12-31-18
Planning of this project began nearly a decade ago, at least the structural outline, and wistful image of what it could be. In July of this year I felt it was time to finally put form to thought, and so began the meticulous process. I suppose, this is a long-winded way to say, Pensiveness was always slated for this week, since it’s the New Year, and what better time to reflect on this concept as an emotion. We are, after all, already in states of reflection, might as well get to the heart of the matter.
It’s easy to get to the end of a year and think about all the things that you didn’t do, or the resolutions that you may have given up on. What purpose does that serve? I suppose we could argue that reflecting about these shortcomings will help us avoid them in the future, when in actuality they will likely continue, and instead we’re disparagingly looking at ourselves. First, we should be ecstatic that we made it to another New Year, at least there’s a gift in that.
For the last 13-14 years Death Cab has helped me ring in the New Year. Undoubtedly it is one of the first songs that I play, in that act alone I’m able to time travel to past years, at least in memory. Our perception of the relation of time and its longevity, change as we age. A 5-year-old child would see an hour as an eternity, and an adult can easily lose an hour without realizing it. This places us in a little time-bubble, one which is incrementally gaining speed as we continue to age. Who knows maybe the propulsion and speed in which we experience time, sends us off with a major launch at the end.
It’s so easy to let this date act as a glaring finish line, when in actuality it’s another day. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the collective act of heralding the agreed upon numeric change—most people seem generally easier to deal with—but again, it’s just another day. The importance we place on it creates unrealistic expectations for both our proverbial start and ends to our year. There’s no need to wait until the beginning of the year to make improvements and changes to yourself. Every moment can be a “New Year.”
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
So this is the new year
And I don’t feel any different
The clanking of crystal
Explosions off in the distance
In the distance
[Verse 2]
So this is the new year
And I have no resolutions
No self-assigned penance
For problems with easy solutions
[Verse 3]
So everybody put your best suit or dress on
Let’s make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
As thirty dialogs bleed into one
[Verse 4]
I wish the world was flat like the old days
Then I could travel just by folding a map
No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways
There’d be no distance that could hold us back
[Refrain]
There’d be no distance that could hold us back
There’d be no distance that could hold us back
[Chorus]
So this is the new year
So this is the new year
So this is the new year
So this is the new year