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Whenever I miss someone I care about, I visualize what they could be doing at that very moment -- maybe eating, or walking somewhere, or driving, or working, talking on the phone, sleeping.
Once I have them vividly in my mind, I zoom out, building out their surroundings, seeing more things that I recognize in a bird's eye view. As I continue zooming out, more close friends and family come into view one by one, each in the middle of whatever I imagine them to be doing in that moment. My field of vision is growing so that I can see everyone in the same frame. If I zoom out far enough, I see myself and what I'm doing in that moment, just like all of the people and things I saw along the way. Doing this whenever I feel far away is a cool thought experiment/out-of-body experience that makes me feel connected to the important things in my life.
Many of you already know how much I dig Davis, and the people in it -- so here's a bluegrass anthem I wrote about it, on the new album with Anya and Emma. Brenden rips a fantastic harmonica solo and I feel like I'm back in Davis, jamming with the people I love.
~Obin
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lyrics
if I close my eyes and concentrate I can picture you right now
crossing third street in downtown
but I zoom farther out
to see the cottage and the college and the balcony
surrounded by the bridges and the bikepaths
and the houses that I've lived in
as we float over the train tracks and parks full of trees
and trails that lead to side streets full of piles of leaves the size of cars
(wow)
that sure enough are shrinking as this vision rises high
over the orchards and the taco stands
under vast wide open sky
from the flatlands to sierras that saw the state in half
and through the clouds that hang between as two aircraft hurtle past
zoom out far enough I see myself I'm on the way
on this ever-turning ball of dirt that rotates by the day
and by the time that big round sun goes down the Berryessa gap
I'll make it back to Davis
by dusk I will be back
the winds pick me up and put me down somewhere new
time and time again
but an old familiar breeze blows through the air tonight
I'm back under that Davis sky
the canals of the Netherlands and the nightclubs of Berlin
I've rambled far and wide and I'm glad for where I've been
but the currents of my memories bring me back to this old town
no sure chance in this universe that I'd wind up here right now
driving into the city limit
and the freeway exit curves around
turning left and taking surface streets to get to c and third
the earth spins eastward to set the sun down in the west
I've made it back to Davis to the place I love the best
we'll dance to punk rock in the basement
til tomorrow's farmer's market tunes
bagpipes in backyards
in the first week of June
sunrise coffee on the poop deck over porches and the rooftops
into stratosphere we'll blast off
and I'll look right down to see
a glimpse of a small town in this big wide galaxy
no place in existence that I'd rather be
credits
from You Me and the Kitty,
released January 1, 2021
featuring Brenden Tull on that harmonica break
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020
Collaborating remotely with 12 songwriters from all over the world, Kim Edgar emerged with a work of striking art pop. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 11, 2023
This collection of '90s work from folkie Patrick Regan and friends will appeal to fans of Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 17, 2023
