I Like the Whole Album
My son is really into music right now. He loves listening to Pearl Jam, The Fratellis, Bleachers or Black Keys in the car with me. Except there’s just one problem. He focuses on one song. And we have to listen to it—over and over and over.
And that makes me realize, I’m a full album kind of guy.
I like to focus on one thing when I’m eating. A whole pizza the same way. Or a tray of wings. I hate getting various slices or a sampler.
Give me one thing.
Which brings me to this: I like a novel. I enjoy spending time with a draft and going down roads that sometimes don’t work out. I like trying to figure out what the book is about each day—whether I outlined or not.
If you remember me from way back in the aughts (somehow Jackson Donne has existed for 24 years), I cut my teeth on short stories. And back then, the ultimate rush and immediate feedback was great. It was just the confidence boost I needed at the time. Something that told me, “Yes, sir, you can do this.”
Maybe I’m older and more comfortable in my skin now. Or perhaps, I have kids and a job and a wife and not enough time. But I’d rather dig into a novel and work that out. My short stories were my writing sampler.
My novels are a meal, or an entire album.
I’m not sure I could even write a good short story now. A good short story is an art—every word has to be note perfect. There are a lot of people who do them really well, and these days I kind of envy them. You don’t have time to figure the story out in a short story. I feel like it has to come to you in a full blast.
I tried to write a short story a few years ago, I had the perfect idea. And it just fell flat. The idea was short, but the characters needed more time. They weren’t fully formed and did things just to do that.
Maybe one day I’ll get back to writing them. When I’m old and somehow have time on my hands again.
But for now I’ll stick to the full album.
What I’m into
I’m still reading Home by Harlan Coben and man, it is so fun. He really gets you to turn the pages like they’re on fire. I’m literally writing this, mad at myself that I’m not reading the book instead.
I’ve discovered Maggie Rogers in my YouTube feed. Her song “Don’t Forget Me” is fantastic, particularly the live versions you can find online. The entire album is really solid and there are some full live sets online. Of course, I’ve listened to the whole thing and not just one song.
It’s a live “Comedy Bang Bang” this week. Talk about people figuring things out on the fly? This episode is hilarious.