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I continued to be overwhelmed by the constant terrifying news that dominates my social media feeds and headlines. Injustice, rising tide of fascism (this is not hyperbole - they are not even trying to hide it any more), division, anger, fear, death... I am missing the solace of seeing my friends almost every night and hearing live music while seeing said friends. I fear for the future, but I know that fear is not a place to rest. Anger is an energy, but it is up to me to focus my anger. In the meantime, I have always believed in the power of love to conquer hate and fear and evil. It is a hard belief to cling to when it is so tempting to answer hate with hate - and mind you - anger is not the antithesis of love - hate and fear are the antithesis of love. Anger can be an expression of love if channeled properly.
At the same time as all of that, I need to acknowledge that despair and hopelessness are reasonable feelings these days. For me, though, I can't afford to stay there. I also do not have the capability to stay serious and focused and angry 24/7 and I do not think I am alone. I can either choose to shame myself or others for needing a break or I can accept it, take the break, and come back stronger.
Last thing: I have to find my own voice and my own outlets of action. What is the right action for someone else may not be right for me - and that can be for numerous reasons. I just need to say that because I have a bad habit to looking at others' actions and judging myself for not measuring up. It is good to take stock of my abilities and resources (time and money) and ask myself if I am doing enough, but to judge my own work by what someone else does - without taking into account differences in time and money etc is unfair.
TL;DR: I choose to attempt to manifest love in all I do. Love can be expressed by anger.
Today, we wrap up the Featured Friday Playlist as we prepare the way for a whole new Playlist debuting tomorrow. As always, we saved some great stuff for the end of the playlist. We finish up with songs 24-28:
24. "Room 33" by Mcclendon
We kick things off with the title track from the debut EP by Nashville based singer-songwriter Mcclendon. After playing in country/folk bands beginning in his native Oklahoma - with his brother, Mcclendon decided to go his own way and pursue his own music. I am digging this.
25. "Blur" by Dark McGwire; Focus3Dots
Next up, we have another solo debut. Dark McGwire is the alter-ego of Dame Crawford of The Wylde Bunch - a Grammy award producer/artist. The music runs the gamete from funk to folk and many points in between. The name of the album is Wyldebunch Presents Dark McGwire. Check it out.
26. "A Girl Too Far" by Red Eye
Red Eye is an Anglo-Spanish songwriter. This new single is amazing. When I say I save some good stuff for the end of the Playlist... I mean it. This sounds like a cover - in that it has a familiarity that many great songs have upon first listen.
27. "Moving Tangle" by Outwave
Italian alternative rock band Outwave just released their debut album, "The Storm". This was the lead single. I'm digging this.
28. "You Don't Know" by ASM
We close out this week's playlist with the latest single - from the forthcoming (Friday) album Blue Cocoon by the European trio ASM (A State of Mind). The cinematic hip-hop, soul, funk band members met in high school - one is Candaian, one German, and one English. We have previously featured them on an earlier playlist.
Featured Friday Playlist
