5SF for 3/27/26

Yesterday was Opening Day, and I am struck by the profound beauty of this occasion. Each year, just after the days surpass the nights, we begin this ritual anew. In our fleeting lifetimes there are few traditions we carry forward on a scale like this. Baseball is the act of counting individual human actions: a throw, a swing, a dash. As they add up, something more emerges. A story, one that is always distinct, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of games we play.

Wherever two or more dots are plotted on a graph, there is a narrative with them. Line go up, line go down — these are the shortest stories we have. As those dots become a constellation, the richness of the potential tales increases exponentially.

I remain haunted by one of those moments, those tales, from the end of last year. This swing:

where Julio Rodriguez (my favorite player) ended the deepest playoff run in Mariners' history with a swing and a miss. A little while after the game, this was caught on tape: https://youtube.com/shorts/pBjq0DnHDpA?si=tvT-hVviNH66vu87

That, off-camera, is J-Rod's frustration.

But that was last year. The slate is clean and the dots are being drawn anew.
If there’s a theme this week, it’s good songs for a grey and warm day full of puddles, a newly greening earth freshly watered. Pop on one of these playlists (linked at the bottom), pull on your rain boots and go for a walk!

It Very Well May Be — Mark Turner

ECM is an excellent label for jazz, and this record, Patternmaster is one of their latest. Modern jazz can, at times, be too modern for me, pushing the garde too avant, but this record is just some good clean fun.

Hanging Out To Dry — Florence Road

I promise, this is FloRo's last time on the list for a while, because their EP Spring Forward is now out, and this is the last song off of it!

It's a privilege to find a band this early in their career, and I hope they continue to write and rise at this caliber for years to come.

It Will Follow The Rain — The Tallest Man On Earth

The Tallest Man On Earth is Swedish. That's not really relevant, but it's interesting. This one's been on my radar for a long time, but fits nicely with the other tracks this week.

Caves — Gregory Alan Isakov

Isakov's a favorite artist of mine, but this track only fell across my radar recently. (Honorable mentions from him: Sweet Heat Lightning, The Stable Song, and San Luis). The haunting lyricism here sticks with me like an old friend.

i used to love caves
stumble out into that pink sky
remember that bright hollow moon
it showed our insides on our outsides

Sweet Thing — Van Morrison

Morrison's Astral Weeks is a new album for me, and the whole record deserves a listen. Sweet Thing started playing after I'd already decided on the energetic theme for the week, and just nestled into this list beautifully.

Playlists are below, happy Friday!