Some Magic Makes No Sense
By Kyle Littleton - Friday, August 23, 2019
Music and film are a great source of inspiration for me. The title for my new release, No Sense, was inspired by the Talking Heads concert film, “Stop Making Sense.”
I was talking with a friend when we discovered we didn't understand the meaning to some of our favorite songs. “Loser” by Beck is a perfect example. The song goes from talking about beefcake pantyhose to a termite choking on a splinter (I know. Crazy!). Maybe he was crafting some deep and meaningful narrative... or maybe perhaps he was benefiting from the creative stimulus of certain "substances". Either way, I love it when artists unashamedly do something that seems to make no sense.
All of this made me think. As magicians, we forget to allow ourselves to experiment. A common complaint amongst magicians is being asked to perform for free. My advice, TAKE THE GIG! This is the perfect time to develop the sort of material that you may be a little nervous doing in front of a paying audience. Learning this was a watershed moment for me. At hundreds, upon hundreds of open mic nights, I have been able to play with tricks that are not fully formed. I get to throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks (sometimes, I am literally performing for a wall when only one person shows up). The point is, these places are a great playground where it doesn’t matter if something fails.
If you don’t have a stage to experiment on yet, you can still get creative. I started with a private YouTube channel to throw quirky ideas onto. Send videos to your friends. See what they like, and even more importantly, what they don't.
I put together some of my "experiments" that I sent my friends in a compilation below:
Music and film are a great source of inspiration for me. The title for my new release, No Sense, was inspired by the Talking Heads concert film, “Stop Making Sense.”
I was talking with a friend when we discovered we didn't understand the meaning to some of our favorite songs. “Loser” by Beck is a perfect example. The song goes from talking about beefcake pantyhose to a termite choking on a splinter (I know. Crazy!). Maybe he was crafting some deep and meaningful narrative... or maybe perhaps he was benefiting from the creative stimulus of certain "substances". Either way, I love it when artists unashamedly do something that seems to make no sense.
All of this made me think. As magicians, we forget to allow ourselves to experiment. A common complaint amongst magicians is being asked to perform for free. My advice, TAKE THE GIG! This is the perfect time to develop the sort of material that you may be a little nervous doing in front of a paying audience. Learning this was a watershed moment for me. At hundreds, upon hundreds of open mic nights, I have been able to play with tricks that are not fully formed. I get to throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks (sometimes, I am literally performing for a wall when only one person shows up). The point is, these places are a great playground where it doesn’t matter if something fails.
If you don’t have a stage to experiment on yet, you can still get creative. I started with a private YouTube channel to throw quirky ideas onto. Send videos to your friends. See what they like, and even more importantly, what they don't.
I put together some of my "experiments" that I sent my friends in a compilation below:
Music and film are a great source of inspiration for me. The title for my new release, No Sense, was inspired by the Talking Heads concert film, “Stop Making Sense.”
I was talking with a friend when we discovered we didn't understand the meaning to some of our favorite songs. “Loser” by Beck is a perfect example. The song goes from talking about beefcake pantyhose to a termite choking on a splinter (I know. Crazy!). Maybe he was crafting some deep and meaningful narrative... or maybe perhaps he was benefiting from the creative stimulus of certain "substances". Either way, I love it when artists unashamedly do something that seems to make no sense.
All of this made me think. As magicians, we forget to allow ourselves to experiment. A common complaint amongst magicians is being asked to perform for free. My advice, TAKE THE GIG! This is the perfect time to develop the sort of material that you may be a little nervous doing in front of a paying audience. Learning this was a watershed moment for me. At hundreds, upon hundreds of open mic nights, I have been able to play with tricks that are not fully formed. I get to throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks (sometimes, I am literally performing for a wall when only one person shows up). The point is, these places are a great playground where it doesn’t matter if something fails.
If you don’t have a stage to experiment on yet, you can still get creative. I started with a private YouTube channel to throw quirky ideas onto. Send videos to your friends. See what they like, and even more importantly, what they don't.
I put together some of my "experiments" that I sent my friends in a compilation below:
Music and film are a great source of inspiration for me. The title for my new release, No Sense, was inspired by the Talking Heads concert film, “Stop Making Sense.”
I was talking with a friend when we discovered we didn't understand the meaning to some of our favorite songs. “Loser” by Beck is a perfect example. The song goes from talking about beefcake pantyhose to a termite choking on a splinter (I know. Crazy!). Maybe he was crafting some deep and meaningful narrative... or maybe perhaps he was benefiting from the creative stimulus of certain "substances". Either way, I love it when artists unashamedly do something that seems to make no sense.
All of this made me think. As magicians, we forget to allow ourselves to experiment. A common complaint amongst magicians is being asked to perform for free. My advice, TAKE THE GIG! This is the perfect time to develop the sort of material that you may be a little nervous doing in front of a paying audience. Learning this was a watershed moment for me. At hundreds, upon hundreds of open mic nights, I have been able to play with tricks that are not fully formed. I get to throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks (sometimes, I am literally performing for a wall when only one person shows up). The point is, these places are a great playground where it doesn’t matter if something fails.
If you don’t have a stage to experiment on yet, you can still get creative. I started with a private YouTube channel to throw quirky ideas onto. Send videos to your friends. See what they like, and even more importantly, what they don't.
I put together some of my "experiments" that I sent my friends in a compilation below:
The challenge with "No Sense" was how to make a button funny and relatable. After trying artsy presentations, and clever hooks, I settled on the obvious. I should just embrace the fact that it makes no sense whatsoever.
I really hope that you check out "No Sense" and have as much fun with it as I do.
Back to blog homepage
Similar posts on the blog:
