"Unrealized" (Pt. 2) by Jeff McLaughlin in support of Bridge of Solidarity
For Part 2 of "Unrealized" I wanted to share another collaboration between Jeff and I - This one from May of 2020. It seemed like the world was on the brink of collapsing; or burning; or simply cracking in half on a fault line of unilateral stupidity. People were freaked. People were full of questions with no answers. People were definitely not treating others the way they'd want to be treated.
I wrote a piece that was meant to be a call to action. A plan forward for those of us still protecting whatever was left of our hearts (no matter how broken.) It read:
Ours will be an anger that resists hatred.
Ours will be a sadness that resists despair.
Ours will be a discontent that resists bitterness.
Ours will be a romance that resists yearning for the past.
Jeff responded enthusiastically to it (as is his tendency,) and we discussed making it part of his upcoming virtual concert. I'd create both a large scale print that he could play in front of, and an e-zine that would be available for download.
View from the studio + details.
Wildflowers are a reoccurring motif in my work- I love using them as a formal device. Bright, acid rich color; chaotic compositions; and an energy completely free of pretense - As my grandmother Hilda always said: "Wildflowers are the punk rock of the natural world." The fact that we were all still locked inside our homes definitely informed my choice as well. An infinite outdoor space with no one else around? The promise of Heaven on Earth amidst a daily living Hell.
It's a really odd thing to look back at this time. One certainly can't feel nostalgia for it. 2020 (particularly that Spring) was truly horrifying experience. Peak Covid 19. The murder of George Floyd. A hyper-accelerating media machine that delivered up-to-the-second bad news straight to your eyeballs. Neither justice, nor peace was anywhere to be found.
The original e-zine was titled "Quiet Out Loud." The moniker is now used for my ambient/ electro/ bleepy vinyl sketches. Created in solidarity with the young people of March For Our Lives.
And yet, I distinctly remember feeling a sense of possibility. That if we could just somehow survive all of it- Things could potentially be different on the other side. Not a return to the way things were, but as an evolution into something new.
So here we are- It's almost 2026. Spring is next up to bat. The world seems on the brink of collapse. Or ready to burn. Or ready to crack in half on a fault line of unilateral stupidity. At this point it's hard to ignore the loop we're caught in. What can we do differently this time around? How can we capitalize on the repeated chances we're being given?
There are glimpses of hope... To all my NYC friends reading this: Based on the nightmare you lived through in 2020, it'd be completely understandable if you never left your therapist's couch... Or the dive bar. And still, collectively you came together and voted Zohran Mamdani into power. Right on.
For the rest of us, let's brainstorm. Let's plot, plan, strategize, and organize. F**k a $82.7 billion media acquisition. Support a Mutual Aid group. Something else needs to happen. If we've learned anything from the past – It's on us to figure it out.
Here's Jeff's composition "Unrealized" that inspired the last two posts.
For all newsletter subscribers please following this link to hear Jeff's original composition: Unrealized (The embedded Sound Cloud link only shows up on NNH website.)
To download a copy of the e-zine follow this link - Quiet Out Loud Zine
Bridge of Solidarity's efforts are focused on the most marginalized in Gaza, those most at risk of dying: people without phones, tech, internet, English skills, social media, wealthy relatives, outside support, or living relatives. Additionally, we focus on supporting Afro-Palestinian communities, LGBTQ Gazans, elders, orphans, chronically ill and disabled Gazans. We prioritize Gazans who don't have shelter, clothes, or food and who are facing imminent death.
These efforts actively combat genocide capitalism with mutual aid, and violent "survival of the fittest" ways of turning on each other with collective care.
These efforts also actively combat the ways Palestininas are turned into a spectacle by the English speaking world and West, and are forced into performing on social media in a pity economy and attention economy, always have to compete with each other.
Peace above me. Peace below me. Peace all around me.
A call to action, commonly known by the initialism CTA, is a strategic marketing tool designed to spur an immediate response from an audience, guiding them toward a specific action.
NNH began with the (perhaps naive) hope that it could be of service to folks who needed it. I wasn't exactly sure who that meant- Was it the potential readership? The Mutual Aid groups that would be featured in each post? Or other creative types (equally fed up with the constant "me at the center" paradigm required by our Tech Overlords) looking for a place to get weird and do some good.
SO, if you're out there- whomever you may be- Let me know. Leave a comment. Click a link. Tell a friend. Pitch an idea. Do anything to feel less alone in the world.
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