Reasons to Live (Part I)

Things seem to have taken a turn for the weird and tragic since 2000, and barring a series of miracles or revolutionary improvements in human behavior (a likely story), we'll be in a mess for the rest of our lives. Sure, the planet's heating up, epidemics and pandemics creep around the globe, class warfare spills into religious strife, and the burgeoning population interacts through technology in mysterious and often creepy ways. Yes, things seem worse than before, but when were they ever that great? Especially if one takes the long view. It's enlightening to read some old story like the Epic of Gilgamesh from 4,000 years ago, or zip through Voltaire's Candide: or Optimism (1759) to see the familiar in the alien. Sumer is long gone; now we have Iraq. And French wits still manage to infuriate those who deserve to be stirred. We can only be sure of one thing: regardless of dramatic technological advances, it's not ever going to be that easy for most of us.

Still, let me express gratitude to friends, family, fellow travelers, and significant others, and then give some musical reasons to live, despite the horrors of life and the death of friends.

Few will like all of these artists, and these are just a sampling that mean something to me. I spend a fair amount of "unmediated" time in my sparkling 1928 apartment at the edge of Detroit, but it's nice to have a soundtrack some of the time, too. Y'all will have your own versions, no doubt. My friend Rachel, for instance, would have a mostly classical list, but you'll get the idea. Come hell or high water, recordings of and by these artists will help get me through just about anything as they often have already. Pretty good reasons to keep on living. Besides, it'll be fascinating to experience what is now the shadowy future as the visceral present. . . . .

Music to Live By: David Bowie, James Brown, Johnny Cash & June Carter, The Clash, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Debbie Harry, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, John Lee Hooker, Waylon Jennings, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Charlie Parker, Prince, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, the Velvet Underground, Muddy Waters, and Dwight Yoakam. And who knows? Maybe something new and cool will develop in 2015? Here's to hoping in this Best of All Possible Worlds. . . . .