The Big Issue is trusting each other

I read “Big Issue (No.448),” an interview with my favorite Brandi Carlile. It’s treated as a cover interview for a feminism feature, but the content is more about the importance of mutual help between artists.

Brandi sings good, plays good and makes great songs. I also like her way of life. She’s become my favorite female artist of all time. Of course I have all the CDs. I also indulged in her autobiography (I hope to publish it in translation someday)

Brandi is a person who has gained freedom with his own talent, but when she met Twins who create the stage together, she fell in love with them and she gave him gifts (I think there were instruments) and wanted him to play with her. She learned song-making from Elton John, Joni Mitchell and other predecessors, singing with predecessors, and sometimes even helping out. Making friends is the exclusive patent of musicians. So in this interview, Brandi talks a lot about helping obscure musicians and helping people in need. The next line is a good example of Brandi’s attitude.

MS. CARLILE: It is boring to be alone, or do anything alone, need any credit alone, watch a comedy alone, eat a great meal alone. I want to be surrounded by people that I love all the time. So, I double down on the co-dependency thing constantly, reaching every way to pull people into myself so I can be with them. (WSJ)

Brandi is a lesbian, same-sex married, and can be seen as an ‘activist’ icon in Japan who asked his wife to conceive a child with the sperm of his male best friend. But she thinks she herself is not bound by such things. she may feel herself natural. In Japan, being “not a majority” is a “problem” in everything from same-sex marriage to transgender toilets. It is truly a “Big Issue” for Japanese. But the essence is not there.

Who can we rely on, who can we connect with, and how can we help each other?

This is the current Big Issue. Because now there are the wars, natural disasters, economic disparities, and discrimination against refugees and LGBTQ people. It is very difficult for individuals to survive in such an era. It’s impossible if you don’t rely on each other.

The first step is to state what they can do. I also want to do my best from there.