I Love… playing guitar

Plus: One and a Half Stars waltzified

…when I think I see a snake but it’s not a snake. It’s just a stick. It happens a lot.

…the guitars on this new track, “True Life,” by Water From Your Eyes.

…being in hot water. Literally, not figuratively. Got to soak up some geothermal bliss on a show day in Iceland and I, for one, am for it. And, I’m willing to say so on the record. Hot springs are nice.

…my Subaru, and I don’t care one whit what that might imply.

…playing guitar. I’m honestly unsure about whether or not I’ve adequately expressed how completely I adore making sounds with a guitar. I do it so much. Counting up the hours, I should be way better. But better is relative and the idea of good or bad playing is mostly related to technique. However, I’m of the belief that your own technique is the only one that matters. And when I weigh my abilities based only on how much joy playing a guitar brings me, I’m the second-best fucking guitar player that’s ever lived. There’s no topping Eddie Van Halen. Technically the best and untouched in the outward joy department.

Caught this little weirdo spying on me.

Here’s a version of “One and a Half Stars” I recorded to remember what it sounds like in 3/4 time. Wilco ran this song in the rehearsal room recently as if it had been written and recorded for Cruel Country, and toyed with the idea of playing it as a waltz at the show that night. Didn’t happen but I bet it will someday. It sounded cooler than this version does. Maybe I’ll record another phone demo of it on the upcoming leg so you can hear it with the whole band making it sound like an unreleased Mickey Newbury track. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this take and how the different time signature works to subtly underline different lyrics than the version on Ode to Joy.