Friday Spill: Personal History…Cartoons And Music

Cartoons And Music

 Pen, paper, and music have always been the ever-present basic and essential ingredients of my work day. I sit down daily with my trusty Rapidograph, uncap it, and then hover the pen point over a blank piece of paper. What happens next, on the paper, is always a surprise. I don’t know what I’m going to draw until the point hits the paper.  Also a surprise: what music I select to play. Listening to music while drawing has been a thing since I was a kid. I’d lie on the living room floor right beside the family record player, and draw while listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Animals. The albums became as important to drawing as pen and paper.  

These days, I rely on my computer’s music library instead of a turntable. If I have zero idea of what’ll help me through the morning, I often play Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”  — that gives me 8 1/2 minutes to figure out what else should go on the playlist. If I need more time, there’s always Neil Young’s “Walk Like A Giant” (it’s 16 1/2 minutes long). If I want an instant energy boost I’ll play any live version of Bob Dylan’s “I Don’t Believe You” from his 1966 tour. 

Sometimes there’s a desire to hear the same song played by different artists. I went through a phase of looping “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime” by Charlie Palloy, Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, and Judy Collins. There was a phase of playing The Rolling Stones’ “Their Satanic Majesties Request” album — in mono! — all through the day. It’s such a strange album, drifty, distant, trance-like at times. 

The music sometimes alters the drawings: maybe the ink lines swoop more. But here’s the funny part: if the “right” music is playing, I eventually don’t hear it anymore. Cartoonworld takes over and the music disappears. 

Just to bring things right up to the minute: for whatever reason (haven’t a clue really) I began today’s work day with Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo.”