Annotated Playlist

A Suit or a Suitcase

Hi, Friend.

Today’s annotation isn’t a poem but a playlist. You might remember that I did this before You Could Make This Place Beautiful was published: I made a playlist of songs I associated with the book, and then talked a little about some of them.

On my Spotify, you can find all of my public playlists, including a few for my recent books: Dear Writer, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Goldenrod, and Keep Moving. The playlist for A Suit or a Suitcase is just shy of three hours long (and I may just keep adding to it), but I’ve chosen a handful of tracks to annotate here with some notes.

“It’s Your Own Body and Mind,” Angelo de Augustine & Sufjan Stevens

Many of the poems in this book grapple with the self, including the title poem. The jacket copy describes the book as “a collection of poems on the sometimes-blurry distinction between mind and body, and how the self shifts and moves through time and space.” Sufjan Stevens is one of my favorite songwriters and also one of met favorite singers, and this record is one I listen to a lot, usually on vinyl. I love the sweetness of the harmonies. It’s perfect writing music, if you ask me.

“Winchester Mansion of Sound,” Neko Case

Neko Case is probably my favorite songwriter, period, and that voice! (She’s also a terrific memoirist and is here on Substack.) This song off her new record struck me as right for this playlist, especially these lines: “You're too much life for just one body, body, body” and “There’s too much life/ for just one lifetime.” (I think about these things all the time. How can it be that we are the same people we were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but also different people?) Plus, I’m obsessed with the piano in this song. Brilliant.

“Bodys,” Car Seat Headrest

I didn’t want all of the songs on this playlist to be mid tempo and on the melancholy side, though my music taste often leans in that direction. This Car Seat Headrest song has been a favorite of mine for several years, so I was happy to have a reason to share it with you here. It’s earnest and vulnerable but also witty, and I think it’s impossible to listen to “Bodys” and not move your body. Dance break! You’re welcome!

“Breaking Down (Acoustic),” Superchunk

One thing I love about Superchunk is the tension between the music and the lyrics; the sound is often sunny and bright, thanks to Mac McCaughan’s sweet voice and the instrumentation, but when you hone in on the words—whew. I first fell in love with the original version of this song, but now I have a soft spot for the acoustic version. As a poet, I also nerd out on the use of S and F alliteration. Listen for it.

“Where Is My Mind?” the Pixies

I have clear memories of driving around in my car as a teenager, windows down, scream-singing this song with my friends. If I’m being honest, I still do that, but these days I’m mostly driving solo or with my kids (who will also sing along to this one, because it’s flawless). Many years ago I saw the Pixies play it live, with Ohio’s own Kim Deal on those haunting ooooh, and last year my kids and I saw Nada Surf cover it live. And, yes, we sang along. I hope you will, too.

“Theologians,” Wilco

I’ve been listening to Wilco since their first record (and I was a big Uncle Tupelo fan before that), and they’re one of the bands that sort of fit the bill no matter the season, the occasion, or my mood. I can always listen to Wilco. There are multiple songs of their that would be right at home on this playlist, but this one was a must-have. I’m not a religious person, but I’m someone who thinks a lot about life’s big questions, and I try to remain curious and open rather than dogmatic, and “Theologians” feels right for that.

“Hey Shadow (Demo),” The Replacements

One of the sad facts of my life is that I haven’t seen The Replacements live. Paul Westerberg solo? Yes, but not the band. I’ve listened to this band probably nearly every day—certainly every week—for more than thirty years. Yes, when I visit Minneapolis, as I’ll do again on book tour next month, I think, “This is Replacements country!” And yes, I want at least one Replacements song played at my funeral. But this one made the playlist because shadows are a motif in this book. (The playlist ends with “Oh, Shadowless” by Neko Case.)

I hope you find some tried-and-true favorites on the A Suit or a Suitcase playlist, and I hope you make some new discoveries, too. Let me know what your favorite tracks are! And thank you for ordering the book. I’m really looking forward to sharing it with you when I hit the road in March.

Happy listening—
Maggie