Hi Friends! This months dispatch is going to be quick. We’ve just moved and the past few weeks (and the coming few weeks) are very chaotic. So, short and sweet here we go.

Thanks for being here.

I have many books that I have loved and read many times, but alas “…we are to menny”, to borrow a phrase from the darkest moment of Jude The Obscure. The only passage, in fact that has ever shaken me so deeply that I was compelled to immediately exit the subway and order a double whiskey at the nearest bar. Also, I am in manic purge mode, so it’s time for them to move on.

I have a pet peeve. I hate being asked “What is your favorite _________?” I started noticing a while back that people do this to kids ALL THE TIME, and while I do understand that it can be a quick and easy ice breaker, or way to express interest in getting to know someone, I think there are better questions to ask that get at the same thing and don’t ask us to break the world up into binary choices. I also feel very uncomfortable ranking the things I love! My favorite book? Fuck that! I love so many books for so many reasons! My favorite color? Are you kidding me? There are 945 colors I don’t want to live without! My favorite evolutionary anthropologist?! Ok well it’s probably Elaine Morgan, but you get my point.

I think we can do better, and have personally started asking instead, “tell me about a _______ that you love!”. I think it leads to better, more thoughtful responses and introspection, and doesn’t ask us to PICK A SIDE when it comes to a universe that is rich and diverse in so many ways. It’s maybe a small way of combatting black-and-white thinking, especially with kids, who are so naturally curious lovers of the world.

In early 2024 I heard about this Minneapolis-based band Humbird, thanks to the Cindy Howes at the Basic Folk Podcast. The day I first listened to their album Right On, I saw that they were playing in NYC that night! I couldn’t go, but I have been listening to them non-stop since then, and just waiting for them to come back around. Well, that time has come! Humbird is playing at Union Pool (with support from the also awesome Eliza Edens) on Friday, June 13th at 7pm and I’m going to be there grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

If you love them, or are curious, and want to come, you can buy a ticket for under $20 HERE.

If you want to listen to Humbird, my humble suggestion is to start with their 2024 album Right On, followed by 2019’s Pharmakon, and then 2021’s Still Life. They are all excellent. There is also a live Audiotree Session from last year that is positively electric and is making me very excited for this live show in a couple weeks.

Maybe we’ll see each other there.

Forgive me, I am myself
Forgive me, I am myself
Forgive me, I am myself
Forgive me, I am myself

—from Low Tide