Gratitude

It’s Thanksgiving Day 2021, and I’m doing something different for change. Instead of killing myself in the kitchen, trying to impress my husband with culinary delights, I’m taking a break pre-feast to blog about gratitude.

Of course, I’m grateful for all the things everyone always talks about, but I have no desire to write about those. Instead, I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to all the musicians whose work has inspired me over the past 40+ years. Truthfully, I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t integral to my life, from listening to Philadelphia’s classical radio station, WFLN, at my grandparents’ house to playing my mom’s Beatles and Credence Clearwater Revival 45’s on my GE Show and Tell viewer, to getting my first little stereo and Elton John’s Greatest Hits compilation album for my 7th birthday, to calling & pestering Philly’s top 40 station to play Kiss’ “Beth” in 1976, to obsessively watching MTV in the early 1980s, and to fangirling for Duran Duran before moving on to be an arrogantly morbid goth chick, music has been the soundtrack to my life’s story.

April 1990, Hanging out backstage with local NJ band, Gladhouse at Philly’s JC Dobbs

If I’m being honest, I don’t think I ever really expressed just how grateful I am for the gift of music. I’ve taken it for granted and that ends now. Like most people, I never really considered how much practice, drive, and determination it takes to make songs or perform live. I’ve never thought about how often musicians were apart from their family and friends just so that fans like me could see them perform live. I’ve never considered all the stresses of the music industry. It’s all been a huge blur, hidden by the perfection of each recorded song or the intensity of each live performance.

So to all of the musicians who’ve shared their passion with the world, thank you!!

I crafted a 3 hour playlist of songs which have touched my soul in some way. From young bands like New York’s The Broken View, to favorites like Depeche Mode and the Twilight Sad, this collection represents just a fraction of the many bands and thousands of songs for which I am truly grateful. So, maybe, today, while you’re giving thanks for all of your many blessings, spare a moment to thank all those musicians who have touched your soul too.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6celsXSzw8PN0Ue4a43Bj1?si=sXAcieeKT56top1LmIcTAw