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Conversation with The-Great-One
"Favorite Curse Words and Other Topics"
2019
The-Great-One is a writer and journalist. For information about his work, visit the-great-one.newgrounds.com.
Ben: It's been a few years since our last conversation for Somber Pensive in 2013, and it's great to see that you're still writing and sharing your work online. I'm wondering how you feel your writing has evolved since you first became active on the Internet and what it's like for you to look back on what you wrote, say, a decade ago. I know it's been weird for me. I feel like I grew up with the Internet, and if I look I can find past versions of myself out there--old forum posts, social media, etc.--which can be awkward because they feel sort of etched in stone.
The-Great-One: I was just looking back through The Interviewer last month actually. I would say I've evolved over time. It is a bit weird to look back for sure. The Internet ensures a permanent time capsule in our lives. I most certainly know I grew up with the Internet. Celebrating 10 years on Newgrounds back in 2016 and The Interviewer turning 10 years old this year. It's crazy.
Ben: Comments like that make me feel old. I have this one friend who turned to me recently and said, "Do you realize we've known each other for twenty-five years?" I think I felt a few hairs turn gray. Mind you, I'm 30, so hopefully I still have a few decades left with which I can write potentially immature things on the Internet.
The-Great-One: I just recently turned 29 and Weird Al is about to turn 60, so I think the immaturity will never grow out. A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. I still love this movie on Newgrounds to this day!
Ben: Haha. So, looking forward, what do you see yourself doing over the next ten, twenty years? Creatively, I mean--I understand that writing may or may not be your day job, that you probably have other life goals and aspirations, etc.
The-Great-One: Next ten years? I've always wanted to do a web series. The competition out there has gotten extremely fierce though, to keep up would be difficult. I could transition The Interviewer to a web series or even a podcast. To transfer it to web series would be expensive as hell. To transfer to a podcast would be cheaper. I don't feel like I would enjoy the product anymore as a podcast though. It is in written format and that's where I like it to be. I would love to have my hands in a lot of different projects. I am capable of stretching myself thin while not skimping on quality. One of my last posts was back in 2018. I was not alright mentally and one thing I thought was I need a break from the Internet. Not an easy thing to do when you make it your hobby or when it becomes a part of your job. I have a full notebook on ideas for my web series and I've been testing the waters with my The-Great-One's Desk page, so we'll see. What about you?
Ben: I enjoy doing lots of different things at once, too, although I do have to watch out for spreading myself too thin. The past few years I've made my living mostly as a piano accompanist. I may keep doing that. I enjoy it deeply, and playing lots of music seems to fuel me creatively. In general, I've noticed I prefer working with other people. It's always helpful to have good feedback. Motivationally, I like the "carrot" of potentially pleasing or impressing people I admire and the "stick" of missing a deadline or disappointing them. So in the coming years, I'd like to collaborate with people on as many creative projects as I can--e.g., I'll definitely be working on creating and composing more music, and I'll definitely be trying my hand at storytelling in different mediums.
The-Great-One: As a storyteller I'm surprised not to see a song with lyrics from you yet. Are you a singer?
Ben: Not really. I can, a bit--I sang in choir in college--but I haven't developed that skill very far. The only thing I have going for me there is I have perfect pitch, so I'm usually on key...unless the people I'm singing with are off, in which case I'm in trouble. Someday perhaps I'll write some songs and sing them.
The-Great-One: I made a thread on here a long time ago about people's Top 10 Favorite Songs. What is your favorite song and why?
Ben: Good question. It might be a song by the Beatles. I like All my Lovin' a lot. I've sung that at more than a few karaoke nights. Another one I love to sing is White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes. I like those tunes because they're melodic and beautiful, and they fall pretty well within my voice range so they're easy for me to sing along with.
As a musician, I'm a bit unusual in that I don't listen to a ton of music in the car, at home, etc. Lately, for most of the situations where I'm sitting and listening to something, it's a podcast or a YouTube interview or something else that's information-related. When it comes to music I like to engage by participating, and when I'm just listening I'll sometimes get bored and restless. I also have a hard time remembering lyrics. How about you?
The-Great-One: When I'm working I always need music. Although I've been listening to Hello Internet. My favorite song is Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles. It always reminds me of home. I could listen to it on loop forever. My next question was going to be what you prefer more in a song lyrics or melody? I prefer lyrics myself being a writer. I believe the melody can be built better with great lyrics to support it.
Ben: That's interesting. I'm the exact opposite: I don't usually like background music when I'm working, particularly if it has lyrics, because it distracts me. And I definitely prefer melody. Sometimes I like a song with terrible lyrics, or with lyrics that I don't understand, because I like the melody or the composition. But I would definitely acknowledge that beautiful poetry or words can inspire a great melody. It's just that for whatever reason I'm unusually detached from lyrics in music in general, personally. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but there seems to be something about my brain where I struggle to hear and connect words with music like most people. Do you write songs?
The-Great-One: I am not a songwriter. Was never a poet. I have a fondness for poetry, but was never able to write it. I can write a poem, it takes forever though. There's a rap battle thread here though that I wrote a rap in which took me nearly an hour. It's probably my weakest aspect. I can't read music, but I've wanted to. I've had fond memories of making music in Mario Paint.
Ben: Even if rap or poetry isn't your thing, it's good that you tried! Do you ever write fiction?
The-Great-One: Yes. I'm working on a novel right now. The Interviewer ate up a lot of my writing time. I started to invest so much into it that I stopped other projects. The dream is to be published and tell a great story in the process.
Ben: That's awesome. I'm glad you're getting back to that, although I enjoyed the Interviewer. I'm reading through a novel right now by an old student of mine. He wrote it for fun when he was in high school, and then he paid to have some copies printed professionally. Now he can always say that he wrote a novel. I imagine that's a cool experience to have under your belt, regardless of whether or not it's good. I did a podcast about The War of Art, and one of the lessons in that book for creative people is to persist with your art whether or not it's coming out well.
The-Great-One: Yeah I saw you were doing a podcast. Haven't listened to it myself, been looking for a new podcast though. Hey maybe some day we'll be doing this through a podcast and not E-Mails. I've thought about starting a podcast myself, but feel I don't really have the voice for it. My southern drawl may seem charming to some I don't think it serves itself well to audio though. What made you want to podcast?
Ben: I'd like that! Let's chat and record the audio sometime.
Well, I love that medium. I listen to a number of podcasts regularly. It's something I've felt drawn to for a while. Part of the appeal is that I prefer talking to writing, and listening to reading. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I spent a lot more time talking about what I think than writing about what I think. For me it feels more natural and I think I communicate better, although on the other hand it's easier to say something stupid extemporaneously. I have loved producing this podcast so far. It's a ton of work because I like to incorporate music and edit the audio carefully. These last two episodes in particular have each taken about 30 to 40 hours of work. But it's worth it to have something I'm proud of.
I haven't heard your voice, but if you're at all curious about it I would encourage you to try producing a podcast sometime, just to see if you like it. In some ways it's very easy; you can just turn on a mic and start talking.
The-Great-One: We now come to the questionaire invented by French talk show host Bernard Pivot, and adapted by my idol James Lipton.
What's your favorite word?
Ben: There's beauty and there's meaning. Some beautiful words don't mean much to me, like "mellifluous". Some words strike me as unpleasant but have beautiful memories attached to them, like "Christmas". That one's weird, actually. I don't really say the T, so it's like "Chris-miss". Of course, there are some words that are both beautiful and meaningful. "Mother" is one of my favorites.
The-Great-One: What's your least favorite word?
Ben: Strangely, when I try to answer this and say a word out loud, it sounds ugly at first ("phalanx!") and then, as I say it over and over, it starts to sound kind of good after a few repetitions ("phalanx!", "phalanx...", "phalanx.........."). Maybe I just like words.
The-Great-One: What turns you on?
Ben: Solvable problems with big payoffs. I like a challenge, a reward, and a reasonable likelihood of success. If it's too easy, it's boring. If it's too hard, I get discouarged.
The-Great-One: What turns you off?
Ben: Arrogance. When people act like they're superior to everyone around them. It also sometimes makes me laugh because I instinctively imagine people like that in silly situations where no one can look dignified, like farting or picking their nose. Of course, I'm not perfect. I've definitely been arrogant at different moments in my life. We're all just people. We're all in this together.
The-Great-One: What sound or noise do you love?
Ben:
* Water in a bathtub
* Velcro
* Loons
The-Great-One: What sound or noise do you hate?
Ben: When my ears are ringing, like after a loud night of dancing. When I hear that I feel guilty because I've damaged my body, and in a way my career too because so much depends on my ability to hear things clearly.
I also hate the sound of those credit card machines that go EHNK EHNK EHNK. You're in the grocery store buying food, your card was just approved, everything is going fine...and then out of nowhere, this blaring urgent warning/alarm sound starts going off, clearly communicating to you that something is terribly wrong. But no, that just means it's time for you to take out your card. Such awful sound design!
The-Great-One: What's your favorite curse word?
Ben: I don't curse much, though it depends on who I'm with. Setting aside their meanings, which are emotionally charged, I think both "cunt" and "fuck" are kind of pretty.
I will say "shit" sometimes. That one just feels good. It's got this kind of drumroll-please thing going on. There's the wind up—"sssshhhhhhhHHHHHH..."—and then the delivery: "...IT!"
The-Great-One: What job or profession would you most like to take rather than your own?
Ben: I can imagine being a writer. I'd love to write fiction. I can also imagine switching careers just to make more money and live more comfortably. That sounds terrible but it's true. It's hard to make a living in music, at least for me.
The-Great-One: What job or profession would you least like to take?
Ben: I think I'd struggle in any field where I felt I had to lie to get ahead. Politics comes to mind, obviously, but a lot of careers probably incentivize unethical behavior.
The-Great-One: If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say to you when you arrive at the pearly gates?
Ben: "You know, Ben, I've had your song stuck in my Head for years."
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