MUSIC FOR JUNE 2024
‘ROBIN TIME (NIGHT LOGIC)’
For robins themselves, it’s robin time whenever they want it to be.
But for me, robin time occurs in late spring, specifically around 3 o’clock in the morning. It’s the interlude when night is on the cusp of day and accordingly, I am somewhere between sleep and consciousness — with all that implies about the workings of the mind (hence “Night Logic”).
At some point in my 50s I realized how much I value robins (to the extent that I now wear one on my arm). They are welcome harbingers of spring and as the days grow longer you can’t walk a block without encountering at least one. What speaks to me in particular is the robin’s way of running around looking irritable as it makes its living. Been there!
I carried the unripe idea for this song around for a year until, in April 2024, I noticed anew on a Stan Getz album the title of a song by Benny Carter: “People Time.” That sparked this recording. Its four guitars, accordion and voice can’t say what a robin can say even before it’s had breakfast. But it nevertheless conveys my gratitude for the robin’s music, especially when I hear it in those weird hours before dawn — robin time. — by Doug Hubley
Hear “Robin Time (Night Logic)” below! Buy it on Bandcamp! (“Robin Time (Night Logic)” copyright © 2024 by Douglas L. Hubley. All rights reserved. Photo credits: Above, Jeff Stanton. Below, robin tatoo by Phuc Tran, Tsunami Tatoo, Portland, Maine.)