A bus and a few cars ran along Kingsland Road, just north of Old Street, on 11 December 2020. A man was out, having just turned on the road, heading north, walking to get some fresh air in the cold night. The country was in lockdown, and social interactions were limited and masked.
It was about 7pm, his work had finished for the day, and he was listening to a new album by The Avalanches, which was a rare treat. The band had released just three albums since 2000. Each was a playful, expertly done mash-up of collaborators, samples and, increasingly on their second and third albums, original instrumentation. This was their third (and latest to date) album, We Will Always Love You. It had been released on the day he was out walking, later in the year than most "big" albums were released.
"Maybe this isn't a 'big' album?" he said to no one other than himself. He'd started talking to himself more in the past year. "That's irrelevant, though. What matters is I'm immediately taken by the album's first few tracks, it was as warm and generous as most albums by the band."
He walked along Kingsland Road and nearby streets. It was a quiet evening, although occasionally cars passed or a nearly empty bus, as he listened to the new album.
"It has an even more overtly interstellar theme than usual," he said. The first track featured a woman telling the listener goodbye and that she loved them. The second track, 'Song for Barbara Payton', featured a haunting, vulnerable voice. He listened to the first two songs over and over, savouring them. Then skipped to a later track, number 22, "Running Red Lights," which he'd heard previously and featured a repurposed lyric from one of his favourite singers, David Berman.
"Who is Barbara Payton?" he said. "I love the first few songs, plus 'Running Red Lights', which replays a lyric from 'Darkness and Cold' by Purple Mountains. R.I.P., David Berman."
After about 20 minutes of walking he stopped at a grocery store. Outside, he put on his mask and stepped inside.
"This is a really good album," he said to no one while inside, walking down the produce aisle. "I'll listen to this a lot in the coming year, probably."
"You were talking while walking past me earlier, out on Kingsland Road," a man said. He looked to be in his early 60s, but it was tough to tell, he was also masked and wore a stocking cap. "Barbara Payton had a lot of success then a hard life. She was an actress, co-starring with Lloyd Bridges and James Cagney. She was married five times, had an incident that damaged her reputation and career, which led to her losing her career. Her life spiraled into alcoholism, drug addition, legal problems and poverty. She died at age 39, from liver and heart failure. She had a hard life and wasn't always treated well. She deserves songs to be written to her."
