The first release from our upcoming album After the Hours, the Minutes,
is out on streaming platforms!
But what about that intriguing title? This bit from the liner notes explains it:
A couple of years ago someone recommended The Moon And The Ghetto to me. This essay, written in 1977 by Richard R. Nelson, is one of the definitive texts on public policy. Nelson attempts to answer the question: If we can land a man on the moon, why can’t we solve the problems of the ghetto? After reading it I reached out to him to see if I do an interview for an article I was writing. I saw on Wikipedia that he would be close to 90 years old so wondered if I would get a response. But I did get a response – the same day – expressing pleasure in knowing that “that old book still makes sense to people”.
We had a conversation several weeks later where professor Nelson answered all of my questions in the most thoughtful and articulate fashion imaginable and we discussed why it might be that – in this time of concern about climate change and debate about how to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – there is renewed appreciation for The Moon and the Ghetto that, almost like a time capsule, has been rediscovered and its contents reopened for Nelson’s recommendations to have impact once again.
