Finds: Nat King Cole • Bobby Charles • Carole King demos • Best shirt jacket • Indian matchbox designs

If you want to transform any space into a cozy den, just platter Nat King Cole. This song in particular, but you could also play the entirety of the Complete Capital Recordings.

I Must Be in A Good Place Now. Few songs evoke a pleasantly lazy afternoon or fondness for life like this song. Andy Cabic introduced me to this song a long time ago. I recall enjoying the sound of the artist’s name … Bobby Charles. 

A young Carole King. Early 60s, midtown Manhattan, when songwriting was a vocation. There are songs that one grows up with on classic rock stations. Like a Rolling Stone comes to mind. And many of them are masterpieces, but you really have to pay attention and unhear them to appreciate them fresh. This song, which Aretha Franklin made very famous, is one of those. “You’re the key to my piece of mind.” The raw piano demo from Carole King, makes you hear it differently. Lyrically, the message always seemed obvious, now I’m not so sure. If you read behind the literal words, it’s about how another’s love can help you feel more authentically your self. Someone in NYC shared this other Carole King song on a CDR and I remember when I first listened, it felt like hearing a secret.

Love is all around me. It’s written on the wind. It’s everywhere I go. The Troggs, but street-corner acapella.

Sometimes you can explain why you like something. Other times, you can’t. I just really like this song. Ignore the silly album cover. I love how the raw piano uncovers the beauty of the underlying melody. Soaring, faltering, soaring. The melody is a little unusual in the Dead’s catalogue — more bouncy, syncopated, rhythmic, looping, than other songs. My son thought it reminded him of Kermit. But he actually meant Peanuts (yes, Vince Guaraldi!). I also like this Highlife version. 

The best shirt jacket. Many have asked and my answer is consistently the same. The apparel goes by multiple names — work shirt, painter’s jacket, chore jacket. With each question, my answer is always the same: vintage J Crew on ebay. Cheap, sturdy, timeless. I’m particularly fond of the red version. Alexander Calder wore something similar.

Tiny graphic design: matchboxes. Designer Matt Lee collects matchboxes from India. The designers are anonymous, the products are disposable, the canvas is small. Perhaps those are the best constraints for creativity.