Baby’s First Murder Ballad
How “Run, Virginia” became an accidental murder ballad about escape, violence, redemption, and the past we can never fully outrun.
A Frenzy of Flesh and Divinity
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam holds creation, consciousness, entitlement, and damnation in the charged space between two outstretched fingers.
The Miracle of the Unspent Body
Henry Miller delays the body long enough for language to testify: a feverish archive of appetite, class decay, cinnamon-bun metaphysics, and the residue beneath the rug.
The Alchemy of Interpretation
A reflective essay on interpretation, artistic intention, and how the meaning we find in art reveals more about us than the work itself.
Bob Dylan’s Late Albums Are a Masterclass
A look at Bob Dylan’s late-career albums and why his writing from the late 90s on reveals some of his strongest, most enduring work.
The Days That Feel Like Drafts
An essay on the days that feel unfinished or out of sync, and how small moments of misalignment can reveal shifts in who you are becoming.
Guernica, in Passing
A meditation on repeated visits to Picasso’s Guernica, and how art reveals more each time you choose not to look away.
Ghost Notes
Reflections on the role of imperfection and instinct in art, from first-take recordings to the ghost notes that linger after the song ends.
Leaving Room for Silence
How does silence shape the creative process? From long bursts of focus to moments of stepping away and letting meaning surface.
The Algorithm and the Artist
A look at how digital platforms shape what artists create and share, and why integrity depends on resisting constant engagement.
The Doghouse
The Doghouse recalls a frozen night in Nevada, a mother’s quiet endurance, and the lasting shape of fear that never fully leaves the body.
Unmoored (for a Dutch Painter)
Unmoored (For a Dutch Painter) reflects on color, meaning, and the quiet tension between beauty and incomprehension in art and grief.
Non-Song for the Sea (Bar Harbor, ME)
A quiet reflection on the sea, sound, and smallness. Non-Song for the Sea captures the pull between stillness and motion on the Maine coast.
Breathing in the Digital Age
An essay on the weight of the digital age, the loss of silence, and the need to breathe again amid the endless scroll of modern life.
The Unexpected Interruption
A darkly funny Christmas tale of regret, revelation, and surreal redemption. The Unexpected Interruption finds grace in absurdity.
Crazy Train: Covering a Classic
From teenage awe to creative reinterpretation, a reflection on Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and the art of making a classic your own.
On Words, Names, and My Martin D-15
A meditation on names, language, and the meaning we give things, told through one musician’s bond with a nameless Martin D-15 guitar.
The Jellyfish
A minimalist reflection on memory, pain, and surrender. The Jellyfish drifts between form and feeling in this short rumination on grief.