Years and years ago, a dear friend told me The Mountain Goats “This Year” was his favorite New Year’s song.
“Nah, man,” I told him. “That’s not a New Year’s song. That’s a song for November, when you’ve been beaten down by the year and you’re crawling towards the end of December like a marathon runner creeping towards the finish line.”
It was the middle of November, 2016 when that friend texted me and said, “you were right.”
While it hasn’t been a particularly difficult year (at least not compared to the last few), I find myself in a state of exhaustion lately. If you’re a frequent visitor to this blog, you’ve no doubt noticed a darker tone in some of my recent posts. This darker shift is a symptom of all that exhaustion of making it through this year, poking its head out of the water.
However, as previously stated, this proves the perfect moment to crank the volume and scream along to as John Darnielle belts the words “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.”
And now for something completely different: LCD Soundsystem’s “Home” proves another anthem for propelling yourself into whatever season is just around the corner. How can you do anything but smile and feel grateful when belting a line like, “So grab your things and stumble into the night, so we can shut the door, and shut the door on terrible times…”
joshua chamberlain 