A Rock, a Falcon, and a Tree

Admittedly when the sky goes grey and the ground turns cold I start to come alive. So far as I’ve learned in many Indigenous Peoples spiritual practices, like the medicine wheel, the cardinal direction North can represent winter and/or death, which, makes sense to me as most of the natural world is lifeless, leafless, or waiting it out in their cubby holes. I’ve always thought it funny that this is the time of year I feel the most punch in my bones, especially when a large slew of my human compatriots are battling the horrible beastie of seasonal depression. I know I’m not alone though. It’s apparently true for the card carrying members of the Cold War Kids; the air is brisk, the earth feels quieter, heartbeats slow, wind whips more often, and our rock seems to take on a reflective posture—allowing us a time of deep thought.

What follows is a current collection of my own findings and musings from this precious time.

1. A new personal favorite mood capture of the silent somber season is a movie called “The Holdovers.” Is it a perfect movie? No. But, it feels so damn good. I found myself listening to the soundtrack and wanting a much longer collection of the demonstrated tone so I took a stab at filling it out a bit more.

Here’s the playlist:

2. My phone is busting at the gut with quick musical ideas. I think as they grow up and either become full ideas or drift into the great unknown our now established Chappy Hour bartop here is a fun place to let them breathe while the deities of high art decide their fate. Thank you for reading, listening, and being here.

A wide spectrum of room demos, first thoughts, rehearsals, rough takes, and unfinished lyrics put down through the season:

3. For those that don’t know my dad he is deeply special to me—in ways that I continue to try and put into words. Though he has many, one of his longstanding and bewildering Dad Powers is for Christmas, no matter what age his sons are, he’s always been able to make us feel like a kid who got the Millennium Falcon. The greatest toy ever made. The Official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle. This year, unbeknownst to me, it was a Celestron StarSense Explorer 100 Lunar Edition Telescope. I’ve always been a space kid. One of my first favorite foods ever was dehydrated strawberry ice cream from the Space Museum. My best friend and I post college years ran a mighty screen printing shop together that we named Rocket Boys Print Co. (Deep love to any remaining loyal members of our Space Team). Although this unrequested telescope gift was a surprise, it could not have met a more excited junior astronomer in training.

   I learned the full moon of January goes by the name of “Wolf Moon” amongst some people groups. Curious, I discovered that because most all the natural world is hibernating during this moon there were very few sounds heard on the night shift. The only animal still active and on the hunt were packs of wolves, bellowing their songs to the glowing girl hanging in the sky while the rest of the earth stayed silent. I was able to snap a photo of this glowing girl through my new seein’ tube and was astonished all over again at the things that spin above our heads.

Behold:

4. In 2024 I finished my first original Christmas Song. I say finished because I’ve honestly been writing it for a long time. For me, Christmas is too sacred to rush, and thats coming from someone who feels like quarterly meetings are a rush. I’m very happy with it and had the opportunity to play the song for one of my favorite nights of the year, a recurring Christmas show hosted by Tuck Alford and I in Athens, GA. I even got to play my set with another player, which I so often hunger for. Thank you, Randy.

Below is a rough room demo of the song.

It’s called “Old Pine.”