SEE SPOTIFY RUN

I'm finding that Spotify is a great research tool.

For example, let's say I was reading an interview with Kevin Ayers in the Oct/Nov 1976 edition of Trouser Press, and the references to Soft Machine made me realize that there's a whole strain of English art rock about which I know some of the history, but precious little of the sound.

I could then use Spotify to listen to a bit of Soft Machine, and probably find I didn't have the patience for it. Then, I might listen to some of Ayers solo stuff, and determine that his most-lauded tracks left me unmoved.

From there, I'd indulge a long-term curiosity in Robert Wyatt, and come out of it kind of obsessed with his 1997 album, Shleep. I'd probably think that Shleep reminds me of solo Jim O'Rourke, except with a gravity and whimsy that I didn't realize I was missing in O'Rourke until I heard Wyatt.

This is all theoretical, you understand. The thought that I might actually sit around reading 35-year-old copies of Trouser Press is just absurd.

Um, yeah...

Anyway, here's a clip of Wyatt performing September the 9th. Because, well, check your calendars...

HUDDLED IN STORMS

Beyond earthquakes, hurricanes, and root canals, here's what has occupied my time while the family was in Japan:

• I took the plunge on a Spotify premium subscription. I'm liking the idea of having access to lots of music without the burden of ownership.

• I've developed a completely nonironic love of Rick Steves' Europe. I could watch it for hours.

• A Bon Iver obsession didn't take, but honestly I never gave it much of a chance. Can't force these things, after all-- they need to just happen...

• I compiled a small yet vital collection of low-res cell-phone pics of Taeko, shot by Lana.

• Finished that 33 1/3 book on Some Girls-- it remained sloppy to the end. Then I started the one on Marquee Moon, although I was somewhat dismayed to find that the author had co-written a book with the guy who wrote the Some Girls entry. Incest much, Continuum?

• Started reading Stone Arabia yesterday. So far, so good.

• Still haven't quite finished that copy of Bob Dylan in America that my boss shared with me. I'm a little over halfway through, and we're already on '90s Dylan, which is kind of dampening my enthusiasm for the rest of the book.

• I had what must be one of my top 5 most-liberating haircuts this past Friday. As I watched the brown and gray hair cascade down the front of my slick maroon smock, I swear I could feel my soul getting lighter...