Hazy Shade Of...Fall?

Newsletter + On This Day

Sep 20, 2024

TIME, TIME, TIME
SEE WHAT'S BECOME OF ME
WHILE I LOOKED AROUND FOR MY POSSIBILITIES

I WAS SO HARD TO PLEASE
LOOK AROUND
LEAVES ARE BROWN
AND THE SKY IS A HAZY SHADE OF WINTER

I was today year old when I discovered Hazy Shade of Winter “by” The Bangles is really a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s original.

With Fall officially starting Sunday (here in the U.S.), this pop culture revelation (for me) seems apropos not only for this “hazy” week, but for this “hazy” time of the year.

Contrary to what some seem to believe, I don’t consider myself an expert on anything. I’m just a guy doing my version of “guy” stuff. My version may be too _____ for some and not ______ enough for others. Oh. Well. Can’t please (or “win”) them all.

After listening to both recordings of the song, I still prefer The Bangles’ cover.

Maybe because I grew up with it. Maybe because I used it for one of my earliest (now lost) editing experiments in high school. Maybe because…I just like it better.

And maybe you prefer the original.

Either way, here we are…and wherever you are in the world, whatever season you’re in (both in life and location), we and the world around us are always changing.

Personally, I find it helpful to celebrate and remember the past as a way of easing into some of those changes. But not everybody does. And that’s a-okay in my book.

My point is we all have our own reasons for and seasons of change. Whether you're someone who clings to the past or someone who embraces the future, it's your journey, it’s your soundtrack.

For me, Hazy Shade of Winter is more than just a song—it’s a marker of a moment in time, a reflection of how I saw the world in 1987 as an artsy-fartsy, deeply-closeted nerd just trying to stay on the Honor Role and make it out of high school alive.

So, as we shift into Fall (or Spring, depending on which hemisphere you're in), maybe it's worth revisiting the songs, memories, and/or pop culture moments that shaped your own “hazy shades.” Are they originals, covers, or remixes?

Either way, what matters to me is how they make me feel now—and how they connect me to our collective past, present, and future.

Thanks for reading!
Clint

ON CENSORSHIP + (POSSIBLE) CHANGES

After YouTube removed one of my thumbnails and all but demonetized several videos (using their “Ad Suitability” label) this week, I’ve been noodling on ways to increase my revenue and reduce my risks on the platform.

One idea is to create entirely separate content for Substack and YouTube.

I’ve been posting censored versions of my NSFW montages on YouTube, but the bots are becoming increasingly bitchy and glitchy.

The main challenge is the time commitment. Producing two different types of videos—one for a PG/PG-13 algorithm-driven platform and one for an R/NC-17 audience of like-minded adults—takes considerable effort. Even with a library of 30K+ photos, each montage takes 4-6 hours to research, edit, and post.

My goal of posting a video a day on each platform might need a reconsideration.

Then there’s the challenge of making a living: While my YouTube channel is monetized through AdSense, my Substack is currently free, operating like NPR. A few generous patrons support my work through paid subscriptions on Substack, prints and merch sales on CollidePress.com, and donations/tips on Ko-Fi.

I’m grateful—and lucky—to have this group of supporters, but I could always use more. Thanks in advance to anyone who joins their ranks.

THANK YOU, D.C. AND DAVID...AND ALL THE PAID SUBSCRIBERS!

P.S. If you have suggestions (or special requests), don’t hesitate to comment and/or shoot me a DM or email (collidepress@gmail.com).

ON THIS DAY = SEPTEMBER 20

BIRTHDAYS

UPTON SINCLAIR (1878)
WRITER
JAY WARD (1920)
ANIMATOR + PRODUCER
ANNE MEARA (1929)
ACTRESS
SOPHIA LOREN (1934)
ACTRESS
DALE CHIHULY (1941)
SCULPTOR
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN (1948)
WRITER
GARY COLE (1956)
ACTOR
MICHELLE VISAGE (1968)
SINGER + HOST
PHILLIP PHILLIPS (1990)
SINGER-SONGWRITER

EVENTS

Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile. (1893)
Weeping Venus by artist Romaine Brooks is featured on this day at the opening of Expo Centre Pompidou Metz. It is a painting of her lover Ida Rubinstein.
The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed for seven years due to World War II. (1946)
The New York chapter of Daughters of Bilitis is formed by a group of lesbians, including Barbara Gittings. They meet at the offices of the Mattachine Society of New York. The chapter is the first lesbian organization on the East Coast. (1958)
Fictional cartoon band The Archies' single Sugar, Sugar hits #1. (1969)
John Singer, later known as Faygele Ben-Miriam, and fellow activist Paul Barwick apply for a marriage license in Seattle. After being denied, Singer filed one of the first gay marriage lawsuits in American history after being denied a marriage license at the King County Administration Building in Seattle, Washington. (1971)
Bruce Mailman opens the The Saint disco in New York City, heralding what many gay New Yorkers remember as the zenith of the “clone” era. He was an East Village entrepreneur, Off-Broadway theatre-owner and founder of both The Saint and New St. Marks Baths. (1980)

Who’s The Boss? premieres on ABC. (1984)
My Two Dads premieres on NBC. (1987)
East and West Germany both ratify reunification. (1990)
POTUS Bill Clinton announces he will sign the “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) into law. While outlawing same-sex marriage, Clinton (unironically considered an LGBTQ ally) said it should not be used as an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against gays and lesbians. (1996)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on NBC. (1999)
Firefly premieres on Fox. (2002)
The United States military ends its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time. It had been in effect since 1993. (2011)
Cassidy Lynn Campbell becomes the first transgender public school homecoming queen in the U.S., in Huntington Beach, CA. (2013)