This month’s free download is “Things Become Extinct.”
It started with a title.
I began by listing friends and places that were no more. I think I was feeling sad. Or old. I don’t remember which. But then I started wondering: what else is gone that once was?
Opening that box exposed an endless list of extinct people / places / animals / things / experiences. I learned a lot, to be sure. (Felix Adler? “The King of Clowns”) But the most resonant list entries are the personal ones. (Tony Johnson? He was the coolest.) Compiling that list was a heavy task. All the same, it’s good to remember. And bittersweet memories aren’t all bitter. The sweet – well, the sweet matters. A lot.
When it came to recording, I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Dan Navarro come in and lay down some of my favorite vocal tracks ever. He was such a sweetheart, too, and wasn’t at all phased when I asked him to try completely crazy ideas. Because he was game, I was able to produce this song in a manner I had only dreamed. The vocal “round” at the song’s end is – for me – one of the highlights of this CD.
You never can tell from where inspiration might hale. In this instance, it was a title. And that title moved me to dig deep within, as well as without. For what it’s worth, “Things Become Extinct” is still a personal song for me. To this day, I lament the loss of so many people, places and things. But that’s just a part of life, isn’t it?
Yes. Yes it is.