Good morning.
November has flown by. Probably because I was very busy at work (in this instance, not a good thing—there’s plenty of articles and posts you can read to understand why) and extremely busy in my personal life. Nothing too exciting: simply all the things that come with life progressing and all the to-dos that come with starting to construct a life in a new place in order to see if you even like living in that new place.
Here’s a few things that happened this month:
My fiance and I bought a car. The second car I’ve ever bought and the first one since I was seventeen. I’m still getting comfortable driving again almost every day after 15 years of barely having to drive at all.
We moved into our new apartment. We live on the entire second floor of a large old house in Central Austin. We have a screened-in porch with a fan. We can walk to a park, a grocery store, an ice cream shop, and some restaurants and bars. Life is pretty good.
We also bought, picked up, and moved in a ton of second-hand furniture. Turns out when you sell most of the furniture you own, getting new things is a lot of work!
We made our holiday travel plans to visit my family on Long Island and then have an extended stay in New York.
We did not make any attempt to start planning our wedding.
It was one of those months where every second of the day outside of work was spent working toward something: negotiating with a car dealership, applying for car financing, unpacking boxes, staring at different dressers and nightstands and couches on Facebook Marketplace, changing addresses and setting up new accounts on digital forms.
It was one of those months where you are astonished by all of the little steps and details that make up life and have admiration for how so many people in your life have done these things and so many more with grace. At least that is if you are like me: slow-witted and lacking any imagination or common sense.
After living in New York for 15 years, I realize how, in so many ways, I allowed my life to become very small and oriented in a particular way. I was very used to that life and, whether or not I remain in Austin for more than a full year, I’m glad that I’ve been able to at least experience these changes in how I live each day.
Here’s another playlist of music I listened to in November, accompanied again by some commentary that I hope you enjoy or at least find amusing.
See you next time.
“Out of the Blue” by Julian Casablancas - This album always reminds me of November. Probably because it came out in November 2009. Walking around New York in the blustery cold of November 2009 and listening to this album and feeling the way I did about the Strokes and music and life seems so incredibly far away. You could’ve told me it happened to someone else in another century and I’d believe you.
“I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters - This song came on in a busy brunch place and everyone working the line started dancing. There is an immense power in this song. When I was a kid, this was one of those songs that was kind of like the sidewalk—it was just a thing that was there that did the job it was supposed to. Boy, does this song do the job. This is a perfect song and I took it for granted for too long.
“November” by Tyler the Creator - A moody, meandering song. At moments you feel like you could listen to it forever and then you want it to stop immediately. Disjointed—the same way November is.
“The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon - We all have our own relationship with Paul Simon and his music. One of the sustaining memories of my life is going over to my friend Erik’s house after school and him greeting me at the door and having Graceland playing. Simon’s self-titled solo album was a beacon for me at times in my twenties. I listened to his latest miracle of a record in the scorching heat on a morning walk this past July. But this is the song of his I listen to the most these days for whatever reason.
“Break It Down Again” by Tears for Fears - Heard this one in an antique shop one day while my fiance and I were shopping for furniture. We all don’t appreciate Tears for Fears and what they did for us probably as much as we should.
“Our House” by Madness - This song popped up on the radio a couple times, while I was getting a haircut, and while I was in a coffee shop. Moved into a new apartment. It all makes sense.
“She’s My Baby” by Wings - One of the rewards of being a Paul McCartney fan is realizing how many small gifts he’s given the entire world throughout his career. A silly little love song with an incredible groove.
“Another Nail In My Heart” by Squeeze - Some days I imagine I’m a guy who’s about 20 or 22 in about 1986 who knows John Lennon’s solo work better than the Beatles and who loves Squeeze and Elvis Costello more than them too. That would’ve been a different kind of life.
“World Where You Live” by Crowded House - As you can tell, I ended up listening to a lot of sophisticated pop from the 1980s in November. God, what an album this is. What a song. Makes you feel lucky to be alive.
“Pulling Down the Moon (Before You)” by Wild Nothing - I read about this album on AllMusic.com. This album was released this year but sounds like a record from 1986-1989. This could’ve been a Tears for Fears song.
“Another good year for the roses” by Kurt Vile - I used to follow Kurt Vile’s career closely, now I’m surprised whenever I hear that I missed a new album. That has more to do with me than it does with ol’ Kurt because he’s still doing his thing just as well as ever. I could listen to this song every day for at least a year.
“Breakdown” by Tom Petty - Last month I celebrated a Tom Petty deep cut. This month I just tip my hat to this one. Heard it one night while I was driving and it was the perfect song to hear at that exact moment. I guess this song is a “mood” as they say.
“Time Passages” by Al Stewart - I love this song. My friends and I sing snippets of it to each other and share them as voice memos. And then sometimes I think of a crisp but warm Thanksgiving morning when I was 16. One of my best friends and I went for a drive—he’d just gotten his license. We sat on the grass behind our junior high school and smoked pot together before going to our respective Thanksgivings. Time passages, I know you’re in there you’re just out of sight. You said it, Al.
“Chateau (Feel Alright)” by Djo - Another one I heard out in the world. I think it was at a restaurant. I don’t know anything about Djo and haven’t done any research. Was just a nice song to hear at that moment.
“Moonlight Feels Right” by Starbuck - I heard this in an antique store and thought it was Liam Hayes/Plush. Turns out it was Starbuck! I have no who was in the band Starbuck or what they or their spouses were like, but this song kind of feels like holding your hand out the window and letting it roll with the wind.
“Bleed Forever” by Super Furry Animals - I was going to put “Frequency” from the album Love Kraft here but it got pulled from Spotify for some reason! Sign of the times, I suppose. What a gift this band was. Creative and restless and always willing to put something weird right next to something incredibly beautiful. This is a melancholy song that felt right in November.
“Cooking Up Something Good” by Mac DeMarco - A nice little Mac DeMarco song that has the word “cooking” in the title. He writes lots of nice little songs.
“Phantom Limb” by The Shins - I’d completely forgotten that this song existed. Say what you will about whatever you want, but if you say you’ve never liked at least one Shins song you’re lying to yourself.
“Pieholden Suite” by Wilco - One of my favorite Wilco songs of all time. It has the word “pie” in the title and sounds just as good as ever. I skimmed Jeff Tweedy’s new book in a bookstore in November. Don’t get suckered in by the concept, he writes like two short pages each about all his favorite songs.
“Real Love” by The Beatles - A “new” “Beatles” song came out in the year 2023. Kind of amazing to hear “Now and Then” on the radio every time I was in the car in November. But this remains the best of the Beatles songs released after John’s death.
“The Very Thought Of You” by Nat King Cole - This song plays at the end of the movie Home for the Holidays (1995). It plays during a montage of memories that were never caught on camera to hammer home the point that your life is made up of moments that you might miss if you aren’t paying attention. A little on the nose, but gets me every time. One of those ghostly beautiful songs that will haunt and move us forever like “Old Cape Cod” by Patti Page.