Saturday, December 31, 2011

Last Thoughts Of 2011




This is it. The last of 2011. The last of a year that kicked my ass and laughed while doing it. 2011 was a motherfucker.

I remember January 1st, 2011. It was right about 1:PM, give or take a few minutes, and I had just come out of the icy waters of Coney Island with a couple of hundred other "polar bears." As I shivered my way back towards the boardwalk, I thought, "Bring it on!" That sonovabitch 2010 is now a memory, washed away by the waters of my beloved Brooklyn. It seemed perfect. I felt reborn and ready to do it right.

Then a few days later, I got some bad news. A few days after that, more bad news. 2011 was a bust and it was only January. Bad news is a motherfucker.

I learned you can't escape it. Like death, taxes, and another Michael Bolton album, there will always be bad news. But here's a new opportunity... January 1st, 2012. Another in a series of second chances to embrace the fact that whatever makes us feel as bad as we do, could always be worse.

It's the beginning of a new year and a new go at doing it right.

New Year's Eve is a tough night for a lot people. But it is only a day...with a night...and an eventual finish. New Year's Eve is everything and nothing. It could very well be May 21st, if you want it to be.

Be kind. We are all human. We are all trying to make it work. Sometimes, you just need a little help.

You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes....well...you know the rest.









You are not alone,
I'm with you
I'm lonely too
What's that song,
Can't be sung by two.
A broken home,
A broken heart,
Isolated and afraid,
Open up this is a raid,
I wanna get it through to you,
You're not alone.

You're not alone,
Every night,
I stand in your place.
Every tear,
On every face,
Tastes the same.
A broken dream,
A broken heart,
Isolated and afraid,
Open up this is a raid,
I'm gonna get it through to you,
You're not alone.

An open hand,
An open heart,
There's no need to be afraid,
Open up this is a raid,
I wanna get it through to you,
You're not alone.
I wanna get it through to you,
You're not alone.
I'm gonna get it through to you,
You're not alone.


HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!

See ya, 2011!

20 comments:

jeff k said...

Just remember all the pleasure (as Groucho would say, "I mean that in a nice way") you bring to many peoples' lives." They may not always say it, but there are a lot of grateful folks out there.

Anonymous said...

An excellent post Mr Nunziato. I too have had a truly dreadful year and too many mornings of waking up and thinking "Now what"? Your blog has proved to be a stout companion however and has helped me keep going, even if only to explore that album or killer song you are so enthusiastic about. Here is to giving it all another go as you say. A good thought to start with for 2012. Many thanks.

JAYESSEMM said...

Well said Sal,

You certainly are not alone in saying goodbye to crappy old 2011. Let's plan on a great 2012.

Many thanks!

Best,

David Handelman said...

I agree on most counts, especially about our nation, though there were some hopeful international glimmers, most of those are in turmoil Personally I happened to have a good year employment wise -- partly because of a job being cancelled (I collected severance). First time I've had two consecutive jobs in 20 years.

But I had plenty of shitty news in between including losing both my parents, and years are artificial dividers. The biggest failing of the movie "Extremely Loud..." (I haven't read the book) is making it seem like 9/11 was necessary for the kid to find a shared tragedy among New Yorkers. You could have told the same story about a kid whose dad died and finding that all people have hit walls in their lives and somehow moved on.

But Tweedy has been able to steer us through the bullshit and so have you. Thanks for keeping writing even when overwhelmed (my own blog has lain fallow).

And just remember this: 2012 is supposedly the year of the fucking apocalypse!

David

Anonymous said...

thanks, sal. what you do here is one of the things we have to look forward to. really.

charlie c. said...

Thanks buddy!
2011?!? I learned how to cook, bake, and stretch myself a little bit , , , also learned that Sal is a member of the Polar Bear Club, so I got that going for me. Got a job 3 miles from my house, WBGO got a new antenna and we got Burning Wood!
2012? Let's see what you got . . .
Peace out.
C.

soundsource said...

Happy New Year Mr. Wood. Thanks for all the insights, arguments, new music and great mixes (and whatever else I'm forgetting). Hope your New Year is better than the old and look for wood to more Burning of the mIdnight Wood in 2012.

Jeff Matthews said...

Thanks for BW, Sal.
2011 was an entirely unremarkable year for me - I almost felt like I sleepwalked through it (sleptwalked?). Here's hoping 2012 brings, well, something remarkable. Cheers.

Paul in Brentwood said...

Woody Allen said that 80% of life was just showing up. '11 sucked for me as well but thankfully, we all woke up and just "showed up." And music carried us through our days and I thank you, Sal, for being an important part of that. Here's to a better '12.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Sal! Lots of us are sharing the same sentiments today. 2011? My wife and kids are doing well so that was a plus. I have a relatively stable job situation that I have no right to complain about so I won't. Jeff hit it on the head with sleepwalking through the year. It was pretty much unremarkable.

And 2012 is an election year! That gives us tons to look forward to. Right?

Be well and thanks for keeping Burning Wood alive.

Leon said...

Here's to a great year ahead!

elizabeth said...

many thanks for keeping burning wood going!

with hope 2012 will fare better for you, i wish you happy new year.

wool said...

The garbage truck of life 2011 has not run over me yet (of course I still have 9 hours to go) but I am happy to see 2012 coming down the street. Happy New Year Sal and all the burners out there.

Anything Should Happen said...

Burning Wood brightens up days.

As a friend, you are special, an appreciation of all you bring is in order and something you should cherish.

You light up lives and you don't always see it.

Have a good New Year Sal.

Anonymous said...

New Year's Rockin' Eve! If Dick Clark can do it, we can do it...

Happy 2012!

buzzbabyjesus said...

Happy New year! Today was pretty cool and tomorrow looks good.

James A. Gardner said...

Sal: Glad you decided to keep the fires burning. Thanks for a thoughtful year-end post that hit close to home for me (and many of us, I'm guessing). And the 2012 apocalypse? If the Mayans were so great, why aren't they on baseball cards?
Thank you, and best wishes for '012.

misospecial said...

amen to all that, especially the part about kindness, which i value more every day. and i love the lyric to the staples song. here's wishing us all a few breaks this year, and enough peace to get some real work done. also great food, good health, a few laughs, and enough music to make the bad stuff bearable...

Marcia said...

Beautifully said. Your best writing is the writing that you put your heart into, Sal. Oh yeah, that's all of it. :)
Happy New Year! 1978, 2008 and 2010 were my personal worst...2011 was just nothing great. Let's have something great for 2012!

Anonymous said...

The Mayans didn't see the conquistadors coming, so what did they know ? ( Plus they didn't measure time based on Christ's birth, so, why would they even think of 2012 as the name of this year )
More importantly, thanks for saying it all so well, and for keeping BW going, and making the rest of us have better days than we would without you, and here's wishing you a better year than your last. (It couldn't get much worse, right ?)
New Bruce, New Van Halen,( to most likely be disappointed by ) new days to enjoy and new people to meet. New chances, new surprises, new shows, and more than likely several new Ryan Adams cds, we can assume.