It’s all in the background.  In Jo Ann Beard’s 1998 memoir The Boys of My Youth, pristine physical descriptions and a wry sense of humor sit up front. Her writing is a virtuosic display of wit and attentiveness—a figure skater…
Painting above by Agnus Martin This essay goes deeper into the ideas covered by my most recent musical release Salt. You can listen to it here. “Come on down and claim your prize/ It’s nothing like they advertise.†— John…
Note: This essay is a companion piece to the new live recording of my song “Softer†– available now. My relationship with my mother has never been stable. I understand she loves me, but I have never felt that she…
“At sundown it feels like I’m riding a train I’m not onâ€Â These are the first words we hear from Craig Finn, incanting the phrase twice above pulsating synthesizers and acoustic guitar as the band opens Messing With The Settings….
The tymbals of cicadas can still be heard, filling fading heat with their static. Gradually, you begin to see them too. Tepidly at first, then, in abundance as September’s cooling hands ease in. They sit motionless, fossilizing on sidewalks, in…