Out of the Country

I feel awful that I neglected to write about this before leaving, but I’m currently out of the US and staying in a place where internet connections are scarce. With the ubiquity of high speed wireless in my city, it’s both surprising and refreshing to lack updates on my phone, along with the ability to google anything I come across. I feel free and untethered, a bit lost, and very alive.

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This is a lighthouse I really liked climbing.

I just got my ears on the new David Bowie album, which is incredible sounding so far. I’ve got to thank spotify’s offline mode for this warm pleasure. If you haven’t tried it yet, I can’t recommend enough that you do so.

In non-music news, I’ve been reading an excellent biography on David Lynch, titled The Man From Another Place. It’s inspiring a new wave of energy and enthusiasm for artistic growth in me, and it feels like it arrived at just the perfect moment. I’m letting go of habits and tics, and I’m more willing than I have been in years to embrace the dark weird corners of my interior. Stepping into my own oblivion is a strangely uplifting experience.

I’ll do something new with this site in the coming months.

In the meantime, I’ve also been crafting my Best Of 2015 list and will get it published as soon as I return. I’m so excited to share some of the gems that have enriched my life, especially the ones I haven’t seen on other lists. I know the year has passed, but at least one of my favorites didn’t appear until a couple weeks ago. It’ll be worth the wait.

My time is limited, so I’ll stop here. I’ll be writing a lot more very soon. Until then, I send my warmest greetings from Mexico!

My Favorite Christmas Song

A lot of people like a lot of Christmas music. I don’t. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have some favorites, though.

My very favorite holiday tune, and the first one I can ever remember, is Darlene Love’s take on Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). The original is still a transcendent, hair raising recording over 50 years later.

Credit must also go to Phil Specter’s wall of sound production and the bouncy rhythm section that makes the song just go, go, go. It seems to accelerate as it unfolds, bursting with an energy most holiday songs would wilt under. It’s a joy to hear every single year.

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a couple examples of Love’s annual Late Show appearances, where she’s performed the song since 1986.

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Toni Braxton “You’re Makin’ Me High”

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Here’s a slinky hit from my teenage years, with a video that felt uncomfortable, sexy, and powerful. I was 14 when it appeared on MTV, unable to appreciate what was happening. It was unshakable anyway.

Check out Toni Braxton’s 1996 single, You’re Makin’ Me High.

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Sufjan Stevens “Fourth of July”

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Some of my favorite songs hurt too much to listen to very often. They send me plunging into those forlorn corners of memory that I spend most days avoiding. I try to remember these songs, play them, and appreciate what happens when I open the flood gates to total despair.

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Who Makes The Nazis?

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This is the first time I’ve brought politics onto the site, but in light of recent news, it feels appropriate. The song asks an eternally relevant question that we seem to have collectively forgotten the answer to.

Here’s legendary English punk band The Fall, asking Who Makes The Nazis?

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Nostalgia For Dinner

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I was cleaning out my closet when I came upon a carefully folded envelope with a two page letter inside. It was a “goodbye” letter from my mom, given to me a year before she died. I was moving across the country and she wanted to give me some encouragement. In the wake of her death three years ago, it reads with a little more gravity.

I’ll spare you the details of her letter, the hot tears hitting the paper, and the way I crumpled on the floor as I read it. The most important thing is that her words resonate even stronger now. I’m finally at a point in life where I feel confident that I’m a positive force for other people, that I’m self sufficient, and that I’m a decent person. Maybe even a good person.

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DJ Paypal – Sold Out

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I haven’t listened to footwork this bracing since the first time I heard DJ Rashad.

That thought ran through my head mere minutes into this incredible set by DJ Paypal, the brief but incredibly energetic Sold Out. If you’re familiar with the Rashad and the wider genre at all, you’ll know how bold of a statement this is.

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