I will settle in and dream

Of a slow and funny scene

If you’re a fan of the best spring gear and a throwback track by a favorite band (the very band shown above!), let me just say that you’re in luck with today’s edition of The Style Guide In Brief. It’s music, it’s menswear, it’s the weekend and it’s time to get started. So then, let’s begin with today’s featured track. It’s “Santa Clara,” an old favorite from a band I’ve talked about before in this newsletter (most recently, here and here). It’s a band I adore, and you probably know what comes next: The National. “Santa Clara” is an achingly beautiful and underrated song, filled with some of my favorite lyrics from the band (as evidenced by the headline, of course).

The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Ohio rockers are now a global band (and they’ve collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift — yes, you read that right), but it’s throwback tracks like this one that first caught my eye years and years ago. If you enjoy lo-fi, yet elegant and rich songs with beautiful composition, you’re going to enjoy this one.

My last newsletter, after all, talked about a throwback track from Beach Fossils. Today’s newsletter has more of the same, in the best way possible, and it’s all tuned towards a positive and enjoyable spring (trust me on that). We’ll talk about the best T-shirt on the market right now, plus the aforementioned track from The National, helped along by craft beer. You know the drill, so plug in, turn it up and have yourself a great weekend. Oh, and as I always say: Hit Subscribe below, tell all your friends and keep up with the rest of my work at my Linktree. Cheers!

What To Listen To This Weekend: “Santa Clara” By The National

If you, like me, start your weekend with some laidback listening and a cup of coffee or three, I’ve got just the song for you today. Off of 2008’s “The Virginia EP,” which I can’t help but feel has been really unfairly maligned by *ahem*, well, just click that link. This song itself is hauntingly beautiful, with an opening line that’s as poignant as anything lead singer Matt Berninger has ever written: “I don’t worry anymore/nothing like I did before.” It’s a really elegant and introspective song — a specialty of The National, to be sure — with lines about running to the river, settling in and dreaming, watching your old troubles and worries float away. What a sentiment, right? It’s a criminally underrated track in my book, so much so that I’ve never seen the band play it live… and I’ve seen The National play in Toronto, and Montreal, and Philadelphia, and Boston, and … well, you get the picture. Here’s hoping I see it live sooner rather than later, but for now, I’ll settle in and start my weekend with this track. If you feel so inclined, press play and keep on scrolling below.

What To Shop This Weekend: The Forty Five Tee from Huckberry

Hey, here’s a fitting way to dial up a new menswear essential for the weekend. The best T-shirt for men on the market is the Forty Five Tee, from my pals at San Francisco-based Huckberry, as you very well know if you read my regular style blog. The name and the inspiration for this stylish T-shirt is as cool as it gets, though. In the same way that the 45RPM record featured a hit single, a perfect song, if you will, Huckberry has crafted the Forty Five Tee to be the perfect T-shirt. You can get any three tees for $95, and with cool colors and neat details like a curved hem, it’s the best T-shirt you can buy for spring and summer.

Shop Huckberry

What To Sip This Weekend: Stone Brewing Stone IPA via Drizly

The very beer I’m recommending you try this season and this weekend (get it delivered via Drizly) is in fact the beer I’m sipping on right now as I pen this dispatch during Friday happy hour. And folks, let me tell ya: Is it ever an enjoyable spring sipper. Stone Brewing is bold and groundbreaking, and maybe the brewery’s California roots are a fitting tie-in with today’s feature track. As to the beer itself: You can’t deny that the brews on offer are worth their weight in hops. The Stone Brewing Stone IPA is a classic West Coast IPA, as classic as, say, a lovely spring track by The National or a standout T-shirt from Huckberry, and more than worth your time as you shop around for happy hour later. And of course, your soundtrack is already taken care of — cheers to that, folks.

The Final Pick: Danner Logger 917 Boots

The theme of today, I’d say, has been that the classics are that way for a reason. Much like the always-reliable Stone Brewing Stone IPA or a favorite throwback from The National, that brings us to the rock show-ready, adventure-focused Danner Logger 917 Boots, another ever-dependable purchase from the good folks at Huckberry. Lace up these boots for spring weekends aplenty, wear them on hiking or camping trips, wear them — as I would — to tool around Brooklyn and buy your favorite beer… just make sure to get a pair of your new favorite boots as quickly as possible.

I already know what’s on my spring to-do list this weekend, and that involves adding the Danner Logger 917 Boots to my wish list and cracking open a cold, classic Stone Brewing Stone IPA. I’m always down to listen to The National, of course, but revisiting old favorite songs takes on particularly special meaning when I’ve got the chance to really sit back and reflect. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening and if you make any purchases or find any new favorite tracks because of, well, this newsletter, find me in the comments section below. Cheers!