Oblique Strategies: "Use an Unacceptable Colour"

George, Eric, and Sheldon draw another prompt from Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s iconic Oblique Strategies deck. This episode’s pull delivers a simple yet provocative constraint: "Use an unacceptable color." From out-of-key "blue notes" in jazz and microtonal progressive rock to structural leaps in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, we explore how breaking established rules creates lasting friction. We dive into visual art history with Hans Holbein’s 1533 painting The Ambassadors—and its jarring 3D anamorphic skull—while sharing personal anecdotes on using deliberate oddities to unstick graphic novels, music production, and newsletters. The conversation closes on a reassuring truth: leaning into "unacceptable" creative choices isn't just a trick to surprise an audience—it's often the precise spark required to entertain yourself and jumpstart stalled momentum. Timestamps 00:24 — Wilderness edition in Kincardine and Oblique Strategies intro 02:04 — Pulling the card: "Use an unacceptable color" 02:46 — Breaking key signatures: Out-of-bounds notes in music 05:54 — Graphic novels and structural contrast in Aardehn 07:48 — Mold-breakers and unexpected choral shifts 08:54 — Dostoevsky, Moby Dick, and jarring tonal shifts in literature 11:45 — Visual contrast and the anamorphic skull in The Ambassadors 13:28 — Blue notes, microtonal guitars, and playing between the frets 18:24 — Secret themes and using weird constraints to unstick writing 20:38 — How absurd prompts kickstart creative momentum