In life, I’ve found that the best lessons often hide in the most unlikely places. In this particular case, the insights of this blog are inspired by a scene in the movie, “Vengeance”—a story that follows a writer from New York (played by B.J. Novak from “The Office”) as he travels to small-town Texas and tries to solve the murder of a girl he once hooked up with.
At one point in the movie, B.J. Novak’s character (Ben) arrives at the studio of a small-town music producer, Quentin (played by Ashton Kutcher). Stepping into the production room, Ben sees a recording session about to begin and observes Quentin in action. Quentin, sensing the nerves of the artist about to record, stops her before they begin and delivers a message that, in my opinion, every creator ought to be reminded of from time to time:
“There’s no argument more profound than how the universe came into existence. Are we here because of God or science? I mean it is, by its very nature, the most fundamental question. But there’s one thing that everyone agrees on. And that is whether it was God declaring, ‘Let there be light,’ or an infinite particle of energy bursting forth in the Big Bang, everyone, and I mean everyone, agrees that the universe started with a sound… What we’re recording here isn’t your record. It’s your sound on the record that started at the very first moment in time. So when you sing this song, I want you to think about how what you’re making is the record of your time here on this Earth. It’s the sound that you scratch with your life, on the record of the universe.”
Delivering words reminiscent of Walt Whitman’s, “That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse,” the spirits of the artist are noticeably lifted. She returns to the mic with a weight lifted and crushes the song that, just moments ago, crushed her. Her session ends and the scene cuts to Ben and Quentin walking around Quentin’s surrounding ranch.
The two of them discuss how many ordinary people don’t have outlets for their creativity so they sometimes release it in unhealthy ways. They talk about the problems they see plaguing modern-day society and how on-demand culture has eroded originality in art in favor of what’s sellable at scale.
Until eventually, the time comes for Ben to leave. Just before they part ways, Ben asks Quentin: “If I came here for advice about my voice, my writing, my podcast, what would you tell me?” Looking off slightly down and to the right, eyes looking at the dirt, Quentin delivers the second creative treasure as his answer:
“I’d probably say that nobody writes anything. All we do is translate. So if you ever get stuck and don’t know what to say, just listen. Even to the silences. Listen as hard as you can to the world around you and repeat back what you hear. That translation, that’s your voice.”
A little book I own called “Socrates Quotes and Facts” says the father of philosophy said something similar, “that the poets are only the interpreters of God.” Whether or not it’s entirely true, I’m not sure.
But whether it’s true or not, I do know this: if you listen long enough, what wants to come out will find its way to the surface. Just give it time to arrive and room to rise.
Then do your best to translate for the rest of us.
[Sorry for the quality of the video, but it was the only one I could find on YouTube for the first clip referenced above. I couldn’t find a YouTube video for the second script.]
damn strong first post!
Great stuff! Have you read Rick Rubin's new book? There is a lot in there which really resonates with the above.
"In this great unfolding, ideas and thoughts, themes and songs and other works of art exist in the aether and ripen on schedule, ready to find expression in the physical world. As artists, it is our job to draw down this information, transmute it, and share it. We are all translators for messages the universe is broadcasting."