I’m writing two stories for the Citizen Patriot this week. Both will concern pretty mundane material; Monday’s is the Vandercook Lake school boards’ monthly meeting, and Tuesday’s is the Springport Village policy meeting. I’ll post them, of course, when they’re published.
It’s nice to get some writing in, even if it’s freelancing. Looking at the Collegian Writers Blog inspires jealousy of the friends who are spending their summers writing, and I’d almost kill a man to get out of Lansing for a while, but staying in town has its advantages, too. I know all the record stores here, the bookstores and the coffee shops and restaurants. I have a close-knit group of friends that I don’t see very often. I have grandparents and cousins whom I treasure. And I don’t pay for food or rent, which means saving a lot more money and buying a lot more records.
Speaking of which, I finally received my copy of Wilco’s new record, “Sky Blue Sky,” this past week. I ordered the LP online rather than buying the CD on the day of its release, and it was worth the wait and the extra cash spent. Wilco traditionally produces extremely high-quality vinyl copies of their records, and the packaging is equally satisfying. This one’s no exception.
I’ve listened to it four or five times so far. The melodies are strong, of course, but I’ve been more interested in the instruments’ interaction and the harmonies and the production. Jim O’Rourke had no involvement in this one, and his absence is easy to detect. I’m not ready to call this a soul record, as many others have, but excepting Nels’ brilliant soloing, it’s certainly less discordant and noisy than the last couple have been.
It’ll be playing on repeat for the next couple weeks. Their previous records have settled comfortably into the crooks and corners of my mind with no conscious effort from me. I’m betting this one will be a pretty big part of my life by the end of the summer, and will remain that way for a long, long time.
