There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

“Organized religion” is redundant. Religion is organized by definition. If it’s not organized, it’s something other than religion. Art, perhaps. Or play acting.

Mark Kozalek Sings Christmas Carols is a real piece of work. The former Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon singer performs a bunch of hymns and a handful of pop tunes, but the hymns carry it away. While Kozalek is not a Christian, he seems to have chosen the oldest possible carol texts to sing. There are a few light-hearted moments on the record, but Kozalek avoids being cute or clever on the hymns. There are no new twists on old favorites here. Just a man and his guitar thoughtfully, respectfully rendering old tunes.

The lyrics he chose for “O Christmas Tree” are gorgeous, a theological meditation on evergreen trees.

Revelers gather in Times Square on December 31, 2019. They welcome 2020, sure to be a year of prosperity, hope, and joyous new beginnings.

Over the last twenty years, it has become fashionable for young men to blame all the problems of the world on “the church,” by which I mean saying things like “Poverty and racism wouldn’t be a problem if the church would just be the church” with an authoritative, I-know-what-the-word-“liturgy”-means kind of tone.

My latest for CiRCE is about blaming the church, why it’s a terrible idea, and why it is better to blame yourself instead.

5. It Just Doesn’t Happen, Destroyer

4. Starfall, Salem

3. Texas Sun, Khurangbin & Leon Bridges

2. Inspirit, Julianna Barwick

1.Carousels, Doves

10. 1995, Kruder & Dorfmeister

9. Black Swallow, by Chihei Hatakeyama

8. Green (reissue), Hiroshi Yoshimura

7. 76:14 (box set reissue), Global Communication

6. Another Flower, Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie

5. Una Presencia En La Brisa, Rafael Anton Irisarri & Leandro Fresco

4. Mixing Colours, Roger and Brian Eno

3. Healing Is A Miracle, Julianna Barwick

2. A Soul Ascends, Steve Roach

1. Have We Met, Destroyer

“Simply put, a tradition is the past.”

My latest for CiRCE is about Christmas trees in particular and traditions in general.

It is a delicate point I try to make in this essay. I have attempted it a few times before, but find it endlessly refinable: there is some sense in which knowing the origin of a tradition is not terribly important. Traditions are not mnemonic devices anymore than knives or aspirin are mnemonic devices. Traditions are real and potent in and of themselves.

This week’s episode of Proverbial is about the pursuit of fame and glory. On a personal note, it’s my favorite show since the one where I whined about middle-class people trying to look rich.

Rewatched this one with Sean tonight on his recommendation and it was only the second time I’ve seen it. While I enjoyed the first time around, the second time was better because I had already found the edges. It recalled for me numerous scenes from my twenties: road trips with strangers, sleeping on couches, and the combined sense of euphoria and bafflement which come in the immediate preface to marriage.