It’s been three weeks since two strangers dragged a stationary bike into our apartment, assembled it, and left. The reaction of Peloton owners when we told them about our Peloton purchase was a joy that lived in the realm between “You’re Engaged” and “Our Cult has Another Member!”
Read MoreAnother week in the books. I played some golf, enjoyed short rib grilled cheese and lemonade, finished a book, and listened to some new disco music. I also wrote a mini-mailbag.
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Photo by Rebecca Freeman on Unsplash
It feels as if we’re in the midst of a massive “Marshmallow Test.” The famous test offered children a choice: eat one marshmallow now or wait and get two marshmallows later. Each child was left alone with the tempting marshmallow to make their own decision. Some kids ate the marshmallow and some waited.
In our case, one marshmallow is the choice to stay home now and delay the temptation. Avoid taking advantage of quiet bars and restaurants (if they’re open at all) and leaving the house for the sake of leaving the house because we just can’t take it anymore. It might feel good to make frivolous trips to various locations (I need MORE toilet paper!!!) or to hang out with groups of friends because, well, there’s nothing else to do!
If we all avoid eating the marshmallow, we’ll all get out of this situation much faster. We’ll all be able to return to work and our normal routine. We’ll lighten the load of those people who are going to work in hospitals right now, too.
However, if more and more of us decide to eat the first marshmallow (like those Spring Breakers down in Florida), we won’t return to some semblance of normal for quite a while. No sports, no restaurants, no concerts, no parties with friends. No summer.
We’ve been cooped up for six days in our place. It’s maddening, for sure. Tiff and I spend most of our days in the house working from home. But the lack of freedom mixed with the constant static of news and fear has distracted me more than ever. I find myself worried about the health of my family and also the health of our economy.
For the sake of everyone, leave that marshmallow on the table. It will help us all get two marshmallows much faster.
The Dawn Wall: If you’re itching for the great outdoors while cooped up inside for most hours of the day, The Dawn Wall should be on your watch list. The documentary is about two men, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, who decide they want to free-climb the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. People have climbed various sections of El Capitan over the years, but The Dawn Wall has never been scaled because it’s so hard. The climb was broken into 32 pitches that are around 150 feet each. They climb in tandem, alternating turns. If one of them falls, they go back to the start and rest while the other tries the pitch. I started the movie not realizing that the climbers would be living on the wall for more than two weeks, sleeping in port-a-ledges, which are basically tents you hook into the wall (and my personal nightmare) The story is inspiring, especially in our current time. Tommy and Kevin supported each other and met immense challenge on the wall. The perseverance and grit required is immeasurable.
Paddy Whacked by T.J. English: This book covers the underworld of Irish-American mobsters over the last 160 years. It’s well-researched and, even with the horrible topic, an enjoyable read. Some of the characters and stories take place in my backyard and surrounding areas, but they stretch to New York (duh, Chicago (double duh), and New Orleans (who knew?). There’s a riveting section about John F. Kennedy and his family’s connection to bootlegging and the mafia which blew my mind. Amazon
The Hare’s Lament by Ye Vagabonds: My brother sent me these guys on St. Patrick’s Day, and I played it through three times over the course of the day. It’s a really excellent album. The two guys harmonize beautifully and some songs are sung in Irish.
Outback Steakhouse: Before quarantining ourselves, we went to Outback Steakhouse on Saturday afternoon. I have no memory of going to an Outback in my life. It was good! I ordered a NY Strip Steak (when in Rome…) and a baked sweet potato. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and am sobered by the fact that it might be the last meal in a restaurant for a very long time.
St. Patricks’s Day Guinness: It wasn’t poured from a tap, it wasn’t in the proper glass. But it was still a Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day. That’s enough for me.
I’m betting you’ve all seen the penguins wander the aquarium (hilarious). Here’s a clip of Boston Celtic Grant Williams compare his teammates to the members of the Tune Squad.
.@Grant2Will is making great use of his time right now with these Looney Tunes comparisons. We can all learn from him. pic.twitter.com/xC7ixSLf7N
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) March 14, 2020
The Random Division: Tiff and I took this week off from podcasting, but if you’re looking for some good listening material that might help you pass the time while you’re hanging out at home, check out our “Best of the Decade” Series. Our TV episode is embedded below!
Also, take the time now to follow us on Instagram: TheRandomDivisionPod
We’d also love it if you wrote a review or ranked our podcast on iTunes (you know you have two minutes to spare…)
The Imperfect Game: This week’s pod covers the five best games that our Past and Present Series teams have played in. We dug through a combined 1000 years of history to pick our favorites. Both picks his five and I pick my five. If you want some videos to highlight some of the games, click on “The Imperfect Game” above. The show notes have clips from the games embedded! Nothing like watching men warm-up in 1966 before an FA Cup Final.
Head over to iTunes and give this one a rating and ranking, too (I know you have two MORE minutes to spare…)
St. Patrick's Day has been a day of drinking and fun and over time has made me realize I'm getting older. It's also made me stop and reflect on the year, my heritage, and the people who love a good sing-a-long.
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Our record player sits in plain sight next to our TV. It rests quietly as we play music or podcasts through Spotify on wireless speakers. It is, mainly, a conversation piece, getting played every now and then when I’m tired of the same old stuff on my streaming service or I can’t watch any more TV or I’d just like to sit and listen while I read.
The funny thing about so many of my listening habits now-a-days is the bottomless pit of sounds we can access and the ease at which they can continue to play. I sat in a coffeeshop this morning, typing away with a piano “focus mix” ringing through my ears. It was delightful. It dulled the bustle of the coffeeshop, but still allowed me to be present in that space. I could still hear baristas calling out the names of customers ( I’m blown away by the amount of Seans in Charlestown. I probably shouldn’t be, huh?). When I deemed my work done, or my time up given all I bought was a hot coffee, I closed my laptop, shoved it in my bag, and wandered down the road back home. All the while, artists tickled the ivories in my ears. I barely noticed they were there, but the music continued. If I wanted, I could have bathed in piano noise all day without ever having to even think about making a choice. Spotify would make the choices for me.
This feels like the sonic equivalent of scrolling through the endless feeds of Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. I pull out my phone in public as a reflex when I am alone and I’m trying to distract from being alone. My wife goes to the restroom and my thoughts go to “what’s happening everywhere else.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction. There’s a game on and I want to check the scores. I posted something I want to see if people reacted to it (they probably didn’t…). Did someone text me?
When I push that impulse aside and just sit, I feel ridiculous, but that’s fine. It’s how we’re supposed to feel surrounded by strangers in public, right?. I’m self conscious so I assume someone is nitpicking something I’m doing. Am I eating in a weird way? Probably. Am I looking at the TVs too intensely? Most likely.
Last evening I was home alone, Tiff was off at a work thing (that’s what we all call them right? “Work Things.”) and I had grown tired of looking at my computer and my phone. Even the process of finding something to listen to has turned into a Netflix-ian task, scrolling and searching for that perfect thing to watch. I decided it was time to use the record player. I sifted through my choices (my beautiful, limited, personally procured choices!) and went with Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. It was an Irish kind of night, misty and the air seemed to have grown its teeth for the upcoming winter. In continuing with the Irish theme, I opened up my newest book, The Witch Elm by Tana French (she’s Irish…). I sat on the couch and started reading, Van Morrison in the background, replacing the pianos from earlier.
As I was sucked into the first pages of The Witch Elm, the music faded away, just a low hum. I’d venture to say the feeling of getting lost in social media is the 3rd cousin of getting lost in a book. I felt warm and relaxed, it was splendid. It struck me after a while that the apartment was completely silent. No Van Morrison through the speakers anymore, the first side of the record was done and the needle had retreated to its home. There was no “Van Morrison radio” to continue the tunes. If I wanted more music, I had to get off my butt and flip the record. I thought about it and decided to sit in the silence and continue reading.
That accidental silence made me realize how much sound I have in my life and how easy it is to fall into the trap of constantly listening to things over the course of a day. The peace and quiet that came between the two sides of Astral Weeks was, in some respects, part of the album itself. It creates a break in the action, and as the listener, we can decide how long we want that silence to last. If you’re dialed into the album and listening intently, you might change it immediately. If you’ve found yourself invested in something else, you might accidentally enjoy the unintended quiet that exists between those two sides of a record.
My experience with Van Morrison might begin to make our TV a tad jealous, as it sits blankly next to that old fashioned tool that offers two options: music or silence.
Open Houses: I moved into my apartment in December of 2009. Over that decade (where did the time go?!?) I’ve dreamed of moving far away (this usually happens while I’m shoveling out my car or standing outside during a recess duty in subzero temps). This past Sunday, Tiff and I, along with another couple, decided to hit up some open houses in our neighborhood. While a move within our little neighborhood wouldn’t solve my seasonal depression, it is fun to wander through other homes to nitpick, oggle, and check out roof decks with the understanding that there’s no way, even with our four bank accounts, that we could afford them.
As the lone non-midwesterner in our group of Open House crashers, there is also the required comparison of house prices in Boston to Ohio or Michigan (We could buy a five bedroom on 35 acres for this much!). We left the second Open House last week and already promised to do it again soon.
Sturgill Simpson’s Sound and Fury: This album is unlike anything I’ve listened to in a very long time. It’s amazing. There are so many great songs and Simpson tries a bunch of new stuff on here, he sounds like The Black Keys (“Sing Along”) and then dips his toes into funk/disco (“A Good Look”) and then you’re listening to another song where he’s back to his country roots (the first ten seconds even has Alex Jones as a radio skims through stations). In the wrong hands, those sounds can just be distracting and annoying, luckily Simpson is the perfect guy to handle it. There’s also a Netflix special (or extended music video) to go along with the album.
Diego Maradona Documentary: I double dog dare you to watch the first four minutes of this new HBO documentary and decide to stop watching. Yes, it’s about soccer, but the story runs so much deeper. It tackles racism, drugs, sex, poverty, nationalism, regionalism (is that a thing?), loyalty, and fanaticism. I knew how incredible Maradona was in his prime, but I wasn’t old enough to really watch him. I only got to see the fallout of his drug abuse and then his brief return to the game as a manager.
The documentary is all old footage. No cut aways to talking head interviews; any interviews they do have are just voiced over the footage. The soundtrack is superb. If you think sports fans in America are insane, just watch the reactions Maradona gets in Naples, both as a Napoli superstar and as the Argentinian villain during World Cup ‘90 when he beats Italy (in Napoli’s stadium) in the semi-final. I’m getting goosebumps just writing about it…
Brian Phillips at The Ringer wrote a piece about Maradona that’s worth a read, too.
Tourist Sauce in Ireland: I’ve written about these guys before. They just released the first episode of their golf trip to Ireland.
Range by David Epstein: I wrote about this book on Wednesday. You can read about it here. It’s an excellent, quick, thought-provoking read about generalists who tend to find their way to prominent roles due to their lack of specialization. It’s a book about having a wide range of perspective, both within individuals but also within groups of people, to solve problems creatively.
One anecdote that I didn’t write about in my Book Club post: In an experiment that Epstein found, the majority of people would not read an article that presented an opposing view of a personal opinion they held, even though they would have been paid to read the article.
If that doesn’t sum up where our country is right now, I’m not sure what does.
Oatmeal: On Thursday in Boston the high temperature did not exceed 60 degrees. This feels like the right temperature for a few things that people have jumped the gun on around here: vests, aggressive fleece, winter hats, and pumpkin flavored things (more on that in a moment). Oatmeal is one of those fall/winter breakfasts that I find myself really enjoying. Usually, it is a weekend affair; now that I am not running off to work with a cup of coffee and banana for breakfast, I have started to have oatmeal during the week as I settle into my morning work-from-home routine. A little brown sugar and cinnamon, along with a cut up banana (fruit flies be damned!) is a great way to start the day.
Noosa Pumpkin Yoghurt: During my trip to Wegman’s on Monday I stumbled upon this seasonal flavor and couldn’t turn it down. I was intrigued. I love Noosa Yoghurt anyway, so I didn’t feel like I was taking too big of a risk. This stuff is delicious, even though it is a little decadent. A couple spoonfuls is really all you need. Some creatives could find use for this delicious yogurt in some deserts or smoothies.
Tea: With Sober September over, I am left with a new habit that is dying hard, a cup of tea at the end of the night. This is one of those moments where I realize I am turning into my parents (My mom sticks three tea bags into her tea pot in the morning and just fills it up throughout the day, ultimately drinking hot water at the end of the night). The tea provides a good filler for my night time drinking (along with a Tim Tam or two…) instead of a whiskey (this is where I begin to sound and feel like an alcoholic.). It also helps me sleep, rather than the opposite.
At some point this winter a Hot Toddy will be on this blog, but until then, just the tea, please!
The Random Division Pod: Tiff and I wrapped up the first season of our podcast by planning a Bachelor in Paradise dinner party. Our guests were picked from the cast of Bachelor in Paradise, and we whittled it down to 6 guests that we both agreed on. Season 2 on The Random Division will be a series of podcasts focusing on the past decade of pop culture and entertainment.
The Imperfect Game Pod: I had Matt P. on to talk about the upcoming NBA. We dive into how stars are covered and treated by the media, and then dive into some team talk. Blazer, Clippers, and Lakers take up most of our time.
Cleaning out my Kyrie Irving Closet: I watched and then reacted to Kyrie’s first press conference. Full disclosure, I reacted to it like a crazy 1980s Italian soccer fan…
Taylor Swift has been back in our life all summer. She dropped a few singles, some were good, some were “meh.” This past Friday, she shared the rest of her album, “Lover” with us. Taylor Swift is one of the few artists that I will go out of my way to listen to when a new album is released. I have given it a few listens, both as background music and while I’ve been focused; I decided to sit and listen to each song again and write about each song and rank it on the binary scale.
If I like the song, it gets a “1.” If I don’t like it, it gets a big fat “0.”
Here goes:
Well, we’re right out of the gates with a quick-hitting, short, to the point, bitter sounding Taylor song. Kind of on brand for T. Swift. Someone pissed her off and now she has moved on so swimmingly that she forgot that this person existed. Given the title of the entire album, this is an appropriate song. It sounds like she is really just reading a letter that she wrote to someone. She sprinkles in her trademark giggle at the ridiculousness of this entire situation.
I actually don’t mind the beat of the song, it’s catchy and summer’y, which is nice with all this Pumpkin Spice Latte nonsense that has invaded our lives this past week. However, the beat doesn’t help me get past that these are the types of songs that I don’t like from T. Swift.
Rating: 0
I thought this might be a cover of the incredible 80’s song by Bananarama, which made me very excited. It also forced me to have to like this song a bit more than I think I would have if it had a different title.
There are multiple moments when I am not sure if Swift does stuff in her songs (or writes entire songs) with her tongue firmly placed in her cheek. One of those moments is in this song when she delivers some lines with an intonation that mimics Cardi B where her voice goes way up in order to make lines rhyme. It happens at the 20 second mark with, “Devils roll the dice/Angels roll their eyes” which isn’t a bad set of lines.
This song has grown on me with multiple listens.
Rating: 1
My wife and I have talked about when Swift might go back to the country side of things. This song feels like the closest she has come in the last few albums. It’s loaded with cliches, as country songs tend to be. As I type this, the song is playing and I just don’t like it. I was underwhelmed when I heard it the first time as a single, maybe because it didn’t fit the sound of a summer single from Swift.
I just don’t really like the sound and I think after the first two songs on the album it feels a bit out of place.
Rating: 0
This song feels like a third rail for any man to write about… I rolled my eyes on my first listen to “The Man”, but I did get a kick out of the Leo DiCaprio dig she slips in. However, it’s very much on the nose without any nuance in the writing (“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can/Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man” “If I was a man/then I’d be the man”). Maybe that’s what she was going for, to make guys feel uncomfortable or roll their eyes. I
The one saving grace for this song, is that it has a little bit of Haim in the sound. If you don’t know Haim, you should.
Rating: 0
Now we’re at the point of the album where it’s starting to feel like it doesn’t have a steady, stable sound. Nothing to really grab onto and feel grounded. “The Archer” builds slowly and solidly but then never fully crescendos into a final climax. I like the message of the the song, Swift is dealing with being “the archer and the prey” a fair point that no one could argue. I appreciate the honestly of the song.
Rating: 1’
If “The Archer” left me wondering what this album is all about, I Think He Knows opens the door to a new section of Lover.
This is the first song that really made me stop and pay attention. From the line, “He’s got that boyish look I like in a man” delivered very quickly, to the chorus that comes out of nowhere and is super fun and upbeat, “He’s got my heartbeat skipping down 16th avenue” this song belongs on summer playlists this Labor Day Weekend.
Rating: 1
Here’s our “Taylor Swift goes for the Lorde sound” song. It’s bit gritty, with a haunting harmony; lines like “It’s you and me that’s my whole world/ they whisper in the hallway she’s a bad bad girl” feels like a grab at the younger audience that she might be losing to Lorde and Billie Eilish.
Rating: 0
If “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Price” was a grab at Lorde, “Paper Rings” is a grab at the old Taylor Swift, the one from Fearless, particularly the chorus, “I love shining things/but I’d marry you with paper rings.” Swift might admit to us that she is rapping in the verses of this tune, and I think it works.
This song grew on me. It’s fun and a small homage to the old Taylor Swift, who can’t love that?
Rating: 1
Good golly this is a great song. Another one that grabbed me the first time I listened to it. Before I did any research on the song I would have thought that Ed Sheeran wrote this one or at least had his hand in some of the lyrics, but it turns out Swift wrote this one all on her own (“Lover” and “Daylight” are the other two with that distinction).
I’m a sucker for songs that drip nostalgia, and this one does that for me. Lines like, “I get mystified by how this city screams your name” and “I hope I never lose you/I’d never walk Cornelia Street again.” I also really like the beat, a constant synth sound. It’s also one of those songs that makes Swift sound like herself.
Rating: 1
Starting with “I Think He Knows” we are treated to some very solid songs. “Death by a Thousand Cuts” is one of the ones that I’m not crazy about in this stretch. I mean, it’s fine but it doesn’t hold up against “Paper Rings” and “Cornelia Street” and it also is followed by another fun song in “London Boy.”
Rating: 0
Swift dips into the mid-2000s song ploy of referencing places in a city to connect with the listeners. In “London Boy” she sings about Camden Market, Highgate, West End, Brixton, Shoreditch, and tosses around the word “fancy” with reckless abandon. It’s a catchy tune and worthy of the Summer BBQ playlist.
Rating: 1
The Dixie Chicks are back! Leave it to Swift to give them a shot; I love it. This is a sad, sad song. Given the content and context, I can relate to it having had both parents battle cancer and losing my dad five years ago to the damned disease.
Here’s what Swift had to say on YouTube about it (credit Elle.com):
"There’s a song called 'Soon You’ll Get Better' that was really, really hard to write. and it was a family decision to even put on the album, and I think songs like that that are really hard for you to write emotionally, maybe they’re hard to write and hard to sing because they’re really true. We as a family decided to put this on the album. It’s something I’m so proud of. I can’t sing it. It’s hard to emotionally deal with that song. You’ll understand what I mean in a couple of hours."
Rating: 1
A super chill song that I like, but I don’t know why. it’s got a little Drake sprinkled in, both in the delivery and the music.
We’re also at the point where we have to realize that this album has 18 songs; we’re in the home stretch…
Rating 1:
The single that gained the most attention by a mile. I like this one, the video is fun, even though there are some issues with the messaging; Swift’s effort to come across as an ally is a tad too much on the nose, especially while she is also unpacking her beef with Katy Perry.
Rating: 1
An apology song? From T. Swift?
Whoa… okay. “Hey, it’s on me, just don’t go/meet me in the afterglow.”
I’m on the fence with this one. I think the chorus puts it over the top, though. Another moment where it just feels like Swift gets to sing without anything being contrived.
Rating: 1
Another tongue in cheek moment with a sprinkle of the Fearless album in there. The drum line brings us all to high school football games, the duet with Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco gives this one a different sound.
I find it curious that Swift buried some of her singles deep in the album. This was her first single from “Lover” and I didn’t like it much as a stand alone song. I think it’s a bit better within the album after listening to fifteen songs before it. Sadly, it’s just not a song I really like. This time as I sit on the fence, I fall on the zero side…
Rating: 0
Taylor’s making a friend at school to the sound of steel drums and maybe some sort of marimba and a horn tossed in for good measure. This song is clever, as it is written and performed like something a group of first graders might sing at a recital. The lines are choppy, the music is simple, and I can picture a music teacher at the front of the stage mouthing the words to the kids. Obviously, the words are a tad too mature, which also makes the song interesting to a degree. It’s a quick one, only 2:30 on the clock.
Rating: 1
The final song of the album, written by Swift on her own, doesn’t actually sound like her. It’s kind of strange, but we are reminded that it is indeed a Taylor Swift song when it finishes with a recorded quote from the singer.
The song fits with the end of an album, hopeful and reflective: “You gotta step into the daylight and let it go.” I also appreciated the little callback to her album “Red” when she sings, “I always thought that love would burn red.”
The album finishes with Swift saying, “You are what you love.”
This has always been the uncomfortable juxtaposition for me with Swift. She spends a lot of time on the album writing about the haters and the things she doesn’t like or the things she feels powerless to change, but then kind of shoehorns that last quote in there, almost to make herself feel better. She’s a complicated person, which makes her interesting and enticing and frustrating and confusing.
It’s also why I find myself listening to her songs and albums because it feels like she is at least trying to say something, which is not the case with a lot of pop-music right now. At times it falls flat, at other times people take her too seriously, and other times she misses the mark.
That’s why Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift.
Rating: 1
OVERALL ALBUM SCORE: 12/18
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I’d say Lover is a tad too long as an entire album. The middle of the album is really solid, particularly the six song stretch from “I Think He Knows” to “London Boy.” Those were the songs on my first listen that took hold for me and will be in my rotation of songs I listen to this fall. Some of the songs feel out of place or like they could be part of their own album.
Toss your thoughts in the comment section and feel free to suggest another album I can give a binary score to!