1. Rhiannon Giddens’ cover of “American Tune”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67pyIglP79U?si=dfG–X_vTlSJNHuH&w=560&h=315]I found myself humming Paul Simon’s “American Tune” today, and I realized I was really thinking of Rhiannon Giddens’ cover of Paul Simon’s “American Tune.”
I’ve loved Simon’s version of this song since I was a kid, but here in 2024, as so many things in this country are collapsing and so much cruelty seems to be on the rise, the song’s acknowledgement of despair and its gentle glimmer of hope especially resonate. And Giddens’ take raises it to a whole other level.
These lines in the second verse of the song hit me particularly hard when I listened to them again today:
I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees.
Then in the original song, Simon reaches for some peace with the lines:
We come on a ship they call the Mayflower
We come on a ship that sailed the moon
But Giddens changes those lyrics to:
We didn’t come here on the Mayflower
We came on a ship in a blood red moon.
The following lines remain the same:
We come in the age’s most uncertain hour
And sing an American tune
Simon’s original lyrics already acknowledge the terrible flaws of our country and the unmoored feelings of the times. But the tweaks make it even more honest and accurate, and make that glimmer of hope even more searing and moving.
I’m not positive, but I assume those changes came from Giddens, so I find myself thinking about how she must have approached that moment, how she must have realized those lyrics had to change, how she broached the topic with Simon, and what that took to carry through on every level. Based on their onstage interactions, the two seem to genuinely adore each other, so that process seems to have had a beautiful outcome. But those can be hard, exhausting undertakings and conversations, even among artistic and political allies.
The song moves me to tears every time I hear it and I’m so grateful to Giddens and Simon for its existence and their performance.
2. Kimchi
In the chaos and stress of the pandemic and the 2020 election, I bonded with the brilliant writer R.O. Kwon about the fact that we were both finding comfort by eating massive amounts of kimchi. I was eating more kimchi per week than I ever had in my life — entire cupfuls at a time, when as a kid I’d maybe have two bites. I’m an ajusshi now, a middle aged man, so some of that might be attributable to the fact that older folks’ taste buds become less sensitive, so we like a bit more zing. But it’s a little deeper than that — I found intense comfort in a food I barely ate as a child, but it rooted me in who I am and where I come from, and during an unstable time, it somehow felt entirely right.
Over the past few months and especially since the new year, the world has felt ever more unhinged. So it’s no wonder that I’m eating loads of kimchi again, and I’m grateful for it.
3. Sometimes We Win
I’ll let the headline from IowaStartingLine.com do the talking: “Bill to legalize discrimination against trans Iowans goes down in flames.”
The horrific bigotry we see every day sometimes seems absolutely overwhelming. So it’s important to celebrate moments when the worst efforts are thwarted. Keep calling your reps when you see these kinds of bills, friend. We can push back.
