Out with the old, on to the next.
There’s been a lot of 2016 bashing going on, and I can’t entirely disagree. It had its shitty moments.
We lost Prince, Bowie, Princess Leia, Merle Haggard and Guy Clark. To name a few. A lot of people I know and love had a tough go this year. I can’t say if it was more than usual, but it sure felt that way.
We had an embarrassment of an election, leading to who knows what the hell will come next. And life continued to serve up interesting, weirder and more frustrating challenges.
That said, this tweet grabbed my attention yesterday morning as perhaps a good way to go out.
2016 may have been a dumpster fire at a freak show, but tonight let's douse ourselves in champagne & love in honor of magic that persisted
— madam psychosis (@madampsychosis) December 31, 2016
In that spirit, here are a few positives from the past year:
I released a record in March.
I played 25 shows last year.
I played in three states.
Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
A bunch of nice folks came to shows, bought the record or spun my songs on the radio and Internet.
All the people I love are healthy and safe.
I have some really great friends.
I know a bunch of great musicians and songwriters, and I get to hang with them sometimes.
I wrote a bunch of new songs. Some of them are even good.
We did some traveling.
We got a new dog.
The old dog is still with us and doing well.
The cat gained weight.
We traveled out of the US a few times.
I have a steady job that I don’t loathe and allows me some time to do music as well.
And there’s plenty more of the good.
If, however, you need a bit of venting, I would not blame you for wanting to clean out the psychic plumbing. I’ve been feeling that too.
So in that spirit, I’ll leave you to your new year with this (NOTE: don’t click this link if you are somewhere that people will hear this song in a way that may be embarrassing to you- it’s definitely NSFW). For the record, I threw this together a week or two ago. It is hardly ready for prime time, but it was cathartic to write the song and record it, even in this rather half-assed form.
If you feel like doing something more substantial, try giving some money to organizations that do good in the world. I made a commitment with my family this year to donate regularly to the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU. You could also take a shot at getting involved in your own community. You could even make it to a live show and support your local artists!
Happy New Year.
Follow me wherever you are!
As always, you found the sunny side of the street!