PLAYLIST: November 2020
For waiting and watching. For clinging to the good, the exciting, the pointless, the light.
Some notes:
“Love Is Light,” Yola. I was late to le party on Yola’s album, Walk Through Fire. It’s so good. Genre-bending and theatrical.
“The Ascension,” Sufjan Stevens. If I shoehorned any tune in here, it’s probably this one. I just love this new album and I want everyone to listen to it. I don’t keep up with everything Soof does but I admire his ambition, and this is the first release since Carrie & Lowell that I’ve obsessed over. See also: “Video Game.”
“Colors,” Black Pumas. Sunset-glowing, leaf-changing fall music.
“Beaten Down,” Sharon Van Etten. Your big ol' heart takes a lot on / Shoulders the world / It takes a lot to unfold / And you compromise so / Don't try to understand / Your big ol' heart gets beaten down / It ain't beaten down (x4) / Don't you hear it beatin' now?
I wanted to fit in the a capella version of “Bombs Over Baghdad” from the rereleased Stankonia, but I didn’t have a shoehorn big enough. (I thought maybe it would work as a parallel to Mary Oliver??? Get on my level.)
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There used to be more songs here that referenced These Trying Times, but I listened to that version while cleaning house and it was like… [deep bone-rattling sigh] we don’t need reminders at this point so…
…I added a bunch of love songs instead. The whole vibe turned for the better when I added So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings. Remember songs about crushes? Remember dumb fun stuff???
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Finalized while throwing money at the Biden/Harris campaign and text banking for People Power and Warren Democrats. We can balance dumb fun and action, and we should.
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Trying to prepare for the next few days has felt eerily similar to bracing for grief anniversaries. I don’t know how I’ll feel, or what I’ll need, or what the people I love will need. I’m trying to create as much space to breathe as possible.
Joy is possible and legal. Maintaining is good, too.
Take care. <3