photosynthesis

I sit in a windowless room more than 40 hours a week. I try not to think about it, but about 3 p.m. each day it gets to me. Faced with a Saturday of work, I could not bear to go sit in that cube yet again. Yet I find it hard to work at home recently – I hate to admit this, but I’ve been too easily distracted.

A pleasant option was a college library a short drive from my town. [Confidential to HCB: yes, I was there, but I decided on the spur of the moment and I really had to buckle down and work, so that is why I did not call.] Cut off from television, Netflix, housecleaning, the Internet and a telephone, I sat in a room that is nearly all glass and had seven of the most productive hours in a long time. By about 3 p.m., it felt like I was working in a terrarium, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Driving home I listened to one of those albums I always go back to when my petals are drooping. Like a ray of sunshine, they warm me again and again. So I’m going to steal shamelessly from a newly discovered weblog and post my own essential albums. Perhaps they’ll help you stagger through the darkness until Daylight Savings Time.

Essential Albums Vol. 1 (listed alphabetically by artist)

Romeo’s Escape, Dave Alvin




Blue Notes, Paul Burch and the WPA Ball Club




Love Over Gold, Dire Straits



Lost and Found, Jason and the Scorchers




Tomorrow the Green Grass, the Jayhawks





Moondance, Van Morrison





Damn the Torpedoes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers





Darkness on the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band





All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, Pete Townshend





AM, Wilco