Hey everyone, it’s me, A.C. Newman. I’m here to tell you about my new Substack. It is called 'Ballad Of A New Pornographer' because I am in the band The New Pornographers and it’s an easy name to grab onto for the casual viewer, skipping like a smooth flat pebble through this online ocean, past all the flotsam and jetsam. The idea is that you would see it and ask "Hey, what's that?" At least that is how it plays out in an ideal scenario, in our computer models.
I would like this to be a place where I put new music, a place where I try out new ideas, a place where I show how the sausage is made, a place to talk about the process and how the ideas transform over time. I want it to start with a song, that may or may not be finished, and use that as a jumping off point to talk about everything else, because songs are usually the sum of many different ideas, pulled from the air as they pass by. Going off on tangents is the fun part. It’s also a road to madness. Somewhere between fun and madness, that’s the sweet spot. There will probably be covers, different versions of old songs by the band or my solo work, there will probably be the occasional photo. Actually, here’s one I just found. It’s me with Biff Henderson, backstage at Letterman in 2003:
At the heart of it, I want this to be a place where I put new music, possibly the only place it is available.
I want this Substack to chronicle that journey from my brain to song to recording to album.
I hope this is of interest to you. I thank you for your time. I think this will be fun.
Carl
