of all stripes were always the guys you crushed on in school (or was that just me?).
- And my friend Katharina – a champion at living out the most brilliant stupid ideas (many of which involve a motorcycle and world travel) – has released Allelle, her fabulous little info guide to Vancouver, in support of independent Vancouver artists (I know, right? Amazing.) Who needs another info guide? WE do!
I’m remembering the stupid idea that led to This Great Society. I believe I remember standing on a table at a Vancouver restuarant after a few pitchers of beer, and asking for folks to do something really dumb and start an arts zine for the love of it. It took a few years to find folks who were willing to be that dumb, but I’m glad I asked. We’re working on Issue #20 now, and it’s still a lot of fun.
A song from the band “Girls” is on serendipitously my headphones as I type this.
“I don’t want to die without shaking a leg or two,
I want to do some dancing too,
c’mon and dance with me.
Sometimes you gotta make it for yourself.”
What’s your stupid idea? Maybe it’s time to take it off the shelf.