Don’t Be Silent on Sunday, Sing the Hell Out of Your Song

I have some serious authority issues. I don’t like experts. Pure academics make me want to go YAK. And,nothing against folks who want to go #silentsunday, but the iconoclast and contrarian veins in me just throb in opposition to that. Art is never about being silent. Even John Cage’s 4’33” is not really about silence. And a photograph is never about silence. It’s a steam whistle saying ‘lookatmelookatmelookatme’. If you are a writer or a teacher of writers, then it seems to me that it is borderline disingenuous to even broach the idea of silence.

Instead, let’s do what Chris Brogan suggests: Let’s Sing the Hell Out of Our Song.

Brogan’s advice in my voice:

  • Imagine the larger context of your song. For me, that means that I can be your iconoclast, your skeptic, your dark friend who shouts out “the king’s got no clothes” at what may appear to be the most inopportune moment.
  • Make sure you make it their song by God. From me. I intend the best for you with my voice as loud as I can for as long as I can. I am your song sung out like hell even if it only comes out tinny and weak and tone deaf and pitiful. My song for you.
  • Solve a problem. Here’s your problem. Everything you know might be wrong. Me, too. I am startled by, amazed by and I’m just not afraid to call us out on it. You can tag along and come up with your own versions or a brand new version of some contrarian bullshit. We will both know that in the end everything we know is wrong most of the time. Sometimes I will be weak, but that will be when I appear the most strong and sometimes I will seem strong and that will be when I am weakest.
  • Keep it brief, Brogan says. Yeah, but only if that keeps it right.
  • Give your voice handles. In my case my voice might be a bit of a hot skillet at times that you might need a potholder, too. My handle in this post is this: I respect the idea of silence, but the internet is not a vehicle for silence or silencing. Be unsilent and go wailing into the vortex. My handle might also have some rough edges. All the better to grip.

So don’t STFU, just sing the bloody hell out of your song like these guys who are singing and wringing the hell of their song through their instruments for me, for you, for us.  Let me hear you sing and I will do my best to sing for you, too.

Updates:

Kevin and Co sing. And make sure you go hear him sing here today.

Moshi sings:

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And Sarah:

 

 

Amy’s song:

6 Comments


  2. // Reply

    While I agree with everything you said about singing out / speaking out I do think there is something to be said for silence – the silence that allows us to go deep and then gives us the energy and conviction to sing out even louder.


    1. // Reply

      Thanks for commenting. A bit of time for breath between shouts is always good but for me the shouts justify the breathing not the other way around. Is this a linear thing or an organic thing?


  4. // Reply

    To me, #silentsunday isn’t about being quiet or silenced. As a “receiver,” it’s about observing, reading, interpreting, contemplating, etc. the images others have shared. As a “giver,” this exercise has heightened my awareness of my surroundings, and caused me to look for opportunities to capture images that are beautiful and in some way tell a story.

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