Well ... That Happened: The (Mostly Strange) Stuff I Wrote in 2012

I had high hopes for this year. I really did. But between a series of health issues (thankfully all or mostly resolved) and escalating work demands, I didn't get out and about anywhere near as much as I'd intended to, nor did I get as much writing either done out as I would have hoped. Still, 2012 had its high points, most notably my lovely 40th birthday party at Nick's Bar & Restaurant, featuring performances by myself, Lea, Gary Hoare, Corrina Bain, McKendy Fils-Aimes, Sarah Sapienza, The Duende Project, Jade Sylvan & Greg McKillop, Cha-Cha-Connor & Nat Needle and the incomparable Regie Gibson. Fine start to my fourth decade orbiting the sun. Now, I suppose, I need to do a bit more with it.

Wasn't an entire bust, though. Here's some highlights of various forms of writing that appeared in various places. This is what the inside of my head looked like in 2012:

Manchester poets don't want their MTVWhat You’re Listening to: David Bowie’s ‘The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’Boys' Own Stories (poetic fiction)Preoccupied: Radius, Volume TwoWhat you’re listening to: Grammy previewRocking it new-school: Speaker for the Dead; the Furies; Little War Twins and Bright, the MorningWords (sometimes) have consequencesLooking back at an ‘Extraordinary' albumIs Katniss Everdeen Gilgamesh Dreaming?: Unveiling The Connections Between Poetry and Heroic FictionWhat you're listening to: Songs by local favoritesThey Got the Guns, But we Got the Numbers: Why Radius Will Continue to Submit to the Pushcart PrizeEverything's different, nothing is lost: Amanda Palmer at the Middle EastWhat's punk got to do with it?And she was: Reading Jane Cassady and Stevie EdwardsPussy Riot: The only band that mattersMissing the show: The failure of arts journalismManilow delivers joyous nostalgia at DCUMoney changes everything: Amanda Palmer, Speaker For the Dead and navigating the new music worldUndone by Faygo: A Juggalo tragedyWorcester music: Where to startThat Old-Time Religion (poem)For Beth & Mindy (poem)Know Your Rights, Redux (poem)Under the radar with Red Molly, Sadie Slo Gin, Eric Devenney and Demons AlleyFor Sam James, 'The Voice' is a place to be heardSam James makes a glorious 'Mess'Those low-down Worcester blues ….New music roundup: Amanda Palmer, Kanye West & Jay-Z; the Walkmen and Garfunkel & Oates‘American Idol’: Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in‘Frankenstein’ is monstrously goodSongs that are actually worse than Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'The Street is alive with musicWhen you want a bit more than three chords and the truthLooking back at 'Purple Rain,' by Prince and the RevolutionMaking RoadKill of the bluesTraveling bards rock Ralph'sStill rock 'n' roll, etc.: The Numbskulls, Tidal Vote, the Curtain SocietySongs in the key of Turtle BoyA few drops of “True Blood”If I Can't Dance at Your Revolutionary War Re-Enactment, I'm Not ComingRebel without a pauseBoy George is back, and other pleasant surprisesCatching up with reality (TV, that is)The music of Carl RasmussenSomething to swear aboutMusic discoveries: Care Bears on Fire, Pomplamoose, The ClearLetting go of 'Somebody That I Used to Know'Credit in the straight world: Pussy Riot, Rage Against the Machine, Shane HallBoston musicians turn on those sad songsBeing bored in Worcester (is the same as being bored anywhere else)The secret’s out: Worcester’s indie poetry slam rep, Jenith Charpentier'Be cool or be cast out': Rock Hall noms Rush, Heart and Deep Purple'Fight the Power': Rock Hall noms N.W.A., Public Enemy and Donna SummerBack to the basics: Rock Hall noms Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Albert King and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band‘But the crowd called out for more’: Rock hall noms Randy Newman, Procol Harum and Kraftwerk'Dance, Dance, Dance': Rock Hall noms The Marvelettes, Chic and The Meters'Lunatic' outing a rewarding endeavorWe Meet As Strangers: Radius' 2012 Pushcart NomineesIn praise of the open micThe Evil Streaks’ ‘Talk to the Dead’One last round of ‘Gangnam Style’ before we're doneOut of time: On loving and forgetting new musicTwo nights of cheer with poet Mike McGeeRap takes the stage, rock turns Canadian: How we did in our Rock Hall predictionsThe worst Christmas music everWhat were Worcester’s best shows of 2012?There was more than that, including a lot of stuff that's only in print, but that's the core of it. Obviously, the newspaper commanded a lot of my time. Still, at least I've not been idle. Here's to doing even more in 2013.