Ain't nobody who can sing like me

I have not checked my email yet. 

Is that unusual?

Yeah. Usually if I've been away from the computer that's the first thing I check. I dunno why. It's not like there's gonna be, like, any good news. In fact, I'm really apprehensive. Same with phone messages. I keep waiting for the other fuckin' shoe to drop, man. Or some stupid cliche that applies. 

There's the farmboy I know!

Shit, man, it's true. It's the family panic. We all have it. Well, I don't know about my older brother, the one in California. He's pretty level-headed. I mean, both my brothers and my sister are smarter than me. And better looking. But -- to quote from a song off of that album of Woody Guthrie lyrics that Billy Bragg and Wilco put to music -- "Ain't nobody who can sing like me."

You're the musical one.

Yeah. I mean, I think we're all musical. But I'm the one who's fuckin' crazy. You know, man?

I know that you're musical, farmboy. And good at it.

Fuck, I hope so. It's good to be good at something, you know? Music was just the one thing I cared about. Almost to the exclusion of everything else.

Is that a good thing?

The jury's still out on that one, man.

Same old same old

Hey.

Hey yourself, farmboy.

So it's been a...well, you know, I want to get my job situation straightened out. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm getting a little bored and somewhat worried the longer it gets.

Of course, I did do rewriting on two songs and did do the work needed for the CD today. So that's a plus. On the other hand, I never left the house today.

And who's choice was that?

Oh, it was all mine, completely mine. I was going to go out, but there was really no need. If I went out I was gonna spend money and buy things I didn't need.

Like what?

You know, bad food, non-nutritious food. I don't want to go out if I'm gonna buy potato chips and doughnuts, man. That shit ain't no fuckin' good for you, you know. Plus if I'm at home I ain't working off the calories.

So it hasn't been a bad day by any means. I just know that it can't stay this way forever. I mean, I need to make a living, man.

It's good that you're getting things done, farmboy. The CD, all the Kickstarter stuff...

Yeah. Plus I've gotten to bond with the new Wilco album. I love my Wilco.

Good album?

It's very good. That Jeff Tweedy guy, man. And all those guys in the band, they're so fuckin' good. The CD gets better the more you listen to it, too, which I like a lot. I love when that happens.

So what happens tomorrow?

As far as I know, the same old same old. Except I will leave the apartment at some point.

A little inspiration here

Man, I went to see this movie The Tree of Life, you know? It was fuckin' great. It may be the most visually beautiful film I've ever seen. It's kinda like one of those European films I used to see in classes like Film Aesthetics 1A in college.

I also went to see Drive this past week, which was a very different movie but also extremely visually arresting. It was very noir-ish. Which I like. Which is a good thing.

Two movies in one week, farmboy. I'm glad to see it.

Well, in the summer there's not a whole lot of movies that I'm interested in. I guess I'm interested in character, maybe. Or something like that. I mean, action's okay but it's not something I need to see a lot of.

I've also been listening a lot to the new Wilco album.

Is it out yet?

It gets released Tuesday, but NPR is streaming it. I really, really like it. I've listened to it several times. I've probably listened to it more than I might have if I actually had the physical property. Then again, maybe not.

So I guess what I'm doing is, really, getting a little inspiration here with all this stuff I've been exposed to lately. Which is good, 'cause I'm really working and thinking hard about this upcoming CD. I'm getting ideas and sorting through them and making decisions and I'm in my fuckin' element, man. This is what I do.

And you're doing it, farmboy.

Yeah, I sure am, huh?

Talk, that is

I've missed you, man. Life's gotten a little out of hand. Ain't nothing major, just fuckin' life, you know? But I wanted to talk with you, and now I'm glad we can. Talk, that is.

Everything okay, farmboy?

Yeah, it really is. Just everyday stuff that needs attending to once in a while. And now we can move on. Right?

Whatever you want, farmboy. Seriously.

But what if I want to move on? I feel guilty not going into details about why I haven't been able to talk with you for a couple of days.

Why?

I don't know. I mean, I honestly don't know why.

So change the subject.

Okay, then.

There's this Panda Bear dude from Animal Collective and he, like, put out one of my two favorite albums of the last ten years. I love this guy, man. He sings like a fuckin' young Brian Wilson and he has all this musical imagination that I can't even conceive of. He's amazing, man. Anyway, he's got a new album out and I want to get stoned and listen to it through headphones.

So let me ask you a question, farmboy.

Sure. What?

What was the other favorite album of the last ten years?

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco. But we'll talk more about that some other time.

Here's another question, farmboy. What did it feel like to go on to the next topic?

Uh...I'm, like, really resistant at first and then I get into whatever I'm into and I don't give the other thing hardly a thought.

The mind, you know, is an amazing and mysterious thing.