What is anything that got you through this year?
Hella Immaculate is thoughts/FEELINGS, peculiar music, and actions to improve our world, from me, writer-performer-comedian Dave Maher.
Thank you for reading! I love my work, and you make it possible. I believe directly supporting artists we love is the way to a future of vital and varied art free of corporate dorks.
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The perennial truth of Big Lurch, tw: fucking cannibalism
A request instead of an essay this week. I want to hear from you.
We talk here about culture and music, and my essays tend to fall under the umbrella of “contrarianism with heart.” I’ve spent the year reckoning with the dichotomy between fame and purpose, pursuing an independent path as an artist, and examining how to use my work more explicitly to help the most vulnerable of us.
What do you want to say about these struggles, or any of your own?
Is there a song you love, a coping mechanism you’ve found, a metaphor reshaping your brain, a relationship you’ve ended, an org or person inspiring you, or anything else getting you through this year? Let me know, and I’ll put them in an upcoming Hella Immaculate.
Your response can be short. I suspect the shorter, smaller, and more specific, the better. It’ll be lovely to see the tiny moments and materials that have made up our year collected in one place.
I have a little mission statement of a mantra I say to myself while I pee before a show: I write and perform to express the truths I’ve found about Reality and to connect, with other people, to Something greater than all of us.
I’d love to hear the truths you’ve found this year. Just reply to this email.
This Week’s This Is Your Afterlife
Oui Ennui is a musician but thinks of himself as a painter. He makes intricate musical worlds with synthesizers. And this year, he got COVID.
Before he knew he’d survive, he decided to release an album on Bandcamp Friday in May. He released a whole album every Bandcamp Friday this year, plus assorted singles and live sets in between. He became one of the most prolific artists I know of, not only during a global pandemic but while suffering from the actual virus.
I start this episode asking how he feels about his diagnosis featuring so prominently in discussions of his music. We share artistic careers with dramatic medical trauma plot points, and that common ground serves as a launchpad for a heavy, lighthearted, sci-fi-philosophical conversation.
The full episode of “Worms Gotta Eat with Oui Ennui” is the only place to hear his “Relive 1 Memory” and “What's Your Coma?” segments, which are winding, layered stories of a drug trip and a divorce, respectively. Oui and I talked for a couple hours, and I’ll post most of our conversation as bonus clips at patreon.com/davemaher.
Wamp Wamp (What to Do)
Donate to The Grassroots Morning Garden Project, a brand new mutual aid project that gives cash or grocery gift cards to Black, Brown, and Indigenous families with challenges to accessing markets. Thanks to Laura for the suggestion!
I donated $20 via Venmo (@grassrootsmorninggarden), but you can also use PayPal: paypal.me/grassrootsmorning. Reply with what you donate, and I’ll report our total next week.
Background:
Celebrate! Last week, we donated $130 to Santa Box 2020 to cover the cost of a box of books, toys, and groceries for one whole family on Chicago’s South Side.
Support another indie artist. Remember Calvero, who made that great post-Sixpence-None-the-Richer song, “Wait”? He started a Patreon! I’ve already subscribed, and the story and demo he posted have already made it worth my fiver. Join him here.
May I Play You a Sound?
You probably know this Ariana Grande “Santa Tell Me” song (it’s on half of those world Christmas charts), but I first heard it a couple weeks ago. In case you’re as behind as I am and love falsetto and tight songwriting as much as I do, it’s a fucking treat!
So, what’s hit you this year?
DM