KEVIN McCORRY, HOST: I’m Kevin McCorry and this is ‘Jukebox Journey.’
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Our House” by Madness, “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, “My House” by Flo Rida]
KM: We’re unstuck in time, jumping through decades and genres, meditating on a theme.
This week: This Old House.
It’s always something.
Dishwasher on the fritz from a clog. Lightbulb flickering in the hall. Leak seeping through the kitchen ceiling.
[MUSIC: “Drip Drop” by The Drifters]
KM: From 1958, The Drifters.
[MUSIC SWELL]
More than a decade into homeownership, it’s that kitchen leak that’s been my bane.
Redid the roof above. Still leaked. Redid the siding above, still leaked. Redid the windows above.
Problem solved.
Or so it seemed. But then after I fixed the ceiling, it, somehow, leaked again. And the discolored patch of drywall now mocks me for trying.
[MUSIC: “It Makes No Difference” by The Band, live at Winterland for The Last Waltz]
KM: The Band, live in 1976.
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: As the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote: “Things fall apart”….a homeowner’s creed if I ever did see one.
So what to do? Bit by bit acquire a basement full of tools and make YouTube your best friend.
[MUSIC: “D.I.Y.” by Peter Gabriel]
KM: Peter Gabriel from 1978.
Over time you get some wins. You’re replacing toilets, rewiring outlets, building closets. And maybe a little confidence starts to build.
[MUSIC: “The Touch” by Stan Bush]
KM: From 1986, Stan Bush.
But, sure enough, failure brings you back down to earth. The shower pipe that keeps exploding. The furnace that won’t fire as temperatures dip. An opportunity to learn, they say. Sure: or give in and call the pros.
[MUSIC: “I Can Help” by Charley Crockett]
KM: Charley Crockett in 2021 doing the Billy Swan cover.
But the longer you’re in the game, you learn that no matter who does the job, no success leads to an end. Just a no-longer-squeaking hinge that swings to another line on the to-do list.
Like the laundry and the dishes, it’s just overlapping cycles of beginnings, middles and ends — blurring as the years go by.
[MUSIC: “I Can Change” by LCD Soundsystem]
KM: LCD Soundsystem from 2010.
Maybe all your workw is leading to progress. Maybe it’s all just maintenance. Maybe all that matters is the doing. The flow-state zen of having something to direct your focus.
[MUSIC: “Joy in Repetition” by Prince]
KM: From 1990, Prince Rogers Nelson.
So when I look at the discolored drywall on the kitchen ceiling, I sigh. I’ll solve that problem someday, but know another will arise in its place, and half smiling, I’ll think: It’s always something.
[MUSIC: “Glass, Concrete and Stone” by David Byrne]
KM: David Byrne from 2004.
[MUSIC SWELL]
I’m Kevin McCorry and this has been a Jukebox Journey on WHYY.
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