A song to start the day and a suggestion about the seasons

The other day, I was reading the 1978 commencement speech that Kurt Vonnegut gave at Fredonia College in New York.
In addition to great advice on how to make money, win love and treat your ears, Vonnegut offers a gentle suggestion for a perspective change regarding the seasons:

“One sort of optional thing you might do is to realize that there are six seasons instead of four.
The poetry of four seasons is all wrong for this part of the planet, and this may explain why we are so depressed so much of the time. I mean, spring doesn’t feel like spring a lot of the time, and November is all wrong for autumn, and so on.
Here is the truth about the seasons: Spring is May and June.
What could be springier than May and June?
Summer is July and August. Really hot, right?
Autumn is September and October. See the pumpkins? Smell those burning leaves?
Next comes the season called Locking. November and December aren’t winter. They’re Locking.
Next comes winter, January and February. Boy! Are they ever cold!
What comes next? Not spring. ‘Unlocking’ comes next. What else could cruel March and only slightly less cruel April be?
March and April are not spring. They’re Unlocking.”
- Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut’s words resonated deeply and felt so true for my part of the world, as well as with my current state of mind, which feels a little…well, “stuck” to say the least.

In addition to Vonnegut’s words from the past, last week also brought me Jason Kottke’s thoughts, which offered a clear and hopeful advice in the secret to enjoying a long winter.

I will aim to combine these voices from past and present and will try to consciously work towards enjoying instead of enduring.
For now, let’s stop the waiting and start the day- with this little gem by Future Islands:

Photograph of the Winter Lofoten by Sergey Lukankin

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p.s: You can read Vonnegut’s wonderful Fredonia speech in its entirety here.
A collection of nine of his best commencement addresses , along with personal drawings and thought are combined in If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young.

Songs to start the day - 'Like a Chicken' by WITCH

I’ve been listening to WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) quite a lot lately and highly recommend kicking your day off with their fantastic Zamrock grooves.

WITCH were the biggest rock band in Zambia in the 1970’s, headed by lead vocalist Emanuel "Jagari" Chanda - whose name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger’s.
Zambia's post-independence days were golden and WITCH’s shows were WILD….but sadly, with the economy collapsing in the late 1970s, government authoritarianism and strict curfews increased.
WITCH, like most Zamrock bands, were reduced to playing daytime shows and faded away.

There was a comeback for WITCH’s music in 2012, when their previous records were reissued.
Then in 2016, Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskovic travelled to Zambia to join a documentary crew who were making a film about WITCH .
They tracked down Jagari, and brought him out of retirement for a gig.
Since then, “New WITCH” have toured Europe and the U.S since, and I’m really hoping that the documentary by Gio Arlotta will be screened somewhere near me anytime soon.

Check out info about the latter here:
https://www.pantheonpictures.org/en/successful-wrap-of-our-new-documentary-about-the-witch-in-zambia/

But make sure to listen first, here:

Thumbnail Photograph: WITCH’s first show in Lusaka at a music festival in Matero Stadium, April 1974.
Left to right: Chir ‘Kims’ Mbewe, Paul 'Jones’ Mumba and Emmanuel Kanga 'Jagari’ on the right
Courtesy of Now-Again Records

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Songs to start the day - 'Debaser' by Pixies

I have adored Pixies for a long time now and on some mornings, you just feel like you want to take the world apart a bit.
Those are the mornings that scream for ‘Debaser’!

The lyrics were inspired by the 1929 surrealist Salvador Dalí / Luis Buñuel.l film “Un Chien Andalou”, in which a lot of very disturbing shit happens and the whole silent journey starts off with, well…a woman’s eyeball that is sliced open by a razor.
My advice is to not have a look at that, as you won’t be able to forget about it EVER…
Instead, have a listen to the mindblowing Kim Deal opening with a throbbing bass solo, loud/soft dynamics that provide wicked goosebumps, Frank Black howling like crazy to perfectly noisy guitar sound and start your day off just RIGHT.
What a rush…click to listen here:

Thumbnail Photograph: Pixies photographed at Pinkpop Festival on May 15, 1989, by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images

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Songs to start the day - 'Anenome' by The Brian Jonestown Masacre

Anthony Bourdain described the vibe of this song so well, when he said:
“Drenched in opiates and regret, I heard this song once and became besotted by it.
It sounds like lost love, past lives, unforgiven mistakes and transgressions.”

Anenome by the Brian Jonestown Massacre is the perfect song to start your day with, If you want to start your day
feeling dangerously sensual, that is.

Click to listen here:

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Things To Do

When asked for his definition of paradise, Johnny Cash replied:
“This morning, with her, having coffee.”

The following to-do list by Johnny, sold at an auction in 20110 for $6,250.
Remarkable, as to me it seems invaluable.
❤️ 

IMG_3130.JPEG

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