Keeping out of town for a minute, I’m getting healed by hot sun and mojitos. 

No records but there’s been fish and moped speeding and blinking in crisp light and inked NYT daily crossword puzzles in abundance, which is more than fine. 

You bet there’s a music backdrop to all this.  Planes require me to be in an ultimate familiar chill zone, and there’s Dope Lemon for that. 

This time it was mostly Rose Pink Cadillac, which I purchased about a month and some change ago from Good Day Sunshine Record Shop in little Marshfield, WI, and popped plastic on seemingly right before I boarded the plane.  It’s a cool-looking picture disc and I was glad to find it. 

Likewise, I’m in my third Jack White-era for obvious reasons, eighth go around on Atom and His Package as my current regular dose of nostalgia, and I cannot get enough of the $5 rescue I made at Barnes&Noble this past summer on the soundtrack to Ken Burns’ documentary Hemingway. 

Stay tuned for more on that one, the musicianship on the Spanish/Cuban-inspired melodies is nothing short of beautiful and it’s as simple as that. I dig it very sincerely.

What I cannot quit on is Zach Bryan. Warren Zevon is the love of my life and quite literally overwatches my spins real close, but in the game of Fuck, Marry, Kill, Zach Bryan is absolutely the proverbial fuckboi in that game.  And I’m confident enough to admit that, despite being a lady of a certain approaching age a good decade older than he. 

Thank god for Spotify to address that itch only Mr. Bryan can scratch right now; all the LPs, EPs, and singles are present and accounted for.  I only have his Summertime Blues EP at home and recently purchased the self-titled Zach Bryan on vinyl.

What I really want is DeAnn so take note, sugar daddies. I know there’s the romance of how it came to be recorded in an Airbnb with the heart of his late mother, the album’s namesake, beating throughout.  He comments on love, loss, and anger.  Zach Bryan demonstrates bargaining, goodwill and poor choices, makes lovely metaphors, and shows great hope. 

He does all these things without idealizing love and normalizes what happens when it finds you, then subsequently leaves.  He knows a god deeply where I do not but makes that feel accessible if it needs to be a thing to somebody.

The relatability of DeAnn juxtaposed with the craftmanship of gritty storytelling in Zach Bryan’s unique experiences has created one of the best alt-outlaw albums of the last five years, at least. 

Come fight me on it.  Please.  That shit’s simply gorgeous and has been unparalleled. 

The Quittin’ Time Tour kicks off in March 2024, and I’m glad to be covering the lead-up, live, and after-thoughts for his show in mid-March at the Fiserv Forum.  Currently, tickets are pert near or already sold out, so if you’re hoping to catch him in the Midwest, Iowa or Nebraska may be your best bet.  Until then, friends. 

I’m flying or crying when I can be back and love up on my vinyl again.