Yesterday, the 2020 presidency was awarded to Joe Biden. You may like that. You may not. But, you probably can’t argue that it was an important hurdle to be crossed after a divisive election and, in my opinion, four years led by the most divisive leader in my lifetime.
As I was facing the least favorite day of the month (bill-pay-day), I did what I often do — procrastinate — by looking around for new music to add to The Other Side. I came upon the new Miley Cyrus/Stevie Nicks collaboration, Edge of Midnight (are we past bitching about Miley Cyrus by now?). Perhaps the biggest “problem” in the collaboration is that these women sound so much alike that you probably need a video of the recording session to figure out who was singing what. I loved it and took every opportunity to highlight it on Social Media — anything to put off paying that mortgage.
I happened to notice that Stevie also recorded a new single, Show Them The Way, her first work since 2014’s 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault (you can hear a few tracks from this album on The Other Side – a concert film based on the album awaits a theater debut after a short on-demand video stint in late-October). I’m not a gargantuan Stevie fan, but thought I’d listen to the track. The rock version (Dave Grohl produced and performs) sounds great and is accompanied by a compelling video. Ken Burns would be proud of broad usage of “his effect”.
I looked on one of the music services that I subscribe to and found three tracks — the rock version, an acoustic piano version, and a “synopsis.” It occurred to me that this was an important day. And, this song was an important way to celebrate it. The song is political, but not overtly so. I thought the acoustic version was more moving. I thought the synopsis (Stevie’s spoken word) made the message more compelling. I mashed them up and it’s now rotating on The Other Side. Have a listen to it here.
I’m not religious. I don’t ask “God” for things. But, this song moved me. Have a listen. I hope yesterday was the beginning of a little more peaceful direction in our country. I hope Stevie’s song will bring a bit more peace to your life, as it did to mine.