I’m burning myself out. I think the stress of work, my only child being away in college and the attendant stress with that, along with the self-imposed commitment to get a 2025 review in every day was just too much this time, and I found myself not enjoying the process like I did last year. These next few days the plan is just to relax and let the music just be music, not a box to check off or a pile in my office to shrink. So I’m going to move a little slower, a little more deliberately. I don’t want to one of those people who want to write but all they ever write about is the fact that they’re not writing; I’m doing this for myself, and I find the best way through is just to keep writing. Which hey: I just did.

This week is a very random suite of stuff that’s ben keeping my head and heart afloat this week.

• Metallica – “Crash Course in Brain Surgery”
• Al Green – “Driving Wheel”
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer – “Barbarian”
• Rush – “Xanadu”
• Nirvana – “Son of a Gun (BBC John Peel Session)”
• Exodus – “Til Death Do Us Part”
• Pink Floyd – “Have a Cigar”
• Fuzz – “Fuzz’s Fourth Dream”
• Bill Evans Trio – “Solar”
• Frank Zappa – “Advance Romance”

Who am I kidding…I’ll eventually write about all of these (and yes, Al Green two weeks in a row). But for now, I hope you find some music that heals you, and puts you in the place you want to be, spiritually, emotionally…whatever you need.

Happy Holidays.

Be safe, be good to each other. See you next week.