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Librarians, Start New Game
November-December 2019, American Libraries Magazine
For librarians at universities with videogame design programs, maintaining a large, accessible gaming collection isn’t a Final Fantasy. It’s a Call of Duty. Beginning a collection may be as easy as pressing start to play, but storing and preserving complex materials is a tough battle—and academic librarians want to level up.
The University of Michigan’s (UM) Computer Video and Game Archive (CVGA) in Ann Arbor boasts more than 8,000 videogames and 60 consoles dating back to the 1970s. “Because we have such a large collection, there are many examples from which to pull and get inspiration, things [students] would never be able to afford on their own,” says David Carter, videogame archivist at UM. “Almost nobody has a collection this big, especially a college student.”
“[People] don’t think of libraries as a destination for digital scholarship,” says Anne Morrow, associate librarian and head of digital scholarship services at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library, which has more than 500 videogames and serves almost 400 game design students. “There’s an incentive to see what the obstacles are for bringing these types of original work into the collection.”
Objective: playability
As the owner of more than 2,000 commercial games, 300 student games, and 40 consoles (some as old as the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System), the University of California, Santa Cruz’s (UCSC) Science and Engineering Library prioritizes authentic playability. Its goal is to provide students with not only a game but also the console it was made for, a compatible controller, and an era-appropriate TV to play it on.
With so many moving pieces, says Christy Caldwell, science and engineering librarian at UCSC, “providing usage of increasingly ‘antique’ [materials] is an ongoing challenge.”
UM has the same goal. “We don’t have to do a lot of tracking down, thankfully,” says Valerie Waldron, UM computer and videogame archive manager. About half of its collection is donated, and as with other academic libraries that own game collections, staffers turn to eBay if they need to repair or buy a missing item. Or they get creative.
“Something broke on our Atari 7800, and we actually 3D-printed a replacement part,” Carter says.
Why is maintaining playability of older games important? Students are mainly studying design and software. “What does the game look like, and what does the controller feel like?” Caldwell says. “Are you seeing something similar to what someone who played the game earlier would have seen and experienced?”
Students are also looking at artwork, game mechanics, subjects, and even source code as inspiration for their own games. “They’re using [archives] for competitive intelligence, and looking at what’s been done already,” says Tallie Casucci, assistant librarian at Marriott Library.
Space is another issue. At Marriott Library, students must go to different floors to pick up a videogame, grab a console and matching controllers, and actually play, since the stations are separated and require checkouts for loss prevention. “It’d be nice to have everything all in one place,” Casucci says.
In Ann Arbor, the CVGA houses both the collection and spaces to play the games on consoles, since the collection doesn’t leave the library. “It’s a very crammed room,” Carter says.
Save game?
UM staffers say they have two missions: to serve the teaching and research needs of faculty and students in order to promote usage of the games, and to preserve those games. “There’s an inherent tension. Usage is the enemy of preservation,” Carter says. “Academic usage trumps preservation. We don’t want to have something just to have it and not let people use it.”
After students from the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program at Utah lost all the materials for Erie, a popular student-made game from 2012, Casucci and Morrow investigated their options. With help from an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, they published an ebook this fall on how to best archive, preserve, and disseminate student videogames.
“People have been looking at digital preservation seriously, [but] we haven’t made progress with objects that are really complex, like videogames, that have many interactions between files,” Morrow says. “We thought about the existing services in a library and how games might be supported by those services.”
“In our case, it would be the sheer number of analog games to process and store that would be difficult, especially year after year,” Caldwell says. “You’re asking people in cataloging who have never even played a game to suddenly start cataloging media. You need to support them.” The best way to do that, she says, is to develop accurate metadata and consistent, detailed cataloging practices.
But academic libraries still need to strategize.
At Marriott Library, Casucci and Morrow created a tiered retention system for archiving student games, through which students can choose the process that best suits their needs. In earlier tiers, students can contribute visuals such as screenshots or game trailers. As they go further into the system, students can contribute their games in their entirety, allowing future students complete access to its features.
Commercial games have not been forgotten. Carter and Waldron are finding ways to preserve legacy formats of videogames like floppy disks and cartridges. “We’re trying to discover ways of taking the game off its original format and creating an image for it,” Waldron says. “There are still a lot of things to work out, like how to store it properly, retrieve it, or put it back in its original format.” As for regular discs, UM keeps multiple copies and stores them in archival-quality sleeves behind the circulation desk.
According to Heather Maxwell Chandler’s Game Production Handbook, after producing a videogame, developers organize the game’s source assets and archive them in a closing kit—a common practice in the industry to help developers install updates or patches to their games. UCSC would like to implement closing kits down the line.
“The faculty wants to have a record of what students have created,” Caldwell says. “They want students to be inspired by what other students have done and build on that work.”
Carter and Waldron say that videogame preserving and archiving has been underdeveloped in libraries because it is still an emerging format. “Until recently, the history of the videogame industry has been left in the hands of private collectors,” Carter says. “Not to discount the work that private collectors have done—that’s one portion of preservation, but you need academic libraries in the mix.”
“For a long time, [game companies] weren’t really interested in preserving their games, either,” Waldron says. According to Kotaku, this is due to legal gray areas, lack of industry support, and turnover of games. “I think that’s slowly starting to change.”
Conquering copyright issues
Potential copyright problems exist in every layer of videogame collecting, especially regarding older materials with expired copyrights. In October 2018, a decision from the Library of Congress and US Copyright Office allowed institutions to lawfully own copies of older videogames if they were acquired from the original companies in order to make preservation copies—a separate challenge for librarians and archivists as many companies are no longer in business or have discontinued server support.
“Assuming that all videogames are governed by terms of use, it’s likely that any exceptions one would expect in the copyright law are not allowed,” says Carrie Russell, senior program officer and copyright specialist at the American Library Association. “If students are doing close analysis of the games or something similar, it’s likely that license terms don’t forbid just studying and researching the game unless the research involves the need to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) that may be employed by the rights holder.”
DRM is a form of copyright protection licensing for digital media implemented by embedding code that prevents copying, specifying a time period in which content can be accessed, or limiting the number of devices content can be installed on. For example, games with expired or maxed-out licenses may not be library friendly.
Another consideration is that certain PC games come with keys—a string of unique characters—that a user must input in order to play. “But then that [game] is registered, and it’s only good for one use,” Carter says. “If someone donates a PC game to us, if they’ve used the key, we can’t use that game. We have to somehow get another key.”
Currently, libraries’ and archives’ rights to preserve videogames are allowed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “That exemption, however, will expire in 2021 and need to be requested again,” Russell says.
Student-made videogames are easier to preserve since students get to decide what university libraries can keep. The student work that libraries archive mostly consists of digital files. They can either archive the entire game or different elements of it, like an abstract, artwork, or gameplay footage.
“We never make the students put up everything,” Caldwell says. “They could say, ‘I don’t want to upload my actual code. I’ll upload my abstract.’”
Students can claim complete copyright of their games or use a Creative Commons license, which allows others to share, use, and build on their work. They can even decide if they want their work to be available to university affiliates or the public.
Librarians, too, try to educate students about the importance of archiving their work at the library, studying other games, and how copyright plays into both. “You have to believe that [students] are going to use [the collection] responsibly,” Caldwell says.
Next-level libraries
Librarians agree they’re just beginning to assimilate game scholarship into academic libraries; progress will continue as the industry and programs evolve.
Caldwell says librarians should be working collaboratively to keep games accessible by lobbying for copyright law exceptions, partnering with game companies, and improving metadata and catalog descriptions.
“Games are to the 21st century what films were to the 20th,” she says. “How long did it take libraries to start collecting film? I think what we can do is start working together sooner, because we’ve already lost so many games.”
UM also wants to encourage students who may not be game design majors to help normalize videogames in the library. “In humanities or social science classes, instead of writing a paper, students are creating games,” Carter says. “We’ve been working with the design lab [at UM] to figure out ways to support the lighter-weight aspect of game creation.”
“[Games are] a part of society,” Waldron says. “It speaks to what our culture is in any given era, like any other format.”
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Meet The Diet regimen Slimming Perfume.
If you're dealing with to slim down, you are actually probably investigating the very best diet regimens as well as which is right for you. The other factor is this kind of public health argument that if you only say to folks that you don't must eat carbs but you can do just what Atkins told folks, you don't must eat carbs but you could consume as much steak as you want, seafood Newberg, quarter-pounder burgers, enjoy, merely don't consume carbohydrates and you'll burn fat. http://laforcedefruits-blog.info assumed this message was actually unfortunate and also incredibly contradictory for people which really shouldn't be dropping weight. Always remember that some folks are actually extra conscious variations in water weight in comparison to others. Low-fat as well as low-carb diets produce equivalent weight reduction and improvements in blood insulin resistance however the low-carb diet may be actually hazardous to vascular health, inning accordance with a brand-new study in Diabetes. A low-carb diet like Atkins helps you manage your blood glucose as a result of the foods you are consuming-- protein, body fat and thread coming from veggies. I would say no. I assume if an individual experiences addicted" around meals, they might want to examine their amount from physical regulation (really refusing themselves appropriate fats, creating excessive cravings, and/or rejecting on their own specific foods) or their level of psychological stipulation (consuming the foods items but feeling responsible regarding them, identifying meals good/bad, really feeling negative concerning their physical bodies and making use of food items as a stand-in). Corinne Podger: Online dieters Chip, Anna and also Lyn typically aren't thinking about the 80 per-cent who fail; they wish to become aware of the others, the one in five which deal with certainly not merely to reduce weight but to keep it off. However currently I'm additionally on a fitness center zing for a month or 2, to get my body weight down and strength up, into a different zone. The superstar admitted to consuming alcohol additional after experiencing her divorce coming from past spouse of five years, Jordan Bratman, and also being actually lax on her diet regimen. Got my very first pair of weeks from meals this evening, as well as had 8 meals substituted by things I failed to order. I believe I check out Topiramate would not be actually risk-free to have while on this form of diet do to renal rock creation. Our experts reside in a globe where our company go to work, bring up kids, travel through McDonald's, experience delight as well as stress, reveal food items along with relatived ... I do not wish to judge, yet I am actually pretty sure the daily life from a computer mouse is not quite as complex as that from an individual. In this particular research, reduced threat of cardiovascular fatality was urled to the Mediterranean diet just in the course of the first healthcare facility remain. Though the incorporated B vitamins could be replaced along with whole foods items, the only energetic element for effective weight loss besides vitamins is coffee robustica. My weight varies in between 209-216 pounds (98-95 kilograms) as well as my waist circumference is 36 inches (92 centimeters), which offers me a weight loss from concerning 143 pounds (65 kilograms) and also 23 inches (58 centimeters) smaller sized circumference. It is actually likewise the first time Body weight Watchers has actually fallen out of the top 5, right now can be found in at # 10, yet with the latest announcement that Oprah will be their brand new representative in 2016, we anticipate them rebounding next year.. Talking from experience, as I am at a fit as well as healthy and balanced weight I reside in a happier mood compared to the amount of times when I am heavier. But I also attempted carrying out weightlifting on an empty belly prior to as well as failed to like that in any way, I experienced unstable and also could not perform a bunch of agents, for me it pretty much was actually ineffective. my company attempt to stick to this diet plan essentially yet do not eat red meat product, poutry or pork. Fast onward a million years or so, and also not merely have our situations modified dramatically, yet thus has our meals. Particularly, the danger of urinary system tract contaminations as well as genital fungus infections boosts - the result from all the sweets (food for micro-organisms and also fungis) that crack into the pee. Having said that, if you're alarmingly overweight and you've tried all various other techniques after that the FDA accepted weight management strategies use a glimmer from chance - but they come with a rate. Re Problem 2 - the RC diet plan possessed an increase in fat oxidation that was a fair bit less than the reduction in electricity consumption, so they were actually making use of carbohydrate (glycogen) reserves. When I initially started on my weight-loss trip, my objective was certainly not to reside a dog's life of deprival; as a matter of fact, I determined that if I couldn't go as well as appreciate a McDonald's meal at the very least when a full week, I wasn't mosting likely to continue from it. And during that time in my youthful, never-dieted, regularly eating way too much physical body, I performed drop weight promptly and conveniently without harsh deprival. Since people were reading as well as seemed to be to want a lot more, I really felt motivated sufficient to start a podcast with my friend Aaron Flores, RDN, which has actually been actually a lot fun for me. I came to get on Christy Harrison's Meals Psych podcast to refer to my past with meals as well as weight loss which was actually so very tremendously cool. Some research studies of Ramadan have presented weight increase during the course of this period therefore. But PHYSICIAN Dukan carries out all he can to eradicate both carbs as well as body fats coming from his fat burning periods. In her service, Trudy helps customers along with fat burning and food longings, as well as operates a meals weblog full of mouth-watering dishes. My weight dropped coming from around 150 to 142.5 after the initial full week however during the 2nd week my weight fluctuated as higher as 147.5 and afterwards the next day was down to 143. She points out lots of weight reduction facilities make use of dish substitutes as part of a closely watched very-low-energy diet plan (VLED) for individuals with being overweight. Okay, the moment you choose a practical diet plan you definitely must include workout in to your regimen. Not only cravings reductions, but additionally rate of metabolism increasing, blood sugar management, and other effective weight loss perks. Microsoft Shanks said among the reasons why going or eliminating breads to reduced carbohydrate diet regimens would certainly cause quick weight management resulted from the body system exhausting its own carb establishments, which are stored along with water. Considering that her triglycerides are very high, her physician lately informed her that she requires to follow a low fat deposits diet.
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Ronaldo can score in the game of crypto?
New Post has been published on https://www.asiatech.info/ronaldo-can-score-in-the-game-of-crypto/
Ronaldo can score in the game of crypto?
The international crypto sector is getting the support of one of the most popular footballers in the world. Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to run a non-fungible token (NFT) campaign on behalf of Crypto Exchange Binary.
He might not be able to play as well as Messi, but that doesn’t mean he can’t score some goals. He’s got a good shot, and he has his own style that’s all his own. If you know anything about soccer, you know that Ronaldo is one of the best scorers in the game. And we think he can score in the game of crypto, too!
Considering the size of the transaction, it is currently the largest crypto exchange in the world. As part of the new deal, the Portugal football team’s captain and binaries alliance will launch an ‘NFT Collection’ series, according to Reuters.
Ronaldo can score in the game of crypto?
NFTs will be sold on Binance’s own platform. The crypto exchange has announced on its website that the first NFT of the Ronaldo-Binance alliance will be launched in the market this year.
NFT is considered as a digital asset in the technology market. However, the existence of these digital resources is limited to certain blockchains.
Simply put, blockchain technology is an open ledger for the public; As part of this, the accounts of each transaction on the platform are stored in the computers in the blockchain network.
The biggest positive aspect of blockchain technology’s ‘open ledger’ idea is that anyone who has the opportunity to verify ownership of an NFT on such a platform can easily identify the owner.
Investors in the crypto market have not had a good time for some time. The prices of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the market have been falling since the beginning of the year. Investors are selling risky digital assets amid fears of a recession in the global economy.
The price of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has dropped by more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year. In a report on June 18, Reuters reported that the price of Bitcoin has dropped to ৮ 18,915. The volatility has also affected NFT transactions.
NFT’s popularity among technology fans began to grow in 2021. Christie’s, one of the UK’s top auction companies, made a splash last year by selling an NFT for a digital artwork for 69 million.
In 2021, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet sold as NFT for ২ 2.9 million. In less than a year, the price of that NFT has come down to 0.2 percent of the purchase price; NFT owner Sina Estavir is disappointed that the expected price did not rise despite trying to sell.
It remains to be seen whether Ronaldo’s popularity will return to the crypto market.
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I want to be Invisible Part 7
Avengers x Reader
Warnings: none really, maybe the word ‘heck’
This part the reader and Steve have fun trying to spend Tony’s money. I’m still figuring out who I like best for the flirting. ;)
Masterlist
Beginning- Previous- Next
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The next morning I got up super early, did a slight stretch and started reading. I got ready and met Steve downstairs at 8:55am, and he was already there.
“Morning, sunshine.” He smiled to me.
“Morning!” I smiled back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?”
“Nonsense, the guys always supposed to be ready first. That’s why I got here early.”
“That sounds- very old fashioned of you, Steve. I mean, if you take a little longer, that’s okay too.” I grinned at him.
“Old is a word used with me quite often these days,” He said with a smile but he looked kind of sad.
“It’s nice.” I blurted out, growing red and then explaining, “No matter what is going on or the new trends- you’re always so nice. Constant. You care about people’s feelings and that’s amazing!” I smiled to him, “I don’t know why ‘old’ is used as an insult. Wine gets better with age, books stay in with time, antiques are highly sought after. Sure, there are some things that should change over time- but it’s pretty awesome to have something constant.”
He blushed a little, clearly not expecting this response. “Thanks, Y/N.” He smiled a genuine smile, and we went out to the garage.
“Oh, no. The bike?” I mumbled.
“We can take something else if you prefer.” He smiled to me.
I shook my head, “No, it’s fine. Where are we going, by the way?”
“You’ll see,” He chuckled, handing me a helmet.
We got on and once he started going I held on for dear life. I could feel him rumbling under his jacket, letting me know he was enjoying this. I nudged him in his gut a little as I giggled myself. About 10 minutes later, we were across town, weaving in and out of traffic. We stopped and pulled up to an older building. I got off and took off the helmet, shaking out my hair a little.
“Well?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Who knew Cap liked to play traffic chicken?” I smiled to him, turning my attention to the building. My eyes widened a bit, it was a used book store- I gasped.
“You gave me the idea this morning, actually.” He grinned.
We walked in and looked around, a whole bunch of older editions and rare books scattered about, with a smaller section in newer books. We kind of split off into different sections, looking around. I was looking at the mystery books, and gasped when I saw an Agatha Christie first edition. Steve came up behind me, holding a couple of different world war books.
“Find anything you like?” He asked.
I picked up a different Agatha Christie that was a little harder to find but wasn’t a first edition and held it up. Why would I need the first edition?
“Great,” He smiled, following me up to the counter.
We left and walked down the street and found a diner, family owned.
“I love mom and pop businesses!” I grinned, “Can we stop here?”
He chuckled, “We can go anywhere on Tony’s dime and you pick a diner?”
I shrugged and he opened the door, ushering me inside.
“Hi there!” A friendly waitress greeted us, “Just you two?”
I nodded with a smile and she took us to a booth.
“What can I get a cute couple like you?” She winked and I blushed.
“That’s not-” I started.
“Can I get the burger special with a vanilla milkshake?” Steve ordered, ignoring the comment.
“Sure, and for you?”
“That sounds good, but can I get mine with a chocolate milkshake?” I followed suite.
She nodded, “Sure thing, order’s will be right up with those shakes.”
“Thank you,” We both answered.
We talked about some older movies that I hadn’t seen that he had been getting caught up on, and some movies I had seen that he hadn’t. He seemed genuinely interested in them, so I told him I’d lend them to him when we got back.
We got our food and shakes and they were delicious- some of the best I’d ever had.
We finished and when we went to pay, Steve left a giant tip on Tony’s card. The lady thanked us so much and asked when we would be back, and gave us two slices of pie when we went to leave.
“That was nice of you.” I smiled.
“Well, Tony was probably expecting it anyways.” He chuckled as we walked back to his bike. We got on and ran into a street fair that was being held, so we stopped there and looked around, listening to the music and talking. By the late afternoon, we were on our way back, but we stopped at a park and opened our pies.
“You’re a cheap date.” Steve smirked to himself.
“I’m sorry, you were probably looking to spend more money,” I laughed.
“No, it’s actually nice. So many girls want so many things. It’s good you’re so simple.”
I slightly blushed at the comment. “Well thanks.”
“Of course, by the way- before I forget… this is for you,” He takes a bag off of the bike and hands me something from it.
I gasped- it was the first edition I was looking at. “Why-”
“You looked really interested in it. Besides, you should get something expensive out of this.” He chuckled and I went and hugged him.
“Thank you so much, it’s amazing.”
“No problem.” He hugged me back, “Didn’t you mention something about classes you need to pay for?”
“Yeah but it’s no big deal- it’s still basically coming out of Tony’s money.” I laughed.
“True- but the day isn’t over. Let’s get back and get you those classes.”
I nodded and we raced back.
“Hey guys!” We were greeted by Natasha, Wanda, Vision, Sam and Bucky at the table playing cards.
“Hey!” We greeted back, walking towards my room.
“Did the date go that well?” Natasha laughed.
I went red, turning around. I opened my mouth before seeing Steve who just didn’t pay attention to her comment. I shrugged and we went to my room.
I logged onto my computer and signed up for my next semester's worth of classes.
“Done,” I smiled to him.
“Great,” He smiled back from my bed.
“Today has been… really awesome. It’s nice to see this side of you.” I smiled to him.
“Same, Y/N. It’s been a pleasure.” He got up, kissed my hand and said goodnight.
I stood there with a blush- just what in the heck was going on around here?
#avengers fanfiction#avengers x reader#marvel fanfiction#steve rogers#captain america#bucky barnes#winter soldier#spiderman#fanfic
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WHY WOMEN ARE WEARING MEN’S WATCHES
In the early 1990’s, Christie Brinkley was spotted wearing a men’s Breitling watch. While controversial at the time, it sparked the current trend of women choosing luxury watches made for men instead of women.
SO, WHY DO WOMEN CHOOSE TO WEAR MEN’S WATCHES?
Lets take a closer look at why women are wearing men’s watches. Part of the reason comes down to aesthetics. Styles that are traditionally considered ‘masculine’ often appeal to women as style becomes increasingly androgynous. Looking back to the earlier decades of the 20th century, wearing pants was still considered unladylike and vulgar. In the 1920s, as women became more liberated from the constraints of society, wearing pants was representative of progression in gender equality. Today, style is still a way for women to make a stance, and incorporating more typically male styles within female fashion is a way of encouraging the idea that: if you like it, you should wear it.
One accessory that is becoming increasingly popular for women to wear from the men’s department is a luxury watch. Watch wearers are often thought of as a being part of a niche club of people who are passionate about and understand the value and different features of timepieces. It has also long been a predominantly male club, which is arguably why, by wearing men’s watches women are making a statement that they too can be part of the club of watch aficionados.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN’S WATCHES?
Although there is no real reason as to why men’s watches would be different to women’s watches, it comes down to style preferences. There are generally some stylistic differences between women and men’s watches, which is why some women may choose to buy from the men’s range.
The strap: Men’s watches will typically have a much thicker strap than women’s watches, making them appear a lot chunkier and less delicate.
The wrist size: The size of men’s watches tend to be larger than women’s watches, which in some cases might deter women with particularly small wrists from buying a men’s watch.
The dial: Women’s watches often have smaller dials, in line with the smaller straps in order to create a daintier look, whereas men’s watches can look a lot more cumbersome. Another difference is that men’s watches often have more intricate dial features, whereas women’s watches tend to be a lot simpler but are more likely to feature embellishments.
The color: Men’s watches are also more likely to come in darker shades, whereas women’s watches are often in softer tones such as rose gold and paler leathers.
The weight: Due to their more delicate details, women’s watches are often a lot less heavy, as well as being smaller in size.
The overall look of men’s watches on women is that they are oversized, chunky, with fewer unnecessary frills and more functional features. Men’s watches also have a tendency to be flashier in style purely due to size, whereas women’s watches are much softer, smaller and understated. Although some women may prefer the more delicate styles of watches that ladies watches offer, wearing men’s watches can create a tougher look, especially when contrasted with a feminine ensemble such as a dress. Women wanting to make more of a statement are more likely to opt for a men’s watch, predominantly because they take up more wrist space. Online Shopping at Electronics Store Cutebuy. Browse our great selection of deals on PCs, Smartphone, TVs, speakers, networking gear, computer accessories, consumer electronics and so on.
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Digital Assessment Final
I work for a small district that is farming and ranching community, 45 miles west of Corpus Christi. The district currently has 850 students enrolled from PreK- 12th grade. Banquete I.S.D. struggles to meet the needs of our students to have technological tools and resources that today’s world is now revolving to. In a countryside district such as Banquete, all three campuses have minimal resources for our students and teachers. The Elementary school has one computer lab, computer stations in a modern up to date library, and each classroom for an increased technological presence. The Junior High currently has one lab, only core classes have a smartboard and every classroom has a projector. The High School has one content area lab with having the same resources as the Junior High, although teachers are issued an ipad if needed. However, our hardware is aging throughout the district, some are 6 to 7 years old. Software is slowly added and updated when possible. The District is desperately in need of an upgrade for students to be successful. After discussing the topics we covered in class I feel confident that I can utilized the resources I have using the tools I learned in Digital Assessment. I have now explored with Blogging, using VoiceThread, and I can now create an online quiz. The knowledge gained from the research that educators and districts are now pursuing with technology enhancement assessment, understanding Standard Based Grading, and Computer Based Text Analysis. These are now resources that I intend to use in my class.
Blogging
Blogging was a little different but after I got used to the idea, I realized if I was a student I could give my thoughts about what I was learning without actually speaking a lot in front of my peers. I remember being a train wreck when I had to answer questions in front of my friends and then I would feel stupid if I didn’t know the answer. Using the blog, you could read each other’s thoughts and opinions about what were supposed to be learning. The best part of it was, I was learning from other student’s blogs because they wrote where I could understand. Student’s struggle because they cannot comprehend the reading material and if other students explain the reading, that student will have a better understanding. The best blogging sites for students are: Edublogs, Weebly for Education, Kidblog.org, tumbler, and many more. Edublogs give you 100 themes to choose from but not all features are free. Weebly allows you to create 40 student accounts for free with no student emails required and over 70 templates to choose from and you can upload pictures. With Kidblog the teachers have total control over student blogs and passwords so they can also be issued to the parents and they can view the student blog as well. I chose the Tumbler website where we discussed (ESSA) Every Student Succeeds Act, Steps to plan for implementing technology in school districts, Driven by Data, and (CBTA) Computer Based Text Assessment.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a law that was passed and signed by President Obama in December 2015 requiring states and districts to ensure that all students, including children with disabilities, English learners, and other minorities, get to graduate from high school and are prepared for college or a career. The law requires that states administer all students annually on statewide tests in reading/language arts and mathematics from third to eighth grade on once in high school as well as once in each grade levels of Kinder-12th in science for all students including ELL students. Texas has offered a statewide exam since 1980. Growing up in Elementary I remember those tests evolving from TAAS to TAKS and now since 2012 it is currently the STAAR. I teach an elective class so I know very little about testing and state assessment plans other than students only have four hours to complete their test. Texas offers STAAR online with designated support. Text-to-speech, this is where the student can click on the text and the computer will read it aloud for them, they also get assistance with spelling. The STAAR Alternate 2 tests for students who have disabilities or are English learners and they receive similar support with extended time rather than four hours and can have the text larger.
Implementing technology in schools topic brought attention to my eyes, given my district’s current situation. In order to effectively target technology to support teaching and learning it is necessary to engage in planning at the state, school districts, and classroom level.
1. Arrange a school or department planning committee.
2. Coordinate with existing school and district plans.
3. Identify student and school program needs.
4. Identify available technology based and support resources.
5. Integrate the school-wide technology planning with the curriculum.
6. Describe school wide objectives with related activities that describe how technology applications are directly related to instruction, curriculum enhancement, and the school program.
7. Allow teachers to implement their part of the plan
8. Staff Development should include technology activities for teachers to utilize and learn how to implement activities in their classroom.
9. The planning process should include procedures for monitoring, implement, collecting information of student outcomes, and assessing the effects on teaching and instructional practices.
10. Develop a School Technology Plan budget and funding strategy.
11. Implement, monitor, and revise the plan.
Driven by Data explains schools taking “Action in the Classroom”. Action plans are created in schools and are often stored away in a binder, when teachers plan their lessons at home. This causes the lesson to be poor planned and often forgotten. If schools have a mandated lesson plan template on a weekly basis, teachers can re-teach based on their action plan and helps keep the action plan present for the teacher and administrators. When a teacher has to re-teach a lesson they are to document where the student is struggling and when the student is succeeding.
Driven by Data also discuss schools having data-driven culture as a teacher, school leader, or district administrators. I understood this assignment when we had to watch the videos from “Man on Fire”. We had to apply the four key principles from Driven to Data by Paul Brambrick- Santoyo to Creasy help Pita win her race in the movie. The four keys are Assessment, Analysis, Action, and Culture. Creasy watched Pita race as this was her assessment, he recognized how fast she is but she couldn’t win no matter how fast she swam. The analysis identifies the causes of both strengths and weakness. Pita’s strength was that she is fast but her weakness was the she has a slow start. Creasy identifies later that the reason Pita has a slow start is because she’s afraid of the gun shot. The action principle teaches what students need to learn the most. Pita learns that in order to win the race she must overcome her fear of the gun shot sound. The last principle is culture which creates an environment for the data-driven instruction to grow and overcome. Creasy had Pita practice in the pool with the gun shot sound and made her become comfortable with the sound. He had her change her way of thinking that the blocks kept her prisoner and the gun shot is what sets her free. Creasy was the teacher and had the student, Pita, recognized her weakness and made her practice that weakness until it became her strength.
The last topic we wrote blogs on was (CBTA) Computer Based Text Assessment. The Department of Information Systems & Technology breaks down Computer-Based Text Analysis Techniques (CBTA). CBTA has two categories: automated assessment and machine-assisted analysis. Automated writing assessment does not need an actual person while machine-assisted analysis needs a person to give analysis of the test. With automated text assessments has two methods: (TII) Text In Isolation and (CBA) Corpus-Based Analysis. TII do not require people to grade a large number of the tests before they can assess new texts. CBA need a large set of tests graded by people beforehand. Machine-assisted analysis does not provide a summative score the tests without a person to assess the text and provide feedback. Computer-assisted human feedback systems will give automated assessment tools but must be finalized by an actual person. No matter how the tests are graded they must be finalized by a person. When I came across this assignment I immediately thought of the chemistry teacher I work with. She has trouble with students cheating on her tests and quizzes which are given out on paper. Even though she has different versions of the tests but the students will end up with the answers but the answers wont match the version of the test. Now that I have been taking this class, I will be a reliable source to her and show her how to make her quizzes online and harder to cheat.
VoiceThread
VoiceThread was a new tool I had never used. It was faster than typing out a couple of paragraphs. But I saw how this could be good for my district because not all our students have a computer at home and their only time they get to use a keyboard is if the teacher makes it a point to have the laptop cart checked out. With VoiceThread all you need is a recording device such as a smartphone or iPad. At least 98% of our students own a smartphone so they could use the Voicethread by verbally discussing their topics. From a teachers point, I see this as a tool for when teachers are absent. When I am gone it creates more work for me to come up with a “busy” assignment that the students can figure out with putting the substitute in a bind because they are lost. With VoiceThread I could use record myself with audio and leaving instructions using a visual recording so students can better understand what to do. When I am out for the day, I usually leave a word search or simple drawing assignment because I do not want students working on their projects while I am gone. Students can review the instructions as many times as they want and I wouldn’t get tired of repeating myself. I could see this working for math teachers that have to explain problem after problem. Students complain they do not understand their math teacher because the teacher becomes frustrated from have to repeat the step every class period and then explaining it again five times after that during the class because several students are confused. A recording on VoiceThread would be beneficial for teachers with problems like that.
Canvas Digital Assessment of Learning
My favorite assignment was creating the online quiz on Canvas. All you have to do is go to the website and make your account and you can create as many quizzes as you want. The quiz allows you to have different settings such as short answer, fill in the blank, matching, shuffling answers, set time limits, multiple choice answers, allow testing attempts, and viewing one question at a time. Back to talking about the chemistry teacher, I have shown her this website and she thought it was the greatest thing. I showed her how to put 40 questions on the quiz so when students took the test the quiz will shuffle the answers when they only are allowed to answer 20 questions. This way each student will receive different questions. On the plus side I don’t have to waste paper and make a 5 page paper test for all 100 students and having to grade them. The Canvas program grades the test automatically.
Educators need to be open to integrating technology into classrooms with all the programs, workshops, and applications that are available. With this course ending I am going to share these resources with teachers at my school. Hopefully soon more teachers will get on board and our students will be better prepared. We need to utilize what we have especially teachers that work at districts with low funding and get more creative with the laptops and ipads. School districts regardless of their classification or income have no option but to move forward with providing technology for their teachers and students, because without that support the new generations will not evolve.
Works Cited
Aken, A. (2017, November 4). An Evaluation of Assessment-Oriented Computer-Based Text Analysis Paradigms. Retrieved from SciencePublishingGroup.com: http;//:www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/her
Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (n.d.). Driven by Data. Driven by Data, 20.
Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (n.d.). The Framework. Driven by Data, 36.
Bill Cope, M. K. (2016). Big Data Comes to School: Implications for Learning, Assessment, and Research. 19.
Leah Dembitzer, S. Z. (2012). Designing computer-based assessments: multidisciplinary findings and student perspectives. EducationalTechnology, 12.
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INTERVIEW: Justin Strauss with Trevor Jackson
Trevor Jackson makes culture via the roads that passion takes. He has dedicated his life to what he loves — design, sound production and art. But above all, Jackson has given his life to music and the culture that not only surrounds it but is borne out of it. It is the lifeblood of the streets, the zeitgeist of eras and cities. Lifelong Ace friend and New York music producer Justin Strauss had the chance to sit down with Jackson for another Just/Talk session and delve deep into what makes up a life of cultural creation.
Justin Strauss: I first became aware of you in 1988 when I heard an Underdog remix of Money Mark’s Maybe I'm Dead. How did you get into making records and Underdog? Were you a DJ?
Trevor Jackson: That Money Mark mix was well into my remix career; I DJ’d, but I was just a local party DJ, and did a few regular club nights but very small things. I didn’t take it super seriously until the Playgroup album came out in 2001. The label wanted me to play live. I didn’t have a live show so I had to up my DJ game.
JS: As a kid, what were you listening to?
TJ: I grew up in northwest London in a place called Edgware, a predominantly Jewish suburb. Was lucky to have a mix of friends from all different backgrounds and started going out to clubs when I was 14. My older friends would drag me into some amazing clubs. I was going to New Wave clubs, very different to the kind of places my older brother and his friends were going to, they were all part of a predominantly Jewish scene at the time called the “Becks.” it was almost preppy, pre casuals. Gangs of kids would hang out at the local train station listening to Jazz Funk & Disco, driving Golf GTI’s and Convertible BMW’s wearing Kicker boots and Fiorucci jeans. It was a very British youth subculture that no one really talks about.
A group of teenagers outside the Carmelli Bagel Bakery in Golders Green in 1990. Photo by John Nathan.
JS: This is in what year?
TJ: This is the late 70s early 80s. All those kids were listening to Luther Vandross and George Benson...mainly soul, funk & disco. One half of me was listening to all this new crazy electronic pop & club music, and then the other half was listening to Earth, Wind & Fire, Level 42. Then I started working at a record shop.
JS: In Edgware?
TJ: Around the corner from where I lived, yeah. It was mainly chart music but working there we could order in any stock we wanted. When electro started to take off, that was really interesting to me because it merged the funk that I was listening to with the more electronic stuff too.
JS: What records would came into the store that really influenced you?
TJ: The UK street sounds electro compilations were very important to me and I was totally obsessed with Arthur Baker. Every single record that had Arthur’s name on it I bought religiously.
JS: You mean Planet Rock?
TJ: Planet Rock, Looking for the Perfect Beat...
JS: Breaker’s Revenge...
TJ: Everything he did. Tim Westwood was on the radio on LWR (London Weekend Radio). He played Hip Hop & Electro and I’d also listen to Colin Faver — he used to play loads of Kiss FM master mix tapes from New York as well as play at one of the first nightclubs I regularly went to, the Camden Palace. It was a super exciting time, although I didn’t have the slightest idea how to make music yet, things like the Art of Noise and Malcolm McLaren, Buffalo Gals, Run DMC and particularly that first Fats Comet with DJ Cheese record really had an impact on me because the beats were quite simple. I slowly realized I could do something like that myself with minimal equipment. I wasn’t really a musician, wasn’t interested in traditional song structures, melody and hooks, it was mainly noise that excited me. I bought this Commodore 64 sampling unit I could put on the side of my computer, it could only sample a couple of seconds but learned from that, how to do a lot with very little, and one of the first things I ever made was kind of an On-U Sound track using my computer and a four track portastudio.
JS: You just started recording?
TJ: Just started recording. Made it up as I went along. Then after a year or so bought myself a Roland W30 sampling keyboard, far more sophisticated than my computer, it could sample 12 seconds at lowest bandwidth I think, and has a built-in sequencer. Then I met this rap crew, the Brotherhood, a local rap trio. They lived locally and I started working with them. That’s how I got into production.
JS: You just learned as you went along.
TJ: Yes, no one taught me anything. I just learned listening to other people's records. I started a label called Bite It! to release the Brotherhood tracks we’d worked on. The label started to get recognized by the right people and I started to work with other UK Hip Hop artists.
The Brotherhood, circa 1996.
JS: How many releases did you do?
TJ: Ten or twelve? The artwork was really important to me. I was sampling really weird European Jazz Rock. My whole thing was never to sample anything American, no obvious tracks that everyone else used, James Brown, Zapp, Parliament Funk etc, I sampled mainly European music, sometimes Japanese, Russian, anything that no one else was using at the time, I wanted the sleeves to look nothing like other Rap records at the time which were mainly full of generic Hip Hop clichés. I was inspired by ECM and CTI record covers and developed a minimal black and white photographic identity with a great photographer friend, Donald Christie. The label began to grow and on the back of my Brotherhood productions. Richard Russell at XL Recordings (who used to work with me at the same record shop in Edgware) asked me to do a House of Pain remix.
JS: That was your first remix?
TJ: Maybe my second.
JS: For “Jump Around?”
TJ: No, “Top of the Morning to You.” After “Jump Around,” they wanted to quickly release another single, but they didn't have another track that could be a hit in the UK. I heard that track and said, "Let me do something." My remix went top ten in Europe. From that, I started getting remix offers, and that's how my music career took off.
JS: Did you go to school for art?
TJ: Yeah, music was always a hobby.
JS: So you thought art was where you were going to end up?
TJ: Design mainly, anything creative. I was hugely into comic books, desperately wanted to be a comic book artist. But when I started seeing designers like Javier Mariscal & Philippe Starck, taking playful graphic comic book aesthetics and applying them to various different areas of design — that really inspired me. I developed a way to take my underground comic book, cartoon and early video game influences into a mainstream context, mainly through record sleeve design.
JS: Was that before you started making records?
TJ: Yeah, I kept those things quite separate at the time. I left college when I was 18 and started working for a small design firm creating film posters. I took on my own freelance projects and then I started working by myself. I had a design studio in Clerkenwell not far from here in the late 80s. I’ve always worked in East London since the late 80s.
JS: How did you get approached to do those record covers?
TJ: I was in my teens around that time. Acid House was just breaking out. I was full of confidence at the time, young and super enthusiastic. The first record sleeve I ever did was for Mark Moore for S'Express. I used to regularly go to this club called the Wag where he was DJing. Somehow heard he had a record coming out and hassled him to see my work. You must have gone to the Wag Club back in the day?
The Wag Club in London, 1984. Photo by Derrick Rodgers
The Wag Club, 1982. Photo by Jane Goodman.
The Wag Club, 1982
JS: Once I think.
TJ: Was a great place! So I took my college portfolio to the club with me one night, showed it to Mark, he really liked what he saw and asked me to do a sleeve for his next single. That was the Theme From S'Express, which ended up being a number one record. Around the same time, so many great records were coming out, lots of people in the same scene as me, either Dj’ing or just listening and dancing — London nightlife was full of creativity. I started contacting other labels and asked to show them my work. Champion, was one of the first I went to see.
JS: They were putting out a lot of US releases.
TJ: Yeah, they were based next to a record importer and just picked up every great new US release before anyone else knew they existed. The guy who ran the label, and still does was Mel Medalia, was a real character, bit of a hustler, real old school, but he really took me under his wing. I remember going in and saying, “Look, I really love this music. The sleeves you’re doing right now are really shit. I’ll do it for free. If you like what i do, then give me some work afterwards.” I loved these records: Todd Terry, Frankie Bones, Raze, Pal Joey, I would have done them for free anyway, getting paid was a bonus.
JS: The art and music always went hand-in-hand. Basically you were doing both at the same time?
TJ: Yeah, but music was a hobby. Music was fun. I was working at the record shop on Sundays. I was still going out clubbing and buying and listening to loads of music, but my main focus and passion was in designing.
Trevor Jackson digging for gold
JS: I was buying records in New York. A lot of London people were interested in New York. I was always interested in what was going on here in London. So I’m buying in New York and getting all the New York stuff, but I’m also getting records from the UK, UK remixes of New York stuff done by you, done by CJ Mackintosh, Dave Dorrell, and listening to their take on things, which inspired me. It’s quite interesting. I know you’ve always had this fascination with the New York scene and what was happening in Hip Hop, what was happening in graffiti, what was happening in the clubs. I always felt this great connection here, when I started hearing your stuff, and I began to get familiar with Dave Dorrell and CJ. They did amazing work.
TJ: They were very important to me. Certainly an influence. I started making music some time after them... I actually designed De La Soul covers for Gee Street Records, remixed by CJ & Dave Dorrell, which started around the corner from me in Clerkenwell, ran by John Baker. I don’t know if you know John?
JS: Of course.
TJ: They became my second biggest client and I created loads of things for them and the Stereo MCs. That was really inspiring because Gee Street were local to my office and Nick and Rob from the Stereo MCs were always making music downstairs. They did lots of brilliant remixes as Ultimatum and I learned so much stuff from hanging out and watching them, learned how to make music with minimal equipment, they could do so much with just a digital delay used as an early sampler and an 808, they were fantastic DJs also. Gee Street was a creative hub, Jungle Brothers would come pass by, upstairs (Jon’s wife at the time) Ziggy Golding ran a photographic and model agency called Z, they looked after my friend Donald Christie as well as Juergen Teller when he first started, the whole music, club art and fashion crossover thing in London was so powerful at the time, very, very important.
JS: There was this thing in New York, the New Music Seminar back in the day. All the UK DJ's would come to New York. We'd get to hang out. Back then, DJ's weren't traveling, you weren't flying all over the world. It was maybe once or twice a year you'd get to meet these people.
TJ: This was before starting my Bite It! label, I didn’t want to confuse people either, now everyone does everything. Back then, being a graphic designer and a producer, music maker, DJ was pretty much unheard of. I’d still DJ infrequently, but never travel outside of London at that time. DJs had their residences, and they just played in their regular local club. That was it. They wouldn’t leave to go to another club, would they? They’d build their own audience, their own scene, their own sound.
JS: Until Mark Kamins went to Japan. He came here to the UK to play at the Hacienda a couple of times. He was one of the first, if not the first to travel.
TJ: You know, Mark's the first DJ I ever heard play in New York! It was the first time I had ever been to the city.
JS: I want to ask you about that. You're making these records, you're remixing, you're doing artwork. When did you decide that you wanted to do your own music?
TJ: I did a competition, Street Sounds. That was the same Street Sounds who made the UK electro compilations, they held a competition to make your own own Hip Hop track.
JS: You were making good money doing that at the time?
TJ: It wasn't bad. But the thing is I was lucky I could design record sleeves for nothing when I started. I was living at home with my parents. I didn't move out until I was 21.
JS: Were you designing on a computer back then?
TJ: No. I couldn’t afford a computer. When the first Apple Mac came out, it was totally unaffordable. A lot of the early sleeves I created with very basic graphics. I was really into the Sinclair Spectrum, Atrai 2600, Commodore 64 — very, very low resolution. A lot of the bigger companies bought these things called Quantel Paintboxes, which were incredibly expensive, compositing machines. I didn’t have the money, so used to do this really basic raw simple stuff totally by hand as a reaction against big design companies ran by old men with lots of money and zero imagination. I remember a few years later I did the sleeve for PM Dawns “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” single, I spent a couple of days working on a hugely expensive digital compositing machine, something I could probably do now in half an hour on Photoshop. That cost a fortune. Was so difficult to do at the time.
PM Dawn, Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
JS: Then that's all happening. You started to DJ, you're getting DJ gigs.
TJ: No, no, I didn't at all. I'm designing record covers. I've got my little label on the side; the remixing started to take off. At that time, I was taking on more design work I didn't like for the money. I think at that time I'd moved out of my parents’ place, had a mortgage, needed to pay the pills.
JS: Where, Edgware?
TJ: No, got out of there as quick as I could! I was living in Kilburn, which is half way into the West End. I needed to earn a living, so started taking on work I didn’t really enjoy. Like I said, I was working for Champion, Gee Street. I was also working for Network & Kool Kat Records in Birmingham, which were revolutionary. They were releasing early Carl Craig, Derrick May, Juan Atkins; it totally inspired a new wave of young British electronic music makers, the early Bleep sound of Warp Records. But then I started working for a company called Pulse 8, I was fairly well paid but the guys who ran the company were awful and didn’t really care about the music, it was all about the money. Mel at Champion certainly knew how to earn a good living, but he also knew a hell of a lot about music, and had a team of great staff around him; Paul Oakenfold worked there for a while, they continually released great records. I got more and more disillusioned working for Pulse 8 but luckily my music career started to pick up. Not DJing though, I wasn’t even thinking about DJing professionally whatsoever. The design work was becoming more and more of a day to day job, the music was far more enjoyable. Then I slowly started putting an end to the design work and just carried on doing the music.
JS: You didn't really start DJing until the Playgroup?
TJ: We're still mid-90s, early to mid-90s.
JS: Doing remixes?
TJ: Doing remixes, as Underdog. That starts taking off, then my manager, Marts — one of my best friends and a very important person in my life, someone who guided me through so much of the industry bullshit — suddenly died. He had a brain hemorrhage and just dropped dead one day. That stopped me from doing anything for a while. This was 94, maybe 95, I didn’t do anything for a year afterward I think. It was a very strange time. You feel totally indestructible in your early 20s. Then something like that happens, it completely changes your perspective on life, threw me completely.
JS: Mo'Wax records, did you work with them?
TJ: Yeah, Mo'Wax was early 90s. James Lavelle was working at Honest Jon’s records, he actually introduced me to my manager Marts in the shop, it was the closest record store to me when I lived in Kilburn. James used to sell me loads of great records, I had a very good relationship with him. I used to sell him my Bite It! releases which he loved. The shop had an incredible selection of used records, so much crazy shit I used to buy for just sampling. James learned a lot from there, and his Mo Wax label started via Honest Jons. We remained close friends and I did various remixes for him, for Unkle as well as DJ Krush & Money Mark.
Honest Jon’s, London.
JS: Did you do any artwork for them?
TJ: No, I didn't. It was always a musical thing.
JS: That label made stuff that just made you want to collect it. You wanted to have it — it was gorgeous.
TJ: James was the first person to really tap into that whole Japanese collector market. He was super smart.
JS: Different formats, different sizes.
TJ: The whole thing. A lot of people give James a lot of stick, but for me, regardless of his issues, I’ll never lose respect for him. What was interesting about the whole Mo Wax thing was I grew up listening to eclectic diverse forms of music. I’d go to clubs and hear Electronic Pop, Goth, Punk, Afrobeat, New Wave, Hip hop, Electro, literally everything together. But when Acid House and then Progressive House became huge, things became very generic and drug driven, I lost interest in most club music, hated it. Things became musically so narrow I thought a lot of it was the most boring music I’d ever heard.
Growing up experiencing illegal warehouse parties and unconventional underground clubs, with mixed audiences and DJ’s without boundaries, when nightlife started becoming an industry, things changed radically. There weren’t that many great clubs anymore. There were a few key ones, but things weren’t as eclectic — you’d go to a club and hear one form of music all night at a similar tempo. James with Mo Wax and the club he ran Dusted in Hoxton Square brought back dance floor diversity, and in the process it united many different scenes together. I’ll always respect him for that, so many important artists came from that scene.
JS: It was the same in New York, when I started at Mudd Club. We didn't know anything. We knew what we liked; we played what we liked. We didn't think about what genre it was. It was just all good music. In 1979, 1980, we had Hip Hop being born. We had left-field disco stuff coming out. We had punk. It was just so many great records, so much great music. We just played it. As you say, as time went on, people just got more narrow-minded.
TJ: James really broke the mold. Dusted was fantastic, I loved playing there. In my early days going to clubs, I was much younger than everyone else. I didn’t actively feel part of what was going on. I was passionate about everything, but never felt included. Then when Mo'Wax started, I felt proud to be part of something very special, music, design, fashion, art were all integrated.
JS: What about when you heard DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing? Did that have an affect on you at all?
TJ: Not really. To be honest, I was doing a very similar thing musically to Josh. We used very similar equipment, sampled similar records. To this day, I still regret spending so much time doing remixes. I was so busy working on other people’s music, I did hundreds of tracks for other people, never really focused on my own career. I was very happy being the Underdog lurking in the shadows. My idea for a long while was for no one to know who I was, I didn’t want to be recognized, was happy having little media attention, something I’d still kind of prefer. In retrospect, I shot myself in the foot because I could have spent all that time and creative energy concentrating on my own project, my own solo album project with vocalists etc. When I heard Endtroducing, I thought it was great, but didn’t hear it as being as revolutionary as so many others did, there were other Mo’Wax artists equally as innovative at the time. The only album of that period that genuinely blew me away and reinforced my regrets concentrating on remixes was Portishead's first album.
JS: How did you decide that it was time to do your own project?
TJ: That was much later. In the late 90s, I was growing bored of doing what I was doing and felt uninspired by other things I was hearing at the time, so I went back to the early records I first started sampling, Jazz Rock, New Wave, Industrial, Avant Garde electronics, underground outsider music, things I began to listen to properly not just looking for breaks. Through sampling, I discovered probably 3/4 of the music I love now.
I decided at that point that I was sick of Hip Hop as well. I loved it in the 80s through early 90s. I think around 94, 95, I started getting a bit tired of it.
JS: What was coming out then?
TJ: When did Nas’ Illmatic come out? That was probably 93, 94? That was THE album for me, still is, but shortly after West Coast Hip Hop Gangster Rap took hold of people, lyrically and morally questionable material that others seemed to love, I didn’t want to listen to it. More of the rappers I was working with were getting aggressive and violent too, the whole scene was getting nasty in many ways. London was a very weird place to make Hip Hop. It just wasn’t successful at all. Drum and Bass hadn’t blown up yet, and everybody was fighting over nothing, trying to earn a bit of money. Beef between different crews. It was stressful. I wanted out of Hip Hop. That’s why I decided to start a label, just putting out weirdo records, mad shit that no one else would potentially like, apart from me.
I wanted out of Hip Hop. That's why I decided that I want to start a label, just putting out weirdo fucking records, mad shit that no one else would like apart from me. I started the label with some outtake stuff, Underdog stuff, that basically didn't have vocals on it with things I messed around with.
JS: This is the beginning of Output?
TJ: Yeah.
JS: What was the first record that really established the label, that people were really paying attention to?
TJ: Probably a release by Kieran Hebden’s band Fridge — Anglepoised. It was a 12 inch release, they were so productive but worked at home in a tiny bedroom after school. A band with guitars, live drums and electronics. I had so much confidence in the band that I soon hired them a studio near Old Street. They spent everyday in it.
JS: You put all your own money into this?
TJ: Yeah, yeah, I got the studio, money for some bits of gear. Lent them my 808 one time and they made a truly beautiful record with it. Anglepoised, still one of my favorite Output releases. It ended up being played by a really diverse group of people, from Dj Harvey through to Gilles Peterson and John Peel. Was very satisfying.
Trevor Jackson DJing in 2013
JS: Okay. You know you're running a label. You're an A&R guy.
TJ: Yeah, kind of.
JS: You decided you want to do Playgroup, or how did that happen?
TJ: Okay, I was producing a live band called the Emperor’s New Clothes signed to Acid Jazz. A real mix of musical styles: Dub, Jazz and Post Rock. We worked for a solid year on the album, I recorded everything live then resampled every track in my mono S950 and put the tracks back together again! Insane amount of work, nearly killed me the amount of effort I put into doing it. But when it was finally all finished the label refused to pay me, I was furious so told them I’d keep the masters until I received payment. They bloody never paid me so sadly the albums still never seen the light of day! They eventually broke up and the drummer and bass player, Luke and Leo, formed a new band called Gramme. I produced them too and helped them put their initial stuff together. It was very inspired by ESG, Liquid Liquid, Public Image Ltd, music I first introduced them to when we were recording the Emperor’s New Clothes album. I ended up putting the Gramme record out on Output, got on so well with Luke, asked him to play bass on demos I was writing at the time and they eventually ended up developing into Playgroup. Underground club music at the time was either dark, complex and overly serious, or cheesy diva led piano or boring as fuck progressive driven house, very male with little sensuality or sense of fun.
JS: I was totally bored.
TJ: So was I!. I realized I wanted to make a fun sexy dance record, with strong female personalities, taking influences of the best parts of the 80s, all genres, the foundations of club music, which, at that time in the late 90s, very few people actually cared anything about. Output shared an office with Nuphonic records for a while, their strong interest in that period was — especially Arthur Russell — the Loft and Larry Levan...it certainly influenced my direction too.
JS: Which was also not very different coming from you, whose music at the time was always on the darker end of the spectrum.
TJ: Yeah, I was making dark music, and a lot of it was fucking depressing. But I’d taken it as far as I could, I needed to make some fun music. If I did an interview and mentioned Soft Cell or The Human League, people laughed at you. People had no idea. The media especially would not take any of those artists, even Human League, seriously at all.
JS: When did you first come to New York?
TJ: The year of Do the Right Thing, which was in 89 was it?
JS: Yes
TJ: The first club I ever went to in New York was Mars. I vividly remember hearing Mark Kamins playing Summer Madness by KC Flight when I walked in. Upstairs on the roof, they were hosting a De La Soul Three Feet High and Rising launch party. Was some night, magical for this young guy from London who’d dreamt of going to NYC his entire life. I vividly remember going to the Pyramid too.
JS: It's the only club that's still actually there.
TJ: Mars was three floors or something, right?
JS: It was in the Meatpacking district. Nothing was there then. Florent and that.
TJ: Florent was a great spot to hang out and eat late. At the Pyramid, I’ll never forget, a crazy naked dancer on stage or a table right next to me with a huge dick squeezing breast milk out of his tits, was an insane place!
JS: It's amazing to me that that time when there was so many clubs. Every club was packed. No promoters, no nothing. It's just an amazing time of people going out and just great music.
TJ: Yeah, so many places, I was there for a week and I think I went to MK, Nell’s, Mars, Palladium. The Tunnel, many more I can’t remember.
JS: How old were you?
TJ: 21 or something.
JS: You were already involved in music.
TJ: Yeah, design wise anyway, but was connected. I remember hanging out with this guy called Boots, a friend of John Baker from Gee Street, he used to manage some bands. I remember going to a roof party he took me to and seeing the singer from Set the Tone, one of my favorite bands from the 80’s play a solo gig of some sort, it was wild.
JS: They were on Island.
TJ: They were on Island, killer band, recorded with Francois K at Compass Point. I was only in New York for a week and did so much shit. I remember going to some fucking loft art party on Broadway. Where the fuck am I? It was like being in Scorsese’s After Hours. It was like that every night.
JS: Was this the period when you were doing the Underdog stuff?
TJ: No, this was pre. This is 89. I didn’t do Underdog stuff until 91, 92. I wasn’t making music. I was just loving music. I was only designing record sleeves. Think the main reason I went to NYC was to go shopping. Records at Vinylmania, Downtown Records was it? Canal Street buying sneakers and fake Rolexes, tracksuits, goose down jackets, name belts. There's a photo of me somewhere sitting on my hotel bed with 50 pairs of new sneakers around me, I’ll have to try and find it.
JS: You just filled suitcases?
TJ: Yeah, I went to New York with an empty suitcase and brought so much shit back. I remember getting out of the taxi coming home to my parents wearing a shiny white Troop tracksuit like the one on the Stetsasonic album cover. I was mental.
JS: New York lived up to your wildest dreams pretty much?
TJ: It’s like you were saying about London. For me it was a dream come true, so much of the culture I loved was born in NYC, it was incredible. I mainly went to NYC to listen and to firsthand experience Hip Hop culture in its birthplace. But when I went to Mars, I was enlightened. Mark Kamins was playing Arabic music with Acid. It was weird to hear anyone outside of London playing Acid House, I thought it was just a London/Chicago thing.
JS: We got the Chicago Acid, then the UK really fell in love with it and brought it back to New York.
TJ: I'm trying to think what they were playing at the Pyramid.
JS: My friend Ivan Ivan would spin there. He ended up doing “Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight” and the band Book of Love. They basically came out of the Pyramid. There was so much happening. It was such a great creative time.
Did you come back often or was it a while before you came back again?
TJ: I think it was probably a while before I came back. It was expensive; I couldn't afford it.
JS: It wasn't cheap airline flights. This is pre-internet.
TJ: Yeah, pre-internet, exactly. For me, all the things I wanted: records, comic books, toys and clothes, New York was like wow. You couldn't get any of that shit in London then.
JS: Musically, we're at Playgroup. You're starting Playgroup; you're starting Output. What was the first Playgroup?
TJ: “Make It Happen.” It was very frustrating at the time because I put so much into Output and its artists, it stopped me doing my own things, I was starting to resent it.
JS: Then you started DJing then?
TJ: No, not yet, I made the Playgroup album first.
JS: I'm surprised to hear you weren't DJing until after that.
TJ: I didn’t really want it. I loved DJing for fun, but I was more into making music and doing other things. And also, DJ culture at the time (in the UK anyway), wasn’t something I wanted to be part of. It was all about the Big Beat sound and Fatboy Slim, very white and stupid. The times I did play, I’d either throw my own party locally with Output artists and other affiliated DJs or play weird post-punk and no wave records for someone else and clear the dance floor! No one really wanted to hear that stuff. No one was really interested in the records I played.
JS: When did that change?
TJ: After the Playgroup when Stephan from K7 asked me to do DJ Kicks.
JS: Wow, that was a very influential CD. It's history now to think how important those mix CDs were at that time. DJ Kicks — there were a million of them.
TJ: When they asked me to do DJ Kicks, I was so proud to do it. It was a life changing event for me, one of the best things I did for my whole career.
JS: That was amazing. I remember going into a Virgin mega store in the city and getting it. There was the vinyl. You did a cover version of “Behind the Wheel” which was one of my favorite Depeche Mode 12 inch’s that Shep Pettibone remixed.
TJ: When you listen to my selection now, it's not unusual in any way; if anything, it’s standard. But at the time, using that range of artists and tracks, trying to join the dots between the old and new, was very fresh. Truth is we actually tried to license Shep’s remix of “Behind the Wheel” for the album, but Depeche Mode or Mute wouldn’t let me use it. I was so pissed off, I was like, “fuck you. I’ll do my own version."
JS: I didn't know that.
TJ: Off the back of the Mix CD, I started getting serious DJ offers. Something I didn’t want to do initially, I would rather have been known as a producer or musician, designer, video maker, etc, than playing records.
JS: Were you asked to travel as a DJ? Come to New York, come to Europe, all over?
TJ: Yeah.
JS: A lot of people respect you as a DJ. I've been talking to people and say, "Oh, I'm going to be interviewing Trevor." Like Joe Goddard, he used to come listen to you. You inspired him. You're good at it.
TJ: That's lovely to hear. When I first started DJing, I was very happy doing it. I’d just play weird records for an hour and a half, two hours before a band, could play what I want, I felt comfortable doing that. But when I got pushed into playing clubs and making people dance, that was a very different agenda. It became easier when Output started to release more club orientated material, as I had so much great stuff on the label I could play — DK7, MU, etc. I didn’t ever want to be part of anyone else’s scene, and I was wrongly affiliated to the Electroclash movement although what I was trying to do was very different.
Independence and individuality is very important to me, I’d like to think Output had its own identity even though its releases were fairly undefinable and diverse. From the ashes of the Electroclash movement very special dance records did start to appear, and I eventually began enjoying DJing to audiences who wanted to hear more exciting left field dance music.
JS: I remember the first time I met you you were DJing at PS1 Warm Up. I wanted to meet you. I had gotten into DJ Kicks. I was like, "Hi, Trevor, I'm Justin." You're like, "I have a load of your records.” I was so happy because I was disillusioned with a lot of shit and was just starting to get re-inspired. To hear that from someone like you, who I was being inspired by, was nice. It was the beginning of something again for me.
DJ Kicks, Playgroup.
TJ: It felt like an honor to meet you, a real NYC legend! I remember that PS1 so well, what a fantastic event it was — 2003? Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf played as well.
JS: So The Playgroup comes out; it's a big hit?
TJ: No, it's not a hit at all. It wasn't a hit.
JS: No? It's not a hit in clubs, in culture?
TJ: It worked in the areas I knew it’d work in. I knew the press would get it, because most journalists were older and would understand the references. I knew the tastemakers would get it too, other people interested in the same inspirations. But it didn’t sound like anything else at the time. That was a big problem, it was really important to me to make a record that sounded different. It was an underground record but with pop sensibilities, a party record not a club record, I think it confused people and the retro references especially put Radio One and the mainstream media off it, they thought it wasn’t relevant. The fact I didn’t want to but realistically wasn’t capable of playing it live didn’t help. It was a critical success when first released but a financial failure. The record cost a fortune, they put so much money into it, but the minute commercial radio stations rejected it, the label lost total interest. I was taken to the Mercury Music Prize awards by the head of Universal Publishers and told, when the winner was announced, “that will be you up there next year” and the second Radio One didn’t pick up on it they never spoke to me again. I learnt so much from the whole situation.
JS: Who put it out?
TJ: Source via Virgin Records, ran by a guy who originally signed AIR, I was one of the first people he signed, a trophy signing to establish the label. I knew I might never make another album again so decided to spent most the advance on working with the best people, in the best possible studios I could find, try to learn somethings along the way. I ended up working mostly at Olympic studios with Spike Stent who mixed Madonna, Massive Attack and Bjork, learned so much, it was an incredible, very expensive, once in a lifetime experience.
JS: It sounded amazing.
TJ: Thank you. For me, I was never happy with the sound, to be honest. The mastering wasn’t right. But anyway, I worked in that studio for six weeks virtually every day.
JS: Was there a live Playgroup show?
TJ: I did one show when I did an Output party showcasing LCD Soundsystem live in London. Did a live version of Make It Happen for half an hour, that was it. I did actually get a full band together to try and tour, with Edwyn Collins on guitar, Ted Milton from Blur on saxophone, Leo Taylor on drums, Lascelles from 7 Hurtz on percussion, Luke Hannam on bass. We rehearsed, it sounded great, but I found it impossible to recreate the sound of the album, something that was fundamental to me, and it wasn’t possible for the guest vocalists to perform so it never happened again.
JS: When the album came out and didn't do as well as you maybe would have liked, were you disillusioned?
TJ: I wasn’t disillusioned because whenever I do anything, I push things to an insane point of personal perfection. All that matters to me is knowing I couldn’t achieve any better. At that point anyone could say it was shit, and I really wouldn’t care, I trust my own critical judgement enough and always do things to foremost please myself never anyone else. If it’s flawless in my head, any external criticism or failure is irrelevant. I was disappointed with the record company, not myself. 80% of the failure was their fault. I made a great record they didn’t know how to sell or market it properly.
JS: You reissued it again.
TJ: Yeah, exactly, via Output a few years later when I negotiated my master rights back.
James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem.
JS: How did you meet James Murphy?
TJ: I knew Tim anyway from Mo'Wax days. Tim had moved to New York and set up DFA with James. I went to NYC to record tracks for the Playgroup album with Shinehead and Kathleen Hanna. I met us with Tim while I was over there and met James through Tim.
JS: Had they already been putting out stuff?
TJ: No, they’d put out nothing. They had this huge building and studio in Manhattan but hadn’t released anything yet. The Rapture release they weren’t entirely sure what to do with. They played some tracks to me, and it sounded exactly like the kind of thing that should be on Output. They didn’t have any experience of releasing records out and knew having someone based in London who knew all the right people internationally and could get their music out via the right sources would be a huge asset, so they asked if I could help. I thought it was an amazing record and happily agreed to promote and release worldwide, excluding the US and Japan where they already had their own connections. To be honest, initially people took notice of The Rapture in the UK because of Morgan Geist’s remix, they weren’t really interested in the original version at first, the live elements of the original put some DJs off playing it, but after a while things shifted and the track really started to blow up.
JS: Did you commission that mix?
TJn: No, no, they did that themselves. They were friends with Morgan.
JS: We're talking about “House of Jealous Lovers?”
TJ: Yeah, “House of Jealous Lovers.” I think it was the first DFA release. The Juan MacLean was next I think. “Losing My Edge” came next. “Losing My Edge” just went crazy.
JS: When you heard that for the first time, did you feel this is...
TJ: No, not at all, and I actually preferred “Beat Connection” at first. You have to remember I already had other successful artists on the label, critically and creatively, they were another of those artists to me, never THE artist. It was a great record, but I had no idea the impact it would have. LCD and The Rapture became part of the Output Family — many people thought of them as Output artists more than DFA ones.
David Cunningham and Deborah Evans-Strickland from The Flying Lizards
JS: Can you imagine that they probably, as of right now, they probably would be biggest band in America?
TJ: Never in a million years.
JS: Did you release the first albums?
TJ: Only The Rapture Echoes album on vinyl which was given to Output to release as a goodwill gesture after they signed to a major label, and that label had no independent vinyl store distribution network.
JS: Did you do contracts with your artists?
TJ: No, no contracts, wanted to try keep things mutually respectful. We rarely made money on anything. We just about broke even, ran things on a shoestring, put everything back into the label. It was just me and a label manager running things, that was it. But we always spent money on good packaging, marketing and press. The label was never set up as a proper business, I earned my income from design work, never drew a wage from the company and as long as we didn’t lose too much was happy to keep things going on a purely creative basis. I always told the bands, “I can’t promise you’re going to make any money, but I can assure you via Output you’ll get attention, that’s the best I can give you.” If this is just about money to you, please go elsewhere. Perhaps that was stupid and naive, but it made good sense to me not to give people any false expectations and promise anything we couldn’t deliver.
JS: How many 12” records would you sell of LCD or The Rapture at the time?
TJ: A few thousand maybe. I can’t remember exactly and they were exporting records from the US as well. Enough to break even.
We fell out very badly after LCD and the Rapture signed huge deals and Output got very little back. Fundamentally, I’d taken DFA and I hooked them up with every single important person I knew in the industry worldwide, DJs, promoters, festivals,lLabels, press, PR, etc. Then The Rapture signed to Mercury and LCD to EMI. I felt betrayed and was bitter to the point of printing a full page advert in Vice at the time venting my frustration at the turn of events, but over time learned to live with it. I’m well over that now, water under the bridge, learned my lesson, and consider both James and Tim friends.
JS: You were disillusioned by the whole thing?
TJ: Disillusioned totally, the label starts getting bigger and the bigger it gets, it becomes more stressful, the artists start becoming divas, the more money it costs to run things, the more money I’m losing. It just was a lose/lose situation because most of the other successful independent labels at the time weren’t genuinely independent. They were all sub-labels of a major. They usually had one big act everything else lived on, we didn’t have that. I refused, implicitly, to be part of the major label network, tried a partnership with Source for six months and it didn’t work, so I refused to be part of any bigger corporation anymore, and wanted to do it completely independently.
JS: You had offers?
TJ: Yeah, I had offers. Everybody wanted to sign Four Tet. Everybody wanted to sign The Rapture. Everybody wanted to sign my acts. Other labels I thought were my friends were turning into sharks, people were going behind my back.
JS: When Four Tet left the label, you didn't feel you were being betrayed as you did with the DFA situation?
TJ: No, the Four Tet situation was different. I’ve always been friendly with Kieran, never fallen out with him. It was a different thing. There’s always been mutual respect and I’d like to think he appreciates all I did for him in his early career. He was honest with me about his concerns, we discussed it, I was fine. I was realistic about the capabilities of the label too when he spoke to me, it would've been unfair to hold him back in any way.
JS: The label was draining you, basically.
TJ: The label was draining me, not just financially, and at this point I’m like fuck it.
JS: This is pre-digital?
TJ: Yeah. I ran the label from 96 to 2006.
JS: People are still buying records then.
TJ: YouTube didn't start until when? 2004 or something? When that stuff started growing and illegal downloads became the norm, it just became so difficult. It became harder to sell records, we started losing too much money. The most stupid thing I ever did was try and bring in a business advisor, someone who promised to turn things around, but proceeded to fuck everything up whilst being very well paid for it. I was like, “forget this.” Then PRS and MCPS started coming and biting my heels, trying to get money from me we didn’t owe them, stopped us being able to manufacture records even though that was the only way we could make any money back to pay them! I’d become an A&R man for every other label in the world there yet wasn’t getting any financial return, I was naive and made mistakes. The whole thing was a total mess, was ruining my life, so decided enough was enough.
JS: I remember when Bryan Mette and I brought you to New York to play at Club Love. I think that marked the death of the Output label?
TJ: Yeah, I put together a final compilation called I Hate Music. Managed to get out as the hundredth release and just close the label. After that, I wanted nothing to do with the music industry or community ever again. In retrospect, it was a good time to get out, the digital age was emerging, big changes were happening, it was killing independent labels.
JS: You got more back into your art?
TJ: Back into design and art projects, yes.
JS: Did you run it out of this place?
TJ: No, no, it was around the corner on Curtain Road. I’ll never forget the day the label ended, I had to tell my label manager who had worked so hard trying to pull things together we couldn’t go on anymore. The wankers at Pitchfork had just ran a story publishing a private email I’d sent to one of the artists about my personal reasons for closing the label against my will. I left the office, got home, opened the door, and found my 21 year old cat dying. It was all too much, everything became a bit of a blur after that.
JS: That was in 2004?
TJ: 2006. That was 10, 11 years ago. Then, I took time off, pulled myself together and went back to design work. I took it all very personally, the failure of the label was a hard thing to deal with, I’d let a lot of people down that relied on me, was an awful time.
JS: Would you DJ occasionally?
TJ: Not so much, I really couldn’t bear the thought of any contact with anyone music related, I felt so bitter about it all as well as embarrassed I’d fucked it all up. I turned down all gigs, remixes, everything, ended up hating everything related to the label for years — it’s literally only been the past few years I felt proud about anything I did during that period. I mainly concentrated on getting back into design work and, after some time, took on a few DJ gigs.
But then, a few years later just when I’d started getting myself back on my feet, one of my best friends passed away. She’d been recently diagnosed with epilepsy; I didn’t have a permanent home at the time so I lived with her, helping to take care of her, she couldn’t be left alone at any time of the day in case she had a seizure, I had to accompany her all the time. One morning I woke up, her office called me to find out why she wasn’t at work, and I found her. I assumed she was sleeping in bed but discovered she’d passed away, it was the worst thing I’d ever experienced. Not only the shock of the event but also the guilt of supposed to being there for her, not only letting her down but also her family and friends, then being questioned by the police and being treated as a suspect as I was the only person in the house at the time. It was unbearable.
JS: Were you living with friends?
TJ: Yes, crashing with friends for a year afterwards, had no home of my own, the worst situation to be going through after what I’d been through.
JS: Brutal.
TJ: Brutal is the word. I had nothing. I went through a really cathartic process of just trying to cleanse my life and trying to work out the most important things in my life. When you go through shit like that, you just don’t want any negativity around you at all. I got rid of friends and associates that didn’t add anything positive to my life. Life is too short. I don’t put myself in situations I don’t feel comfortable with anymore. Before that I’d have much more patience. If I’m in the company of people I don’t like now, I just leave. Friends that I don’t get along with anymore, I don’t need them. I’m very lucky I’ve got enough good friends around me anyway, people I’ve known for 30 years or more that I love and respect. Also, it sounds like a cliché, but I got into healthy living, meditation and exercise were the only things that managed to pulled me out of a very dark place, it took a long time to get back into a good place.
JS: That opened a door for you to do more music.
TJ: Yeah, I found that it takes adverse situations to make me reassess things and create. I've now learned that however bad life gets, it's cyclical. When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go, back up!
JS: I was DJing at the biggest clubs in New York. I had two kids, and the dance music scene was like you said – very boring. I did a publishing deal with Warner Chapel. They were trying to hook me up with pop stuff. It didn't work out. They would always end up going back to the same two producers they use for everything, whoever it was. I didn't know what I was going to do. Me and my wife split up. I was totally depressed. I wanted to kill myself, but I had two kids. I did what I had to do. Then this all started coming back, like I said, being re-inspired again and meeting people who said, "Oh, you did all this. Why aren't you doing stuff?" I was like, “You're right. What the fuck am I doing? I'm good at this.” Made me want to get back into it, and really, it's all I can do.
TJ: It's easy to forget your worth when you’re in the wrong place, when you get to that point, that low, you either end it all, right? Which is an option when you’re that bad, or pull yourself out of it.
JB: When you have two kids, you don't think about ending it all. I guess there are people that do.
TJ: Sadly, there are people that are so low that they can't get out of it.
JS: Yeah, thankfully, you got out of it.
TJ: We both did. I got out of it. The first project I did after that was an art show called Nowhere at a small gallery in Hoxton Square. I showed a series of abstract photographic works, abstract images of sunset skies, juxtaposed with personal images and manipulated images of the cosmos, some video work too. It was a cathartic experience and really helped to cleanse my past in a way, moving into a new creative arena. I also did a show at the Red Bull 12 Mail Gallery in Paris, large scale microscopic images of record vinyl grooves titled “Yesterday,” “Today,” “Tomorrow,” “Forever,” along with an accompanying limited edition vinyl release made up of samples from the images I was showing. This show cautiously renewed my interest in getting back into music again and I came up with the idea of the Metal Dance compilations. Felt like the right way to make people aware of me again, I’d worked with K7 many times before, trusted them and Strut was part of their network.
JS: A compilation of?
TJ: Late 70s, early 80s experimental electronic dance music. Which were mostly chosen for an old mix tape I found at my parents house one day in the attic.
JS: That got you back in?
TJ: Press-wise, media-wise and public-wise, they were like, “Trevor Jackson is still here!.” And it introduced me to a whole new audience too. I’ve mentioned it before, but I felt hesitant to put some tracks on Metal Dance that might be too obvious. But kids would come up to me, like 17 or 18, and talk about those specific tracks I was concerned about and go, “Fuck, I’ve never heard that before.” It’s great to feel that. A new generation of people making music inspired by stuff that inspired me.
JS: You were getting a lot of attention.
TJ: Enough, was great to feel proud of something again. Did a second volume of Metal Dance and then I started to think I should really start releasing some of my own music, something I hadn’t done since the Playgroup album and that 12 Mail Gallery release. That’s how Format came together. I started going through my archive, listening to tracks I’d never released, mainly demos and unfinished recordings. I’d never stopped making music since the Playgroup release, making music helped me get through the very worst of times, but I’d given up thinking of releasing any of it, overly cautious of putting myself back out into an industry I’d grown to despise and had also changed so dramatically. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 4–5 years, sorting that archive out, 100s of tracks that sounded rubbish to me at the time, things I’d overworked for so long, that now with time and objectivity have learnt to love again. It’s part of this huge cleansing process I’m going through, trying to move on to a new phase in life. It’s insane to think but I’ve now actually finished all of it, feels great.
Format, Trevor Jackson
JS: Wow! You released Format with The Vinyl Factory?
TJ: Yes. I did it with them because I knew that I wanted to try and release the project in a unique way — something that as a label they’re very interested in doing. I needed to satisfy my creative urges and in the process get the music — and most importantly my ideas — noticed, which in today's current climate is very difficult. Tragically, so many great things get ignored now regardless of its value or quality, things exist for such a short period of time, you need to do something special to be noticed.
JS: The idea was to release it as...
TJ: As 12 different physical formats.
JS: And not to release digital?
TJ: There was a USB stick, but initially no download or streaming. I wanted it all to be very democratic. Usually the press hears a release months before an album is released and with this, anyone could hear it at the same time but only by visiting the a/v show I’d created. There were no promos sent out at all, people had to make the effort to come and experience it. The album was presented on 12 huge screens. Each screen showed the process of playing each track via its own designated format on its own unique playback machine. The ritual of playing physical recorded mediums. So much of the magic is lost when all you need to do is simply press play on a screen to listen to something, right? I wanted to highlight not only the aesthetics, the intricate physical details of these machines, but also the tactile beauty of the actual process.
JS: It was a real coming together of the two things you love — your music and your art.
TJ: Exactly. I also did an amazing project a few years earlier at the London BFI IMAX titled RGBPM. Performed four pieces of music on a custom built video synth, one of the highlights of my career to date. The music was actually released this month as a vinyl only EP along with a series of signed prints on a small label called UTTER.
JS: So you had a whole exhibition for Format.
TJ: It was a large project. The only way you could come and hear the album initially was to come to the exhibition, and you could buy the separate formats at the exhibition and also online. Most of them sold out straight away. They were limited to various edition numbers: 500 12 inches, 400 10 inches, 300 7 inches, 200 cassettes etc. Also had a series of 10 box sets with an additional reel to reel tape format that was only available in that set.
JS: What was the most obscure format?
TJ: 8-track probably. They were a total pain in the arse to manufacture and find parts for, most of it was a logistical nightmare to manufacture. Format was the first large scale project I’d done for a long time, took well over six months to put together, was a hell of a lot of work, but definitely worth it. The main objective was to highlight the importance of physical music, something that had become far less important since I’d released my last album back in 2000. But also making it as inconvenient as possible to people, so it wasn’t easy to obtain or experience. I wanted people to make an effort, the more problematic something is to obtain, the more important it eventually becomes and the longer it will resonate with you.
JS: The music was recorded from what years?
TJ: Between the years 1999 to 2006, 20077. I was really hesitant and quite scared about letting this music out. So I tried to highlight the concept more, the music became secondary. A bit of a mistake in hindsight when I listen to it now, I realize the music was really good. I’m very proud of it... I’d lost a lot of confidence in what I was doing. Had total confidence in the concept, but wasn’t sure about my music-making ability anymore, it had been so long since I’d released anything and, after listening to the tracks so many times, had lost all perspective.
JS: Over the years, people would say when are we getting another Playgroup album? Now, here it is. Everyone was asking “What's Trevor Jackson got to say?”
TJ: Yeah, and that was a lot of pressure after all that time. But I'm really happy. It worked really, really well.
JS: It was beautifully designed, and there are some great tracks.
TJ: Thank you. The thing is, there's more of it.
JS: You also did that Adrian Sherwood compilation.
TJ: Yeah, that was a real labour of love, On-U sound was my favorite label of all time. I would never of dreamt of doing that as teenager, dream come true.
JS: It's come full circle.
TJ: Full circle. I’m still such a fan.
JS: Did you work with him on it?
TJ: I did. I’m still in awe of the guy. It was really embarrassing. I couldn’t sit here and have a proper conversation with him like I am with you. Hold him in far too high esteem.
JS: Had you ever met him?
TJ: Yeah, I met him before, but I’m like a gibbering wreck when I meet him. He’s not intimidating; he’s a lovely guy. I had interviewed him before. Before I did an NTS show, I did this radio show called “Strongroom Alive.” I’d also interviewed Arthur Baker and Jah Wobble, then I did Adrian.
JS: When was the Trevor Horn interview?
TJ: That was recent. That was with NTS when I interviewed Adrian. What was interesting was that all the tracks I picked up, he didn’t like most of them, he was quite dismissive about them. Don’t think he realized how important they were. They were crazy throw-away experiments to him and, in his heart, he’s a pure reggae head. I think the records that were the most important to him at that time were the Roots/Reggae, more traditional things.
JS: Science Fiction Dance Hall Classics
TJ: Those crazier left field tracks have resonated with a younger generation, also with people that either didn’t realize the label released things like that, or totally forgot about them. The compilation was really well received.
JS: That's your role in all of this — you've always just done what you loved and exposed people to a lot of music that they might not have heard otherwise.
TJ: I strongly and somewhat arrogantly feel that if things are important to me, they should be important to other people. It’s passion more than anything, nothing to do with ego, I want as many other people to share that excitement with me, try to experience the way I feel about things. I can only work successfully on things I’m passionate about, I’m not driven by money or success, integrity is hugely important thing to me. Look at Richard Russell, who we spoke about earlier. Look at him now. Look at James Murphy, these people. They’ve gone on to have huge success. They're both highly ambitious people, whether they’re entirely happy with what they’re doing, I don’t know. You make sacrifices when you get to that level, things I probably wouldn’t be prepared to do. I’m happy in the shadows to a certain extent, I’ve been in the game actively for more than 30 years, still relevant in someway, hopefully, that's an achievement I’m very proud of.
JS: The pressure of James Murphy stopping LCD Soundsystem when they were very popular, going away for five years, saying that he’ll never do this again — many times he said it, and then came back.
TJ: I don’t know his reasons behind it, but sure he’s done it for the right reasons.
JS: They are such a great band. I don’t see any reason to stop it or not go back to it. People change their minds. I don’t fault him for that at all. They’re an amazing band.
TJ: As long as they're as good or better than they were before, that's all that matters.
JS: I mean, I'd seen them before they'd done any new music, when they just came back and just started playing.
TJ: Live, they're fucking unbelievable. Live, they're incredible.
JS: They're the best band out there; the best band I've seen live recently.
TJ: Live, they’re outstanding. It’s really odd when you see someone you know at that level of success onstage, this guy who’s just one of us, that level of adoration, something I’d never feel comfortable with, it’s just fucking weird because it’s still James, you know. It’s still the guy I know from 15, however long years, however long that was…
JS: You do a radio show on NTS every other two weeks? That’s been inspiring you these days?
TJ: Yeah, it’s like having a record label without any of the bullshit. The main reason I did the record label was just to get new music i was passionate about into the world. Now I can do the same thing without having to deal with any artists or managers, do exactly what I want. And apart from the cost of the records, it doesn’t cost me a penny, there are no risks or stresses, it’s an absolute pleasure.
JS: Now, you released a whole slew of 12 inches as Playgroup after the Format thing. You had this idea to do one release every couple of weeks?
TJ: After Format, I said to myself, “okay, I’ve got the rest of this music here and I desperately want to make brand new music. I’m doing this NTS show, all the new music out there is inspired, innovative. I need to be making forward thinking brand new music, but I’m having a real problem doing that until I finish all the old music out of my life.” It may have been stupid, but I set myself that task, to finish off that music, and now I’ve finally done it and need to release it all in an exciting way too. Last years Playgroup releases were the first part of that. Was difficult, I had 30 tracks and they’re all club tracks. They’ve got to be on vinyl but I couldn’t do a nine album box set, so came up with the crazy idea of releasing an EP a week for nine weeks. Everyone said to me, “You’re mad. Forget it.” But it worked really really well. Each sleeve fitted together to make a large image which added a physical collectability to the whole project.
JS: And you used the Bill Bernstein photos as cutups in the sleeves, which is genius.
Previously Unreleased, by Playgroup
TJ: Yeah love his work, was a big fan of his Night Dancing book. I wanted to tease people, no one knew what the large image was until you put all the sleeves together...an element of surprise.
JS: Have you ever thought of teaching?
TJ: Yeah, I'd love to teach.
JS: I think you'd be amazing at it.
TJ: Thank you. that’s one thing I would really, really love to do. I don’t have any kids. I’d like to try and contribute something positive to society.
JS: Has that opportunity ever come about?
TJ: No, I haven't been asked, but it's something I would want to do.
JS: Now, what's next for Trevor Jackson?
TJ: Now? I've got five albums worth of material.
JS: New material?
TJ: No, more unreleased stuff that on one’s heard.
JS: The Playgroup stuff? What’s this coming out as?
TJ: I don't know. I've literally just finished it. I'm just sitting there with 85 tracks wondering how on earth to get it out. I'm trying to think of an interesting way to do it. I can't release five albums at the same time. Maybe I can — I don't know. I haven't got an idea how to do it. I'm sitting here thinking. That's where I'm at now.
There’ll definitely be a Playgroup Previously Unreleased volume II and possibly I’ll use some of the other aliases I’ve used over the years for the other ones.
JS: I have confidence you will.
TJ: Glad you do! I want to get it all out this year.
JS: Then you will start the next phase.
TJ: Hopefully, I’m getting rid of all the excess weight in my life. This unreleased music is part of that. I want to start afresh. Been trying to do this since my friend passed away, six, seven years ago. I want to be able to sit in my studio and make music in a completely new way. At the moment, what’s really fantastic is people making music out there without any boundaries anymore, without any expectations or preconceptions. They can just do what the hell they want. I haven’t been able to do that for a while.
JS: Do you want to collaborate or you want to do it all yourself?
TJ: I don’t know. I want to get all this music out, take a bit of time off, wipe the slate clean and reassess things. Part of me never wants to make a record with a 4/4 in it ever again. Another part of me wants to make the most tear-jerkingly beautiful gentle album. I’d like to attempt to make something sonically as good as one of my favorite Trevor Horn productions.
JS: Which is? What would be one?
TJ: Oh, Slave to the Rhythm, Moments in Love or something so beautiful it makes you want to cry.
JS: Those are the best records.
TJ: At the same time I love listening to Death Grips. At this point in my life, I really want to try to do something new, so much of what I’ve been doing over the past decade or so has been somewhat related to the past. That's holding me back.
JS: You think that's still possible? For you, it's brand new, but...
TJ: I think that's fairly impossible now. But I’ll give it a go!
JS: It is. It drives me nuts sometimes. It's like you think you have something and then it's out there. Fiorucci decides to relaunch this year, and all that stuff is like —
TJ: You know what? I was supposed to work on it.
JS: You should have.
TJ: A year and a half ago, they asked me to be involved. Do the design and everything for them. Didn't happen.
JS: You didn't want to?
TJ: I wanted to; it would have been a dream job.
JS: Just never happened?
TJ: Just never happened.
JS: Their archives are insane.
TJ: One of the later meetings I had with them, they got some stuff, just bits and bobs of things from the archive. They had this pair of jeans. I was like, “What the fuck?” They said “What?” I said, "You know what those jeans are?” They’re like, “No.” I said, “That’s Keith Haring.” Hand drawn jeans with him and —
Keith Haring on a skateboard
JS: L.A. II?
TJ: L.A. II!
Keith Haring and L.A. II (Angel Ortiz) on the show card for their opening at the Tony Shafrazi gallery, 1982
TJ: Yeah. They didn't even know about it. I'm like, these should not be in a box. These need to be in a fucking museum. They had no idea who L.A. II was. When Fiorucci opened a store in Milan and Keith Haring and L.A. II went along...what an amazing time.
JS: Painted up the whole store, had videos, insane.
TJ: To paint the store.
JS: There's a video.
TJ: It is what it is. I would have liked to do something — it would have been interesting to do something in fashion. What I love about Fiorucci, and I think what’s missing now is I like to see women happy, smiling. Smiles are sexy and sadly they’re not so cool anymore. A generation of woman thinking it's far better to frown and look unhappy, what the fuck is that all about? No one does fun sex like Fiorucci.
JS: It was an amazing time.
TJ: That must have been crazy. There used to be a store in London on the Kings Road.
JS: Yeah, I went. I got some of the bags. I was mental into Fiorucci and collected everything.
TJ: Have you got the fanzines, the comic book?
JS: I didn't get those; I don't know why. I didn't know about them at the time. I had good friends that worked there and stuff. They would just give me all this stuff.
TJ: Fiorucci jeans, Dinky belts and Kicker shoes were big in the 70s & 80s with the Edgware Becks. Did you have Kickers in New York?
JS: I loved Kickers. I actually have the poster, all the different Kickers.
TJ: Collecting Kicker tags was massive for us as teenagers in the UK, in as many different colors as possible, and wear them all on your shoes.
JS: They still make them, right?
TJ: Do they?
JS: I think so.
TJ: They got picked up again in the late 90s, I think.
JS: I know there was a relaunch or something. I would love to get a pair. I saw someone wearing a pair recently.
TJ: Same here, a good pair of Kickers would be great!
JS: Yeah.
TJ: Wow.
JS: There you go.Thank you for this, Trevor!
TJ: There you go; that's my life. Thanks for listening.
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Dear Friend,
April 17, 2017
Part I Happy Easter! I know it was yesterday, but I didn’t get to tell you properly. So - er - Happy Belated Easter!(?) I hope you had a great holiday. Surprisingly, I’m grateful to say that I did. Although, holidays at home have started to become less and less significant. Nevertheless, I had a great time. It’s been a week since I last wrote you. We got a new puppy and with my luck, she chewed up my laptop charger; thus leaving me with nothing to write to you. Her name is Molly. She’s a mixed terrier with another breed that I cannot figure out. My dad rescued her at the warehouse he works at. Apparently she almost got run over, so he stopped in the middle of the road outside his workplace and took her to his office. She’s been with us ever since. We don’t think we can take care of her, but thankfully my brother has offered to take her home in a month when he gets a new house. You have probably noticed by now that my life can be a mess sometimes. So, a week without writing… Well, let’s just say, life goes on and I have much to tell you. I will tell you about my day today, and then work my way in reverse. I woke up with a cold. It was 11:13am - twenty-three minutes passed the beginning of my first class. I obviously didn’t go. Instead, I stayed home in bed, playing games on my phone, and listening to music. I didn’t do much afterward. I went to work to fill out some paperwork, then to an electronic store to buy myself a new computer charger, then I left back home, made food, ate, and killed time until my parents got home. They got home by mid afternoon. I was getting ready to go to the park to run. I got dressed, took my energy drink, and drove to the park. When I got there, I noticed there was a lot of people because there was a baseball game going on. That really annoys me. I don’t like running when there’s a lot of people present, but I know I will do it anyway. I ran a 5K in thirty minutes. It wasn’t my best run. Since I’m sick, it was really difficult for me to breathe. In addition, my leg - more specifically, my shins - have been hurting a lot lately. I didn’t care about the pain - I never do. So, I ran the 5k anyway. I got home, and I was welcomed with a meal at the bar. My mom heard me coming in from the garage, so she heated up some food she made for me. It was salmon with wild rice and green beans. I dressed the salmon with lime juice and tabasco sauce. It was very satisfying. I wish she made it more often. After that, I took a shower and got dressed into my pajamas. Now, I’m outside sitting down on one of our new tables in the patio. It’s storming. There’s a lot of lightning and not enough thunder. It took a while for the rain to start pouring, but when it did, it fell fast and hard. I thought about stepping out of the patio to get rained on - I feel like it would wash away all my sadness, but I don’t want my sickness to get worse. Honestly, it is really calming to be outside right now. I’m listening to the thunder roar and the water hit the ground. I can smell petrichor in the air, especially when the wind blew it my way. This, combined with the occasional lightning bursts, makes it a perfect night. I haven’t witnessed a storm like this in a few months. The wind is actually breezy for once, and it doesn’t feel humid and sticky like every other hot and muggy day in Texas. What a great way to end the night. Part II My family and I actually celebrated Easter on Saturday (don’t ask why). My brother from San Antonio, Texas surprised us when he showed up at our front door. It was really nice seeing him and his wife again. My sister showed up with her husband, their son, and his mother as well. We all ate some BBQ that my dad cooked on the grill. It was really delicious in my opinion. I had steak and chips with some pico de gallo. I know it sounds pretty lame, but I enjoy the simple stuff. After we all had our dinner, my nephew, Aleczander and I went to my room to play some video games. He’s only three and a half years old, but he definitely got the gamer blood in him from me. We started playing Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U. I taught him the controls of the game. Once he got the hang of it, he was having a blast. He was screaming and yelling and laughing. It wasn’t annoying. It was actually quite soothing - nothing beats a laughter like a laughter from a happy child. We played a few rounds while my sister watched. She was stoked because she was finally witnessing her son and brother bonding for the first time. Then, when her husband walked in, he started recording us playing together. It started getting late, so my brother and sister-in-law decided to leave because they had plans with my sister-in-law’s parents. They were going to a bar in a neighboring city. After they left, my sister and her family decided to leave as well. Before I let them go, I gave my nephew my copy of the game, but the 3DS version of it so he could play it wherever and whenever he wants. I know he’s young, but hopefully he will get better at it and be ready to play against me next time. He had a big smile on his face as he walked out the door. My sister said, “Thank you,” and gave me a hug, followed by her husband and his mom. I started feeling sick, so when everyone left I isolated myself in my room. Although I had family around, I had a lot on my mind. They were just a distraction. I was really missing someone, so I tried not to get sad about it. I was in the dark for a few moments, then my mind started racing with thoughts that didn’t seem to matter - I started thinking about things that were out of my own control. I started thinking about other people’s lives. Why do I worry about everyone but myself? I didn’t want to get bad again. So, I turned on my Playstation 4 and started playing Destiny. The rest of the night consisted of me playing video games, texting my best friend Josh and listening to music. Right before bed, I watched a few episodes of Rick and Morty until my eyes started to get heavy. I wanted to stay up, but I couldn’t fight it anymore. I let myself drift off into a deep slumber that was interrupted multiple times by a crying puppy, a full bladder, and a nightmare of my father dying. Part III I had a lot of events happen during the week prior to Easter. I got my blood results back from the school’s medical center. I tested negative for gonorrhea and chlamydia. I didn’t get checked for HIV because the school only does those on Thursdays. I’ll have to go back soon to get checked for that as well. I doubt I have it, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. I also got my general blood work done as well. The nurse told me I was very healthy. I was shocked at this news because last year my bad cholesterol was high. It turned out that my bad cholesterol went down by ten points - last year I was at a cholesterol level of 105, now it is at 95 (anything higher than 100 is not that good). It must be all the running I’m doing. Speaking of health, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I have been eating better. I’m staying away from really greasy foods and fast food in general. I do have my “cheat days,” of course - they keep me sane, but in general I’m happy with my health. I’m eating more oatmeal and I’m intaking a lot more protein. I make myself a protein shake three to four times a week. I’ve actually gained seven pounds of muscle. That’s a lot for me in my opinion. I still don’t have the body that I want, so I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing. I just hope I don’t have to actually go on a diet. I love food too much - especially chocolate. I’ve been hanging out with my friend Josh less often lately because he got a job as a server at a burger place. I’ve been trying to hang out with other guys - gay guys - but they all end up bailing on me. So, I’ve just been spending time with my old friends when I can. I’ll occasionally go to Applebee’s with my friend Jenna or spend some time with the “Accounting Crew” from school. The “Accounting Crew” is a group of six of my friends (not including me) from class. We all hang out when we can and we see each other every Tuesday and Thursday. I also hung out with one of my old friends named Alejandro. He’s an ex-boyfriend of an ex-girl friend of mine (it’s a long story), but he and I still talk every once in a while. He invited me to tournament last week. It was for many different games like Street Fighter V, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (UMVC3), FIFA and a few others, but the highlight of the tournament was Super Smash Bros. Melee. They were playing it on an emulated Wii system. The games that were going on were getting really intense. Some of the players started throwing chairs when they ended up losing. Anyway, I went for UMVC3. I had never been to a tournament before, so I was just there to have fun. My main goal was to NOT lose the first round. And guess what… I didn’t! It was quite funny because my favorite character that I use is named Morrigan - she’s from and old game called Darkstalkers - and the guy that I had to play against first also used her. He was a pretty advanced player using her, but honestly, I was better. She’s a very tedious character to use, so I respect anyone that knows how to play her right. I didn’t lose the first match against him, but sadly I lost the two matches that followed with some other players. (At least I didn’t get last place!) I met a lot of new people there that traveled from all over Texas like Houston, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Austin just to show up at that tournament. I look forward to going to another tournament. It was definitely a fun and good experience. Some other events happened that I’d probably rather summarize rather than tell you in detail, because they are kind of personal. One - Josh had sex with some girl, whom I just met the same night, in my house while my parents were gone. We didn’t go to sleep until 7:30am. The girl was supposed to spend the night. Josh came into my room letting me know that. I got upset and he noticed. He didn’t want me to be mad, so he pretended to leave home so she could go home too. He came back to my house and slept with me. I thought it was really sweet that he did that. He kept saying, “I don’t want you to be upset, Alex. I love you.” Two - The same night this happened, my straight friend from a few cities away whom would like to be referred to as “Fisto-Roboto,” (I asked him what he would like his nickname to be, and he chose that. I laughed of the thought of writing his name to you) started to talk really dirty to me. He has a girlfriend and basically told me he’s curious to do things with me. I wish I could show you what he said to me, but we were talking on Snapchat and I was also a little intoxicated on this night. The only thing that I can remember is him saying, “I want to suck you dry,” and “I’ve thought about fucking you.” He said a lot more, but I’ll just leave it at that. Three - I gave a previous English professor of mine a copy of an excerpt I want to publish. I gave it to her to proofread and help me with my structure, vocabulary, and grammar. She also gave her colleague a copy as well. He’s a creative writing professor at the university. He read my excerpt and gave me amazing feedback. He showed me things that will definitely make it a lot better. He told me I’m a great writer and he could feel the anger, the anxiety, and the sadness in my writing. He also said I don’t need to take any writing classes; that the things he was going to show me aren’t even taught in a classroom. He was so helpful. He gave me so many ideas for my piece, I can’t wait to edit it. I should be working on it, but as soon as my previous English professor gives me her feedback. Unfortunately, I have been too busy to go to her office, and when I was done talking to her colleague, she was gone. Four - I set up an appointment to talk to a therapist at school. I wish I could tell you what happened there, but everything we talk about is confidential. I will say, though, that it wasn’t much because it was my first visit. She was just asking me questions about my health: Do I smoke? Do I drink, Do I have suicidal thoughts? You know, the usual therapist questions. I can’t tell if it was helpful or kind of made me worse. I’ll have to let you know what the answer is when I go for my follow-up, whenever that is…
Part IV Incidentally, I have a quite a week ahead of me. Tomorrow, I have an exam for Auditing that I should start studying for. Then, on Wednesday, I have a project/report due for my Management class. I really don’t feel like studying tonight, but I have to if I want to get a good grade. If all goes well in school I could be graduating this December. I’m looking forward to writing my report for Management, because, I mean, it involves writing! Hopefully I can keep my mind busy enough tonight to not think about people who don’t miss me. I just need to stay distracted: study, listen to music, and worry about things that are in my control - my life - nobody else’s. Love Always, Alex
#my post#mypost#dear friend#excerpt from a book i'll never write#excerpts from my life#life#writers on tumblr#poets on tumblr#lit#literature#thoughts#spilled thoughts#spilled ink#creative writing#lgbt#lesbian#gay#gay love#lesbian love#short story#gaymer#texas
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