This year. This goddamn year. I had so many high hopes for what 2016 would bring, I really did. I have no illusions that bad things won’t happen to me, but damn, son. This year has been a series of hard blows to the head, and frankly, it’s starting to look pretty good down here on the floor.

***WARNING: This paragraph contains deeply personal and painful info. If it’s TMI, just move on to the next paragraph where I sum it all up and give you the songs. *** I’ve struggled with depression all my life, and I was doing what I thought was a pretty good job of managing the monster. I was making changes and moving forward. Oh, but depression is content to wait. It can hide for days, months, years, but it’s there. This year, it didn’t have to wait long: In February, my Dad killed himself rather than let cancer do it for him, and my beloved stepmom went along for the ride because she didn’t want to live in a world without him. Then my youngest aunt died unexpectedly, less than a month later- and I found out a week after the funeral. Then my other aunt passed away, only weeks after her sister. And just when I thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, my job was eliminated. In the end, it turns out that light I thought I saw was the Express Train To Hell, aka this election. To say this has been a painful and difficult year is the fucking understatement of the century.

But I go on. Because I refuse to fucking quit.

But I did take some time off to try and get my head right. I know that a lot of other people are trying to make sense of this crazy old world that we’re living in, and I have a respite for your over-heated minds. This is the playlist I’ve been rocking for months and haven’t wanted to share, because it came from such a hard place. This is what I play when I just can’t anymore, and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and stare at a wall. These tunes have picked me up and put me back on my feet so many times that I couldn’t be selfish about them. Next time life lays you low, curl up in your comfiest spot, switch this on, and let it all wash over you. Personally guaranteed to drain away some of the bad and leave you feeling a little more human. It will all work out, I promise.

  • From The Beginning – Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
  • Uh, Zoom Zip – Soul Coughing
  • If I Ever Feel Better – Phoenix
  • Ain’t You A Mess – Mose Allison
  • One Of Our Submarines Is Missing – Thomas Dolby
  • On Your Marks – Bonobo
  • Lady Day And John Coltrane – Gil Scott-Heron
  • This Is The Day – The The
  • Cool Kids – Echosmith
  • Every Little Thing – Jose James
  • Deep Down – Calexico
  • Sit With The Guru – Strawberry Alarm Clock
  • Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before – The Smiths
  • Cold Cold Cold – Cage The Elephant
  • They Want My Soul – Spoon
  • Low – Cracker
  • Habit – Ought
  • Time Moves Slow – Badbadnotgood w/ Sam Herring