The world is full of nice, ordinary things
Oh, hi friends!
I once told a friend I was having a bad day but, you know, these things pass. They always do. I said I would get a reset the next week.
And she looked at me and said, “Why not now?”
I’ve remembered that so many times. You don’t have to wait for the signpost of a new month or new week. Or for when you get a new job or end something else. Embrace the arbitrary.
You can reset at any minute.
Any minute.
“Musicals are not very forgiving. You don't get a pat on the head because you tried hard. Or because it was a good-ish idea. It's either out of the park or you're home. ‘Nice’ is not a particularly attractive epithet. Take it to the next level so it's deeper and really compels and demands our interest. That's something hard to find. I feel for everybody as you're striving towards that. But I think we should all be a little harder on ourselves. That's a really nice song BUT. That's a really good idea BUT. Is it a song I will never forget? Is it something that will change my life? If it isn't a song that will change your life, forget it. The world is full of nice, ordinary things. We've chosen to do this stupid thing of writing a musical and that takes upon us this incredible burden of being interesting and compelling and unforgettable and moving and touching and when we hit it, God, it's thrilling, but we fall short so often. On the way to being good, we fall short. Keep the standard up. Keep fighting to make it more. So when you're finished, anyone who listened to the song says, Yeah, I don't have anything to add to that, it's there.”
Richard Maltby, Jr said this in our BMI workshop last night and it lit a fire under me and, I think, can apply to anyone who’s aiming higher right now. Doesn’t matter what you’re doing, musical or not. If you’re making something, keep the standard up. Keep fighting to make it more.
A New (Old) Anthem For Ya
“It’s Not Where You Start” sung here by Barbara Cook, written by Dorothy Fields!!!
If you start at the top, you're certain to drop,
You've got to watch your timing;
Better begin by climbing up, up, up the ladder.
If you're going to last you can't make it fast, man,
Nobody starts a winner, give me a slow beginner,
Easy does it, conserve your fine endurance;
Easy does it, for that's your life insurance.
While you are young, take it rung after rung after rung.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara