friday random elevenish: “comfort in routine” edition
After being in “social distancing” mode for two weeks or so now, it’s weird that all this is starting to feel, well…if not normal, then at least kind of routine. We’re starting to develop patterns and habits, and for someone like me with obsessive/compulsive tendencies, regularity is comforting on a base, lizard-brain level (though that could also be the Xanax I’m taking a little more regularly). Not that my pattern is always healthy; nearly everyone I know is drinking way more than is necessarily good for us long-term, but while I think this is going to go on longer than a lot of people expects (personally, I expect to be an Artist-in-Residence* until at least the end of May), it’s not going to be forever.
When I do venture out, people are, for the most part, participating in the current rules of the social contract, which is encouraging. People appear to be hoarding less at the grocery store and maintaining their bubbles of space, and are generally kind of pleasant and making the best of it. Wednesday afternoon I popped out to Castleburg to pick up my weekly supply (#supportyourlocal, folks), my friend the brewmaster was in much better spirits than when I saw him last week; he’s got his online ordering system up and running, and it’s showing promise; enough to spark some cautious optimism that we’ll all survive this. It was very nice to see.
The kids, now that all three of them have officially gone online-only or whatever for the rest of the school year, are developing a routine (in spite of the struggle to get them out of bed), and experiencing the same sort of joy that I am with conference calls and online collaboration tools, which is kind of entertaining to watch. My lovely spouse has, I think, largely gotten through the frustration of having so many more bodies in “her” space all the time, though is currently dealing with more serious than usual allergies; if she accompanies me on errands to get out of the house for a change of scenery, she tends to stay in the car, for fear of her cough (productive, not dry) will have her mistaken for Patient Zero™ and causing tension or some sort of scene.
Part of what’s got me feeling a little better, I think, is making a conscious effort to keep my distance from the news. I get my headlines from NPR on the morning commute, and scan a few other outlets daily, but other than that, I just step away. I’ve taken to audiobooks or the local independent music radio station or Spotify in the car, and it’s making me feel better. I’m well aware the executive branch is making a hash of it and sending the wrong messages (see the last post of mine – those anger-sparking talking points have only increased), though I think the Senate relief bill, should it get through the House (and I expect it will – I like imagine Liz Warren backing McConnell into a corner and browbeating him into submission -all while maintaining proper social distance – to get those controls on business aid and those unemployment insurance concessions included), is going to help to temper a lot of folks’ anxiety at least a little bit.
That’s the other thing that’s starting to make me feel a little less despondent; it feels like this pandemic, by showing how unprepared we were to deal with it, is going to usher in some serious re-conceptualizing of the role of government in people’s lives, and it has the potential to lead to some serious structural change. I’m not sure what it’s going to look like in the end, but it’s already looking like people are willing to consider something other than the unfettered free-market capitalism that’s been the norm since the Reagan era. Ideas like UBI and serious student loan forgiveness are being talked about as more than just leftist dreams today. People are beginning to realize that the commercial sector isn’t looking out for anybody but it’s shareholders, and that it takes us all coming together under the auspices of government looking out for the good of society at large to weather crises like this one. I’m starting to get visions of the New Deal rather than Hoovervilles, and I hope those feelings continue.
Nothing planned for the weekend, other than sheltering in place (what else are we going to do). Might do a short live-stream at some point (if interested, keep an eye on social media), and have been considering the possibilities of the gigantic half pork loin I’ve had defrosting for a couple of days.
Anyway – tunes. Lots and lots of power pop here, though it kicks off with a track from my favorite Patty Griffin record (which swung way more into the electric pop realm than her other, also excellent, folky stuff), another favorite, if obscure, tune in there at #11, and refreshingly, at #9, a Knack song that isn’t “My Sharona.”
I swear, if I hear another person thinking they are the next musical comedy genius by coming up with a parody titled “My Corona” and sincerly believing they are the only one…ugh.
- “One Big Love” – Patty Griffin
- “(I’d Go The) Whole Wide World” – The Monkees
- “Germ Free Adolescents” – X-Ray Spex
- “On A Rope” – Rocket from the Crypt
- “Now It’s On” – Grandaddy
- “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” – Buzzcocks
- “All My Ghosts” – Frank Black & The Catholics
- “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time” – Marshall Crenshaw and the Handsome, Ruthless & Stupid Band
- “Good Girls Don’t” – The Knack
- “Soundtrack to Mary” – Soul Coughing
- “Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones
- “Shake Some Action” – Flamin’ Groovies
- “Indian Summer” – Beat Happening
- “For Nancy (Cos It Already Is)” – Pete Yorn
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* – Doesn’t that sound much more pleasant than “Under Quarantine”? I won’t take credit for it (it’s just a meme going around in my musician/artist circles online), but that’s not going to stop me from using it.
