'The Temptation of Adam' (Josh Ritter Cover)

A time capsule of my 2012 apartment.

In 2012, I was living in a one bedroom apartment in Kensington, Brooklyn - my first apartment all to myself. My furniture… a bed, a few chairs and a small metal desk that I would record songs from. I remember my sister’s expression upon seeing my apartment when she first came to visit from California - worry. I think she thought I might have been depressed, out of my mind, or needed money.

My one photo of said apartment. The couch was a fancy addition that was brought in later on. For the lions share of my time at this address, it was just the desk and my bed… and these awesome red kid stools that I bought from the hardware store. I wish i still had those stools.

But from my perspective, I had hit the jackpot. I lived in New York City and I had my own apartment. I no longer had to live awkwardly with roommates and heed their schedules. I could play guitar all day long and no one would bother me. One day, after a long solitary day of music making, this demo of Josh Ritter’s ‘Temptation of Adam’ came to be.

This era of music making was pretty precious for me. I was experimenting with mixing digital and analog recording and I was still finding my voice as a singer (still looking for it... have you seen it?). Throughout the recording, you can hear me dragging a wooden spoon across a washboard that I found on someone’s stoop and shaking my keys for percussion. I also religiously kept a microcassette recorder on me at all times and I’d capture field recordings and work those into the songs as well.

I always thought this song was an impressive displays of Josh’s writing. Such an unusual and singular love story. It made me want to be a better writer. You can listen below.

Lots of light,

MG