New Rules/New Habits...

Yes. The Pandemic has changed us. No doubt. Vox tells us there are 8 new habits we should all keep post-lockdown....

Check it out. Pretty good list. Let me paraphrase:

Less shopping! 

Stop and smell the roses! 

Family & Friends!

Stay Connected - BLUE WAVE!

Your body is your Temple!

Vegetarianism, Cooking, Gardening!

Visit Nature!

Work from Home as much as possible!

Let me add:

Impromptu Pizza Party anytime! Vegetarian Pizza, of course. Any day of the week is OK for a Pizza Party! Long bike rides or walks on the lakefront every day!

Music. Music. Music. Listen to, play, compose, record music as often as possible! 

Sleep. Dream. Yes. Dream of better days.

It's almost like a you can have a good time. Like the best time ever. Except, of course, for the deadly, nasty, global pandemic, looming over us all, floating in the air, the sickness and death, the social chaos, the social injustice, the toxic clown President, the feeling that everything is disintegrating, that the world as we know it is collapsing all around us.

Otherwise. Everything is fine!

The a.m soundtrack - Buffalo Springfield's "Selections from Buffalo Springfield Box Set" (CD #4) (2001). - The greatest B.S. record that never was. From the album copy: "...a bonus 4th disc with their first two albums... mono & stereo, newly remastered." Disc 4 is pretty much amazing track to track. Opens with the anthem "For What It's Worth." Yes. The remastering is amazing. I don't know where I got this one. It is stamped: "Not for Sale, for Promotional Use Only."  A great rare find.  A blast of 60's protest & optimism from one of the great, legendary, lost-cause bands. Three great singer-songwriters. They pretty much self-destructed in a haze of egos, drug busts, bad blood, competition, poor management, bad luck, bad vibes. The band told Neil Young he couldn't really sing. Stills and Young were seemingly always engaged in a power/ego battle. Neil famously hated the mixes and recording methods of these records. Still some great tracks: "Broken Arrow," "Bluebird" "Burned," "Down to the Wire," "Flying on the Ground is Wrong." Amazing stuff.

Silent Listening...

Wiser heads than mine tell us we should often practice silence, and concentrated listening.
So, yes, today I take that wise, hard-won advice.

A morning of silence.
For George Floyd
and everyone else
struck down
by racism,
injustice,
violence.

The a.m. soundtrack - No music. Just the vibrations knocking around in my head. Silence for the fallen ones. Listening. Quiet listening today.

We really are all one...

I've been up since the crack of dawn. Seems I've lived a lifetime already, in just a few brief daylight hours. I broke down crying once this a.m. Listening to NPR. Friends of George Floyd in Houston Tx, remembering their friend, inspirer and mentor "Big Floyd." Heart-breaking. Another life snuffed out for no reason, except for racism, and the callous disregard for life.

You wonder if we have reached an inflection point? Protests throughout USA and the world. The murder of unarmed people of color at the hands of the Police really must stop. Maybe we will all wake up? One of my go-to sayings: "A change of consciousness can happen in an instant."

Maybe that instant has arrived? Hope so. "There but for the Grace of God, go I." We all need more empathy, more imagination. We need to be able to "put ourselves in another's shoes."

It really is possible. To think of Human Beings as Human Beings, first. The same. Different too. Different backgrounds, different histories, different shades and characters, but essentially the same. Different but the same. One. Human. Being. Life. We all should be able to live, to love, to actualize ourselves in the world. If one of us is struck down, we are all struck down. One of our lives snuffed out, we are all snuffed and diminished.

The a.m. soundtrack -- "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (soundtrack)" (2000). Original score by Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. A hip-hop masterpiece. The soundtrack to the great Jim Jarmusch film. Seeded thru the record Forest Whitaker reads passages from "Hagakure: the Book of the Samurai." Fantastic. Groovy. Profound. Fun. As Village Voice Robert Christgau writes: "hip-hop as mystery, beauty, pleasure—as idealized aural environment." Yep. So true. One of my all-time favorite records.

The Long-Haul.

Summer in the heartland.

A blast of adrenaline early Monday a.m. Well-rested, a satisfying and eventful weekend. It is true, the days are one long schmear. The pandemic is still here, relentless, like that shark in "Jaws," that scary, doomy, music playing, always, in the background, death potentially around any corner, but the music seems to be sort of fading away, getting quieter and quieter. An ominous, ubiquitous cloud of doom, but it's sort of vaporizing.

What "phase" are we in today? Who knows? People are still getting sick and dying too, but now it's like just built-in to our daily expectations. Every day we go out, it seems less and less folks are wearing masks, less social-distancing, are we all just bored with the pandemic?

My partner and I are living by the old rules. Covid-19 is still in phase one, mowing folks down willy-nilly. We are doing our best to keep our eyes on the ball, to stay safe, take care. We are in for the long-haul. We wonder how long the long-haul will be.

Taking it hour by hour now.

The a.m. soundtrack - U2's "All that You Can't Leave Behind." (2000). Beauty. Optimism. Faith. Belief. Soul-stirring. A blast of pure, unadulterated adrenaline. Beauty and Optimism in the face of the darkness. No apologies. Pop/Rock songs exquisitely played and recorded. A spiritual experience. "It's a Beautiful Day." Yes. For sure. I believe.

Creating, Composing, Playing, Listening, Thinking, Dreaming, Music.

Music.

Music has been the savior in this time of pandemic, of trauma, toxic leadership and social unrest. Creating, composing, playing, listening, thinking, dreaming, music.

The hardest cut has been not being able to make music with our band. We can play at home, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, one guitar, two voices, a bit of percussion. But we truly, madly, deeply miss playing music with our wonderful band of musicians. There is nothing quite like sitting in a circle, a group of musicians, listening, communicating, creating new music together.

Playing music to a camera doesn't do it. It's really does need to be live, in the moment. Yesterday we had the chance to meet in the little "village green," wearing masks, six-feet apart, social-distancing, sitting under shady trees, with a big, blue sky looming overhead. We played some brand-new songs. Two guitars, a violin, voices, percussion. It was so fun, thrilling, satisfying, life-affirming. Soul work.

The best kind of soul work imaginable.

The a.m soundtrack - Kings Go Forth - "The Outsiders are Back" - (2010). Sounds like a throw-back to another era. Late 60's or early 70's soul. A ten-piece band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sounds like it was recorded on tape, vintage analog gear, all the musicians in the room together, making it happen, in the moment. Maybe "old-fashioned," but it's the good stuff, the right stuff, the soul stuff, done supremely well. I "discovered" this one via Greg Kot of Sound Opinions. I look to music "critics" not so much to hear criticism, but to hear what they may be enthused about. This is a great, rare find. A fabulous band and sound.

Make Love, Not War...

The protestors came out to protest police brutality, to protest the horrifying, the often-occurring,  phenomena: U.S. Cops killing unarmed folks of color.

How did the U.S. Cops handle the protests? With more brutality. They are on viral videos all over the internet beating protesters, some white, some black, all unarmed.

Yikes. Maybe there really is a systemic problem here? As they say, we need Guardians, not Warriors.

Peaceful, Non-Violent Protest. That is the greatest weapon the U.S. citizenry can bring to the conversation. I think of Gandhi, MLK Jr. Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks. I mean I understand the frustration, the rage. Still, it's must be channeled into positive, constructive action. Organize, march, speak out.

Make Love, Not War. Really, I mean, I know it all sounds, cliche, too easy, a bit hippy-dippy. But you must ask yourself: "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding?"

It is a dead-end to match violence with violence, bullets with bullets, beatings with beatings, death with death. No way forward. Peace, Love, Grace, Protest, Organize, Vote, Unite. Make a stand for Truth, Justice, Equality, Fraternity.

The a.m. soundtrack - Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On."  (1973). Sexy. Chill. Good vibes. Slinky grooves. Pure, graceful soul & funk. Marvin's voice is an uncommon thing of beauty & grace. Yes. Gorgeous. Love truly is the answer. Making love too. Let's get it on...

Phil Collins Dream.

Dreams. I live with the idea that my dreams are important. I mean, I'm not sure. I have had some amazing, visionary-type dreams: dead voices, famous, and not so famous, folks making a visitation, in the dead of night, to say something, or to show me something. I've also been baffled and confused by my dreams. Lots of poorly-constructed narratives, fragments, dead-ends, weird, strange, illogical tangents. Like bad French-Art-Films directed by the Three Stooges.

What's going on with our dreams? Beats me. Are our brains just like computers? Downloading info, clearing the cache, processing the events of the previous day? Maybe, although, that is not how I think of my dreams.

Coded-messages. That's closer to the mark.

A long-winded way to get to the point. Phil Collins, the famous r&r roller, member of Genesis, vocalist & drummer, popular solo artist, with lots of ubiquitous, and annoying music on the airwaves, especially in the 80's, came to me last night. We were at a music venue, on the same bill, (not likely, especially in pandemic times). Phil was drinking (I think he is long-time, famously sober now) and he was pretty unhappy. Disgruntled. He told me about recording and mixing "In the Air Tonight," a massive hit.

I was super-interested, I love talking music, even though, I am not a Phil Collins fan, I don't own any of his records, I usually try to avoid his songs when they are on the radio. Except, you know, that one song, "In the Air Tonight" the mix, the drum sound, the tension, the payoff. Pretty good single. I was pretty encouraging, trying to rally Phil, assuring him that the song was amazing.

He wasn't really having it. He was miserable. Defeated. Deflated. Unhappy. Unsure. Unfulfilled. I was surprised. To say the least.

What is the coded message? The message was the dream itself. The reality of Phil. Something about life and ambition. Success & failure. Trying to make something beautiful, something worthy, something lasting, and sadly, unfortunately, coming up short. Oh Phil...

The a.m. soundtrack - Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight." (1980) played this morning via YouTube. Like I said, I don't own any Phil Collins records, so, just like over 200 hundred million other folks, I'm listening to, (and watching), this one on-line. A few more coins in Phil's pocket. You know, it actually, really does sound pretty good. Makes me think of Sisyphus this morning... pushing that rock up the hill, watching it tumble down...

"Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand

I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am

Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes

So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been

It's all been a pack of lies

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord"

-Phil Collins

Our Right and Our Duty...

This is from Germany, where the folks there have significant experience to draw upon, dealing with an authoritarian, nationalist leader. I don't know German, but here is a helpful translation:

“Trump protected himself from protests in a bunker in the White House. We as Germans can say from experience: From this point on, things usually go downhill.”

The idea, the theory, the concept, the intent and design of Democracy: "Consent of the Governed." Our elected officials are supposed to represent the interests of the people. "Servant of the People." If the President is calling troops out against his own people, if he is building barricades in front of the White House, with a ring of police and military, well, Pilgrim, something is gravely wrong in good old USA.

As Patti Smith once reminded us: "People have the Power." Of course, we can't take our own power for granted, we need to care, to pay attention, to vote, to voice our concerns if things are not going well. To march in the streets. Peaceful, non-violent protest. That is our right, and our duty as Americans.

The a.m. soundtrack - Miles Davis & Gil Evans - "Sketches of Spain." (1960). Another great Miles Davis record. Unlike anything else he ever did. Shows he could do pretty much anything. Beautiful flugelhorn & trumpet thru-out. Lush orchestrations from Gil Evans. Brilliant. Breath-taking. It has an  old world, Spanish flavor. Makes you think of little villages off the water, bull-fights, beauty, color, life, blood, the poet Lorca. Gorgeous. Thrilling.

Warring Mind...

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald 1936.

Only two opposed ideas? Yes. Sure. I think some of us have more than two opposed ideas warring and clashing inside our heads. A head always clashing. So, with so many warring ideas swirling around all the time, maybe not so "first-rate." A grand goulash of mushy ideas. Not so intelligent but for sure, pretty much confused.

I am thinking of these fruitful "ISMS" this morning...

Fatalism - "resignation in the face of events."

Optimism - "put the most favorable construction on actions & events."

Pessimism - "expect the worst outcome," "reality is essential evil."

Realism - "concern for fact or reality, rejection of the impractical or visionary."

Idealism - "theory that the ultimate reality lies in a realm of transcending phenomena."

Actualism - "the view that everything there is, is actual."

Existentialism "individuals are self-determining entities, responsible for making authentic choices."

Rationalism - "accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct."

I would say all of these ideas/theories are alive and well in many of us. It's all about proportion, percentages, we are always navigating, working thru, trying to figure it all out, moment by moment.

A clash, a raging cauldron, a hurricane. Alive in our heads and bodies pretty much at all times. It can be exhausting. 

The only solution: silence, meditation, doing our best to still the raging head. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

The a.m. soundtrack - Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." (1959). A blast of genius cool. Beautiful. The Miles Davis Sextet featuring some of the all time great Jazz musicians of any era: John Coltrane & Cannonball Adderly on Sax, Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Jimmy Cobb on drums. Perfect. Miles trumpet is such a cool, evocative, musical voice. There is a grace, a lightness of touch in every track. No doubt a masterpiece record. Recorded at two sessions in New York. Breath-taking. Life-affirming. We are all lucky to have this record. Not just a great Jazz recording, one of the finest recordings ever made, any genre.  The finest stuff. Always a pleasure to put on the box. Sit back and luxuriate in the genius of great musicians playing, listening, communicating, transcending. They totally bring it, with grace & beauty.

First. Remember...

First. Remember.

The Toxic Clown President is NOT winning. He is flailing, desperate, deeply and irrevocably unpopular. He is President in the time of a Global Pandemic. Over 100k people (and counting) have died on his watch. The economy is in shambles. Massive unemployment. Businesses are collapsing.

The Toxic Clown President is a coward. He doesn't know how to lead, or persuade, to legislate, to build coalitions, to heal or comfort a nation. His brain is disintegrating. He is hated, laughed at, mocked. There is very little respect for the Toxic Clown.

The Toxic Clown President can only divide, stoke the violence, fan the flames of racism. He is a shit-stirrer, a noxious, toxic cloud of destruction. Supremely corrupt and incompetent. How does he have any support in USA? It's a bit of mystery. I suppose his support comes from those who just don't give a fuck.

I do believe we are watching the end of the Toxic Clown President. His day of reckoning is coming. I predict election day 2020 will the first day of the healing for the nation. He has lasted much longer than I ever thought possible. He is a really, really nasty persistent virus which has invaded the body politic.

I remember my band did r&r show at the end of 2019. I was onstage telling the little crowd that I was looking forward to 2020. A year of clarity, clear-seeing. I was optimistic. Obviously, I had no clue. I should have consulted my Greek Mythology. I am thinking of the story of Oedipus.

Yes. Indeed. 2020 is the year of clarity and clear-seeing, but what do we see?

Pain, destruction, death, police brutality, murder, racism, systematic corruption, failure, bad-blood,  a nation tearing apart, National Guard in the streets, threats of military deployments against the American population, deadly pandemic, deep dysfunction, the center collapsing, folks losing hope, doom and gloom. Yikes!

I think of Vince Lombardi. Yes, he is my Obi Wan Kenobi in the dire times of strife. Two key quotes I live by:

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  AND "Run to daylight."

Yes. Indeed.

The a.m. soundtrack - LCD Soundsystem (2005). Fuck it. You know, they probably threw some great parties in the Dark Ages too. It's a dance party in my kitchen this morning. James Murphy is singing  about Daft Punk playing at his house. It is time for a dance party. But, of course, in 2020 Pandemic, you end up dancing in the kitchen all by yourself. Lots of beats and grooves on this one. And Murphy is just the best DJ imaginable. Intelligence. Edgy good taste. You want to be socially-distant friends with Mr. Murphy. Yes. You do.

The Center?!

"The center will hold."

Maybe not. Turns out there really is no "center." The Universe doesn't roll like that. So the murder of a black man, opens up the yawning abyss, reveals the dark heart of our shared hallucination: USA.

Not only the death of a human being, the death of an idea, the death of a shared vision.

It couldn't have come at a worse time. It's never a good time to live in a land where human life is treated so callously, but really, this time is worse. Toxic Clown President. Deadly Global Pandemic. Great Depression-level unemployment.  Deep divisions across the land and the globe. American Nazis on the rise. Entrenched racism, economic inequality, de facto apartheid. Corruption. Dysfunction. Mania.

It's been grim around our place the last few days. Sheltering the storm. Mourning the death of another human being, mourning the death of our optimism and positivity. It feels a bit "out of place" to be optimistic.

An anger & sadness hangs over us. So yes. We are ruled by gravity. It holds us to the ground. We grasp for some "reality" it too is a shared vision. An idea.

We cling to these ideas: Truth, Beauty, Love, Grace, Hope, Kindness, Equality, Justice. We hope they are real, solid, timeless and substantial. But at the same time we know they too are just "shared visions."

What happens when our vision of a "center" vanishes? What happens when all our beautiful ideas appear to be distant, fading chimeras? It gets a bit dark and lonely staring into the abyss.

I fall back on the usual practices: silence, contemplation, patience, cool-headed-ness, reason. I conjure up a center, a sacred place to reside. I imagine all of us, the billions of us on the planet all living in a welcoming center, a garden, peaceably, responsibly, caring for each other, loving and creating new visions that we can all share together.

It's a bit of madness. I know.  A bubble for sure. But it's a bubble worth conjuring up.

The a.m soundtrack - Explosions in the Sky - "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care" (2011). Amazing record. Gorgeous. Usually three electric guitars and a drum-kit. Fabulous. Shimmering. An American band from Austin Texas. No words. All instrumental. A rock band elevated to high art. No pretension. Just superb execution. Recommended.

A Better, More Just, Equal & Loving Union.

I am a writer. So my usual "go to" mode, is to write words down on a page. I put my "faith" in words. Usually, this ability to write things down is an essential tool in my kit-bag. My humble way of trying to process the moments of a day. Sometimes the moments are indigestible. There's no way to convey or sum up the chaotic stew of thoughts and emotions swirling around inside my body and head.

The news of the day in America 2020: riots, fire in the streets, pain, suffering, violence, bad-blood, mayhem. The exposure of deep wounds in the fabric of our country. Wounds that have never healed.

Sometimes words fail. Sometimes you actually come up empty. All I can do is repeat some key words that ring in my head this morning: Peace, Justice, Love, Equality, Fraternity, Community.

I hope for some kind of dawning of the light. Some openness to Truth, Reality, a Reckoning, Reconciliation. A Better, More Just, Equal and Loving Union.  It may be an idealistic dream, but it's a dream to stake our lives upon.

The a.m. soundtrack - Rabin Abou-Khalil's "Blue Camel." (1992). As they say, "Arabic Music" fused with Jazz. So gorgeous. Wordless. Resonates. Hard to convey the beauty. Cuts across time and culture. A heady trip. Rabih About-Khalil plays an oud and it sets the tone for the record. What's an oud? - "The oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringed instrument with 11 or 13 strings grouped in 5 or 6 courses. The oud is very similar to modern lutes, and also to Western lutes. The modern oud is most likely derived from the Assyrian Lute."

Is that Too Much to Ask?!

The killing of unarmed black folks has got to stop.

Killer cops.
Rage in the streets.

It is a sad, tragic, unjust, immoral, disheartening reality.

Life in America, 2020.

Of course, no one in authority (for instance our toxic, idiot President), should be "fanning the flames" of violence.

It feels like we are collectively spinning out.

There must a reckoning, a healing, a renewal.

You wonder, are we, as human beings, smart enough, empathetic enough, responsible enough to do the necessary work to learn to live together? Can let go the old prejudices? And work towards a more perfect union?

Can we create a world where every being is treated with respect, care and love? Is that too much to ask?

No one speaks to this topic better than the Rapper Killer Mike. This is from last night, it
is passionate, heart-felt, heart-breaking, must-watch TV. Watch and weep for the loss of life, watch and weep for the soul of our country. We must reach down deep and do so much better...

The a.m. soundtrack - The Handsome Family's "Singing Bones"  (2003). - A unique and satisfying record. An uncommon collaboration. The duo: Brett and Rennie Sparks. Brett has an incredible voice, a full baritone, operatic. Rennie is an amazing lyricist, she tells dark and amazing stories. Gothic. "Far from Any Road" was used as the theme song for True Detective's first season. It's haunting, gorgeous, it really set the tone for the series. The whole record is a deep, moody, acoustic trip. Gothic American. Makes me think of Flannery O'Connor, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne. Old American & wise. Dark, strange, haunting.

That Long Book...

Another chapter in that long book, "Everything You Know is Wrong."

Check out this episode of Terry Gross's Fresh Air: "How the Lost Art of Breathing Can Impact Sleep and Resilience."

Turns out we don't really know how to breathe. We should all, always, be breathing thru our noses. I sometimes do it. I mean, when I meditate, I actively concentrate on my breathing, and maybe that's the most important part of the meditation, but sometimes I forget. Sometimes I am a "Mouth Breather." Turns out that is not good. God knows what happens when I'm sleeping.

Turns out also that we humans have been on a downward trajectory for the last 400 years or so. Our skulls are shrinking, our mouths are getting smaller. Maybe it has something to do with the food we eat. Too much food processing, not enough healthy, concentrated chewing. Smaller mouths and crooked teeth.

So less breathing thru our noses. Shite, we don't even know how to breathe correctly! Less oxygen to our brains. No wonder we seem stupider than ever. We humans are actually "devolving." Who knew?!

I mean, yes, the signs have been everywhere, just check out the daily news, but still, it's surprising to get knocked upside the head with new information. Sometimes you realize we really, really don't know what the hell is going on, and who we really are...

The a.m soundtrack - The Chieftain's - "Long Black Veil."  (1995). Going back to my Irish roots this morning. Another thing I was pretty wrong about. I grew up believing I was 1/2 Irish, turns out, no, more German and Polish than Irish. So really, I spent lots of time not even knowing who I was, what my genetic heritage was, or who were "my people." This is sort of a gimmick record. Traditional Irish songs. An all-star cast of singers fronting the Chieftains. Still, it's an amazing "Who's Who" of artists: Sting, Mark Knopfler, Mick Jagger, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, Ry Cooder, Marianne Faithful, the Rolling Stones, and Tom Jones. For some reason, it all sounds a bit hokey this a.m. I mean, it really is a gimmick record. Except of course for Van and Sinead.  They are the real deal, as Irish as they come. Some of the tunes make me long for the little Emerald Isle. Even if only a tiny fraction of me is connected to that shimmering, green paradise... like I said, "Everything You Know is Wrong." Okay?!

A New Vivid World of Light...

I have never been a germaphobe. Until now.
I have never been a hypochondriac.  Until now.

A Frog in the Throat?! Yikes.
A Sneeze? Holy Shit.

Was that a Cough? Heaven Forbid.

I go through the inventory: Where did I go, who did I encounter, what did I touch, how often have I washed my hands?

I wear a mask every day. Open the doors to our building with a paper towel. I count my fingers and toes every day. Listen to my body. What's going on in there?!

All seems fine this morning. No cold, no virus.  I am "relatively healthy." That's a thing, right?!

There is death and mayhem all around us. Over 100,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19 in the USA. A sad, tragic milestone. It truly is the "plague." The New Dark Ages. No doubt.

The people in charge here are incompetent, corrupt, vindictive and paranoid. Doesn't help the situation. How to be positive/optimistic? Is that even a correct way to be?

I don't know. I see light. I do. I think we are at a pivot point in our Democracy. A dark time is here, but it won't be here forever. Let's hope some of us make it thru. Blue Wave 2020. And then let's all turn to empathy, social justice, a better Democracy, a new vivid world of light. Yes. I see it.

The a.m. soundtrack - Bonnie Prince Billy - "I See a Darkness"  (1999). This is a dark one. Stark. Vivid. A "delicate, intelligent record." No doubt. Layered. Empathetic. Will Oldham's voice is an expressive, keening, haunting thing. There's a skull on the cover.

Defeat the "Inner Saboteur."

Defeat the "Inner Saboteur."

I do think I am learning lessons. Always.

I mean, the world is a moving target, and I am too. Sometimes I feel human beings don't really change. We are all the same little people we were at a super-young age. The years just add a bit of gravity and history to the timeline.

On the other hand, I do think we are always morphing, changing, renewing, maybe cycling-thru our lives. There is a clear trajectory. We accumulate and grow and change. I do think you can teach an old dog new tricks. I do think our brains are elastic, and malleable.

So I think we are essentially the same and different too. We are still, and moving.

I have often found myself improvising in the moment. Shooting from the hip. Impatient to "make something happen." This has often come back to bite me in the ass. Poor decision-making. Poor planning. False moves. Self-sabotaging actions.

Lately, I have been fighting my own instincts, my own intuitions, my own usually, overly-impatient self. Some of this has been enforced by the pandemic. Do less. Listen more. Sit quietly. Think. And then, let the thoughts drift away.

I have been holding my cards tightly to my chest. Biting my lip. Not so quick with the snappy remark. Knowing I don't have to get in the last word. Not so sure, or disagreeable, about the passing moments of the passing day.

I used to read a lot of literature about Zen, I was always fascinated, and attracted to the Zen Masters. But I always felt I was missing something. Zen. What Zen? But now, I feel I am living in a more Zen-like state. Not in any big, philosophical/religious way, just in little actions of care and quiet.

Silence. Contemplation. Letting go. Seeing the Ego do its thing, laughing at, and observing the Ego do it's thing. I am at the steering wheel, but really, I am taking my hands off the wheel... maybe gingerly guiding it with my fingers. Living lightly. Watching the "Inner Saboteur" but not letting him take the lead on the narrative.

Now and Zen.

The a.m soundtrack - U2's "Unforgettable Fire."  (1984). I bought this one when it came out in 1984. I have always thought it was a beautiful, magical recording. It's arty and ephemeral. Atmospheric. All the U2 elements are there. Great band. Solid drumming. The big, loping, luxurious bass up front. Edge's sonic-landscape-guitar, Bono's fierce intelligence. The cover is a picture of Slane Castle where the album was conceived, written and performed. Killer production team: Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The best. No doubt. This was the first of a long string of great records where band and producers pushed the envelope on sound and conception. There are a couple anthemic tracks. Lots of mood oozes across the tracks. Shimmering beauty. Saying something too. Unforgettable.

Dazed by the String of Days...

Days.

Ray Davies wrote a great pop song called "Days."

Charles Bukowski's famous line: "The Days run away like wild horses."

Bono used the line for a U2 song.

Sometimes the days are a blur, they kind of smear together over each other. One day you look up and a string of days have flown by. Some days totally stand out. Unfortunately, the really dark days tend to be vivid, easily recalled. They are the "pivot point" days, where something (usually traumatic) happened and everything is altered forever.

Sometimes the good days stand out too. Is it true that the dark days seem to have more gravity, and the bright days are more ephemeral? I don't know.

Yesterday, Memorial Day 2020 was pretty much a positively standout kind of day.

Leisurely morning, great coffee, wrote in my blog, worked on Moog tracks, went for a long, invigorating 40 min bike ride with my partner. We basked (socially-distant, masked and anonymous) in the sunshine, meditated in the shade, had a long, rambling conversation about life, love and yes, unfortunately the pandemic. We talked about all the silly people congregating close together and NOT wearing masks. Surprising. We returned home and filmed a music video of one our older tracks. We also recorded a demo of a new song. Then it was Pizza Party and watched a couple episodes of Mad Men season 3. It seemed like an incredibly long day. Fruitful, and fun. Memorable.

The a.m. soundtrack - The Smiths' "Strangeways Here We Come"  (1987). The last record from The Smiths. It's great. Lush. Beautifully recorded. The band is at the top of their form. Amazing creative/musical collaboration. Morrissey & Marr were an incredibly gifted, unique, prodigiously creative song-writing team. Sophisticated pop/rock of the finest kind. Marr isn't just a fabulous guitarist, he is a composer of pop masterworks. Shimmering, layered. Of course, Morrissey is a great vocalist and an uncommonly brilliant lyricist. Funny, cutting, intelligent, graceful. This was the last time Morrissey and Marr worked together. Something happened. Whatever attracted them to each other, whatever worked so perfectly over 4 studio albums and a great collection of singles, seemed to evaporate. Why does what works so well, work, and then, NOT work? It's a mystery. The record is a true masterwork, makes me smile. It's is life-affirming to listen to work this perfectly composed and performed. Inspiring.

The Mind Game of "What If?"

You play that game in your head, "What If?"

I guess, imagining alternate realities, alternate pasts, and potential futures is something we tend to do. Especially when we have time on our hands, "spit-balling," chilling out, contemplating our lives.

Not sure how fruitful it is, especially when reviewing your own long, sordid history. A common phrase pops up in my consciousness, knowing it's a tired, but useful cliche: "If only I knew then, what I know now..."

We can't rerun the model. The Universe only, truly, unfolds one way. I mean, the scientists tell us reality is all about probabilities, chance, randomness; every moment is basically a coin flip, but even with that, the coin only ends up one way.

What happens is what happens. Reality is what actually happens. Of course, not just one thing happens, everything happens all at once, all the time. Trying to figure out what actually happened is really a life-long quest. A crazy-ass rabbit hole, a shimmering hall of mirrors.

Is there a "grand narrative" or just an ever-changing, always morphing churn and burn? The Universe is expanding, life and death happen moment to moment. Trying to detect a pattern, discern a meaning, imagine a purpose, that's such a human thing.

So the game of "What If" is just a game. Maybe it lights up some of the darkness. "I did this, but I could have done that..." We try the alternate reality on for size. It's just a Mind-Game.

Maybe it's a way of trying to come to kind of understanding? Recognizing pivotal moments. Moments that changed the trajectory of our lives.

Now. This moment. Here we are. The past is growing, the future is shrinking. The moment is here. Present in the Present. Still, sometimes, you ask yourself: "What If?!"

The a.m soundtrack - Tricky's "Maxinquaye" (1994). I realize there is a bit of a pattern. I do like to listen to floating, drifting kind of music in the a.m. Usually I avoid the heavy beats. I am not a fan of the "four on the floor" beats from the dance floor.  I usually like a bit of moody atmosphere. Tricky's record is perfect. Dark, groovy, trippy. There is a beat, there is movement, but it's pretty light on it's feet. Some of this record reminds me of Portishead, for instance the sultry female vocals, but it's different too. Maybe even harder to get a handle on. A dream record, with a groove.

Live There...

Sun is shining.
It's Sunday.

Long weekend.

You can almost forget the mayhem, almost.
Best to concentrate on the little things.

Taking care.
Being safe.
Dreaming of better days.

Sometimes you really need to micro-focus.
Don't look too far ahead, or too far behind.

Moments make up our lives.
Best to live there, in the micro-stream of moments.

The a.m. soundtrack - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis' "White Lunar" (2009). Mostly instrumental tracks. One of the great collaborative teams. Haunting. Beautiful. Movie music, film scores, a rag-tag collection of work. Lots of gorgeous violin from Warren, lots of beautiful piano from Nick. Together Cave & Ellis are an amazingly prodigious creative powerhouse. I just love all the work they have done separately and together over many different projects. This one really resonates. It drifts and drives. Challenges you with beauty.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part, No Doubt...

Patience.

When I think of my time in Coronavirus, I think of my time spent waiting.

Waiting for a friend.
Waiting for something to happen.
Waiting for good news.
Waiting for the time to pass.

Waiting, and...

watching the clouds passing over my head.
watching the waves crashing to the shore.
watching the little birdies flitting from tree to tree.

Waiting for lunch.
Waiting for the computer to boot up.
Waiting for an idea.
Waiting for the mail.

Every time I think I should "make something happen," events conspire to make me wait.

I sit Buddha-like, waiting, waiting, waiting.
I sit and wait, and think of Tom Petty's great song, I can't help it, I hear him singing in my head: "The Waiting is the hardest part."

Yes, Tom is correct.

The a.m. soundtrack - Tame Impala's "Lonerism."  (2012). We all practice loner-ism now. The first time I played this record I thought "Flaming Lips." I was sure it was Wayne and the boys. It sounded like a David Friddman production (the long-time Producer of the Flaming Lips). Nope. It's all Kevin Parker with an assist from Jay Watson on two tracks. Oh yeah, turns out Friddman did help out a bit, he gets an uncredited assist. Kevin Parker sings, and plays all the instruments. It really is a document of aloneness. It does sound like the Lips to me. But it's great. There is something about a musician sitting in his room all by himself creating a world of sound. Lonerism in action.

The Natives are Restless.

The natives are getting restless. Folks are losing patience. This lockdown, sheltering in home thing is getting a bit stale and tiresome. People want to shop. People want to party. People want to go to bars. People want to eat out at restaurants. People want to "get back to normal." People are clamoring to open the economy and get back to business as usual.

Funny.

The coronavirus is still deadly, super-contagious, there is no cure, no vaccine, medicines don't seem to help. The numbers of ill and dying continues to rise. The virus is still the global menace it has been from the start. Nothing has changed on the virus side of the equation.

The virus is deadly, nasty, persistent, patient, going about replicating itself in any host it can find.

Still, the natives are getting restless.  The American Nazis are marching. The Right-Wing Armed Militias are loaded and ready to rock. Some folks just don't want to wear a mask or social distance. What about FREEDOM?

Remember Patrick Henry? His famous words: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." Covid-19 suppresses a smile and replies: "Sure, no problem, I have a deal for you, how about both?!"

Well, yeah, sure, you are FREE to get ill, you are FREE to die. But what about when your freedom collides with someone else's health & safety? Something has to give.

I am on the side of Health & Safety.

Patience Grassshopper. Keep your head. Keep your cool. Nothing has changed. Ask yourself: What is important? What is essential? What will you give up? What can you do without? What will it take to stay safe and healthy?

Do that, Grasshopper.

The a.m. soundtrack - Moby's - "Play."  (1999). Yes. This record changed Moby's life. It changed my life too when I first heard it. It was an unexpected experience. No doubt, a masterpiece. A powerful, overwhelming set of music. Transcendent. Emotional. Exciting. Playful. Head-opening. A techno, laptop album that transcends. "Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis noted its incorporation of such disparate musical influences as early blues, African-American folk music, gospel, hip hop, disco and techno, "all within the context of his own distinctly melodic ambient stylings." Yep. Essential. For sure.

Remember Your Essence.

Paul Williams reminds us: "Remember Your Essence."

Yes.

Remember your Intuition too.

Remember you are more than your body.

Remember that your time is precious.

Remember to Love.

Remember to stop and listen.

Remember you are one being in a vast world of beings.

Remember to step lightly.

Remember to remember.

The a.m. soundtrack - Dead Can Dance's "Spirit-Chaser"  (1996). We own 4 or 5 of Dead Can Dance's albums. Love them all. Still, this one is a standout. It combines new and old sounds. Organic and synthetic sounds. Perfectly integrated. Recorded at Quivvy Church in Ireland. Something unique comes across. There is a song called "Indus" which has an "inadvertent" nod to George Harrison's fabulous song "Within You Without You" from Sgt. Peppers. It's a highlight track on the Beatles album and a highlight track here too. Lisa Gerrad and Brendan Perry are in fine voice as usual. So many great sounds. A swirl of mad wonder.

Compliments...

Sometimes I do get compliments. Of a kind.

I have been working on more instrumental mini-Moog music. It's a totally engulfing, a totally obsessive flow activity for me. I can get lost for hours creating sounds. It's sort of a long-form meditation in sound; generating and soaking myself deeply in waves of sound. There is no great point, or objective, or reason, except to occupy my mind and my time, and to create something that didn't exist before in the world. I am doing it just because I can.  "Art for Art's Sake."

I am not changing the world, but the process is changing me.

It is pretty exciting to be working with an instrument, the mini-Moog, something that I never played before, so different from guitar, which I have played for most of my life. Puts me in a different zone. Everything is new, foreign. I think of music differently, I hear things I haven't heard before.

I have been driven in this direction by the lockdown, by long hours "sheltering in place." At the moment, playing music with our band seems like a distant memory, and a shimmering, shaky mirage out there in the future. So, I am left to my own devices.

Is any of this work good, or worthy? I don't know. I am not really judging the work. Except, "Does it sound good to me?" I am "just doing it." Creating sounds that appeal to my own aesthetic tastes. Constructing sounds that seem to work together.

My long-time partner listened to some tracks.  She seems a bit bemused by my detour, side-project, rabbit-hole, strange, solitary obsession.  Here comes the compliment:

"You are a gnarly goat, but sometimes beauty comes out of you."

Hah! I'll take it. I mean, it's almost better than a Grammy!

The a.m. soundtrack - Ofra Gaza's "Kirya."  (1992). An Israeli singer. Middle Eastern sounds married to a modern Pop/Rock production. American Producer Don Was, Iggy Pop guests on one track. A fruitful mashup of sounds. World music, foreign, exotic,  mysterious, with a solid, well-produced modern backing. Very moody & atmospheric. The words, I don't really know what the words mean, but the sounds are old and new world fabulous.

"Something Happened."

Last night, in the deep quiet of the evening, another long day of laying low in the shadow of the pandemic, my partner looked deeply into my eyes and asked me:

"What happened?"

It hung over us like an unanswerable, existential question. No ready answer came to mind. No words could convey the state of the world, or our lives in it, our time time together, the decades that have come and gone, the many turns of the planet.

I thought of Joseph Heller's great, cryptic, epic novel...

The words popped out: "Something Happened."

We exchanged glances. No expression. No smiles. No disappointment. Just a meaningful exchange.

That will have to do. Yes. Something happened.

The a.m. soundtrack - David Johansen and The Harry Smiths - "Shaker." (2002). David Johansen is standing in a cemetery on the cover. He brings long-dead voices back to life with this project. Voices from the grave: Son House, Furry Lewis, Muddy Waters, Lightnin Hopkins, Geeshie Wiley and a few more. Recorded live in a church over two days. Brilliant, classic, acoustic blues. Perfectly rendered. The human story in 3 min songs. Everything is there in the tracks. The hurt, the blues, the wisdom, the death, the glory, the mystery.  You wonder: "What happened?!"

Secret Garden.

Oasis.
Hideout.
Secret garden.
Private space.
Center of your head.
Retreat.
Vacation.
Quiet location.
Calm center.

Your body.
Your temple.
Your internal landscape.
Your own personal space.

Silence.

Your heart beating.
Your breath
flowing
in
and
out
with no effort.

Sit back and enjoy the show...

The a.m soundtrack - "Requiem for a Dream" (soundtrack) - (2000). Composed by Clint Mansell. Peformed by the Kronos Quartet. Powerful. Overwhelming. Disorienting. Edgy. The soundtrack for the film by Darren Aronofsky, based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr. The movie is a bit of a slog. Lots of pain & suffering. A tragic story about human beings living tragically. It's also about addiction: addiction to sex, food, drugs, depression, ignorance, self-sabotage, incessant suffering, TV, false hope, & pipe-dreams. Etc. You name it. So human. The soundtrack is moody, gorgeous, ominous, head-turning. Perfect for a dark, rainy Monday morning in the long shadow of a pandemic.

Goofing Off is Now Essential.

Goofing off.
Staying home.
Laying low.
Chilling out.
Enforced patience.
Taking things slow.
Doing less.
Taking your hands off the wheel.

No "seizing the day,"
instead,
letting the days drift by...

Laying on the couch.
Listening to music.
Watching movies in the middle of the day.
Pizza party!
Re-binge-watching Mad Men (into season 3 already!).
Playing my guitar.
Playing my mini-Moog.
Recording songs.
Listening to Marc Maron's "WTF."
Eating well.
Sleeping well.

Who knew that "goofing off" would be the new lifestyle choice?
Who knew laying low, becoming a Howard-Hughes-Like-Hermit, would be the lifestyle of 2020 and  a radical political stance?

No shopping. No restaurant hopping. No social activities outside the home.

Staying safe. Lazing around. Waiting for the vaccine...

The a.m. soundtrack - Howling Wolf's "I Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog."  (1994). 2 CDs. The original Chess Masters. Essential. The source. Hard-hitting, killer, Chicago Blues. Blues in full-force, blues in big-band mode: harmonica, guitars, piano, sax, bass, drums. An all-star blues lineup. Big time urban blues.  1950's-late 1960's. These are essential tracks. Sometimes Eddie Shaw on Sax, Hubert Sumlin on guitar, James Cotton harmonica. The Holy Grail of the Blues. The DNA found later in white-boy blues bands like the Rolling Stones, and that guttural, sand-paper voice, the "Wolf persona" adopted by Tom Waits. Howling Wolf was there first. Glorious, thrilling, essential blues. No blues cliches. Funky, loose, sophisticated, layered. Fully-realized. The Stones mined some of this vibe in the basement in France in 1972, their big-band blues was modeled on Wolf and Muddy Waters' bands. Howling Wolf: the real, the righteous stuff. A rollicking good-time.

"Me" Watching "Me."

Yes. Funny.

I started my day yesterday thinking of my mind as a blank slate (see previous post). It seemed to work swimmingly.

My state of mind, pretty much all day yesterday, was a state of:

Dislocation
Disconnection
Disenfranchisement
Disorientation

I was basically "off the hook."

It was a strangely agreeable state of mind. I watched myself navigate the day. It felt like I was observing someone else. For some reason I flashed on G.I. Gurdjieff's idea of "conscious self-observation."

I was "Me" watching "Me" in the world. It made "Me" feel less like "Me." It was not a feeling of "self-absorption," more a  genial "clear-seeing." It was not an Ego-driven thing, it was a "drop the Ego" kind of thing.

I was a subject and object simultaneously.  It was strangely invigorating.

This morning I still feel renewed, refreshed.

The a.m. soundtrack - Peter Gabriel's - "Passion."  (1989). This is a haunting, beautiful, wondrous record. The soundtrack for a Martin Scorcese film, but it's not just a soundtrack, Gabriel worked on it as a complete record. It features an amazing group of musicians from around the world. It is extraordinary. Truly the best of "world music." Traditional instruments and sounds, combined with electronic/ambient sounds. Amazing. It starts out ominously, mysteriously. There are moments of hushed wonder and awesome beauty. Gorgeous. A labor of love. High Art. Recommended.

Blank Slate.

I have decided I am a blank slate today. It's Friday. It's "anything can happen day."

So, yes. Clear my head.
Still my mind.
Let it all come in.
Let it all wash over me.

That's the ticket.

No.

Don't need no ticket.
Just climb onboard.

The a.m. soundtrack - Buddha Bar VI  (2004). Another chill-out record. I forgot we owned this double-cd set. The Buddha Bar was a real place in France. We played this one a lot in the mid-to-late 2000's. It's been sitting on a shelf for awhile. They say a big, golden Buddha was always smiling down on the music room in Paris. DJ's spinning their custom mixes & records. This album was recorded & compiled by a DJ named Ravin. Mellow. Chill. Head music.

We Can Choose To Live Lives of Clarity, Hope, Love and Grace.

We can handle the truth. I mean the species. There are some hard truths that we all must live with, and live with them, we must.

For instance:

We all will die.
Everyone we know and love.
Including ourselves.

Human Beings are not the center of the Universe.
We are just another species that happens to live here.

We don't really know what we are doing most of the time.
We are just making it up as we go.

There are too many of us.
We are destroying the ecosystem that supports our lives,
and the lives of all the other species on the planet.

No one is in charge.
No Big Daddy will save us.

We (the collective We), are the authorities.
We make the decisions.
Our fate is in our own hands, to an extent.

Luck and Randomness are powerful forces that have momentous sway in our lives.

Despite our "Death Sentences," we can choose
to live lives of Clarity, Hope, Love and Grace.
Not to please some Big Daddy in the sky,
but just because, it's the better path...
to live a Life with Heart, Soul, Integrity & Truth.

We are resourceful, creative, resilient.
We can do it.
Damn the torpedos.

The a.m. soundtrack - 2 CD set - "Beautiful Bollywood."  A compilation album. I don't know what year it was released. A label from the Netherlands. Don't know how we came to own it. My partner was deeply into dance and trance music for awhile. Thinking we probably saw a Bollywood movie, and decided we wanted a little of that Bollywood vibe in our home. But maybe it was just luck we stumbled upon this one. It's a bit electronic, groovy, trippy, with that shimmering Indian vibe. Digging deep into the CD collection this a.m. Looking for the exotic, the colorful, the overwhelming power and beauty of being alive. The first track is called "Pickels." What's not to love?!

People Really, Really Do Have the Power...

Some good news...

People really do have the Power. Hong Kong is a success story (so far), in beating Coronavirus. A lesson for us all.

"The secret sauce of Hong Kong’s response was its people and, crucially, the movement that engulfed the city in 2019. Seared with the memory of SARS, and already mobilized for the past year against their unpopular government, the city’s citizens acted swiftly, collectively, and efficiently, in effect saving themselves. The organizational capacity and the civic infrastructure built by the protest movement played a central role in Hong Kong’s grassroots response."

People. Organized. Mobilized. Eyes and heads open to reality, facts, science, experience. They tuned out the noise, they were always ahead of the politicians and their government. They took responsibility for their own lives. They put their health and their safety first. They worked with others to do the same. They shared real, honest to goodness info, they communicated it to each other. 

"There’s a lesson here, as the United States deals with staggering levels of incompetence at the federal level. Stories have been written by doctors in major hospitals in the U.S. about how they tried to source masks in the black market and disguised PPE shipments in food trucks to avoid their seizure by the federal government. As Taiwan and South Korea show, timely response by a competent government can make the difference between surrendering to a major outbreak and returning to a well-functioning, open society without lockdowns or deaths. But Hong Kong also teaches that people aren’t helpless, even when their government isn’t helpful."

The a.m soundtrack - Eleventh Dream Day's "Ursa Major" (1994). A great, rare find. A joyful noise. A fabulous band, a tremendously satisfying record. This is the only record of their's I own. It's a  beautiful blast of perfectly, balanced r&r dissonance. Great electric guitars. Tight, but loose, band. This is a pure joy and pleasure. I found it in the used CD bin at my local record store. So good. Life-affirming. Good news. 

Dream Eno.

During lockdown, I have been obsessively, learning, navigating and playing a mini-Moog synthesizer. Funny. I have always been about organic, authentic r&r. I play a Fender Telecaster and a Hohner Jumbo acoustic. I own an old tube amp. I am all about playing live in the moment with other musicians in a room. That's how our band rehearses, how we play out, how we have made all of our recordings.

But in lockdown, I am left to my own devices.

So as a lark, a goof, a kick, I decided to learn something totally new and different. I am deep down the rabbit hole now, creating weird and moody soundscapes. It is amazing, the mini-Moog synth seems to have an infinite number of sounds. So many dials and settings. I spin the switches and see what happens.

Not sure what I will do with all the tracks I am creating. I am just in the mode of creation. It's a good way to occupy my time.

Lately, I have been listening to lots of music featuring synths. New Order, Brian Eno, Danger Mouse. Last night, Brian Eno visited me in my dreams. Yes, my Dream Eno came to me and said: "The world is a mad swirl of sound."

Dream Eno, you are so right...

The a.m. soundtrack - David Bowie's "Lodger" (1979). I just purchased this record. It came in the mail yesterday. I'm only a couple decades late to the party. It's the third record in the Berlin Trilogy. Strange. It was recorded in Switzerland. Close enough to Berlin, I suppose. I do get it, though, it's kind of a continuation of the sonic experiments Bowie initiated on "Low" and "Heroes." David is in great voice. It's another unique & original collaboration with Brian Eno. Produced by Tony Visconti. It's sounds great. Fabulous musicianship. It's a bit experimental. Spiky. Arty. All of these tracks are new to me. They weren't played on the radio very much. Fresh. "Complex and rewarding." Yes. Indeed.

The Common Sense Contingent...

I guess this is a pivot point. A "make or break" moment.

Do you choose to listen to the doctors, the scientists, and your own common sense?

OR

Do you listen to politicians, those worried about their political fortunes, and those chattering economic cheerleaders chanting "Go back to work, now!"

One group is telling us there is a nasty virus in the land. It is super-contagious, there is no cure, no vaccine, and no good therapy to help you survive it. The smartest thing is to try not to catch it. The only measures you can take are wearing a mask, staying home as much as possible, being socially-distant when you are outside, washing your hands frequently.

The other group is telling us, "So what? Go back to work, go back to business as usual. Shop! Remember this is the land of the FREE the home of the BRAVE!"

Put me in the "common sense" camp. I do not think this is a difficult choice.

The a.m soundtrack - Talking Head's "Fear of Music."  (1979). A spiky, twitchy, nervous-sounding band. Fear permeates the record. What to be afraid of? Pretty much everything. David Byrne always seems to be singing from the edge of hysteria, or phobia, he seems distressed, unhappy. A stranger in a strange land. This record is produced by Brian Eno. Eno and Byrne really became quite the creative collaborative team. Dynamic. A great band, always catchy, groovy, and off-kilter. Maybe the standout track for me is "Heaven" a shimmering ballad with the great line, "Heaven is a place, where nothing, nothing ever happens." 

Caught in Between.

Utopia --   "a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions, an impractical scheme for social improvement, an imaginary and indefinitely remote place."

Dystopia -- " an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives."

Caught between unreal dreams of Utopia and the very realness of Dystopia.

It's easier to break things than to fix them. It's easier to destroy than create. It's easier to stoke the fear, harder to stoke Hope.

Is Love stronger than Hate? I don't know. Unfortunately, maybe it's a draw?

I lean to the light. Every damn day. But man, it's been a hard year so far. I fall back on the cliches. The cliches that can "save" a life: ONE DAY AT A TIME, FAKE IT TO MAKE IT...

Take your hands off the wheel, you aren't driving the car anyway...

The a.m. soundtrack - Os Mutantes' "Everything is Possible."  (1999). Crazy fun. A blast of Brazilian psychedelia. A compilation: The best of Os Mutantes. Kick down the doors, open your head. This is a kick in the pants. Enthusiastic. Trippy. Cool. You put this one on and you think: "Yes, it's true, anything is possible!"

Dissident of the Light.

I have to rally.
Get tough, because when the going gets tough,
the tough get going (hat tip: V. Lombardi).

So many people I know are:

downhearted
gloomy
desperate
doomy
sad
depressed
suffering from PSTD
faithless
pessimistic
apocalyptic
cynical
sarcastic
paranoid
conspiracy-minded
fear-full
doubtful
maximum worriers

They have lost the inclination to hope
Maybe for good reason, but I can't go there

I have decided to dissent.
To choose another path.

Happiness is a choice.
Hope is a lifeline.
Being positive is necessary.
Clear-seeing in the light.
I am a Dissident of the Light.

As the great Lombardi also once said: "Run to Daylight."

The a.m. soundtrack - Rye's -  "Woman"   (2013). Another rare find. I was tipped to this one by Greg Kot from Sound Opinions. Mellow. Lush. Sort of a mysterious record and band. Started as a duo and then became something else. The vocalist is male, sounds a bit like Sade. Amazing. "Innovative Leisure" music.  Sounds gorgeous and very, very, chill this morning.

You Have Always Relied on the Kindness of Strangers...

You are reminded that your life is reliant, contingent, upon on an elaborate Rube Goldberg Machine.

You have always relied on the kindness of strangers.
You have counted on things working out.
You hope that  all the gears are well-oiled, the tires are inflated, everything works to spec.

Aye there's the rub.

Maybe the machine is a bit too elaborate.
The designers/inventors got a little too carried away with their inventiveness.

You are a foolish one. Sitting at the table, trying to eat your soup. Expecting everything will work out fine.

You forgot:

the bug in the software
the spanner in the works
that rust never sleeps
and sometimes, things just don't work out.

The a.m soundtrack - Wilco's "Star Wars." (2015). It starts with dissonance. A spiky instrumental. A blast of energy and sound to clear the cobwebs of your expectations. This is a band that can do anything. Chock-full of fabulous musicians, three guitar players, an incredibly inventive drummer, keyboards; a band with their own home studio, everyone at the top of their game. An incredible band of musicians fronted by Jeff Tweedy. A truly wonderful vocalist and songwriter. Another great Wilco record. What's my favorite Wilco record? Whichever one I am listening to at the moment. This morning, this is it.

Hi-Jacked!

Lost voices.
Dead lands.

Crossed wires.
Disconnections.
Dislocations.

Dead-ends.
Rabbit-holes.

Broken lines.

Hi-jacked by the times.

What's next?

The a.m. soundtrack - Kan Wakan - "Moving On." (2014). I have listened to this record over and over many times. I especially like to hear it early in the day. Turned up loud. Luxurious listening. I still can't get a handle on it. It is dreamy, trippy, gorgeous, amorphous. It has everything. Grooves, orchestrations, beautiful vocals. It like a dream or like clouds. It drifts in and out.

Make it to the Daylight.

I wonder if Covid-19 will be a constant theme around here for the foreseeable future? Unfortunately, probably.

Every day, every conversation, every news story, every event, just about every moment has Covid-19 swirling around, underlying, or looming over it; it always either front and center, or lurking in a subtly subterranean way.

It's about space.
Our lives.
Having our own space, inside, outside.
We have given so much of our space to a novel coronavirus.

That's just the reality.
This nasty virus circulated around the globe.
It came to us all very, very quickly.
It's amazingly contagious.
It's amazingly deadly.

So how to maintain our space?
Mental & physical?

Cultivate silence.
Meditate.
Long walks.
Eat well.
Sleep well.
Keep positive.
Maybe pray.
Or dream of better days.

Our job now is to stay healthy.
Survive in the age of Covid-19.
Make it to the other side.

The a.m. soundtrack - Sigur Ros' - "Ágætis byrjun"  (1999). As Friedrich Nietzche puts it: "Without music life would be a mistake." This is the one. I can't convey how powerful, beautiful, inspiring, and life-affirming it has been to discover this band, this record. It has been a major presence in my life ever since I first came across it around 2000. I can't count the many, many times I have  listened to it, inhabited it, submerged into it, let it wash over me. It always works. It always, always sends me to other places. Beautiful, healing, inspiring places. A great work of art. A magic spell. A gift.

Jumping Ahead.

Jumping ahead. 

It's something we all do. We want to get to the conclusion. "Are we there yet?" We want to be first with the answer. We look out at a hazy future; dark, obscure, amorphous, not even born yet, and we want to define it, sum it up, put it in a box, wrap it up, and put it on the shelf.

Of course, the future can't be contained, can't be summed up, doesn't even really exist yet. Unless of course, Past, Present & Future all exist simultaneously, which some wacky scientific models suggest. Oh yeah, some esoteric religions too. Which, you know, who knows?

Time is a strange concept. We are told, "time is relative." I mean, yes, really, isn't everything relative?

So, anyway, the Future is supposedly out there somewhere, looming, expectant, promising, forbidding, bright and shiny, dark and gloomy. We aren't exactly sure what to expect. Just another mystery in which we are wrapped.

Joe Strummer: "The Future is Unwritten." Yes, but the uncertainty is sometimes a killer. We want to know...

Best not to think too far ahead, it's dark and unformed out there.

The a.m. soundtrack - Atoms for Peace - "Amok" - (2013). You may think "Radiohead." Some of it definitely sounds like Radiohead. Thom Yorke's voice, Thom Yorke's lyrics. Radiohead's longtime Producer, Nigel Goodrich. Lots of beats and programming. Sort of groovy. Maybe the big departure, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers plays bass in this band. If you have ever seen video of this band playing live, you will marvel at Thom and Flea in kilts, playing together in a mad frenzy. It's sort of like Radiohead, and sort of not. It sounds great this morning. A bit ethereal, dreamy, with some catchy grooves.

What Season is It?

What season is it?

You may think it's Covid-19 season, always on, all the time.

But actually, it's Spring. Green buds. Green grass. Flowers pushing up into the daylight. Milder temps. Healing sunshine.

What day is it?

You may think it's Covid-19 Day.

But actually it's Monday.  We still have a rotating 7 day week. Despite appearances.

I just finished Albert Camus' masterful novel "The Plague." I don't think I am giving anything away if I say it's a powerful, indelible read. On the last page we get to the nub of the question, and there we find the narrator's, and probably Camus' answer too...

"... to state quite simply what we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise."

Yes. Maybe. It's a close call. I mean I hope so. I suppose we'd put Camus in the optimistic/hopeful camp. I'd like to be there too.

The a.m. soundtrack - Bombino's - "Deran"  (2018). Beautiful, liquid, flowing guitar lines from this amazing Nigerian musician. The songs are all in a language I don't understand. I like it like that. The voice is just as fluid and beautiful as the electric guitar. Every track is like a rippling, flowing stream, an absolutely gorgeous sound. It all sounds "spiritual" to me. Electric guitar church.

A Guest & A Teacher.

Covid-19.

It's an unwelcome guest. It's here, it's there, it's everywhere. It's deadly, nasty, scary. A teacher. An unwelcome teacher, but a teacher none the less.

What are the lessons so far?

Patience.

Silence.

Isolation.

Slow-going is ok. 

One step at a time is good.

Don't think too far ahead.

It reminds us that biology, science and nature rule. Gravity too. It reminds us of love. Love. The love we have, the love we are, the love we seek.

Camus's great book "The Plague" (a guide-book for our present reality), reminds us that our minds are composed of memories, the daily grind, and the slimmest, little, grayest hopes for a future.

Hope for a future. Yes. Very necessary.

The a.m soundtrack - David Bowie's "Low." (1977) Essential. Influential. The first of his "Berlin Trilogy" records. Something totally new. Bowie's first record with Brian Eno. Bowie traveled to Berlin to get away from L.A. and a major cocaine addiction. Accompanied by Iggy Pop. Iggy was trying to kick heroin. A very, very productive creative period for both Bowie an Iggy. Produced by Tony Visconti. That unique drum sound launched many imitators. There is something appealingly loose about this record. Bowie searching, birthing a new persona. Eno makes a great contribution to the record. His synthesizer tracks are amazing, and give Bowie a superb soundscape to do something beautiful and uncommon. A fabulous collaboration. Songs of drive, beauty, innovative but easily connects. So creative. So beautiful. Great Art. Inspiring.

Simplify. Serpentine.

Simplify.
Serpentine.
Down to the essentials.

Best to stay light on our feet.

Lots of time to be alone.
The trick is to be alone, without feeling lonely.

It helps to shelter in place with a good companion.
Try our best not to drive each other mad.

The highlight of every day has been a long walk on the lakefront:
Sunshine.
Blue sky.
Trees.
Water.
Motion.
We are alive, and  attracted to living things.
It is a big, beautiful world, virus or no virus.

Simplify.
Serpentine.

The a.m. soundtrack - Paul McCartney's "McCartney" (1970).  Paul's first solo record. Unadorned. No George Martin sweetening. No other Beatles. A home-made affair. Recorded on basic home-recording equipment at Paul's home in St. John's Wood. It was the end of the Beatles and the beginning of a long, amazing career for Beatle Paul. Who has had a better life? One of the great voices in music. An incredibly gifted musician. Undoubtably a musical genius. This record is all Paul. Turns out he can play every instrument better than pretty much anyone else. I love the rawness of the record. So un-Beatle-like in many ways, but still that great voice and musical sensibility. Some of these songs sound like sketches and "toss-offs" but it's so good. Loose. I think Paul felt liberated to just create on his own. A love-letter to his wife Linda. The radio staple "Maybe I'm Amazed" is found here. I love hearing Paul play drums, you can hear him working out, with lots of heavy-breathing on "Kreen-Akore." A perfect lockdown, stay at home record. Simplify!

Our Only Hope is Clear-Seeing.

I am nearly done reading Albert Camus' "The Plague." It does seem essential reading. Almost a manual and dissertation on our present present.

A story of a time. A story of now. Humans, we have always lived with plague. Sometimes we know it madly, deeply, intimately, sometimes we don't.

Friday. Sun breaking across the heartland.

This morning we review the situation...

There is no plan.
No one knows what's next.
No one is in charge.
It's a moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month thing.
Folks are getting restless.
There is no "normal."
Everything has changed.
Covid-19 is alive in the land.
Fear is alive in the land.

There are those trying to pull us all together.
There are those trying to pull us all apart.
Same old battles.

Folks are dying. How many? Even the count is in dispute.
This a.m. I hear some countries are counting the dead in Nursing Homes, some are not.
Astonshing.
Our only hope is clear-seeing.

The a.m. soundtrack - Mark Lanegan's - "Blues Funeral" (2012). This is a superb record. Another great collaboration record. Lanegan & Alain Johannes create moody soundscapes. Lanegan's voice is dark, expressive. The lyrics are bit abstract, surreal. No false moves. The Quietus described the album's sound as: "Blues Funeral incorporates beats marshalled by sequencers with grand cinematic sweeps and a rock & roll sensibility that reveals an artist refusing to paint himself into a corner."  Perfect soundtrack for a plague.

It Pays to Be a Vegetarian.

Some times it pays to be a vegetarian.

Maybe, especially in a global pandemic. Are they really going to force workers to work in meat-packing plants in the middle of a pandemic? Without a vaccine for the virus?

Seems punitive and risky.

Is eating meat an essential thing? Nope. You can get protein from other sources. And what about contaminated meat? The mind reels.

Remember: the meat industry is one of the major culprits in deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions.

Our meat-eating habits are killing us, and helping destroy our habitable environment. Don't forget lots of animals are shot up with antibiotics to make them bloated & fat. The animals that are slaughtered are sick, fat and treated abominably.

So, yes. Lots of reasons to give up eating meat. Some times it pays to be a vegetarian.

The a.m. soundtrack - Roxy Music's 2nd album, "For Your Pleasure." (1973). A knockout. The first track is "Do the Strand." It did not become a new dance sensation. But it probably should have. A fabulous band. Bryan Ferry, an uncommon crooner with a trill in his voice. Hair slicked-back, kitted out in tuxedos. The rest of Roxy looked like glam aliens. This is the last record also featuring the mad-genius Brian Eno. The band just wasn't big enough to contain two geniuses. Luckily we have the first two Roxy albums. A truly great and original band: sax, guitar, drums, Eno on various keyboards, Ferry and Mackay on various instruments too. The record stands up this morning. So fucking good. It features the greatest love song ever written about/and to an inflatable doll. "Your skin is vinyl.." Love.

Flim-Flam...

I was "running down a dream" yesterday. I won't go into the details, the story is still developing, but I was presented with a new set of facts, a budding new interest in me and my work, and it was surprising, confounding and a little bit unsettling.

I don't know if it was all real, or a mirage. I'm not sure if I was being humored, hustled, or courted. It was weird, all my instincts and intuitions seemed off-kilter, off- target. Was I deluding myself, hearing what I wanted to hear, or was this a real-deal opportunity? Was I just running down another rabbit hole? Was I living in my Own Private Idaho?

I bounced some of what was happening off my long-time partner. She listened to me run-thru the details, she laughed and then she said, "It's the perfect thing for you... FLIM-FLAM!"

Funny... I guess, it's true, my life has been one long, rambling, journey filled with smoke, mirrors, false-fronts, pipe-dreams and FLIM-FLAM! Stay tuned...

The a.m. soundtrack - New Order's "Substance"  (1987). I don't know why, I think of New Order as a band of film-flammers. A most improbable & successful band. Birthed out of the wreckage of Joy Division. Ian Curtis committed suicide, and a couple days later, undaunted, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, were in their rehearsal studio conjuring up a new thing. I don't think anyone had any idea that New Order would become a massively successful outfit. Curtis was the driving force of Joy Division, the voice, the lyricist. This is a compilation album, singles & b-sides. Two discs. I am listening to disc two at the moment. You can hear the DNA of Joy Division in the tracks, but this band totally morphed into a dance/electronic powerhouse. Innovative. The sound of 80's dance culture. Computers, sequencers, the vocals buried in the mix, beats, fabulous melodic bass-lines, drums organic & electronic, Sumner providing unique, guitar sounds. Over time Sumner became quite the haunting, distinctive lyricist & vocalist. This band is about a total group sound. Amazing band. Amazing story.

Desperate.

"Yes. You are desperate."

That was a line floating in my head in the middle of the night. Sleeping deeply, engulfed in total blackness. Early this a.m. I woke with the lingering vapor of that line still in my consciousness. Weird. I don't feel desperate. But, you know, who knows?

We are still in the first stages of a global pandemic. The economy is crashed, and crashing. No one really knows what's next. The virus is loose in the land. Folks are falling ill, and many are dying. A vaccine seems like a distant glimmer in the eye. Some folks seem to think we are returning to some sense of "normalcy," if you asked me, that seems supremely delusional.

Still healthy. Still eating. Still have $ to keep going. But really, for how long?! I have no idea. What is on the other side of pandemic? Beats me. How does all this turn out? Good question.

The a.m. soundtrack - Chrissie Hynde - "Stockholm."  (2014). From what I can gather, via Marc Maron's interview with her on WTF, Chrissie Hynde was a shy-badass; from a young age she was into r&r and bad boys. She was a stone-cold biker-chick. It took her a few years of chasing after r&r idols, and a trip to London, to finally discover her own voice. Luminaries who rise up in her saga: Lou Reed & the Velvets, Beatles, Stones, Bowie, T-Rex, and then in the later 70's, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, the Clash, Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood, the Sex Pistols, and the Damned. What a life. What a great r&r heroine. I like this record. It's billed as a "solo" record, but there are 25 people credited in the making of it. Neil Young guests on one track. Tennis legend (!?) John McEnroe too. It's kind of smoothly confected power pop. The best thing is Chrissie. Her voice, her attitude. It is a great uncommon thing. She exudes cool. She has an edge to her. There is also a softness, a grace in her voice too. The track with Neil Young really is my favorite. Makes me wonder, what if Chrissie could do a whole record with Neil Young and Crazy Horse as her backing band? R&R Killer.

Superb, Brilliant, Satire...

I think this is excellent. Superb satire. Just brilliant. SNL. Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci. The Toxic Clown President as himself.

No live audience. No laughter. You have to provide the laughs yourself. 

This is just so good. It's absolutely devastating to the President. Does he look like a clueless, blithering, idiot? Yes, he does. No fancy editing. Just the man, speaking his own incoherent stream of nonsense.  I say let the man keep talking. The more he talks, the more likely Blue Wave 2020!

The a.m soundtrack - Annie Lennox - "Medusa"  (1994). Cover songs from Annie Lennox. It is exhilarating. There is something about Annie's voice. Gorgeous. Amazing. Not just beautiful, expressive. Nothing like hearing a superb vocalist singing some of the finest songs of our era.  How about Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Pale," or Neil Young's "Don't Let it Bring You Down," or the Clash's "Train in Vain," or Al Green's "Take Me to the River?" Nicely done. Great production, excellent band. The human voice can be such a powerfully expressive and evocative instrument. Annie Lennox, one of our finest vocalists. No doubt.

Music for the Pandemic.

A little self-promotion this a.m.

"King Snake." A new whitewolfsonicprincess song. It was inspired by a Gillian Welch song about Elvis. I wanted to write an "Elvis song," but it ended up going in another direction. A strange, surreal narrative poured out of me. The lyrics came before the Global Pandemic, but I think the lyrics take on an added resonance in these pandemic times.

If you pressed me about this one, I'd say the song was about the "fear we can't kill." A fear that is always with us. This is just a duo version of the song. We started working on this one with our band, and then the lockdown happened. So left to our own devices we took a crack at it. This is just me on acoustic and electric guitar, plus mini-Moog synth, and my partner in crime, Carla on vocals & percussion. Cover art by my Mom. Recorded on a small Tascam DR-05 digital recorder, (two condenser mics onboard), finessed a bit in GarageBand. Homemade Lo-Fi.

I feel good about this one, the first time a mini-Moog makes an appearance on an official WWSP song. I do imagine that once we get back to working on it with the band, a much different approach will emerge. Anyway, this one is stripped down, just the essentials. You can stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

The a.m soundtrack - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - "Hawk"  (2010). A fabulous collaborative record. Two great voices, male & female. Beautifully realized songs. 2 Townes Van Zandt covers. Isobel composed the rest of the tunes. Gorgeous melodies. A cool breeze. Light. Graceful. Inspiring. Love the strings. This one really grows on you. A subtle, beautiful, life-affirming record. A blast of sweet cool.

Please Rid us of this Pestilence, Oh yeah, the Virus too...

The current President of the USA suggested that maybe folks should think about injecting household disinfectants into their lungs to treat, or prevent, Covid-19. Folks, dare I say it, please, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

The current President of the USA is impossibly, tragically, dangerously, ridiculously, prodigiously, mind-bogglingly, STUPID! I mean, really, diabolically stupid doesn't quite capture the depths of complete nullity that must be the brain-matter of this pathetic human specimen. Brain? What brain?

One wonders, can the 25th Amendment be invoked for someone too tragically stupid to hold the office that they happen to hold? A worried, concerned nation turns it's lonely eyes to someone, anyone, in charge. Is there anyone in charge? Please, help rid us of this horrible pestilence. Oh yeah, and please rid us of the virus too...

The a.m. soundtrack - Ikue Mori - "The Painted Desert" (1995). A fabulous instrumental record. Ikue Mori is a Japanese drummer/percussionist collaborating here with two amazing and distinctive guitarists: Robert Quine & Marc Ribot. So good. The cover of the record sets the tone. Wide open spaces. Desert landscape music. Some of the music is mellow, some tracks build to an intense frenzy. A calm breeze then a major dust storm. A superb record. Three musicians really connecting and creating unique sounds. A blast of warm desert air.

America - We Murdered Her...

"Collective Responsibility," - "Collective responsibility refers to responsibilities of organizations, groups and societies. Part of it is the concept known as collective guilt by which individuals who are part of such collectives to be responsible for other people's actions and occurrences by tolerating, ignoring, or harboring them, without actively engaging."

Yes, read George Packer's excellent essay, "We Are Living in a Failed State."

Please read it, then weep!

Packer's words have the gravity of truth. Smacks you upside the head. The ship of state has taken on water, is sinking, folks are jumping off swimming to no shore. Who to blame? Every last one of us.

Yes, we have all conspired to murder America.  Some of us from lack of attention/energy, some from a lack of imagination, some from lack of care/empathy. Some from active hatred, and a determined idiocy and bad faith.

We laughed at the Toxic Clown President. It was a carnivalesque entertainment. Good for TV ratings, good for the chattering classes, good for the folks who just didn't give a goddamn. Good for the haters, those who love to divide.

Maybe we thought we were different. We were the Shining City on the Hill. We just lost interest. We grew lazy, indifferent. We neglected Democracy, and Good Government, we didn't value, Responsibility, Integrity, Honesty, Hard Work, Empathy for Others.

We forgot that we are all in this together. America has catered to its wealthy class, and left pretty much everyone else to fend for themselves. It's a sad story. Death of America. We murdered her in her sleep.

The scary, deadly Global Pandemic?! Yes. A wake up call.  No doubt. How to remake society? Reclaim good government? Revitalize Democracy? Here is our chance. The status quo is gone. Normal is no longer normal.

A new day beckons... I wonder if we are smart enough, if we care enough, if we have enough energy, and desire to rebuild, remake, a better union?

The a.m. soundtrack - Dire Straits' - "Making Movies"  (1980). This is my favorite Dire Straits record. It starts with organ and piano, then the rest of the band kicks in and Mark Knopfler's fabulous electric guitar makes its entrance. Knopfler has a sweet touch, his guitar-playing is beautiful, distinctive, indelible. Never overbearing. Solid, distinctive, inventive songs throughout. A tight band. Knopfler's voice is reminiscent of "New Morning era" Dylan. Charismatic, evocative. Plus there's a song about expresso... I mean, shite... it's an all-around fucking killer record.

"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.