Listen to “Make Space 34” on Spotify
And tell a friend!
On Saturday afternoon, I met up with my old friends G. and A. at a bar called Niagra in the East Village. Turns out G.’s a regular there. When we walked in, the bartender yelled, “Guess what’s baaaack? High Life! In bottles!” Later, G. checked in with another regular about his upcoming foot surgery, an elderly guy—stained chinos, small dog, shuffling gait. “Let me know if I can help,” G. said, and you could tell he meant it.
When I lived in New York, G. and A. were my ride-or-dies. I miss them. I missed them even while we were hanging out last Saturday, desperately trying to fight the swampy 90 degree heat with round after round of freezing bottles of High Life, G. still charmingly neurotic, A. perpetually unflappable, both of them looking dapper as hell. It was a moment. On a nearby stoop, a young couple shared a cigarette. Half a block to the north, soca boomed from festival speakers in Tompkins Square Park. Groups of friends strolled down the sidewalk, arms hanging loosely over each other’s shoulders. Night came on.
The whole experience reminded me of this chunk from an Emily St. John Mandel interview where she speaks about “grieving the present.”
…where you’ll be in a great conversation, or you’re sitting with your friend who you’re not going to see again for several weeks, or it’s just one of those magical evenings where the lighting is great, and everybody’s wonderful, and there’s music playing, and you feel like you’re sort of floating.
And that moment of sadness when you realize that it’s going to be gone and you’re going to miss it — I feel that all the time.
This week’s playlist is cheerful and energetic, a playlist for those summer moments that haven’t happened yet but are somehow already gone. It includes two of my favorite songs of all time—out-and-out classics—just overwhelmingly joyful music: Todd Terje’s “Inspector Norse” and The Joubert Singer’s “Stand on the Word.” There’s also a few cuts from Light in the Attic’s impeccable Country Funk compilation series and a newish song from Paul Cherry and a radio staple from Billy Preston. And that Thelma Jones track? Sheesh!
Songs for old friends and freezing bottles of High Life.
Thanks for listening.
Your bud,
Ross
Art @ Markus Ebner