I still don’t really get why we get so nostalgic when yet another 365 days have passed, but I guess measuring time is an attempt of making sense of this life. Small proportions, looking back, process, digest, move on.
There is no Mega Medley this year, but if you feel like it, here's 50 songs in under 10 minutes that were probably just as big in 2019.
Instead, I made you the perfect soundtrack to look back on your year. Landslide by Fleetwood Mac is one of those songs that sits in the back of your mind just to be re-discovered in the right moment and hits you right in the heart when you least expect it.
I've been thinking about creativity and passion a lot lately. How I always feel the need to create something and get this rewarding feeling that almost nothing else could ever give me. The child within my heart gets out to play.
At the same time, as I'm getting older, I feel less inspired at times. Somebody once said:
People are born with an open mind that gets sewn up over time.
And I'm afraid of changing. I don't want this to happen, I want this urge for creation to persist and be a part of my life for as long as possible. I've built my life around music, this flame can't just go out.
I listened to a podcast that a friend of mine recommended to me and I found another great quote there. It went something along the lines of:
Your career is like a the bad friend that never calls you back, but creativity is your one true love.
Sometimes we confuse the two. Creativity, passion and the artistic mind is something that you were born with and that will stay with you, no matter what. Having created something is what feels rewarding, not the appreciation of others. Of course knowing that someone enjoys your work and connects to it (and to you) can add to that, but doing it for recognition in the first place is the wrong approach.
So that's what I'm going to remind myself in 2020 and the future.
Despite this realisation, connecting with others through music has always been an anchor for me. Looking back on 2019, all I can say is I’m really thankful for everyone I have met and spent time with this year, everyone who came to my gigs, listened to my music, watched my videos, stories or read the pathetic words that I am quick to write down and not so good at saying out loud. And it feels wrong that so few of those special people are pictured in this grid. I guess it’s always the other side of these photos that actually matters.
Anyways, I really hope you had a fabulous year and that 2020 will be even better. I’ll probably keep on doing music and I hope you’ll listen.