"The New Conditions of Life." - Albert Camus

I hand my blog over to Albert Camus and his 1948 novel, "The Plague." Page 67 of of the Vintage International Edition. The first page of Part II. When Albert mentions, "plague," feel free to insert "Covid-19."

"From now on, it can be said that plague was the concern of all of us. Hitherto, surprised as he may have been by the strange things happening around him, each individual citizen had gone about his business as usual, so far as this was possible. And no doubt he would have continued doing so. But once the town gates were shut, every one of us realized that all, the narrator included, were, so to speak, in the same boat, and each would have to adapt himself to the new conditions of life. Thus, for example, a feeling normally as individual as the ache of separation from those one loves suddenly became a feeling in which all shared alike and - together with fear - the greatest affliction of the long period of exile that lay ahead."

The a.m. soundtrack - Cat Power's "The Greatest."  (2006). A total knockout of a record. No doubt, a masterpiece. I remember first hearing it. Blew me away. Still resonates this morning. Chan Marshall is backed by a fabulous, tremendous band, The Memphis Rhythm Band. We used this record as a "template" for the sound we wanted for our band's first record, 10+1. I mean, it's trying to catch lightening in a bottle. There just something about the warmness  of the bass and drums, the big, bold, powerful sound, cut with an ease, a looseness to the vibe, no wasted notes, no over-playing, songs just perfectly-realized. A perfect record. Chan Marshall's voice is an odd thing of beauty. Evocative. Beautiful. An underlying sadness and joy in the doing.