Back when I was 19 years old, at the peak of my naive pursuit into a career in poetry, I discovered the works of Rod McKuen. I would spend several hours each week in my college library, searching for verse that spoke to me in the same way I wanted my verse to speak to others. McKuen’s words were so relatable — after seeing my fiancé off to South Korea for a year, I found understanding in his poems. “If you go away on this summer day, then you might as well take the sun away.” During some of the darkest days of my life, it was in the worn pages of those library books where I found the light to keep me going. Discovering that McKuen had translated his poetry into music helped it glow even brighter, and I basked in it.
The sad news heard across the world recently is that Ween has come to an end. Honestly, no great loss to me because I didn’t really listen to them much. They did some interesting, admirable stuff, but it never really stuck with me. However, I do have friends who feel the loss and I am here to pat them on the back and say, “There there, there there.” Because YOU GUYS, Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman has done something right now that I completely love and you might love, too!
