Not much different to report from my corner of the world this week. Grocery stores are tightening their social distancing policies, almost by the day, with some items returning to the shelves and others disappearing. Authorities seem increasingly to be acknowledging publicly that the situation is going to last much longer than was previously hoped, with California formally shutting down in-person instruction for the rest of the year and schools scrambling to gear up for online education, a particular challenge for the many families either without internet service or saddled with antiquated connections. A prospect not being discussed yet is the likelihood that schools will not be opening back up in the fall, either. That would be my best guess at this point. Same goes for the NFL, whose commissioner and owners, if they have any sense, should be planning in every way possible for the same fate suffered by the other major leagues, despite the recent comments of our Oval Office occupant. Barring a miracle, this situation is going to last for at least twelve to eighteen months, with the only true resolution likely being the discovery and distribution of a vaccine.
Reading the news beyond quick reviews of headlines is still bad for your mental health. A particularly discouraging development is that we are starting to see people with familiar names whom we admired reported as victims of the pandemic. One was Adam Schlesinger, one of the founding members of Fountains of Wayne, the nineties and aughts rock band that taught through its lyrics most of what I knew of the geography of the Tri-State area around New York City. For those who wish to see tributes to Schlesinger and his band’s accomplishments, here are three links:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/adam-schlesingers-incandescent-songwriting-talent
Even better, here is the archived Fresh Air interview from 1999 with Schlesinger and his band mate Chris Collingwood, where you get a sense of their wry personalities:
https://freshairarchive.org/segments/founders-band-fountains-wayne
I was having a hard time with the news of Schlesinger’s passing, and to feel better I went through my music streaming and played my favorite Fountains of Wayne songs for much of the evening, including Leave The Biker, Stacy’s Mom, Yolanda Hayes (at the DMV), Bright Future In Sales and too many others to list here. It occurred to me later that such was as profound a tribute I could offer to Schlesinger and his band. If nothing else, any artist worthy of consideration does his work in the hope of being remembered–the closest we can likely come in this life to immortality. By this standard, Schlesinger succeeded grandly.
– Vino Knight-Trane
