The Creative Class

I am working on a few posts which I will name 'The Psychology of the Creative Class.' The inspiration for these pieces came after I became familiar with Richard Florida's work on the subject. This post will feature a snippet by Florida himself as featured in his 'Globe and Mail' column.

Richard Florida's text:

I recalled those Saturdays recently when I had my hair cut in Toronto. It turned out that the hairdresser, a stylish young man in his late 20s or early 30s, was once a resident of Birmingham, an upscale suburb of Detroit that I knew well because my wife lived there when we met. Without thinking, I said, "My wife used to get her hair done in Birmingham; what salon did you work in?" "I wasn't a hairstylist then, man. I worked for General Motors," he said. "Really?" I said, trying to dig myself out of a hole. "What plant did you work at?" "Plant?" came his reply. "I didn't work in a factory — I'm a mechanical engineer and I worked on new product development."

My jaw dropped. This man had quit a high-paying job in a good company so he could cut people's hair. He had left the creative class because it wasn't creative enough for him and had gone into a service industry to express his creativity.

Picture of the Day: Goats on Trees

The picture was taken in Morocco and the goats are masticating olives. Any peculiar ways to read this?







courtesy of Tyler Cowen

The Killers' Album: Sawdust

When I saw The Killers in concert last May I knew I was in the presence of rock&roll greatness. I started liking them back in 2004 when they released their freshman album, Hot Fuss, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Every single song of theirs is a finished product. There are no drafts or rough edges. They don't make albums that contain only one or two decent tracks and a number of mediocre concoctions. The Killers aim to please. Thoroughly.

Their second album, Sam's Town which came out last Fall was another superb project. It contained one hit after another and a true fan of this productive band appreciated their obsessive compulsive tendencies, for this band is indeed perfectionism-bound.

In their last tour, while promoting their sophomore album, I was surprised to notice that they didn't play, what in my view, is their signature song i.e., "Glamorous Indie Rock&Roll." Whenever people ask me to define the term 'indie rock' I usually suggest to them that they listen to The Killers' "Glamorous Indie Rock &Roll" track.

No explanations are necessary afterwards. It is that good.

Two weeks ago I was happy to find out that they are releasing a 'B-sides' project entitled Sawdust which, among other things, contains a duet with the legendary Lou Reed as well as the incomparable "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll." Here is a list of the featured songs.

1. Tranquilize
2. Shadowplay
3. All The Pretty Faces
4. Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf
5. Sweet Talk
6. Under The Gun
7. Where The White Boys Dance
8. Show You How
9. Move Away
10. Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll
11. Who Let You Go?
12. The Ballad of Michael Valentine
13. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town
14. Daddy's Eyes
15. Sam's Town (Abbey Road Version)
16. Romeo and Juliet
17. Change Your Mind (UK Bonus Track)
18. Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix)

I was happy to see that there is nothing mediocre about this album either. These chaps have captured the spirit of rock&roll from the nascent phase of their work and continue to do so to this day.
A definite must-have album. And if you they are playing anywhere near you, go see them. They sound live almost the way sound on their tracks. And Brandon Flowers' stage mannerisms are fluidity epitomized.