2010
Driving on the Y axis through Nevada is quite an experience. There are three possible North/South routes through that state, and all three are, for the majority of their routes, 2-lane highways for which the term "straight as an arrow" was coined. I often joke that on a road like that I could just bungee-cord the steering wheel to the brake pedal and take a nap.
On a drive like this, I usually don't listen to the stereo unless I need a little pick-me-up. I generally just cruise in silence, and it's good medicine. You can get in an extremely strange head-space driving in a perfectly straight line at high speeds for hours on end. Some of the odder AD products (like Replicant and our upcoming one) are the result of exactly this. And some of my weirder music, too.
I realize most people would go bat-shit crazy on the 9-or-so hour straight-line drive through Nevada, but I relish it for this very reason. What's the thing that gets you in your Special Place?
the couple of times i've driven through wyoming i've really enjoyed it. not a lot of cars on the road.. it's epic in every direction and there's always some killer cloud formations. i've driven cross country solo 2 times and i more or less love about 80% of it. the deep southwest can be pretty amazing as well as new mexico etc where everything kind of swoops and sweeps and carves through a sea of red and orange.
meditative trance-like states are great. there's nothing like truly forgetting my own damn presence. it's happened to me a few times.
there's different kinds though.. there's the "in the moment" kind.. like when snowboarding or some other thing that is physical and you are thinking about only what you are doing and nothing else.
and then there is the "3 people trying to get your attention but you just don't even hear them because you've totally forgotten about everything except the pen you are tapping on the desk to their annoyance but really you don't even hear the pen or know it's in your hand so you've actually forgotten about that too then suddenly the person sitting next to you punches you in the arm and you look up and realize the whole class is staring at you because you've apparently ignored several of them saying knock it off".
posted June 23, 2010 by boobs
For the day-to-day creative thinking, a good combination is several hours without kids (very rare nowadays), green tea, some driving Krautrock on the stereo like Harmonia or mid-70s Kraftwerk, and rain.
posted June 23, 2010 by seancostello
posted June 23, 2010 by afreshcupofjoe
But when I'm out in the desert, which it seems I often am, it just doesn't work. Once in a while I'll put on some solo piano like Patrick Cohen's fantastic reading of the Satie hits or Daniel Barenboim's Chopin Nocturnes, and that occasionally fits, but mostly the sound of the tires on the road is the best accompaniment.
Otherwise, yeah, I'm with boobs.
-CR
posted June 23, 2010 by Chris Randall
I'm definitely reading people's responses. If you're a reader/visitor who seldom posts, please consider posting.
- c
posted June 23, 2010 by beauty pill
The other one is/was sitting still nearby a lake, again just before the dawn, maybe staring at the fire. Again, an easy one. We've got nice surroundings here, so... besides, it's 10.30 pm and sun is still shining, the nights are short, so there's a lot to do outside. Fresh air + space around you = ahh.
The third one - this is a new one to me - is to read poetry in any other language than my native, preferably suffering from an easy hangover. Ok, one has to understand quite a few words, but the point is to pick words in relation to each other and fill in the blanks. This is nowadays my main lyric tool.
I've developed a habit to remember my creative peaks and what I did whilst reaching them, so finding the flow is getting easier and easier nowadays. I've become a bit like being a Pavlov's dog, so to say. The downside: I can lose literally hours if I'm too careless. :-D
posted June 23, 2010 by Peppe
posted June 23, 2010 by ZombieStomper
Riding my BMX, no headphones on, through the city when it's raining cats and dogs. A weird thing to do for a thirty year old man, but I realized that when I'm so wet I can't possibly get any more soaking I just relax and enjoy the city's reflect itself in the water and how the regular sounds of citylife just fades away. I find myself both feeling like a kid again and being totally creative idea-wise.
/Rasmus
posted June 23, 2010 by rasmus_nyaker