THERE ISN’T A DAY THAT GOES BY WHERE I’M NOT THINKING ABOUT WRITING OR HOW THE WORLD WILL END
The clock reads 12:56 pm, Wednesday, February 1st, 2023. I’ve undertaken yet another venture exploring my competency with reading, writing, and arithmetic.
A new record store has been erected in the heart of Phoenix and it is from there that I am penning you this letter. As the clock struck midnight on January 1st, I thought about what I’d like to do with my allotted 365 days this year – resolutions aren't something I typically put much thought into but this year felt different. I was consumed by a desire to be more deliberate with my art, my business, and my time. Though cliche, with each passing day I’m reminded of my own mortality, the finite nature of our time on Earth, and the importance of living a life imbued with intention, curiosity, and connection. I’ll reserve my more elaborate musings on life and death for a later installment of this newsletter.
In the year 2023, I want to carefully plan and execute my projects and passions, beginning with TYLER HAS A GUN. Enjoy.
OUR REAL DISCOVERIES COME FROM CHAOS, FROM GOING TO THE PLACE THAT LOOKS WRONG AND STUPID AND FOOLISH... THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
There is nothing more integral to feeling a sense of community than walking around downtown, running into friends and familiar faces, and wandering into the various establishments, many newly opened, that line the city blocks. In an increasingly digital and online World, the brick-and-mortar storefront, in recent years predicted to be on the decline with the rise of online shopping, is enjoying a resurgence. Even the inescapable direct-to-consumer brands that have funded a number of podcast empires have backtracked on the very thing that set them apart. Years after they entered the market with the intention of “eliminating the middleman”, an entire section of the local mall is filled with the storefronts of Tommy John, Indochino, and co.
If the tactile experience of shopping is so crucial, how does this present in a world that is chronically, almost debilitatingly, online? Can we be saved?
I caught up with Jake Stellarwell, the owner of record store and cafe Central Records in Phoenix which opened its doors earlier this month, to hear his thoughts on the things that keep me up at night.
Due to the nature of Tiktok, algorithms, and online playlist curation, what role should the physical record store play in the lives of young people?
Coming out of the pandemic, I think it taught everyone a valuable lesson on human interaction and tactile experiences. While a digital lifestyle may be convenient for everyone, myself included, having a place for people to connect and meet, whether it be over food, drink or even shopping for entertainment, like music or books, it can’t be duplicated or replicated by an algorithm. Coming to a record store and meeting someone with a completely different taste in music and that person sharing a record with you that they just discovered is an encounter that you can’t experience online, which is invaluable. Tactile experiences and brick-and-mortar businesses are coming back for a really big and important reason; human interaction.
What would you like this space to mean to the neighborhood and the community writ large?
I think it’s up to each individual that walks through the doors to [have their own] experience but I hope that we did our best to put something together that highlights, showcases, or spotlights what are essential elements of city life and what those elements should be all about. Having a physical presence down here is rad and it's essential to have things for young people to do. It’s great that there are bars and restaurants, but it's essential to have something homegrown that’s culturally dynamic and offers an interesting experience.
What have you discovered about yourself throughout the process of getting the store opened?
That I’m too old… [laughter] to be in the bar and food industry. No, but I discovered that I really missed it. I used to work in the food and beverage space for many years, and I’ve been in the entertainment space for a long time. Bringing those two things together, I thought would be a hell of a lot easier than it is and it’s certainly not. I learned [that] in the first three days [prior to the store opening] and now we’re in week one and waking up my whole body hurts but I’m having a helluva lot of fun, more fun than I’ve had in a long time.
What I’ve learned about myself is that if I push myself really hard, I can do it… for a little while. [laughter]
CHEWING GUM FOR THE EARS
My audio recap for the week of February 1st to the 10th.
Air, The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack
Altercation, Demo
Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Croatian Amor, Love Means Taking Action
Defense Mechanism, FATE E.P.
Destroy Lonely, NS+ (Ultra)
Mac DeMarco, Five Easy Hotdogs
Narrow Head, Moments of Clarity
RXKNephew, all
Sade, Love Deluxe
How Long Gone, Episode 453 ft. Sara Jane Ho
Red Scare, The Whole Yale Thing
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Andreas is the CEO of Possessed Fanzine and vocalist of Oakland’s Defense Mechanism. He stopped by to give us his new year's resolutions and they don’t disappoint. Only hate for the fakes in '23.
Finally run the fuck away from TikTok - I was at a show in San Francisco recently where 90% of the attendance was in their teenage years. They wore clown makeup, JNCOs, and seemed like they literally had no idea how to handle being in a public space. I thought they were all fucking weird and they all bothered me. I wondered to myself how kids now could be so different from kids when I was a kid. Then I got home and hopped onto TikTok and realized, oh yeah THIS is fucking why. There’s some funny shit on there but I could just hang out with my friends or walk into a dive bar that opens at 10 am to witness some funny shit. Plus, it’s got the same problem as the rest of the internet: I really don’t need to know people's opinions on things. Not even like, stupid political beliefs either. I’m talking like, I don’t even want to know what flavor Otter-Pop a motherfucker likes after finishing a mile. Know what I mean?
Grow a foot - I don’t mean grow an extra leg and five toes, and I don’t mean growing to be exactly 6 feet and 11.75 inches tall, I mean growing exactly one foot wider. I want to have kegs for pecs, cannonballs for delts, and so much muscular definition in my back that it looks like a fucking map of the coastline of Norway. I want to be the last person called to rescue children out of a tiny cave. I know that this is really not going to happen, but if this is the goal then the journey there is bound to teach me a few things about my failing body and that is really all a man can ask for.
Be just a bit meaner, but also nicer - I used to be so fucking mean to people for no reason other than I hated myself and therefore everyone else. I still kind of do, but I have grown softer as I have aged, which tends to be the case for angsty teens finally reaching their late 20s. Still, this has meant having to fake a smile, fake a laugh, and fake interest in people that I could not give less of a fuck about. I want to spend as little time as possible 1.) being fake and 2.) putting myself in scenarios I do not want to be in. I don’t want to stand there nodding along as some doofus wants to tell me some story (that is probably a lie) where the moral is that he is a cool person I should respect. The moment I whiff out any bullshit I should bring myself to at least stand there in a completely catatonic state, hopefully getting the point across to these dumb motherfuckers that I do not care. I can also do what I did as a kid and just say “Shut the fuck up I do not like you” but to be honest that didn’t get me very far. I think if I am mean to people I hate but overall nicer to people I do not know at all, like little old ladies and snotty kids, then that balances out and generally makes me more Christ-like.
Break into the home of Dwayne Johnson and leave cryptic and threatening messages to get him to drop out of society - I need to finally get off my ass and develop a game plan for this. We have all had enough of him. I’m sure this isn’t an original thought but I’m sure the reason he has contracts limiting how negatively he can be portrayed in a given film is that he doesn’t want embarrassing recent footage of him being used to his disadvantage when he finally runs for president. Mark my words: if he even runs in a primary for president I am going to commit the biggest act of terrorism the world has ever seen. It is unbelievable how much of a fucking narcissist this guy is, starring in multiple movies multiple times a year. He’s always the hero, always got a quippy remark, always in control of the situation. It’s fucking crazy to me that someone goes into acting, a venture meant to open you to new stories and perspectives, and not only does he play himself, but the godlike persona he views himself as. Fuck that, man. It’s time to find out where this fucking guy lives and ruin his life just like he’s ruined mine. Maybe I should just give Vin Diesel a bazooka.
Start snapping at waiters at restaurants while calling them “garçon!” - Not only would this illicit respect from him, as he can clearly see that I am important enough to be in quite the hurry, but it would command reverence from the entire restaurant, which is all I’m really asking for. Plus, the guy delivering a plate of loaded fries and a hazy IPA probably hasn’t been called “garçon” in a good while so it’ll be a breath of fresh air for him to be seen in such a multicultural condescendence.
ALEXANDER CALDER VISITED PIET MONDRIAN'S STUDIO IN 1930
As described by him here:
It was a very exciting room. Light came in from the left and from the right, and on the solid wall between the windows there were experimental stunts with colored rectangles of cardboard tacked on ….
I suggested to Mondrian that perhaps it would be fun to make these rectangles oscillate. And he, with a very serious countenance, said: ‘No, it is not necessary, my painting is already very fast.’…
This one visit gave me a shock that started things.
His response was to do exactly that which Mondrian refused; to make abstract art move.
I CAN FEEL THE WORLD CHANGING AND NO ONE IS TRYING HARD ENOUGH
As the cultural outrage cycle seems to be rapidly declining in popularity, due in part to collective exhaustion with vexatious, militant political correctness, I would like to examine the oft-invoked idea of separating the art from the artist. I found myself in a moral quandary recently as I was listening to a hardcore band some would deem “canceled” crowd shrieking in horror and disgust Throughout the past few years, I’ve noticed a trend emerging of people openly enjoying the music that some of the most vocal people online had sworn off vehemently. Morrissey and Whirr come to mind first. Why is that? Does this mean we’re (finally) headed in a new direction culturally? Say it ain’t so. I need some time to organize my thoughts.
SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER
I’ve started playing chess on chess.com . Please add me if you’d like to play. I have a current rating of 248 playing 10-minute rapids.
I'm open to any tips and or tricks if you know what's good.
THIS NIGHT HAS OPENED MY EYES
That’s it for this week, you can anticipate this once a week with a similar format but with varying genres of content. Please subscribe and share.
If you ever want to discuss anything featured in these dispatches, please email me hello@tylerhasagun.com