Annual Magic 8 Ball music ritual
It’s that time of year again: time to shake the ol’ music library and see what’s in store for the coming year. (I do this for many signifiers of time passing… I close my eyes, set my intention, ask my music player what’s in store for me and then hit shuffle.) It’s generally pretty spooky (and wicked fun).
This past year has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, with all the highs & lows that come with doing a book, the economic pressures of rebuilding my business in the midst of touring and marketing, finally getting my thyroid & its wacky effects to a manageable state, ongoing adjustments in my personal life to both hunker down to take care of myself and my family, while hopefully leaving enough open to let some new experiences in. A big theme has been wanting a stack of things to happen, getting some of them, dealing with disappointment of others not coming through, and then realizing maybe I didn’t want all that to begin with. It’s been a lot of work, and I’m pretty worn out. The last few days have especially brought this to my attention, and it was an emotionally challenging week.
So I wasn’t super psyched to do New Year’s stuff, in general. There’s some confusion about what I want to focus on next, what my Next Big Thing will be. I’m mostly just hoping for more equanimity in my life in 2011, and directing all of my efforts on heading back to Berlin over the summer. (It’s a good place to do some figuring-out.)
Nonetheless, I can’t resist my magic 8 ball ritual, so here are the five six songs that are clearing the way for this calendar year:
- “Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard” by Paul Simon. OK, this was actually playing in the bar as it turned midnight last night, but it’s one of my favorite songs, and I love this lyric: “I’m on my way / Takin’ my time but I don’t know where.”
- “Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin. Well, I’m not jumping for joy at having pieces of my heart strewn about, but hey, this might be interesting.
- “Tiger Woods” by Dan Bern. I’ll just say it: I’ve got big balls. Yes sir, yes sir.
- “Remote Control” by the Beastie Boys. Ooooo, this whole verse hit home for me: “Until your back’s up against the wall / You never know yourself that much at all / So you’ve got to share your love with a friend / That’s all that you’ve got left in the end / Living in this city of pure confusion / People misled by their own illusion / All this action, no satisfaction / We’re all linked together like a chain reaction / Play or fold, love is bold / What is the future that will unfold? / Some like it hot, others like it cold / But we all want to hold the remote control”
- “Dan Is In Town” by Adria. Couldn’t find lyrics for this one, so I’ll have to give it a deeper listen later. I got this tune from a daily feed of free creative-commons licensed music in 2006.
