Conner Youngblood
📍 Nashville, TN | Musician
📝 Editors Note
I often struggle to live in the moment. If we go on a family beach vacation, I can’t sit still on the beach for a few days. I have to be doing something active.
I recently found an interesting (and sobering) graph, from the “American Time Use” survey. It highlights how much time we spend with certain people at specific ages. For my generation, the study is a reminder to be cherish time with our parents and to be present with our kids.
Sahil Bloom, did a nice job distilling the learnings from the survey:
Family time is limited—cherish it.
Friend time is limited—prioritize real ones.
Partner time is significant—never settle.
Children time is precious—be present.
Coworker time is significant—find energy.
Alone time is abundant—love yourself.
Without further ado….
Why Conner?
Recently, Conner and I had a chance to spend time together at our good mutual friend Charlie’s bachelor party. A former Yale wrestler, Conner is a very talented musician who is studying multiple languages and planning to live abroad.
Follow Conner on Instagram @conner_yngblood
Self-Description
I pretty much find everything interesting and did not realize how much I enjoyed learning until after I finished school.
Conner’s Recommendations
Written in his own words…
Content
Such an inventive, unique book. A story within a poem within a story. The writing and prose 12/10, the story 12/10, and then the actual composition of the book’s layout is unlike any other I have ever come across. Some people, no joke, actually recommend owning 2 copies so you can have multiple pages opened at the same time to figure out certain timelines. There is also an argument as to which page you should start the book on. The whole thing is non-linear, unpredictable, and yet, perfectly comes around full circle.
Plus, if you happen to be a big fan of the film Blade Runner 2049 (separate, but just as big recommendation), a series of lines from the book are used as Ryan Gosling’s "baseline test".
"And blood-black nothingness began to spin, a system of cells interlinked within, cells interlinked within cells interlinked, within one stem. And dreadfully distinct, against the dark, a tall white fountain played."
Brand
Italian sports brand from my childhood that I totally forgot about and then realized a few years ago was still hanging in there.. and 5 pairs of shoes later, I am a loyal fan. The running shoes are almost too nice to run in.
Norwegian street wear brand that is just weird enough to push me to my fashion limits without going overboard.
Issey Miyake (RIP)
Super creative Japanese designer that is probably most known for his simplest design--Steve Jobs' classic black turtle neck. Him and Jobs were apparently good buds and he made Jobs like 100 of those turtlenecks.
I do love a good turtleneck, but I am a bigger fan of some of his coats.
Digital
"Seek" is pretty cool. It is a nature identifying app that feels like Pokemon-go, but with real shit. It identifies basically every living thing from fungi to insects, from birds to trees. The best feature is that they have local challenges based on you location and the season. For example, something like, "April Butterfly challenge! Find these 8 types of butterflies.." It keeps me occupied.
Well-Being
So this is like a two part-er:
I have a very hard time motivating myself to wake up early and just get to work on music, so a few years ago I started scheduling language lessons with various tutors at like 7 am online, 5 days a week, to force me to be accountable. Next thing you know I've got an album recorded and speaking Russian, Danish, Spanish, and a little bit of Japanese.
But I also hated going in to the lessons just cold, so I started getting up around 5.30 to warm up mentally and even work out a bit before the lessons. I use various language podcasts and audio books while I run in the morning, take a shower, and then hop on to a lesson.
I’ve become a bit less intense about the wake up times more recently though and have no problem scheduling a 3am Japanese lesson and just stay up all night recording. But I know for a fact, the early morning language routine works best for me production-wise.
Watch
I just finished watching The Leftovers last night. Loved it. Big, big shout out. It's nice to see a show that clearly knows where it wants to go and how it ends before it starts.
A non spoiler insight is-- what's so great about the show is how instead of just answering or not answering your questions, it makes you question whether your questions were even worth asking.
Such a great ending.
Food & Beverage
Believe it or not, Nashville has a big Uzbek community and they brought some really good food with them as well. OSH is a local favorite and was even listed last year as the number 9 top reviewed restaurant in the US on Yelp.
Gift
My sisters and I sisters absolutely lost it when we got an N64. I can't name a better gaming console.
Music
Here is a Spotify playlist I add to whenever it feels right. Its just a collection of music I like, and has 1000+ songs -
oh, and the last great concert I went to was Feist. Go see her if you have a chance.
ohh actually also, if you need something to fall asleep to aaand want to learn Japanese, Oyasumi Story is great. Essentially soft piano music with someone whispering to you in Japanese for 30 min.
Travel
Great food, people, beautiful nature, and by far the cheapest place I have ever been to. Like $20 a night hotel cheap. Incredible dinners for a three dollars cheap.
Amazon Purchase
Amazon is the only place I can find those old school Sour Jack's watermelons from the Blockbuster checkout line.
Plug
Just be on the lookout for new music later this year and hopefully you don't hate it.
Want to get in touch with Conner? He is also looking for a recommendation on how to get a visa to move to Japan.
Feel free to send me an email conneryoungblood@yahoo.com