~47~

A mix for the age.

I turned 47 last week. I suppose a part of me is freaking out that I’m nearly 50. It’s the part of me that feels like I should have more accomplished by this age. I should be a published novelist, I should be rich, I should be storming the fascist and suppressive powers that be currently dismantling what little good exists in this trainwreck of a country we call the United States of America.

It’s also the part of me that still goes to shows at small venues and feels like a granddad. Eh. Whatever!

But the older I get, the least freaked out I feel. Things will happen if they happen when they happen. I can’t force anything. I need to be thankful for what I have. I need to appreciate that I’m here in this moment, as fucked up and awful as it often is. It could be gone tomorrow and I wouldn’t even know. That would be much worse than taking a deep breath and realizing that despite its seemingly nonstop doomscrolling turmoil, it’s better to be here than not.

And so with that - a playlist: a mix of 47 songs, one for every year I’ve been around. I tend to make these every July. Most of the songs on this list are new - from this year or late last year. That’s pretty impressive, really. In the past it’s more 50/50 old discoveries and new bops, and I think it’s a testament to how much great music is being cranked out these days. Honestly this could have been longer and filled with even more new stuff.

May you be blessed with 47 more years and songs - and thensome.