Friday Mailbag - 11/20/20
My 3 desert island albums, a new "20 in 20," and more!
Welcome to the Friday Mailbag. What a week. I, for one, am happy it’s the weekend. Not that there’s anywhere to go or anybody to see, but still.
20 in 20 EPISODE SIX is LIVE!
This episode was a fun one to record. I got to share my feelings about Super Glue, Bill Evans, people who throw their used masks on the ground, and Tesla. Please consider listening to 20 in 20 wherever podcasts are sold. You might wanna try Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Buzzsprout.
I’m working on a couple of long stories at the moment, so keep your eyes on your inbox. In the meantime, I’m happy to announce I was named the 2020 Bath & Body Works Writing Fellow. Read the press release here.
AND NOW TO THE MAILBAG…
Loyal N.E.H. reader, Pat (no relation), says:
3 desert island records, go!
Thanks, Pat. This was a fun exercise. You can’t just pick your three favorite albums. You’ve got to consider their replay value, and you need music for every mood. Here’s what I came up with.
The National’s Boxer is a no-brainer for me. It’s my favorite album, and one I’ve only grown to appreciate more over the years. I don’t see myself getting sick of it. It’s got moody ballads, moody rockers, and some of the best moody lyrics ever committed to tape. I anticipate being moody on this desert island. I don’t like heat, I don’t like sand, and frankly, I don’t care that much for islands, either.
I know I’ll be needing an instrumental album wherever it is I’m going, and I’m not talking about Explosions in the Sky. Kind of Blue seems like a safe pick. It’s just so good. You get Miles, Bill, Cannonball, Coltrane, and everybody else. That’s a lot of value in one disc. Can I get a reissue with all the outtakes, or is that cheating?
I don’t think I can survive a desert island without my Joni. I’d take Blue, but I’ve heard it so many times. Ditto Court and Spark. I know I like The Hissing of Summer Lawns, but I also know that there’s still much to discover. It’s more exuberant than her vibey masterpiece, Hejira, and it’s more mature than Ladies of the Canyon (which I also adore). Plus, the session players are monsters. Larry Carlton, John Guerin, Victor Feldman. I could daydream of being in a Los Angeles recording studio, ripped on hashish, in the presence of the greats. I could forget I’m all alone, marooned, with no hope of rescue, just a man with a boombox and his three compact discs. Yeah, I think I’ll take The Hissing of Summer Lawns.
Got a question? Feel free to comment on this post or e-mail me at newexperimentalhours@gmail.com. Thanks!
Wow, that took a lot out of me. Only one mailbag question today, folks. Have a great weekend. Be safe.