The Solastalgia Will Come Out Tomorrow

I hate that I’m not writing every day. We talked about that during therapy. My therapist finds it disturbing as do I. I was just good and told myself I had to write before doing the Washington Post Crossword. I have to go shopping today and If I had started on the puzzle, I’d either feel the need to go shopping as soon as I’m done or take a nap. Poor sleeping habits are part of the same issue.

Today should be easy to write about. I did something yesterday; I did some arctic exploring heading all the way up to Dobb’s Ferry NY. Some people say that Upstate NY starts at the Bronx border. I’m not sure, it might be the southern border of Van Cortlandt Park and the Bronx border is the Arctic Circle. Good thing The Metropolitan Transit Authority sees fit to go to the arctic. I went to the Common Ground Coffeehouse to see Annie Sumi and Travis Knapp. No, now I want to nap. I’ll fight it. The Common Ground was at the UU in Hastings-on-Hudson, but they were flooded out and are temporarily located at the South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry. Be careful when writing that its Dobbs not Dobb’s. The Church is not near the Church which actually works out well for me as Dobbs Ferry is not on the MetroNorth line near me. I walk to The Botanical Gardens and ride up to Scarsdale where Elana, another Common Ground volunteer picks me up and drives me to the church. The total trip is less than an hour and I get Elana’s company for 40% of the trip.

Carter who books the Common Ground is the presenter whose taste most closely align with mine. That didn’t affect this show, I think most of the presenters I know would be happy to present Annie. She’s not a huge star, not even Folk Famous, but if you have seen her, you love her. Carter and I both first saw her at NERFA. Annie has a strange marketing issue. She radiates lovability, you talk to her for five minutes and you’ll get a hug and want to be her friend. Why is that a marketing issue? Because it distracts you from what a great musician she is. I found myself comparing her to another musician whose presence causes a hit of endorphins. That other musician has only one song that I’d play on Gord’s Gold. Annie’s most recent album Solastalgia made my top albums of 2021 list. Her songs are great and not the feel good pop you might expect from her personality. The two words that come to mind when listening to Annie’s music are ethereal and haunting. The album’s title hints at that, she defines Solastalgia as the feeling of home-sickness you get when at home. As much as I love Annie she’s even better with Travis. I would like to hear what she could do with a band. I know there is more to the song that she can show solo, but I suspect that there is even more in her mind’s ear than we have yet to hear. There is definitely a there, there. If you don’t listen to new music for hours in search of material for a venue or radio show it becomes difficult to grasp how much generic music is out there. When I find someone that stands out, I get excited.

The timing of the show did not work well with the train schedule. The show ended just about when the train in Scarsdale was leaving the station and they run only once an hour. I had to close out the shop, I do merch and say goodbye to people. This was the first time I got to talk to Barbara, who was in the audience, since COVID-19 hit. I caught Perry and Beth before the show. During the intermission I’m too busy moving merch. The cute merch guy is not an empty title, it’s what I do at the shows. I’m there to sell merch and be eye candy. Don’t burst my bubble by telling me the truth. Annie called me “the cute merch guy” twice and I’m savoring that for all its worth. I didn’t just say goodbye I did a full out Jewish Goodbye, which never end. Even with all that I had a 45 minute wait for the train. Elena asked what I would do while I waited. I told her what my father taught me as a kid. Some author he liked wrote that an intelligent person should never be bored when waiting. He told me that while waiting on the long lines at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. I took it to heart and consider it a matter of pride to be able to entertain myself. It’s no longer a challenge. I have an internet connected computer in my pocket. Keeping busy during the 45 minute wait and 25 minute train ride was not a problem. The walk from the station was just long enough to stretch my legs.

I’m not going to catch up on the days I didn’t write about. There was the usual quota of idiot story. One I remember was making a pizza backward. I put on the cheese before the sauce. You got an idiot story and food so now you know I’m the one that wrote this. Now to get this posted and go out for my shopping walk. It’s a beautiful day.