Editor's note

Image caption: Greg Rienzi
Editor

Creating something out of (almost) nothing.

The legendary songwriter Tom Waits once told NPR Fresh Air host Terry Gross that he enjoys listening to two radios simultaneously.

The blending of songs, he said, produces a chaotic and novel sound. "I like hearing things incorrectly," he told her. "I think that's how I get a lot of ideas—by mishearing something." Waits takes familiar tunes and twists them into a braid to inspire something new and unexpected.

I thought about Waits a few times while producing the issue you're holding. In a conversation with Peabody composition Professor Kevin Puts (see feature by Brennen Jensen), I learned that, like Waits, he writes music mostly for himself. "When I'm composing, I often think: What do I want to listen to? What do I keep coming back to?" Puts told me. "It sounds egotistical to say you want to hear your own music, but you want to hear what moves you."

Waits came to me again while reporting on the powers of pareidolia, the ability to perceive an object or pattern in a random stimulus, like seeing a face in the clouds. This phenomenon allows us to find meaning where there is none, like Waits' hearing a third song—or the kernel of one—by blending two tunes. Pareidolia likewise can change our perspective on the world and things that are familiar to us. It's exciting to hear about the potential of this innate human ability as both therapeutic tool and creative spark. So read on and keep your eyes and ears open to what's possible.

Greg Rienzi
Editor