The progression of a musician's fame is a romantic notion, one that can inspire a young band to go on playing shows in small urban venues until a minuscule level of success creeps its way in, disguising itself as a "big break". There is a central cliché surrounding the notion of a young musician who...

It had been around a year since the first time I heard the opening line of A World We Never Asked to Join by Jesse Daniel Smith. Around 2:00 AM on a Thursday night, I took a break from the assignment that was keeping me up, and gazed out a window which I had left open, hoping that the sounds of cars...