First Ritual

On Saturday, we drove to Cardiff to see Sleep Token.

I haven’t listened to the band before, but when they announced the UK arena tour at the beginning of this year and immediately sold out - they piqued my interest.

I got two tickets a few weeks before the gig so I could also catch up on their work.

SP is a sort of alternative metal/rock anonymous group for those who don't know.

It’s hard to put them down as they mix so many genres, plus there is a whole lore with the masks, lingo and theatrical performances.

The show was amazing, and when I read about their history, the rise from playing small clubs to selling out arenas was very fast.

It shows that originality, when done well, is much appreciated, especially in modern times, when we are overwhelmed with mediocre content firing from every direction.

I bet when they started, people told them the music was too weird, that the masks and the story were embarrassing and that it would never sell.

But the frontman Vessel and the group stuck to their vision, and the success followed.

I still think originality has to fulfil other boxes, too - quality, hard work, marketing, and understanding what people want.

If you are being weird for the sake of it, it won’t work.

But people are hungry for something that stands apart from the mainstream sugar rush content we find on socials.

WHAT AM I WORKING ON

The last Casefile episode is out, and we are officially on a ‘break’.

It’s a break from weekly releases but not a break as in a holiday.

We are working on the 2025 season - new scripts, templates, and theme libraries.

During Black Friday weekend, I got Ozone 11, and with the purchase of Neutron 5, I will be looking at updating my podcasting template in the coming weeks. Plus archives and other fun stuff.

This week on YouTube, I talk about Dwarves and why they sound so Scottish!

WHAT AM I READING

The Ideas That Rule Us by Nathan Murphy. I started this book thinking it will be a simple pop-psychology about the habits and ideas we follow, without considering where we got them. And yes, that’s the premise. But after reading about 15% of the book I told Paulina that it made me realise something - the power of sticking to one message.

The writing is all over the place, and it feels like the author read lots of philosophy, psychology, business and evolutionary works and just wanted to cram as much as possible. Each chapter has a different premise, jumping from one point to another.

The lesson I took from this is to simplify messaging, stick to one thing and don’t try to force your ‘smartness’ on the audience. A good lesson but not one that the author intended. (I stopped reading after that.)

The Inner Life of Animals by Peter Wohlleben. It’s a second book from Mysteries of Nature series (with The Secret Life of Trees being one of my favourite reads). It’s an examination of animals, their lives, relationships and behaviours and asking a question - do they feel emotions like us? A super fun read and I recommend it.

P.S. I splurged on a new Kindle during the Black Friday weekend. My old one was over 6 years old and it was time for an upgrade!

WHAT AM I WATCHING

Arcane S2. Finished watching the last three episodes. I still argue that it is the best animated show I’ve ever watched. Second season was much faster than the first as they wanted to finalise the story. Some people said it was rushed, I think the pace was rapid but the final was satisfying. Fortunately they are working on some spin-offs so we will get to see more stories from the studio.

The Secrets of Dumbledore. We watched the third Fantastic Beasts movie over the weekend. I heard that it was the weakest out of the three but I didn’t mind it at all. I think it had the Harry Potter charm and it was a pleasurable watch.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you (hopefully!) next week!

Mike

https://mikemigas.com/

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