Erin McKeown’s Fax of Life

103 down, 185 to go. to read or subscribe to the text version with links and pictures: erinmckeown.substack.com for more info about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

neighbors. that's it. just neighbors. to read or subscribe to the text version with links and pictures: erinmckeown.substack.com for more info about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

the mud we all carry. to read or subscribe to the text version with links and pictures: erinmckeown.substack.com for more info about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

is my life a real life if the fake version isn't very accurate? cate blanchett, mozart, and more. Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

... or is it i love and i hate or is it i love what i hate or is it i hate what i love? to read or subscribe to the text version with links and pictures: www.erinmckeown.substack.com for more info about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

capitalism wants us to go solo. to read or subscribe to the text version with links and pictures: www.erinmckeown.substack.com for more info about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

sports, spirituality, and the value of friendship. to read the fully linked version with pics and pop culture recommendations: www.erinmckeown.substack.com for more on erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

renaming the pod, taking the slow road, and living that polymath life. plus the usual slate of weird and wonderful pop culture recommendations. for links, photos, and to subscribe: www.erinmckeown.substack.com to learn more about erin: www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

high school hangs, first kisses, and resistance. to subscribe: http://erinmckeown.substack.com more info: http://www.erinmckeown.com Get full access to Erin McKeown's Fax of Life at erinmckeown.substack.com/subscribe

i rarely know what i will write about when i sit down to make these podcast episodes. sometimes i make notes throughout the month in my calendar so that when i sit down on a monday to start writing, i have some guides. the notes for today said:  wind and rainoutlander chicago jackson park sunsetfiddles and dogsi am becoming human/ancient  deciphering these fragments like an auto-archaeologist, i t...

today’s audio is a demo of my song, “the business of show” that i made in the summer of 2020. i was deep in the writing of what became my 11th album, KISS OFF KISS , though i didn’t know it at the time. that summer, i was simply showing up for my weekly songwriting game and not getting too in the weeds about what i was writing. i remember the prompt was “SHOWERED INTO ORDER” which means i have no...

today’s audio comes from a time machine. it is 1990, and you are listening to my 12 year old self, just a few months into playing guitar, singing the beatles’ standard, “all you need is love”, complete with a little scouse accent on “ALL”, pronouncing it like “ULL”. i remember very clearly recording this, and i think it’s a minor miracle that it survives in any form, even this wobbly, hard to hear...

jokes bombed, empires fell in between i loved you well well enough for fifty years well enough through laughs and tears whether or not the gag was swell day one, i knew it was always me and you you enough for a million years you enough to take my fears from that day my search was through marry me in times good our rough marry me for the wedding stuff wherever you are it is enough this day and ever...

today’s audio is a song i think i am calling “car ride”. i wrote it a few days ago for my weekly writing group. it’s gonna be the subject of the whole essay today, so pardon me while first i digress and set the stage with a little summer check-in. things have been hairy, too hairy, in the marx-mckeown household. carl is not a fan of the heat wave currently gripping the northeast. why would he be?...

if you’re paying close attention to this newsletter, and i hope you are, you’ll notice that it’s been a month rather than the regular two weeks since the last essay episode. my apologies. covid really kicked my ass. it kicked it acutely for about 10 days, then softly but persistently for another several weeks.  for those of you that have had it, especially this latest version, this is familiar ter...

before i begin, you’ll notice my voice is pretty rough. i have covid. more on that later, but first. today’s audio is the demo i made on november 29, 2014 for the song “now i’m here” from the musical i wrote with my friend quiara alegría hudes, miss you like hell . i just came back from visiting a wonderful production of the show at theatre squared in fayetteville, arkansas, so the musical has bee...

this week’s audio is another song from my songwriting vault, another song i wrote for my weekly writing group, “the game”. the prompt was “styles of deadpan”, which, to be honest, is pretty tough to work into a song as a lyric. but i liked the song idea i spun out of it - an appreciation of a classic comedy partnership from the perspective of the straightman. it’s a wonderful recipe, the straightm...

today’s audio comes from a demo i made in january of 2017 for my weekly songwriting group, “the game”. the way “the game” works is this: our leader, matt the electrician , gives us a prompt on sundays, and we have to use the prompt in a song by the following friday. the prompt can be a recurring theme; it can be a one time throw-away lyric. the only requirement is that you do not change the prompt...

today’s audio comes from a show i played a couple days ago at revolution hall in portland, oregon while i’m on tour with my wonderful pals, welcome to night vale. the first song, “today / sex” comes from my latest album #KISSOFFKISS . it’s a song that when i wrote it, i didn’t think i would ever sing it for anyone. it felt too vulnerable, too dirty, but i also loved it with my whole heart and coul...

this month’s audio begins with my version of the old-time standard “mole in the ground”. as you can hear, my violin playing is proceeding apace. i’ve had 9 lessons! i’m feeling good. so i decided to make a little track to practice along with. as you’ll see in the following newsletter, i picked this song with dirt in mind. i first learned “mole in the ground” while teaching string band at my childh...

let’s begin this week with another song for my dog, carl richard marx, who is currently in his crate chewing on an antler, a favorite toy of his which i mentioned in a previous #carlsong a few months ago. as many of you wrote me last time, we all make up songs for our dogs. in this i am not unique, but i hope you will appreciate this little bop which tries to explore the fundamental disconnect bet...

a few months ago, i let an anniversary come and go without much fanfare. i was deep in carl richard marx’s first weeks, plus the usual holiday hubbub. but in early january, my album “sing you sinners” had its 15th anniversary. i’ve got 11 albums, the oldest of which is from 2000, so if i was going to mark all their birthdays, it would take up a lot of time and space. plus, though i am an inveterat...

my friend ron, a writer whom i respect immensely , always writes back to my newsletters. his replies are full of comments, questions, and synergies. i love to read his responses and write back my own comments, questions, and synergies. we don’t get to see each other very often, so i extra appreciate this very slow conversation we’re having via my newsletter. in last month’s newsletter , i talked a...

with the exception of a very brief 20 minutes on christmas morning , i have not played one lick of music since the last note of my last performance, november 17, 2021 on stage at the dear alberta rose in portland OR . i have not spent a moment at the piano. nor have i reached for a guitar. to be honest, it feels amazing, and i have not missed my own music for single moment. however, i have not bee...