Up 7:30. Went to Café Benne and worked on song parody of “London Calling” for Kristin Thompson’s birthday next weekend. Tried to work on intro for 90 min., felt extremely blocked and self-critical. Went home and waited for Nada Gordon to show up for informal “musical theory.” She was running late and asked us to meet her for Vietnamese food near 74th St. station. So we did. Came back around 3, spent about 2 hrs. talking about scales, chords, and functional harmony, and showing her guitar fingerings. We jumped around a bit, but an “apt pupil.” Left at 6 for Joe’s Pub, to see Pete Galub play in a reconstruction of VU’s Loaded, with a live sketch artist projecting drawings throughout the set. Not sure why, exactly, but it was enjoyable and musically on point. Impressed w/ the bass player, Annie Nero, who also stepped out front for an encore of “After Hours.” Pete sounded great, of course, and sang “Lonesome Cowboy Bill.” Over by 8, so walked up to the Strand, picked up a dollar copy of one of S. Burt’s critical books, Nile Rodgers as-told-to, and a hybrid essay-poem called You, Me, and the Violence that I’d noticed new at Unnameable. Headed home, read Simak on train. Got the daybook in there somewhere. Lights out around 11.
11.25.17
Up in the middle of the night for a while, listened to an Open Culture podcast on AI/Big Data (not really the same thing, as I’ve understood the former…) and some of A-Z playlist before dozing off again. Got up at 7:30, went to Café Benne, read Simak. Daybook. Walked to Langston Hughes Library – following my recent pattern of walking along a bus route but not catching a bus. Worked from just after 10 to 2:30 – pretty good pass at 1,100-word chunk of intro, some writing some revision/editing. Listened to some of Mitch’s rough mixes from last week – I don’t want to get tied to them, and definitely have some non-technical ideas about how the final mixes should go (bring out Pete’s gtr in some places, edit out some overdubs on some sections, etc.), but there’s potential. Walked home w/ headphones: Mistook a Grizzly Bear song for Van Dyke Parks – might have to turn in my card. Came home, rested, read more Simak, listened to a couple of podcasts, made myself unpack/organize/regroup from the weekend. Rented a car for next weekend. Went out again to E77 at 8, had 1 beer, read a few poems in Lauterbach, tried to work on “Viable” lyric while listening to an OK country duo. Back around 10, went to bed shortly after.
[Aretha Franklin, “All The Kings Horses” to Billy Bragg & Wilco “All You Fascists”]
11.24.17
Got up around 9:30, basically just hung around the house with J&B. More Amy Sedaris + some of the bizarre Tim and Eric courtroom-drama miniseries about a disastrous music festival in San Bernardino, with Greg Turkington. Kyle needs to see this. Played a couple of the rough mixes, which made me anxious, had lunch, and took the train home, chatted w/ Bree. Got back about 5, went to E77 from 6-8 to do email, etc. Daybook, read first few poems in Ann Lauterbach, Under the Sign. Travel exhaustion hit me pretty quickly once I got home – did some minimal tidying and unpacking, got into bed around 9:30 and read a chunk of Clifford D. Simak, Project Pope. Asleep around 10.
11.23.17
Woke up at 6:30 – missed flight. Saw that I had hit snooze…it happens. Don’t really need to recount a complicated airport day, but I got a later flight out of Greenpoint. Finished the EMP proposal ratings and sent them to Eric W. while waiting to board, and the Ellington book during the flight. Landed at Newark at 2:30, found a livery car, made it to Jenny’s brother’s place in Larchmont for Thanksgiving by 4. This is where Bree and I have gone for the last several years, and they’re kind to invite us. Played some piano for sing-alongs after dinner. “A Spoonful of Sugar” is a perennial. Went home to Jenny and Brian’s around 9, watched an episode of At Home with Amy Sedaris, went to bed.
[The Shop Assistants, “All That Ever Mattered” to Howard Crockett, “All of the Good Times are Gone”]
11.22.17
In and out of bed all night. Got up for good around 7, listened to some of Mal Waldron’s Meditations. Left about 9, went to a breakfast/coffee place in Winston-Salem, only stayed about 30 min. Checked out the other branch of McKay Books, picked up Peter Doggett’s Electric Shock, a Leslie Scalapino collection, and O’Jays and Aretha CDs. Listened to Mary Timony’s Ex Hex (her last solo album before forming the band of same name, very good and ignored at the time) and some of a Latin jazz CD I’d bought from the artists at Le Terraza a while back. Got back around 1, finished lyrics to “Sad and Afraid” (which I’d been thinking about off and on while out), went in to the studio, practiced it while Mitch comped, recorded it in 2 piano/vocal takes around 3 pm. Edited those into an acceptable comp, talked for a while and let him get back to work. Went to dinner at the nearby Mexican place around 7, came back, looked back in at 9, played piano aimlessly for an hr., paid Mitch, made arrangements to pick up the drive tomorrow, went to bed at 10 or 11.