Every 50 days of the pandemic, I’ve tried to shine light on the stuff that’s been guiding Nicole and I through these ever-more difficult days. It’s hell out there so it’s hard to see that little glow at the tunnel’s rear….
BEST ANTI-COVID-BLUES RECORDINGS:
Belle & Sebastian: What to Look for in Summer (this summer? One hopes!)
75 Dollar Bill Big Band: Live at Tubby’s (Big band? Yes, big band!)
Madvillain: Madvillainy (it’s more about heroics….)
BEST ANTI-COVID-BLUES SHOWS:
Small Axe (a stone masterpiece in five installments)
All Creatures Great and Small (PBS reboot–definitely in our wheelhouse; hell, in our house!)
The Bee Gees: How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?
BEST ANTI-COVID-BLUES BOOKS:
Mary Gabriel: Ninth Street Women
Wright Thompson: Pappyland – A Story of Fine Bourbon, Family, and the Things That Last
Various Writers: The Decameron Projects – 29 Stories from the Pandemic
BEST ANTI-COVID-BLUES EATS:
India’s House (The Columbia curbside stars of our isolation!)
Bangkok Gardens
I told a friend yesterday: “Great art is definitely the best and most reliable escape right now. It’s really not even an escape.” That, and great food savored in a sliver of time. I hope art and food have helped others, too; feel free to share your award-winners.
Streaming for Strivers:
For my friends Ben, Vance, and…all of us? The most curious kind of bears.
The Overeem Farewell Tour: Dispatches from the Public School Trenches 
My award-winners:
Shelter From The Smoke album by Bill Fox.
Alfred Hitchcock movies on TCM – The Birds, Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window.
Chuck Prophet’s Trip in the Country show on Gimme Country streaming radio.
Norman Maslov’s YouTube video series Memories of a Vinyl Junkie.
Ali Smith’s novels Autumn and Winter from her Seasonal Quartet.
Lechón Asado takeout from Mojito Latin American Restaurant in Seattle.
Robyn Hitchcock’s Live from Sweet Home Quarantine concerts on Stage It.
British Pop Art painter Pauline Boty.
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