Dylan said that as an artist if you realize “you are in a constant state of changing, you’ll be alright.” To commit to one musical style would be a disservice and would frankly be a complete lie. Far too many emotions pass through us every day, and to commit to one musical style would be to commit to one emotional plane. There is a place for all of it. If it’s the soothing burn in your soul only eased by a blitzkrieg of whiskey shots, there is no option but to question God, rest with the devil, and ignore the chuckle of death as Lightnin Hopkins howls out of your radio like the distant freight racing through midnight, heightening your anxiety as the peak draws closer and closer, and your only prayer is to catch the train going anywhere; nowhere; to tomorrow. But when tomorrow is darker, and the company of death and the devil have left you to complete solitude, you must crucify silence with a song to God forcing your soul to rage like a whirlpool until you are lifted by the solidity of a Gospel tune. As you come back down, and your soul settles into a steady tide, the reminiscent stories of yester-emotion must be allowed to dance out of your pours and onto the strings of an old guitar, resulting in the lesson learned through a folk song. The Jackal is forever my favorite. The Jackal dances into your mind, body, and soul on the crest of a Halloween esque glow. His songs alter; from folk to funk, pop to punk, blues to jazz….his signature is a wincing eye and crooked smile of which you can not decipher whether the intent is good or evil. His songs are originals and often times can create completely new musical genres. He is responsible for the happy tune with a tragic message. A Yin-Yang musical minstrel always howling to the moon…yet smiling.
The same complaint may rest in every song…a loss of love, a questioning of life, a desperation of sorts, But so much more lies in the way that it churns inside of you. We all stand on new mountain tops each day, and see a new and different sunset! sometimes it’s a storm cloud but it’s always changing and so as artists, and works of art ourselves we too must change with the ever changing world we dance in!
Make them glow, whatever, whoever, wherever they are. You will feel your soul bouncing around inside of you, trying it’s hardest to yearn for it’s counter parts in heaven, and you will then glow. So paint, write, play, sing, scream, fight, fuck, drink, hurt, love, and burn…as long as you’re dancing.