Sage Country Fragments

In this episode, visit a variety of dreamscapes. Featuring "Song for Ely, NV," "Song for the Boy From That One Sufjan Stevens Song," and "Song for the Frogs Who Desired a King."

In this episode, visit Boise Centre East room 420B. Featuring: "Song for Ed Sheeran and his Appearance in the 2019 Film Yesterday," "Song for Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames," "Song for the 36th St Garden Center," "Song for Treefort," and "Song for Walmart." Plus: a cover of Bob Dylan's "Farewell." Many thanks to the folks at Treefort for having us, particularly to the eminent Alisha Graefe.

In this episode, visit the Johnny Cash Museum, the house where Carl Sandburg was born, and Matt's old apartment. Featuring: "Song for Motel 6," "Song for the Delta Variant," and "Song for Carl Sandburg." Plus: an atmospheric a capella rendition of the Mountain Goats' "Seed Song."

In which Calvin tells you about some upcoming projects he and Matt are working on, and then serenades you on an out-of-tune toy piano in the middle of a thrift store. Administrative Leave runs from March 3-5, 2022, at FIreFusion Studios in Boise. More information available here in the coming days. Travel Plans will be available on all your favorite (and least favorite) streaming platforms on March 11, 2022. Plan accordingly. Here's a video of Calvin in the studio. For those of you who read all the show notes, thank you; here is a link to a Bob Dylan song I am thinking a lot about these days.

Smells Like Poetry is now available on all your favorite music streaming platforms! (Also, check out this cassette tape I found in a thrift store. Pretty neat.)

In this episode, visit the internal workings of the show itself. Featuring: "Song for My Hands," "Song for Joseph Alexis Bailly," and "Song for Mulholland Drive." Also featuring: "Song for My Hands" (again). Side note: get hyped for Smells Like Poetry! The new album, covering expisodes 11 through 20, will be in digital music stores and platforms in five days! Keep an eye out for the next update in this podcast feed.

In this episode, visit a great many bodies of water. Featuring: "Song for Martin Blackwood," "Song for Nevada," and "Song for Spider-Man 2."

In this episode, visit a tense competition on the shores of the Boise River, a parked car at a park in Cheyenne, and a rather noisy apartment in Copenhagen. Featuring: "Song for the Cryptic Figure Cut by Louise in Bob Dylan's 'Visions of Johanna,'" "Song for David Allen Sibley," and "Song for a Room Full of Parakeets."

An update and an announcement, featuring two poems and a song. Starts / Stops / Signs is available on all the major music streaming plaftorms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music.

CW: transphobic slur. In this episode, visit an Albertsons parking lot, the mountains of Montana, and several friends' apartments. Featuring "Song for Depression," "Song for Dane Terry," and "Song for Melba, Idaho."

In this episode, visit Sports Clips, Target, and a 1966 author event with Allen Ginsberg at City Lights Bookstore. Also featuring: "Song for Phoebe Bridgers," "Song for a 94th Street Apartment," and "Song for my Large and Ever Growing Collection of Highway Maps."

Since I (Matt) am currently in the midst of a long series of travels, we're doing a mini episode this week, featuring our reviews of three locations each in Idaho and Wyoming. If you enjoy this sort of writing, we recommend The Anthropocene Reviewed, a podcast (and now a book!) that we're pretty openly riffing on.

In this episode, visit an important Starbucks on the corner of 4th and Seneca and a less important Starbucks on the corner of Grand and Green Bay. Featuring: "Song for Boring, OR," "Song for Diane Nguyen," and "Song for the Last Chapter of On the Road."

In this episode, visit so very many places across the US. Featuring: "Song for Daisy O'Sullivan," "Song for Imaginary Advice, Episode 83," and "Song for the JUMP Amphitheater."

In this episode, visit the Midwest, the ocean, and an art gallery right before closing. Also featuring: "Song for Ponyo (2008)," "Song for Nick Carraway and/or Mr. McKee," and "Song for the IHOP on Federal Way."

In this episode, visit the past. Featuring "Song for the Owyhee Range," "Song for Yevgeny Yevtushenko," and "Song for the Resurrection of Lazarus."

In this episode, visit the inside of several books and several kitchens. Also featuring "Song for Exit 364 to Lincolnway," "Song for This One Customer Who Was Consistently Rude to Me for No Apparent Reason," and "Song for the Eighth Chapter of The Shining."

CWs: death, suicide, addiction. In this episode, visit a gas station in Oak Hill, a bar in Abilene, and a Pad Thai house full of dead romance. Also featuring "Song for the I-40: Westbound Santa Fe to Los Angeles," "Song for Kerouac's Haiku," and "Song for Matthew Shepard." Special thanks to West Virginia Public Broadcasting for the use of their piece.

In this episode, visit a Fred Meyer, an oil refinery, and Gothenburg, Sweden (by proxy). Also featuring: "Song for Virginia," "Song for Nicholas Cage," and "Song for 'The Sign.'" Plus: "The Sign"!

In this episode, visit Alaska, Nebraska, and the Eurotunnel. Also featuring: "Song for the Fulton County Election Board," "Song for Nebraska," and "Song for Betty Smith."

In this episode, visit the Oregon coast, Goldstone's Dry Goods and Groceries, and the Milwaukee Barnes and Noble. Also featuring: "Song for 2020," "Song for a Rest Stop in Eastern Wyoming," and "Song for my Pharmacist Who Did Not at Any Point Think to Tell Me that the Prescription I Transferred Four Months Ago Can't Actually be Filled Because my Doctor Isn't on a Specific Register of Wyoming-Approved Physicians for Controlled Substances so I Ended Up Driving for Twelve Hours on Christmas Day to Spend a Total of Ten Minutes at my Hometown's Rite-Aid to Get my Medication."

We're taking the end of December off for writing, so here's some outtakes and odds and ends from this year. Featuring a second Mountain Goats viola quartet and "Song for Jim and Pam."

In this episode, visit Boise during a thunderstorm, Cheyenne during a blizzard, and the backend of many, many Zoom calls. Also featuring: "Song for a Jerusalem Inn with No Vacancy," "Song for my Otamatone," and "Song for Alex Trebek."

In this episode, visit the woods around the Pine Bluffs Archeological Site, Little America, and the Taj Mahal of your dreams. Featuring "Song for the Cult of the Invisible Hand," "Song for Western Washington," and "Song for Jeff Holland."

In this episode, visit various spots around New England, the Laramie Mountains, and the presidential campaign trail. Featuring "Song for the Number of Times I Have Turned to an Alfred Hitchcock Movie for Consolation Upon Having my Heart Broken," "Song for Alternate Universe Matt," and "Song for Lisbon."

In this episode, visit San Francisco, the Newport Folk Festival, and an indeterminate location in southeast Wyoming. Also featuring, "Song for an Erotic Sci Fi Novel I Found," "Song for an Apartment in Cheyenne," and "Song for Baucis."

In this episode, visit the Kuna Arctic Circle Parking Lot and the month of January. Featuring "Song for the Man at the All Way Stop," "Song for the Church on Amity Road," and "Song for My To-Do List."

Welcome to Sage Country. In this episode, visit Idaho City, the Placerville Cemetery, and the inside of a dreamed 7/11. Also featuring: "Song for Silver City," "Song for the Screw That Fell From my Glasses," and "Song for an Old Friend I Haven't Seen in a Very Long Time but Somtimes Think About."