bubble wrap music: the genre you didn't know you needed 🎹🫧
Simone Giertz invents a machine that plays popcorn with bubble wrap
YT short of the week #013
👋 Hello friend,
In 2020 I made a song using kitchen sounds, including popcorn popping.
2 years later Simone Giertz made a cover of "Popcorn" by Hot Butter.
I'll let you be the judge of which song is better.
But first, a question:
From what point in our careers are we expected to execute flawlessly?
Not Beyoncé flawless. That's impossible. But flawless enough.
Simone Giertz and I have something in common: we both made a popcorn-related song.
None of them are flawless. But both have their place in the pantheon of music.
Here is why:
Story beats
1. Unique idea
"oh hi it's your friendly neighborhood inventor who spent the last month building a music instrument that pops bubble wrap"
Good ideas don't equal good stories.
However, a solid idea makes life easier because it takes pressure off the execution.
Why do I want to keep watching Simone's musical project?
For the same reason that some poorly-written books are so goddamn unputdownable:
Because they are simple yet great ideas that are less dependent on execution.
I'm not saying that Simone is the Stephanie Meyer of engineering.
I'm saying that she's the Zoey Smith of eccentric artifacts.
2. Why and how this?
"I asked you what song I should play next and the most popular request by far was popcorn by Hot Butter"
My song with kitchen sounds was for a music course.
It was the year I thought I'd write, produce, and star a genre-bending-spoken-word-music-video-mapping-live-extravaganza show.
My question to you is:
Would I be more useful in showing you how I succeeded at Coachella?
Or in showing you how I spectacularly failed at the local open mic?
3. So here is this
"so here you go here's my fairly poor rendition of that song using bubble wrap
*Simone cranks the bubble wrap machine to play popcorn*
"you're welcome"
Execution doesn't determine the caliber of a message.
Nor the value of a journey.
And Simone understood that like no one else on the platform.
She's still a badass inventor, but her contributions are related to the quality of her questions rather than the prowess of her answers.
What would an instrument made of bubble wrap sound like?
How would a Model 3 look like as a pick up truck?
How can you turn a tampon dispenser into a dog feeder?
Fuck yes, Simone. I'd love to know.
And while Simone's popcorn banger is the better execution, I'm still happy with my experiments.
I'm only kicking myself for not documenting the process.
Even without perfect audio, Simone's music is entertaining and conveys the story.
If The Matrix was made with sock puppets, I would still watch it.
usefulness is in the eye of the beholder. It's independent from execution.
So you, my dearest dear, don't have to be flawless every time you make a YT short.
If you have a good question, we're down to see your answer.
See you next week!
Matias Ruiz-Tagle
Founder of Atomic Stories
PS: I have a YouTube channel; have a look :)