1/ Last month I had “date night” with my wife. We were resolved to stay out until at least 930. We went to one of Ann Arbor’s best credentialed bars. After 1.5 clever cocktails and some well-considered merguez sliders, we were exhausted. I called a cab. 2/ It was freezing outside. We could hear something faint but insistent coming from a club around the corner, something with bass and drums, something in 4/4 time. We decided to wait for the Uber inside.

Counting Crows, Blues Traveler, Hootie and the Blowfish, bands of that nature. I don’t think the vibe they were expressing exists anywhere in the world anymore. Not sure how I’d explain it to my kids if I had to. Boys, this man was a rock star poet, who spoke to the soul of a certain kind of American, who only existed for 10 years from 1987 to 1997.