Morning Poems
For the last few days, I’ve been trying to write poems in my notebook as soon as I wake up. I use the words rumbling in my head as I rise, which are often nonsense: a bowl of rice or mayonnaise.
I was inspired by two recent interviews with poet Lemn Sissay. He says that often the poems that resonate the most with people are not the ones he thinks are good.
More than anything, this practice is a nice way to stay off my screens and in my notebook for as long as possible each morning.
Wilco, Cousin
At Take Note, we love all things Wilco and Jeff Tweedy. The crew has a new album out — Cousin. Reviews are mixed from our camp, though time will tell. Ted likes the return to Wilco’s core sound. Adam is still searching for a strong connection point. Pitchfork weighs in with a thoughtful review. A joy of music is, of course, the way our relationship with an album changes over time. I was leafing through a Chuck Klosterman table of contents recently and scanned an essay title that was something like “Why Fans Always Hate Their Favorite Band’s New Album.”
Ted wrote the above and he should be a politician. Perhaps Mayor of Wilcotown. I told him I found the album resistible. “Infinite Surprise” and “Sunlight Ends” both work but I haven’t really made it to the second half, which is an odd thing to say about the new album from your favorite band. Time will probably change my mind and I’ll be happy when it does. Saw Wilco live last week and they were exquisite. In the meantime, I’ll have to find that Klosterman essay Here’s an “art-pop” song I love.
Zadie Smith in Your Ears
In the past month, I have been captivated by Zadie Smith as she drops knowledge and rejects the premise of questions while being interviewed for her new book. You shouldn’t miss these.
October Pods
Episode 185: Adam digs through a bag of stationery from Tokyo’s Ginza Itoya.
Episode 186: Field Notes Birch Edition, Ted on Robert Frost, aforementioned morning poems.
Episode 187: New weird comics and old weird TV. A weird but delightful episode.
Zadie Smith is reading at Inprint on Monday, Nov. 13.
You might want to check out Zadie Smith’s interview with David Runciman on his Past Present Future podcast.