I would be expecting too much to even imagine that my personal health and well-being would be in lockstep with the health of my community, nation or planet. Personally for me, 2016 was an extension of my honeymoon, full of health and happiness for my family and I. In contrast to that happiness, our society lost too many talented personalities and sadly acquiesced to a hateful and cynical political story brought forth by a man that is unqualified to be the President of the United States. He isn't even gone yet and I already miss my outgoing POTUS. In true DIY style, Mac McCaughan lead singer of the great Raleigh NC band Superchunk and founder of Merge records, released a cool and fitting tribute to 2016 with a nod that 2017 cannot get any worse Happy New Year (Prince can't die again). Let's hope he's right and that our nation wakes up, takes notice and fights to preserve our freedoms, democracy and our environment.
The loss of Prince
hit me a bitter hard and deeper than Bowie or Frye's death because he was my generation's own
original. Right? Based on his 57 years on this earth, I guess
he was not a Gen-X'er but he sure as hell was on the bedroom walls of my generation and on my mix tapes, tape decks, turntables and apple play lists. My
birth at the end of 1965 does officially qualify my X cred but with Purple
Rain's explosion onto the scene in '84, we could not help noticing the brilliance of the music and the artist. He appealed to
black and white kids and just about everybody else. Jimi Hendrix guitar
riffs, rock ballads, funky grinds, disco
beats,rap and whatever version of rock n roll or funk you liked. How about that
Super Bowl halftime show in Miami in the rain or the jam at the Hall of Fame with Petty, Lynne, Winwood et al?! He's clearly influenced many
musicians and his music will not be forgotten. Prince is dead. Long live Prince.
My year end playlist is a celebration of the songs and artists that impacted me in 2016. Explore, enjoy and let me know what you think. The links to videos are below and contain some live and unique performances and of some of my favorites tunes from 2016.
Honeymoon mix:
Honeymoon mix:
Father John Misty - Real Love Baby
Bon Hiver - 33 God
In a Blackout - Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam
Best Six Songs of 2016:
1. Pedestrian at Best - Courtney Barnett
2. In a Drawer - Band of Horses
3. Shut Up Kiss Me - Angel Olson
4. Giant - Banks and Steelz
5. Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. In a Blackout - Hamilton Leithauser
Secondary Six:
Berlin Got Blurry - Parquet Courts
Smooth Sailing - Leon Bridges
Pretty Pimpin - Kurt Vile
33 God - Bon Hiver
On Hold - the xx
Burn the Witch - Radiohead
Bon Hiver - 33 God
In a Blackout - Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam
Best Six Songs of 2016:
1. Pedestrian at Best - Courtney Barnett
2. In a Drawer - Band of Horses
3. Shut Up Kiss Me - Angel Olson
4. Giant - Banks and Steelz
5. Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. In a Blackout - Hamilton Leithauser
Secondary Six:
Berlin Got Blurry - Parquet Courts
Smooth Sailing - Leon Bridges
Pretty Pimpin - Kurt Vile
33 God - Bon Hiver
On Hold - the xx
Burn the Witch - Radiohead
Although not on this year's list, Pearl Jam rules the
roost. Man, why did I take so long to catch a non-festival Pearl Jam show? How
can a band stay so true to its roots and take care of its fans so thoroughly?
The energy, musicianship, passion, artistry and straight forward, raw rock-n-roll
power was mesmerizing at their show in my newly adopted vacation town of
Greenville, SC. Those traits, along
with Eddie's connection to his audience blew me away and made me appreciate the
ability for some to take their passion and convert it to their vocation while
earning a damn good penny. Then, to top things off, I got to catch Pearl Jam at Fenway this summer and with super high expectations, the girls and I enjoyed a hot and steamy night in the grandstands at Fenway. I think my expectations were a bit out of whack but oh hell, it was still powerful.
Although highly
anticipated, I did not have lofty expectations for the Alabama Shakes show in
Charleston. The venue, Volvo Car Stadium
(nee the Family Circle Cup Tennis Stadium) on Daniel island surely impressed.
We struggled with the sound early on but a short walk down a level saved the
night and eradicated the problem. I guess there was just not enough speaker to
entertain those up high. I remember a Ramones show in a small music club/pub on
Halloween somewhere in Queens or Long Island that boasted about 5x the speakers
at this outdoor spacious stadium. I
vaguely remember that the only way to differentiate one song from the next was
Joey shouting, "one two three four" at the top of his lungs and more
noise just pouring out at us. Epic and
definitely memorable
I look back at my
favorite musical artists by staying in the present and appreciating what's out
there, peaking ahead for the next cool thing, but never assuming the past was
better than the present or that the future will be better than the past. Speaking of the future, how about the brand new High Water Music Festival making its debut on the North Charleston waterfront at Riverfront Park. Very cool that local band mates Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent from Shovels & Rope are putting on such a great festival and yes, I have tickets to the too-good-to-be-believed festival that is officially sold out. Headliners include The Shins, The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Raitfliff and the Night Sweats, Deer Tick, Shovels & Rope, Dawes, Jump Little Children, and more for a total of 20 plus bands. Nice. Oh yeah, and Shakey Graves on NYE at Charleston Music Hall.
Hang in there, get involved and make 2017 the best you can by doing good things for yourself, your family, your community, your country and your earth.
Hang in there, get involved and make 2017 the best you can by doing good things for yourself, your family, your community, your country and your earth.
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