Agent Palmer

Today, the average content creator is likely to get “canceled” by either the right or the left because what they said was ideologically different.

But decades ago, the Smothers Brothers were removed from the airwaves because they were ideologically ahead of their time, and perhaps because they were trying to ruffle a few feathers along the way.

The point is, Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” by David Bianculli is more than a walk through a different time.

The Netflix original film Quincy isn’t just a great documentary about Quincy Jones’ prolific music career. It’s a great reminder that, as an icon, Quincy’s reach and the scope of his work went far beyond entertainment and into social justice and the ongoing inspiration of generations.

Whatever you conjure in your mind when you read about Quincy Jones on the page or in this post, is just a fraction of what he has accomplished…

Tom Petty is iconic with, and that’s without the Heartbreakers or Traveling Wilburys. On his second solo album, 1994’s “Wildflowers,” Petty cemented himself as a legendary singer-songwriter. While he already was an icon to most of us after eight albums with the Heartbreakers and another two with the Wilburys, this removed all doubt.

“Somewhere You Feel Free” is a documentary with some modern interviews peppered in.

If you have been listening to The Palmer Files podcast or following me on Twitter, then you know I am interested in the process. I love figuring out how it’s done, how to do it better, how to create and recreate. I’m intrigued by all of it, and “It All Begins with a Song” is absolutely about the process.

It’s the story of Nashville as the songwriting capital of the world, but it’s also about the process of songwriting, which is applicable to any and all creative endeavors. For this reason, every creator should watch this documentary.

I have been out of work. I have been networking and applying and battling depression throughout a pandemic. But I have also maintained this blog and a podcast and kept up to date with digital marketing trends.

And yet, commonly, people I respect ask me “what of this have you done for money?” I’m sick of the sentiment. If a runner runs a few laps on their own because they got to practice early, most coaches will count that. If a musician practices on their own time to get better that’s experience that is important to the craft. There are many other examples of this.