So we have arrived again at the Great Turning. The days will now start getting longer, and not a moment too soon.

I always like to post something on this day, and yesterday the powers of the random shuffle reminded me of a music mix that I previously shared… let’s see… can it really be seven years ago?

It leans into the idea that it is healthy to wallow a bit in darkness before pivoting to face the light, which dovetails with the observation of Festivus two days hence (the airing of grievances and whatnot). If you want the full package, just scroll down a little.

But if you prefer to jump straight to the uplift, and/or don’t have an hour to waste, this is where things are going to end up:

Whenever I’m feeling glum about the state of things in this benighted land of ours, where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, I reach for Funkadelic to pull me out of the funk. “Everybody Is Going to Make It This Time,” which rings more prophetic now than ever, always triggers a lil’ stirring of hope. Any country that can give birth to such a thing can’t be all bad.

For those of you opting for the full ride, a playlist is below; or you can read the complete liner notes here. See you on the other side.

Playlist:

• Farewell Our Ancient Glory  Rev. Jack Drummond
• Darkness  King Khan & the Shrines
• Slippin’ into Darkness  War
• The Werewolf  Paul Simon
• Brain Damage/Eclipse  Pink Floyd
• Hireling Traitor’s Wages  Rev. Jack Drummond
• Beware of Darkness  George Harrison
• Darkness  Leonard Cohen
• Gimme Shelter  The Sisters of Mercy
• Instruments of Darkness (excerpt)  The Art of Noise
• Darkness  Peter Gabriel
• Eulogy and Light  Funkadelic
• The Truth (excerpt)  Handsome Boy Modeling School
• Coffee Cold  Galt McDermott
• Bought and Sold for English Gold  Rev. Jack Drummond & Bill Drummond
• Midnight Sun  David Sylvian
• Loud Cloud Crowd  Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
• Chapter 24  Pink Floyd
• Everybody’s Going to Make It This Time  Funkadelic