hey yall! this episode originally aired on october 2, 2024. i think we’d all like to go back to that time. enjoy this respite from 2025.
meanwhile, i hope to see you out on the road the next two weeks in WV, TX, OK, KS, MO, IN, ON, and MI. and look out for upcoming anti-holiday spectaculars in NY, CA, OR, and WA.
as always info and tix at erinmckeown.com/shows.
thanks for listening!
today’s audio is “baghdad to the bayou”, a song i wrote with rachel maddow in 2010.
here are the things i have done instead of writing this pod:
put away the guest bed in the studiotook carl for a walkpacked for a project i leave for on fridaypacked for a gig on thursday(its tuesday)
swept the studiorerouted several amps and pedal boards in the studiountangled a huge pile of mic standsreorganized them(this pile has been this way for at least the last 2 years)
skimmed the new york timesanswered unimportant emailschecked my bank balances, even though i checked them this AMmade very specific day and time plans for several months from now. dog walks. casual music meetups.scheduled a co-writestarted to watch a short film about geese but got distractedasked the internet, are libras procrastinators?
as the internet told me when i just searched for it, libras are known procrastinators. and friends, it is libra season! my time to shine. the glorious build up to october 15, a birthday i share with the rapper ginuwine, the philosopher nietzsche, sarah fergie ferguson duchess of york, oriole great jim palmer, filmmaker mira nair, british/baltimorean actor dominic west, musician tito jackson, and yes, my dog, carl richard marx.
this is my kind of company. random. genius. a little edgy. are we mean or are we honest? we are libras!
i recently saw this list on instagram, from astrologer influencer chani nicholas:
except for the outfit part, i. have. been. read. and the way i deal with the outfit part is by owning so few clothes, i cannot make choices. there is one option. this is my strategy for my refrigerator too. do not give yourself choices, otherwise you will never choose! libra season!
the internet has also confirmed for me that, as a libra, i do not like unnecessary pressure, or other people’s time frames.
hold on! a friend just texted to ask me if i know rachel maddow, because she is going to be seeing her tonite. so now i am going to go down a rabbit hole looking for pictures of me and maddow together (gosh i am finding so many, and i am pleased to see that i don’t even remember some of the events pictured) maybe the music for this episode should be the song i wrote with maddow? be right back.
today’s audio is “baghdad to the bayou”, a song i /
ok! i’m back. what was i saying? oh yes! the internet confirmed for me that i like to make my own decisions in my own time. i am easily distractable. i am a procrastinator. want to hire me?
what was i saying? ah yes! its libra season. otherwise known as fall. as a libra, i do like the multiple meanings of a word. so of course “fall” refers to our current autumnal season, but “fall” is also a verb. in the months of september, october, and november, i resolve to more often trip unexpectedly and regularly collapse into bed. i shall in all ways strive to get closer to the ground, like a leaf.
BTW I LOVE THE OXFORD COMMA!
“fall” is also the name of a large piece of fake hair you blend into your real hair for glamorous effect. you might think that i have never worn a fall, but you are incorrect. i did a cameo in a movie last year where the hair and makeup ladies hooked me up with a super rad hairstyle that included a fall to augment my usual pompador. i can’t tell you more about the movie until next month when it will have premiered at some cool festivals. you’ll have to wait to see the fall.
i also can’t tell you about a lot of things i have been up to. i know the point of this pod is to tell you things i am up to, but right now i can’t. this is what it is to be an artist in 2024 - you are expected to keep people abreast of your happenings.
speaking of breasts, no never mind.
while keeping people abreast of your goings-on, you are also expected to hold on to your goings-on in order to give them the maximum impact when you do tell people what you are even doing, but really it’s what you did many months or years ago.
here’s a thing that i “just” did. my song “born to hum” has “just” (ha!) been used in a hallmark channel show called “the chicken sisters”. they asked me 6 months ago for permission to use a song i wrote 25 years ago. but i couldn’t tell you until the episode came out last week.
confusing. like libras.
we seem so available, and then we disappear. it’s because we are scared of limits and doors closing and final answers. we like options, options feel safe. the more options the more safety. bring me options in life. but not in my wardrobe or refrigerator.
i also saw someone online describe libras as “the least dramatic, most dramatic person”. that’s me!xo erin
ps: back to 2025, when carl turned 4 and i turned 48. yes! we have the same birthday!
¡ME GUSTA! : SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!
* i haven’t had any time the last week to compile recs for you, but here are my open tabs: umberto eco on fascism, dorothy thompson on nazis, how 12 step principles can help activists organize, what it takes to be a revolutionary war re-enactor.
* i am reading a book about the mars craze of the late 19th and early 20th century.
* i listened to an amazing book about the connection between female sexual trauma and poltergeists in 1938.
UPCOMING SHOWS
2025
now - June 2026 - Fredericksburg VAFredericksburg Area MuseumOut And About: The Walk-in ClosetVISIT
October 19, 2025 - Morgantown WVMountain StageTICKETS
October 22, 2025 - Austin TXAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 23, 2025 - Dallas TXAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 24, 2025 - Oklahoma City OKAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 25, 2025 - Lawrence KSAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 27, 2025 - St Louis MAAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 28, 2025 - IndianapolisAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 30, 2025 - Toronto ONAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
October 31, 2025 - Detroit MIAs The Weather with Welcome To Night ValeTICKETS
November 21, 2025 - Northampton MAthe snap dragons will openTICKETS
November 29, 2025 - New York NYF*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday SpectacularTICKETS
December 5, 2025 - Los Angeles CAF*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday SpectacularTICKETS
December 7, 2025 - Berkeley CAF*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday SpectacularTICKETS
December 10, 2025 - Olympia WAF*CK THAT! Anti-Holiday SpectacularTICKETS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!DEC 11 - EugeneDEC 12 - SeattleDEC 13 - Portland
2026
April 10-May 10, 2026 - Chicago ILWorld Premiere of OUT HERE @ Court TheatreTICKETS & INFO
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