Up at 6. Went to Caffe Bene at 8, worked on taxes (complete except for a few details) and revised midterm. Wish my printer worked. Came back and read 20+ p. of W&P and 30 or so of Brecht. Finished McMorris — I didn’t love everything, but there are some very strong poems toward the end (inc. the last, fittingly title “The Last City”) which are sufficient payoff for the graphic conceits of the first half. It’s pretty evident that the “Letters to Michael” are in conversation w/ Palmer, and there’s a similar high-modernist cosmopolitanism to some of MM’s writing, refracted through a post-colonial lens that may be relevant to MP as well, though it’s not how I think of him. Spent the afternoon in Flushing eating dumplings w/ Jenny + Brian and Jean + David + Leonard, and Tomeka Reid, whom I’ll also be seeing in Knoxville next week. Nice, but the walking took a lot out of Bree. Read DeVeaux on the train back, bought a replacement belt at the Banana Republic outlet, spent an hr. or two not doing much, went out to E77, encountered a shockingly good arty jazz quartet led by one Aaron Novik, a bass clarinetist/composer who lives nearby and has a few records, inc. one on Tzadik. Apparently he plays about once a month, but I hadn’t encountered him before. The bassist was Lisa Mezzacappa, whose name I’d heard from Dan Clucas, so I said hi. Also chatted w/ Macgregor. Read to p. 400 or so of DeVeaux, did the Sunday Times puzzle - which I hadn’t in years and was surprised I could complete (I don’t think it was an unusually hard one). Home, wrote to Jenny about 4/15 show, put together dropbox folder of mp3s/charts for the show, mainly so Tom Shad can learn the set.
3/16
Up 8, left around 10 — realized that I hadn’t put any of my current reading in my bag! Went to the Think Coffee on 14th in case I’d left my black notebook there, but no luck. Maybe I should take it as a sign (of?) Worked about 3 hrs on form/harmony section. Too much second-guessing, very little progress. Listened to some solo Craig Taborn on the train, home around 4. Spent 2 hrs. on the phone with Verizon and Lenovo trying to fix Bree’s wi-fi, to no avail; we’ll have to mail it in or take it to a Best Buy. So that was a thrilling way to spend the late afternoon/early evening. Called my uncle Joseph and my dad, worked on my taxes, other domestic tasks/organization. Thoroughly mundane day - even fell of the wagon w/ my reading quotas.
I think I’ve come to a decision to take 2-3 weeks off from the book: I’m spinning my wheels/running on fumes/unfocused, and I’m going to be out of town from 3/20-25 and 3/30-4/7 anyway. It’s possible I could find some time in the 2nd trip to CA, but overall, it is probably better to get everything else done (giving + grading a midterm, my taxes and helping my dad with him, States of Country on the 27th, rehearsing the HH show on 4/15, plus home projects and tasks with/for Bree.
3/15
Up 6, left before 7. Reviewed some proofs for class, read to 350 or so in DeVeaux. Listened (yesterday & today) to the Still/Dawson/Ellington disc, played by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Is there an Ellington Orchestra recording of “Harlem”? Usual prep in office, taught, bite, office hrs — a couple students, and a firedrill. Read McMorris while waiting to go back inside. A sequence of prose poems based on Miro’s etchings of Barcelona after a bombing; and what he left out of them. Headed home at 3:30, just listened to a meh podcast, and napped. Home 5:30, read a bit of the card magic books that arrived yesterday. Went to Laura’s w/ Bree and L.’s friend Rachel and daughter Bella (Jeremy is at SXSW) at about 7:30, ordered in and watched “Co-Op,” the Sondheim/Pennebaker/Company parody from the new season of Documentary Now! A labour of love, and I’m more forgiving of the technical imperfections in the lyrics than Bree. The music by my slight acquaintance Eli Bolin is spot-on. Explained my schedule leading up to States of Country to L. Hung out until 11:30, went to bed shortly after.
3/14
Up from about 3:15-5. At least I did some scheduling and the like. Door handle stuck when I tried to go back to bed - had to get Bree up. Up for good at 7. Wasn’t able to read, for various reasons. Bought a ticket for This Heat on Monday. Left a little after 9. Re-reading a writing productivity book, The Clockwork Muse — weirdly anal in some respects, helpful in others. Listened to the “Catalog” disc of that Peer set — “summer” tunes like “Little Bit of Soul,” “Beach Baby,” and a few Hoagy Carmichael songs (one of Ralph Peer’s important non-country/Latin signings). Went to a Think Coffee near 14th St. E, close to rest of the day’s itinerary. Worked 10-1, happier w/ the 1st 3 grafs of section at least. Pushed ahead a little. Dealt w/ some email, wrote to the band about scheduling rehearsals. Working on getting Dave Schramm to play on 4/15. Went to the Whitney for the Warhol show that’s been up for months, sat through some screen tests (everyone leaves after Edie) and other short films; also passed through a sort of “systems” show w/ Lewitt, a film of a Lucinda Childs/P. Glass piece, and such up against a bunch of recent coding-based video/computer art. (I don’t have a lot to say about visual art, usually. I see it and read about it sometimes.) Bought a small book on Glenn Ligon’s “I Am a Man” work. Could have eaten somewhere, but just went back to Think to recharge the laptop. Band replied about rehearsals - that got done pretty efficiently. Read to 317 in DeVeaux - need to go back to a few of the musical examples. Had intended to go to an acquaintance’s photo opening on 4th St., just not up to it. Home around 7, read W&P (Napoleon leaves Moscow) and Brecht (L.A., Chinese translations). Bree having some computer difficulties that I can’t solve. I may have left a notebook at coffee earlier today (a black one that has felt like a burden, but I guess there’s a little of value in it). Can’t think of anything worth reporting. Lights out 11.
3/13
Up 4-6 am, not doing anything of value. Up for good at 10, coffee, W&P. Finished assembling furniture w/ Bree; listened to last disc of Bebop Spoken Here (title track is a Charlie Barnet vocal novelty with an Emily Post joke). Read some Brecht - the (in)famous L.A. poems - an experience of Southern California rather different than mine, let’s just say. Went to E77 about 3:30, read DeVeaux until a seat at the main table where they allow computers opened up. Desultory work on form, 4-6 (at most). Chatted with MacGregor. Came home — Bob Durkee sent me a record cleaning kit + a t-shirt from the Desolation Center documentary — really nice, owe him one. Worked on organization and new to-do lists in a quasi-GTD vein, 7-9:30. I’m pretty overwhelmed with loose ends. Lights out before 11.