Without music, life would be cold and far too quiet. While enveloped in the warmth of a favorite song, the world around you can become more aesthetically pleasing. As shadows, movements, and words come into new focus, the cold doesn’t seem as harsh. For this issue of Requited, I asked James Becker, a fixture in the Chicago music scene, to give us some warmth. Becker plays and teaches old-time fiddle as well as playing in several Chicago outfits, including the experimental post-rock band Califone. I asked him to submit recordings that did’t fit onto an album, but that could stand on their own. I felt that hearing these pieces offered a view from the inside out.
Lynda Wellhausen has published nonfiction about music and art in Mule and M Magazine. She lives in Chicago.