what a year. I keep writing sentences and then erasing them, because to be honest this was both an incredibly trying year and a miraculous one. and right now we are at the meniscus between 2010 & 2011: the almost-imperceptible edge between one era and another.
I like to make lists, they soothe me and bring order to chaos. but I don’t make lists so that they will be read in order, or so that they will be followed. I make lists because each item on the list is like a little poem: a complex set of feelings and experiences distilled into a few words. so I will make you some lists-poems as I look back on 2010.
the 3 defining joys of my 2010:
1) seeing my beautiful Elizabeth commune with her highest self and all the ages of mothers as she moved a tiny Louise Athena out of her body into this extraordinary time and place;
2) being given the opportunity by so many of you – family, friends, fans – to immortalize the Folk Opera in a way that exceeded my wildest dreams;
3) coming back to my mantra: “music, movement, mindfulness, kindness, poetry” to guide me through . . .
. . . the 2 biggest challenges for me this year:
1) anxiety . . . sigh . . . not new, but presenting itself as though in its death throes in wild and chaotic moments and demanding that I stop, drop and roll with the punches;
2) losing the support of the record label that released the OSHEN’s first EP.
11 things I am ecstatically grateful for in 2010:
a – the continued good health of those friends struggling with diseases of body & mind
b – healthy babies in abundance
c – having found some of my art supplies in my sweetheart’s art box
d – my sister’s decision to quit her job and go experience the world
e – a new acoustic Martin dreadnought guitar . . . mmmmmm . . . happy last birthday to me!
f – the Folk Opera on vinyl
g – the Superwaitress Working Girl Remix Anu Kirk did for us
h – the memories from playing the Folk Opera to almost sold-out crowds at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn, NY and the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco
i – those skinny tires with see-through rims on practical cars like a Honda Civic
j – Bliss Dance
k – a recording studio in my living room
l – (one to grow on) robot heart
my favorite new/new to me albums/artists from 2010:
* All These Slippery Things, Il Gato (far and away my favorite of the year, a stunning orchestral, emotional journey, in turns profoundly inward and infectiously pop-ish, “baroque folk” with a string quartet, horn section and highly poetic lyrics, all written by dear friend Daimian Holiday Scott, with arranging help from occasional OSHEN trumpet-er Matthew Souther, and performed by a whole band of people we love including founding OSHEN member Howie Cockrill)
* Brothers, The Black Keys (omg, this album made me swoon and sweat, and I knew at first listen that I would force feed this music to future generations of music lovers, unabashedly soulful, sexual, electronic blues rock with hooks as sharp as a rattlesnake’s jaw)
* Breathe Owl Breathe – (don’t know the album name but their live show is a mix of virtuosic but spacious folk music with playful storytelling (with costumes & props!), whimsical vocals dandelion whisp delicate, and a super hot lady bouncing between drums, cello and assorted instruments)
* {{{sunset}}} – (Bill Baird’s new project/band) (again, don’t know the album name but saw them 3 times live and they made me dance despite sickness, apathy and exhaustion on different occasions, definitely at the vanguard of the new wave of danceable sincerity)
* Live at the Tower, Andy Friedman – (only me, Jeremy and Cristian have heard this so far, but it will be on your favorites soon too, Andy (growling baritone) alone on guitar (finger plucked) in our richly acoustic living room)
four goals for 2011:
i. record the OSHEN’s first full length album
ii. get the Folk Opera on a Prairie Home Companion – you can help – click HERE & suggest us!
iii. go to Thailand
iv. begin writing the next opera-type thing (ideas are already flowing, time to get the melodies down)
what I wish for you in 2011:
- a new car!
- an epiphany or three
- that you’ll start trying again to learn how to play that old ______
- strength of spirit, and resilience for whatever may come
- AAAAAABBBBUUUUNNNNDDDAAANNNCCEE (just realizing that could be broken into “a bun dance” so take that as you will 
)
- an inexpensive pair of jeans at the thrift store that fits you like a glove
so there you have it. my lists to say “goodbye and thank you” to 2010, and “welcome” to 2011. now it’s time to go celebrate the unspeakable joy of being alive still.
I love you.
I thank you.
xo/Annie
