In Awe of Ghosteen

Until this month, I didn’t pay much attention to Nick Cave.

Photo by Antoine Beauvillain on Unsplash

I’m currently listening to Ghosteen by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. I’ve never been a big Nick Cave fan. I didn’t dislike his music. I appreciated its mastery, but I didn’t feel it. It seemed dark to me, not my preferred vibe.

Ghosteen, however, feels like a gateway back into his music. I first listened to this album two and a half weeks ago, and it’s been on regular rotation since.

Here’s the truth: If someone that I respect recommends a piece of music, I’ll seek it out. If that endorsement comes from another musician whose work I admire, I will pay attention and pursue it. Twitter is handy in this way.

Time and place …..Often, what resonates with us is what we need.

It might be the time and place I’m in in the greater context of my life. Often, what resonates with us is what we need, or it’s affected by our headspace. Music balances us out.

My teen angst album in the early-90s was Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Some people like their angst music loud and thrashy. Some people like it quiet and chill. (Or both, at different times.)

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

My headspace these days

1. Religiously curious

I’ve been reading a lot about Old and New Testaments. Being raised Jewish in the Hebrew school system with all the “OG” stories, I’ve recently learned some biblical stories that I feel I should have taught myself years ago. At the same time, I feel like I discovered the stories at the right time. It’s only in the last couple of years or so that I haven’t cringed when meditation leaders mention “Jesus”, “Mary”, or, most of all, “Christ”. It’s been part of my overall personal development and education.

2. Feeling idealistic

I find myself journaling about love and heaven and hope and optimism. I’ve been writing poetry for the first time in more than a couple of decades. It’s as if in a neighbourhood of my mind, my second half of life (as I enter my mid-40s) is…