“I was walking down the street with my friend and he said “I hear music”, as if there is any other way you can take it in. You’re not special, that’s how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work.”  ~ Mitch Hedberg

Immediately following the 2016 election, I found that so much of the music I was listening to contained a commentary on the results.  Since my preferred musical topic seemed to be hope, I thought about sharing some hope songs regularly on my Facebook feed.  But I’ve only got 120 friends, and I figured there might be others out there who would resonate with the power of music to reflect, inspire, and comfort.  (Update: I added a Facebook Group in 2017 and backfilled all the songs.)

I’ve got a personal list of 650 “top songs,” but not all of them are fit for this site (like “Black Hole Sun” doesn’t work here, unless I add a category for despair.  Perhaps I’ll end up doing that.) (Update: I did that.)  Eventually we’ll need 1,461 songs.

I’ve got a couple hundred songs queued up for posting here, but my own experience is white, older and more male than all of the possible sources of hope.  I’ve got a couple friends helping me, but they are similarly white, male and older.  So I’m hoping that folks who listen here will add to the list, and I’ll curate.

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Update: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day, 2025 (and also Inauguration Day, 2025)

Well, I didn’t expect to still need this, but here we are.  Like many of us who excitedly participated in the resistance during the first Trump administration, his return fills me with dread.  Like many with privilege and protection, my initial reaction was to consider staying in my little bubble and hoping my part of the world will survive intact over the next four years.  But that’s contrary to what I believe and need, and to the extent that anyone gets solace from songs of resistance they find here, not what others need either.

I’m not sure what form this will take in 2025.  The idea of posting a song every day again seems daunting.  However, most of the 1,400+ songs from last time are still relevant, and there’s great new music being produced — and old music discovered — all the time.  So let’s see what happens.  I just have to remember how to use Word Press again …