Having grown up in the Midwest and lived on the East Coast for the last decade, I have come to rely on the cold times of the year.
I’m spending my second Xmas out in Montana. The cold weather is a comfort. I have on thermals, jeans, a T-shirt, a flannel, and a wool sweater. The snow is about a foot deep. I might go fall down a ski slope later this week. There’s a fridge full of local and West Coast beers. Not too shabby.
Last year at this time, things were not going so well. I was looking at starting the New Year out of work. A writing project I’d been working felt stalled. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Being out of town helped me put some distance on cold reality.
I knew that if I allowed any of the psychic junk going on in my head to interfere with the holidays, I’d not only be a wreck that year – but every year thereafter.
The only way out is through, y’know.
Lately I’ve had that quote from Eleanor Roosevelt circling around in my head: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And to that I like to add some David Bowie: “I’m not a prophet or a stone age man, just a mortal with the potential of a superman.”
So there ya go.
When it gets cold again, I can think. It’s when I can see how everything falls. This year, 2010, has been a year of incredible highs and incredible lows. I got married. I went to Spain. I got to spend time with a lot of friends and family. I drank some nice beers. Those were the best things.
The bad was bad, and I don’t see the point in dwelling on it. The same goes for the people in my life who make things suck. I have shoved them out the airlock of my brain and watched them explode.
So as December rolls around and things turn towards Xmas, I like to assemble a collection of music that will keep me going through the season.
Here’s some music for you to enjoy. It’s a zipped file. If you want to know what you’re getting into before you get into it, here is the track list –
- “Cosmic Christmas” – The Rolling Stones
- “Xmas Riff” – T.Rex
- “What Christmas Means to Me” – Stevie Wonder
- “Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas” – The Staple Singers
- “All I Want Is Truth (for Christmas)” – The Mynabirds
- “Home on Christmas Day” – Capt. Elmo McKenzie
- “Child’s Christmas in Wales” – John Cale
- “Getting Down for Xmas” – Milly & Silly
- “Christmas Time Is Here Again” – The Beatles
- “Little Drummer Boy” – Hoot Owl Boys Choir
- “If Christmas Can’t Bring You Home” – The Reigning Sound
- “It’s Christmas Time” – Yo La Tengo
- “Christmas in Heaven” – Monty Python
- “Auld Lang Syne” – The Black on White Affair
- “Silent Night” – Leonard Cohen
- “Little Drummer Boy” – Lindstrom
Enjoy. Deck some halls. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la- Fa-la.
Featured at the top of the post is a glass of Til Fra (To From) by Mikkeller. It’s on tap at the Double Windsor in Brooklyn.
Filed under: music, brooklyn, double windsor, mikkeller, til fra