Jeremy Keith

The Session existed in a very basic form since the late 1990s. It was just me posting a different tune every week.

But The Session as it is today—a community website where everyone can add tunes—first went online on June 3rd, 2001. That’s 25 years ago today.

Considering the typical lifespan of a web page, I’m proud of having a website still online and thriving a quarter of a century after launching it.

At this point it’s fair to say that thesession.org is my life’s work. Though, really, I’m just the curator; the site would literally be nothing without all the contributions that people have made to it.

It’s been a great 25 years so far, and I’m looking forward to the next 25.

Piccia Neri’s post on LinkedIn

What a slap in the face of every tech conference that claims it is simply not possible to have a truly representative line-up: multiple perspectives, multiple faces, multiple experiences, rather than the same default one we’ve all been staring at for decades (that’s a white middle aged man in case you’re wondering. I do love you, white middle aged man, but we’ve heard from you, and keep hearing from you. Time to hear from others, too).

Yes, my friend. It is possible. UX London has done it. The Clearleft team has done it. Go look for yourself.

AI and the Rise of Mediocrity

Simply put: AI thrives when our need for originality is low and our demand for mediocrity is high.

AI will fill the world with grindingly average texts, passable but derivative illustration and video, and unoriginal but functional new product designs.

What is being mechanized by AI is our tastes—our ability to discern quality (or originality) at all.

I few weeks back, I got an email with the subject line, Screenshot in an Exhibition:

I am currently developing an exhibition celebrating the thriving folk musics of these islands for the Royal College of Music Museum and one of the showcases looks at the Sharing of folk music and collections. As an incredible and heavily used repository of tune collections, I would like to print a graphic screenshot of a page from The Session to demonstrate digital dissemination, sharing and preservation of tune collections. Are you happy for me to do so?

I replied that I’d be honoured!

The exhibition opened on May 19th. I just happened to be in London a few days after that for the Gaeltacht cois Tamaise. So I arranged to have a little tour of the exhibition from its curator, Jennifer Brian.

It’s a really nice collection, and it was kind of surreal to see my website in amongst esteemed artifacts of folk music history.

I’m not used to The Session getting recognition from a museum, but I am used to getting kudos when I tell fellow trad musicians that I made the website. I joke that it’s my passport to free pints anywhere there’s a session happening, but it’s true.

The next night when I was playing in the session in the pub, Brendan The Navigator, I outed myself about halfway through the evening when I handed out some stickers for the website. Sure enough, someone immediately asked if they could buy me a pint.

I must admit it’s very gratifying when people appreciate the work that’s gone into building and maintaining The Session.

The exhibition at The Royal College of Music Museum is free and runs until October. If you’re in the neighbourhood, you should drop in and check it out.

Three things about data

1. Data is a risk.
2. Data is distracting.
3. It becomes a job.

Bhí me i Londain an deireadh seachtaine seo caite mar gheall ar an Gaeltacht cois Tamaise. Cúpla lá iontach ba ea iad!

Bhí na ranganna ar siúl Dé Sathairn agus Dé Domhnaigh, ceithre huaire an chloig gach lá, i gColáiste na Rí. Bhí ceithre leibhéal ann—tosathóiri, meanleibhéal-iseal, meanleibhéal-ard, agus an ardleibhéal. Bhí gach rang lán le foghlaimeoirí.

Roghnaigh mé an rang meanleibhéal-ard agus bhí an leibhéal foirfe. D’fhreastail Jessica ar an rang tosathóirí agus dúirt sí go raibh a mhúinteor iontach deas freisin.

Bhraith sé aisteach a bheith ag labhairt Gaeilge i lár na phriomhcathair Shasana, ach bhain mé go leor sult as!

Roimh na ranganna, bhí imeachta ar siúl ar an Embasáid na hÉireann ar an tráthnóna Dé hAoine; taifeadadh beo ar an bpodchraoladh How To Gael le Louis Cantillon agus Doireann ní Ghlacáin. Éistim leis an podchraoladh, mar sin thapaigh mé an deis iad a fheiceáll beo. Mná cliste agus greanmhar is ea iad!

Bhí imeachta eile ar siúl ar an tráthnóna De Sathairn ach ní raibh mé ann. Chuaigh mé go dtí an teach tabhairne Brendan The Navigator i Highgate—i bhfad ó croílár na caithreach!—mar gheall go raibh seisiún ceoil ann. Seisiún iontach iontach deas a bhí ann le daoine fáiltiúil agus go leor poirt áille.

Beidh mé ar ais!