As I reflect upon the year that comes to a close in the next 10 hours, I find that only one thing really stands out to me.
2022 is the year when I finally finished the manuscript for FAR WEST, after struggling with it through what turned out to be the hardest decade of my life. Finishing it, and turning it over to my partner Eric Trautmann for layout, is not only the biggest accomplishment I had in 2022, but the biggest milestone in my life for YEARS.
What remains, in 2023, is to finally distribute the game, not only to my amazingly patient Kickstarter backers, but to the general gaming public as well.
Beyond that? 2023 awaits. We’ll see what else it brings.
Almost forgot to post this! Laura and I are prepping to spend the next two months working at the KC RenFest, so I got distracted.
I’m not going to write much about this playlist, suffice it to say that it features selections from my personal FAR WEST playlist, and it was on my mind this week for… reasons.
Another week, and another entry for Friday Music. Here we go…
In the late 70s/early 80s, WBAB on Long Island had a regular show called “Homegrown,” which played local bands. That’s where I discovered the power trio, Zebra, who did a Zeppelin-esque prog-pop-metal. A lot of the Homegrown demo tracks would be featured, re-recorded, on their 83 debut album, but they’ve recently re-released some of the demo tracks, including one of my favorites — “One More Chance.”
“Govinda” is a track from the late-90s debut from psychedelic indie band Kulu Shaker, an Indian devotional chant often used by the Krishna Consciousness group. The lead singer of Kula Shaker, Crispian Mills, is the son of 1960s-70s Disney actress Haley Mills, interestingly enough.
A brand new track from Billy Idol! “Cage” is the title track of the EP of the same name. He and guitarist Steve Stevens still bring it, 40 years on.
A song which was featured (in an altered form) in the latest season of Westworld. The original track, “Everything In Its Right Place,” was the lead track of Radiohead’s album, Kid A. I cannot put into words how much I love the sound of this.
“Alone Again Or” is one of my favorite tracks from The Damned, which is actually a cover of a 1967 track from the band Love. The Spanish guitar makes the song.
Caught the film “Spiderhead” on Netflix, where Chris Hemsworth plays a pharma-bro who has an iPod full of smooth-chill music (like Chuck Mangione, etc.). This track was included in the soundtrack, and I’d completely forgotten about it. Released in 1979 at the height of the disco era, “Rise” was the last charting single from Herb Alpert. Play it. You’ll remember.
Lastly, a recording of the classic folk tune “O Death,” by my favorite folk singer, Rhiannon Giddens, accompanied by Italian percussionist Francesco Turrisi. No matter who does this song, it always sends a chill up my spine.
So there we go, folks — I hope that you’re enjoying these!
