In addition to my (usually) weekly blog, I have a monthly newsletter where I recap my writing month, discuss books I’ve read, and sometimes share news of a more personal nature. It’s my version of DVD bonus features: a bit of behind-the-scenes flavoring for the blog’s main courses. I conclude every newsletter with a parting song, generally something that reflects my mood in the moment I’m writing. I often have a song in mind during the month but pick something different before I hit send. Now that we’ve reached December, here are the songs that captured my interest over the last year.

JANUARY
I don’t know what January is like in your part of the world, but in Appalachia, it sucks. Maryland is cold enough, but life in the mountains rolls at a whole different level. Last year, we had a stretch of 2+ weeks where the temps stayed in the teens and low 20s and dipped into the single digits overnight, including a few nights below zero. My pipes froze and eventually burst, so I didn’t have running water for almost a month. I had never known cold like before, but fortunately, there was a song available to explain how I felt.

Cold Like This – The Rumjacks featuring Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys

FEBRUARY
Winters harsh my head for reasons other than cold. The short days do me in. In a fair world, I could sleep 14 hours a day from Thanksgiving til Easter, but sadly that is not realistic for a man with a day job. Winter is a time for retrospection and perhaps a bit of melancholy, but with luck there’s also the opportunity to prepare for the renewal of spring.

Counting the Days – The Hanseroth Twins

MARCH
Deceptively upbeat, this lament on a type of unrequited love may or may not be related to how I’ve felt about our country’s political and social environment for the past 45 years or so. Frankly, the entire album was great.

I Love America and She Hates Me – The Wombats

APRIL
By the end of April, the days were longer, the nights were warmer, and I was feeling more optimistic. I like this song because it expresses what we might hope to find in life, while acknowledging that our days won’t always unfold in the way we’d wish. If you can hold both thoughts in your hand simultaneously, you won’t be disappointed.

These Are the Moments – Jay Putty

MAY
Another dose of introspective melancholy, with lyrical questions about purpose, meaning, and feeling hollow. Little did I know how the coming weeks would fill that emptiness with grace and companionship.

Damocles – Sleep Token

JUNE
At the time, I described the temperature as comparable to the atmosphere in Do the Right Thing, and if someone had looked at me funny I might have put a garbage can through a pizza parlor window. Hot weather needed a hot tune, and this song from a twentysomething Brit channeling Elvis and Roy Orbison is perfect for peak hour dancing in a sweltering honky tonk with bad lighting and worse ventilation. Put on your best jeans and tightest tank top and dance like your mamas warned you not to.

Who Knew Dancing Was A Sin – Elliot James Reay

JULY
At a writers’ retreat last summer, I was politely informed that “Damaged Protagonists” is not a genre, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. My heroes aren’t all good people. In fact, most of them are downright ornery and a few stubbornly adhere to their code of living long past the days it works for them. And yet, I still find myself rooting for them, even when I know how their stories end.

Good People Do Bad Things – The Ting Tings

AUGUST
August passed quickly and left me little time for writing. My day job, family get-togethers, a house that needed attention, friends who’d like to see me from time to time, and the needs of daily living all took their toll. When demands intersect, there’s only so much a body can do. No matter how hard I try, I can’t be everywhere all the time…

Everywhere All the Time – Devin Kennedy

SEPTEMBER
September was supposed to be better for my writing, and it was until my car got totaled in a hit and run. Ironically, my previous newsletter expressed gratitude that – while my life is not perfect – I am luckier than many. Unexpectedly losing a car from which I needed to coax another year or two of life left me with the yips. Some days you just want to quit.

The Yips – Petey USA

OCTOBER
October brought a pretty shiny new car but also a not-so-pretty car payment. This timely advice eased the sting a bit.

Girl, Have Money When You’re Old – Alison Brown and Steve Martin, featuring the Indigo Girls

NOVEMBER
A solid R&B bop straight from the 70s, reminiscent of Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love.” At 21, Sekou’s sound is older than he is. Is this merely a song I like or is there a thematic connection to fall shenanigans? You decide!

Catching Bodies – Sekou

DECEMBER
It’s early to pick a song to sum up my whole month, but it’s always a good time to go with a classic. After listening to dozens of renditions, I still haven’t found what I would consider a favorite version. What singer has the voice to do justice to the song’s majesty, the humility to avoid unnecessary vocal acrobatics, and the faith necessary to sell this reassuring message of peace and hope? The jury is out, but you can’t go too wrong with Nat King Cole.

Oh Holy Night – Nat King Cole

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