Go With Spirit 2

Go With Spirit 1

SOUL SURVIVOR – C.S. Armstrong, Buddy

“One thing about God’s kids is you can never deny us”

We’re baaaack! Andrew and I touched the surface of spirituality and saw the ripples of a higher power with our first playlist: Go With Spirit. But God is infinite, and so are the inspirations and reflections about divinity through music, especially in this holy age of streaming. Spotify is but one of His disciples, an imperfect and prolific messenger of the good word. 

The theme for this second leg of our pilgrimage starts with acknowledging the most basic of human needs: survival. Is the instinctual reflex for life ordained or accidental? Nature of nurture? If every human being is born with a bias towards living, and endowed with a universal understanding of good vs evil, right vs wrong; does that not point to a creator of morality and mortality? 

We are all soul survivors.

War / No More Trouble – Bob Marley & The Wailers

Are You There God?  It’s Us, Ben & Andrew.  Ready to push the limits of celestial smiting and dig deep into the whole – well – “what’s the point of it all” thing.  

Ben starts strong – I’m writing this before reading his initial positioning so – if I miss the context – well – I hope God will forgive me.  Straight off the bat we’re leading with struggle – the human condition ain’t so sweet and damn if we aren’t in the 21st century already – how are we still getting it wrong on a global scale – how is life still such a struggle?  I mean – at this point you’ve gotta wonder whether God hurt animals when it was younger.

So I’m going with the tldr; cutting straight to the chase:

Good over evil, yeah!

Good over evil

Good over evil, yeah!

Good over evil

Good over evil, yeah!

If we need an external entity to help us get that right then – yep – give me spirit – give me two rounds of it, (three if it’s golden brown in color and comes from Speyside!)  I haven’t seen the recent Bob Marley movie – I probably will – but I did meet a young mixed race man in Paris who had the first four verses tattooed on his back.  It was powerful and got me thinking, and listening and changing.  His spirit was inspiring.

King Without a Crown (Live at Stubb’s) – Matisyahu

“Giving myself to you from the essence of my being / Sing to my God all these songs of love and healing”

Reggae is a genre as closely associated with religion (Rastafari) as Gospel is to Christianity. Matisyahu was a Hasidic Jew when this song was written and performed (this live version is the far superior interpretation). What business does a Hasidic Jew have with the music of Rastafari? 

When I was first introduced to this song in my Mazda MX-3, listening to 99X (alternative radio station in Atlanta), I was excited to hear a new voice in Reggae. Then I found out he was a white guy, and my first thought was, “Weird Al for Reggae?” Then I saw the video (link below), and my fears were put aside; he was legit (albeit a one-hit wonder), and I returned to the initial question. 

Although there is a fundamental connection between the two religions (both are founded in Abrahamic theology), the physical characteristics of both religions is what unites them, and what immediately identifies a practitioner. That outward dedication and exposure is what impresses me most, the adherence to the “rulebook” and concession to a higher power is the difference between being religious and spiritual. 

Religion is often demonized in favor of spirituality, but in their purest form, could it be that religion is the true advanced level, and simply being spiritual is like a king without a crown? 

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) – James Taylor

I’ve been having a lovely conversation with a Christian – talking books – Lewis and Tolkein – I think I got entropy wrong.  But it’s been great – we respect each other’s perspectives and have no desire to convert one to another – I’ve not read Mere Christianity but then, he’s not seen Dogma ;-p

And it’s the dogma where I fall – and I wish I didn’t.  I wish I had the faith to cross the chasm and not just believe, but know – know that there is a higher purpose, a higher being, a higher life.

I’m with Ben though – spirituality does seem a poor substitute for the removal of existential dread.  Are we cheating ourselves?  Are we actively preventing a more perfect existence on a pesky requirement for proof?

How sweet it must be to know that God loves you.  

I bet it feels fine, I bet it’s like sugar sometime, I bet it’s like jelly, like honey to the bee.  

On hearing this track, I bet God grinned!

Lost – Mai Spann

“People are searching in a world that has them lost / fighting for a dream that they chase without a cause”

Continuing down the path of dogma, there seems to be a rudderless aspect to life without religion. If this life is all we have, what is the point? If this world is just a test to pass in order to obtain eternal life, how do we know our grade? Enter faith, which is believing in something for which there is no tangible proof. And faith is what lifts the anchor, positions the rudder, and powers the engine. 

This is the crux, or cross, that we all have to bear. At some point all of us must answer, “what is the meaning of life?” Until we find an answer that fills our void and gives us peace, we are lost. 

Strangers In The Night – Frank Sinatra

We don’t ask for autographs any more: pics or it didn’t happen is shaping a different religion and it’s not just Mammon – it’s the self.  Mai Spann’s zeitgeisty lyric makes the case that we don’t need an external God so long as we ourselves are distributed to the world, adorned with filters & fine accoutrement.

And yet to Ben’s point – while it feels good to see oneself exemplified, ultimately it seems like a narcissistic and empty road.  Strangers in the Night might seem an odd choice after the groove of Lost but I see it as the perfect tonic for an ouroboristic world obsessed with itself.

When we said our first hello

Little did we know

Love was just a glance away

A warm embracing dance away

Maybe the answer is to fall in love.

To know the joy of loving another and receiving that love in return.  And maybe finding that love is easier than we think, maybe it’s literally a glance away, just waiting for us to embrace it.  

Maybe it’s as simple as not sweating the big stuff – if Socrates said – to be is to do, Jean-Paul Sartre – to do is to be, and Sinatra – do be do be do – I’m spending my time at the School of Frank.

Blasphemy – Makaveli (2Pac)

While we’re talking old school philosophy, Niccolo Machiavelli had some thoughts around the way to approach this temporary existence. His motto was “the end justifies the means,” which is applicable here as we contemplate the end times. 

While ole Niccolo was no rapper, he inspired the alter ego persona of Makaveli, which 2Pac used for his last recorded album, “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.” Specifically, this standout track delves into the idea of challenging religion, be it of the church or of the streets. 

Throughout the track, Pac challenges the interpretation of religion, which I think is what God wants us all to do. After all, that’s what separates us from animals; the ability to choose and override our instincts. Those lucky dogs all get to go to Heaven (and I’ve met some who definitely didn’t deserve to). 

So do the ends justify the means? Or is God just another cop, waiting to beat our ass if we don’t go pop?

I leave this and hope God can see my heart is pure: is Heaven just another door?

Controversy – Prince

Ben hits with Machiavelli – Makaveli – I’m feeling that.  I have so many associations with the track – not least my continuing education with 2Pac – the more I learn the more I want to know.  

“…is God just another cop, waiting to beat our ass if we don’t go pop?”

I mean – if you’re feeling that – life’s gotta be pretty fucked.  If the meta panacea they were selling feels like a transaction – and you’re smart – then – what next?

Ben got to pull the Prince track on Vol. 1 – only fair that I get the second one ;-p  Dude got the Lord’s Prayer in a song – in a fucking song with over 20 million streams – and it sounds sooooo good.

Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? (Yeah, ooh, yeah)
Some people wanna die so they can be free
I said life is just a game, we’re all just the same (Do you wanna play?)
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

That’s the thing about religion – they really don’t like the questions.

No Evil – SiR

Okay, now we’re getting into the heart. Of the playlist, of the theme. “Controversy” cuts to the core of religion and scores one for the naysayers who oppose it. Atheism is on full tilt here: I wish there were no rules pretty much sums it up. 

Enter SiR. The art and skill of songwriting is showcased here like a crossover, step-back, no look 3-pointer from Steph Curry. A track where the lyrics are so vague and open to interpretation, yet so direct and vivid. It is undefined, malleable writing like this that makes the song most personal and relatable. 

“No Evil” could be a one-way conversation with God. Even atheists concede the existence of good and evil forces in our world, which is hard to reconcile without a higher power, and even harder to solve for. I think it’s fair game to ask the questions, and also accept the reality that everyone may get a different answer. Or no answer at all.   

Questions like “What’s your superpower? Can you breathe underwater?” It’s also logical to accept that the answer is forever shrouded in mystery. After all, there’s “no point in telling the truth when you’re bulletproof and nobody cares to believe you”

So where does that leave us? With a crazy good song, and another reason to believe in the Hero. 

Everyday People – Sly & The Family Stone

 “which is hard to reconcile without a higher power,” I don’t feel that – the good evil dichotomy seems very evolutionary to me – binary – in that – there are forces that move things forward and forces that don’t – established ideas fight threatening ones.

As a kid I would stay awake ruminating on  – “but what was before the big bang” and “what is eternity” – I never slept well as a child – but if – as I suspect – there’s very little we can do about those questions – and we know the physical parameters – then – lets have an amazing time while we’re here.

And this is where it gets funky – ‘cos the current “amazing time” feels very zero-sum to me  – very winners and losers and the individual takes all.  It feels disappointing – like – there could be so much more.  Celebrating success with someone who loves you is amazing!

“We’ve got to live together”

for sure – but – it’s not like it’s a chore – living together is the shit! – it’s what it’s about.  I promise you – a solitary glass of Crystal in a penthouse pales next to a bottle of Cristal at a party in Peru.

There’s no better or worse, good or evil, richer or poorer – we’re all everyday people. 

Aerials – System of a Down

As much as we’re all the same everyday people, we’re all as unique as our fingerprints. As Sly said, different strokes for different folks. Said another way, 

“Life is a waterfall / We’re one in the river / And one again after the fall”

If the river leading to the waterfall is pre-life (as we know it) and the river at the bottom is post-life (as we know it), we all start and end the same. The differentiator is in how we manage the waterfall (life). None of us will ever know what happens in the river, so to Andrew’s point, where’s the value in worrying about it? Let’s just enjoy the waterfall!

The counterpoint is this:

“We are the ones that wanna choose / Always wanna play, but you never wanna lose”

We are by nature always searching for meaning. Always looking to the river below, with anxiety that we land safely, faith that it will take us out of the rushing waters for eternity, or resignation that fate will take care of whatever outcome awaits us. I’m all for living in the moment, after all, I’m here for a good time not a long time. But if I can enjoy the moment more, knowing it’s not the end, I think that’s the sweet spot. That instead of looking down and fearing the crash at the bottom of the waterfall, I can look up at the aerials in the sky, and by doing so free my life.

“When you free your eyes, eternal prize”

That seems like the win-win.  

Hurt – Johnny Cash

As ever Ben’s track has me thinking – I’m digging the construct of the waterfall and the individual identities that appear over the edge that disappear at the bottom – and I’m thinking about the idea of it being the end and the idea of the comfort obtained by believing that it isn’t.

‘Cos that’s the crux isn’t it?  The loss of identity.  I no longer exist – no more me – “My” experience of life will be gone – never to be revisited again.  And we’re clearly not OK with that. 

 I’m looking at differences between the Christian and Buddhist faiths for answers and both are as likely as each other.  While Christianity will have you exist somewhere – clearly one place is better than the other ;-p –  Buddhism will have you wink out of existence, but only when you’ve gotten to the point that you don’t care, which takes a few cycles and requires an unseen elevator behind the waterfall taking drops back up to the top river to try again until they evaporate in the downfall.

I kinda dig the Buddhist view – it promises me that – I’ll be back – in one form or another until I reach enlightenment and then I won’t care to die – and that feels comforting to me – plus – who doesn’t want a do-over?

I’m drawn back to the track and Serge Tankian’s angular delivery and I’m bouncing to Tool and then to Nine Inch Nails and suddenly I’m selecting Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt: The Crown of Thorns, the inevitability of death, the shattering depression and addiction and – holy shit – if life’s like this, who fucking cares that it ends – and yet…  there it is – the final verse:

“If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way”

Hope – the desire for redemption.  

Seems that, even when it’s shit – we’re still looking to stay.

Gravedigger – Dave Matthews

I admit my knowledge of the Buddhist faith is cursory at best, but the concept of reincarnation and do-overs strikes me a bit too Groundhog Day. Or rather, Palm Springs, the movie where Andy Samberg keeps reliving the same day over and over, to the point where he tries to kill himself to stop the cycle. Doesn’t the lack of finality cheapen life’s experiences? Isn’t it more thrilling to jump without a parachute? Knowing that worst case, you’ll just start over, seems kinda pointless. Especially since we don’t know if we’ve been reincarnated, our memories wiped clean with each rebirth.

I first heard Gravedigger on the radio. Dave Matthews was live in-studio and performed an acoustic version, just him and his guitar. I was mesmerized. I count 15 versions of this song on Spotify, and I’m sure countless more on YouTube. It’s a classic. But even if you’ve heard it, I think the context of this playlist urges you to listen to the lyrics differently. 

I have two main takeaways. One: life comes and goes. Whether by fate or by randomness, you could “live forever,” or you could outlive your kids, or you could have giant aspirations and not make it past adolescence. Sobering stuff. Two: we all fall down (die) eventually. And few of us are ready for the end. It would be great to feel the rain in the afterlife, as that implies there actually is an afterlife. 

I get more comfort in believing that, than I do in believing I’m stuck on “repeat” for eternity. As Andy Samburg’s character says in Palm Springs after being resigned to a life that never ends:

“I felt everything I’ll ever feel. So I’ll never feel ever again.” 

I want to feel. 

Beam Me Up – P¡nk

“It would be great to feel the rain in the afterlife, as that implies there actually is an afterlife”  Yes! Yes it would – I’m not above changing behavior in this life just in case – hell, I buy lottery tickets and don’t walk under ladders.  

This is an amazing track – one that I hadn’t heard before and again – straight onto my 2024 catch all.  I remember being introduced to Under the Table and Dreaming – Ants Marching was clearly brilliant but I always loved Jimi Thing – mostly ‘cos of the music, but the ambiguity of self medication to check out of having to answer the big questions was working for me at the time.

And this playlist is literally about the big questions – the whole – why are we here, what’s it all for, that creeping sensation of “this shit doesn’t make sense” that we keep tucked away, as looking at it never feels good – well – until you commit to a system.  And I find myself as an evidence based man – I tend to nod to Christopher Hitchens –  and look for anything that can explain what it means to be alive – and – to the ideas discussed in the last few tracks – what it means to die.

And I find myself listening to Pink!  Because of course – she’s a genius songwriter, amazing performer, fierce advocate of truth and beauty and love and damn if she isn’t one of the smartest rock stars out there.

I adore this track – it’s on the Grieve to list when I was writing about heartbreak and loss – but I’m placing it here because to me – it is the life after death – the afterlife – that I already know exists.  It is the answer Keanu Reeves gave to Colbert when he was asked “What do you think happens when we die?” – and his answer – which has forever cemented my fanhood: “I know that the ones who love us will miss us“

And that’s it – to me at least – that is how one lives on – that is the afterlife that I can at least glimpse – that is attainable to me if I am worthy.  I give life to the ones I have loved who have died – to my Father, Charlotte, Lally, Kenneth,.. they live through my attention and discussion with others.  It’s not living breathing life, it’s not life that can contribute but damn if we’re not keeping their spirit alive.

Love is Everywhere (Beware) – Wilco

I didn’t have P!nk on my bingo card for this playlist, but yet another inspired selection from Andrew. And I will +1 on encouraging folks to check out his brilliant “Music To Grieve To” playlist – like a Darren Aronofsky movie, you have to be in the right mindset to handle the weight of some of the selections, but like a Darren Aronofsky movie, you are guaranteed high quality and thoughtfulness in Andrew’s curation. 

Speaking of thought, philosophy often comes down to semantics. Prompted by Andrew’s shout-out to Christopher Hitchens, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole, watching some of his debates with religious leaders. In particular, his debates with Rabbi David Wolpe were epic, there was an excerpt from the rabbi that struck a particular chord with me, as it pertains to this playlist:

 “All of us have ideas, and even if ideas are lodged in the brain, they’re not the same as the brain. They are in fact spiritual entities – non-material entities. You have an intuition that something exists that is more than “stuff.” Religion enshrines that intuition, by saying that ultimately points to something greater than ourselves. Not something physical that you can’t see…God’s not invisible, God is intangible…the principal evidence of God in this world is in the eyes of the person sitting next to you. That’s where you look to see God.

You might believe when you look into the eyes of someone you love, you might believe that what you’re seeing is a pure contrivance of matter – that there’s nothing spiritual there – that it’s all an illusion. But I don’t believe that and I don’t think you should believe that…”

When Andrew writes about keeping the memory of loved ones alive, and the very concept of having a spirit, it’s proof that there is something beyond this material world. And if we can concede there is more to this existence than the tangible, it opens the door for an intangible existence beyond our human life. 

Love is why. It’s why we care to entertain these concepts. It’s the universal connection, one that extends to the animal world, there is evidence that love is even felt in the plant world! Hence my selection from Wilco, the alternative rock pioneers who deliver a simple message: Love is everywhere. This song is a reminder that LOVE is the tool that unites us, that drives us, and that gives us the hope and peace that those closest to us will always be with us. In spirit. 

Love – Sixpence None The Richer

I love that second paragraph of the Rabbi David Wolpe quote – because it’s true – I don’t believe that either  Whatever the phrase “spiritual connection” means – I know I’ve had it with another entity – with a few entities come to think of it.  

I was looking to go in several directions after the Wilco track but nothing felt right – I was intrigued by how Beware was tagged onto the end of the lyric and how Jeff was singing that he’s frightened – and it just kept running round my head.  Because yes – love is this awesome thing that enables us to exist after we’ve gone – but it’s also a crazy powerful thing too – in its most powerful form it does get a little scary.

I had a weird feeling that I needed my favorite Christian band to find out where to go – Leigh Nash’s vocals are often the answer to most things.  And I’d forgotten Love – one of the spookier tracks on the album.  It reminds me of an old English / Scottish folk song – John Barleycorn – (nicely recorded by Steve Winwood) – in how it’s looking at the circle of life – but in particular the resurrection aspect – how a life happens – is cruelly ended but is reborn to live again.  Sixpence None The Richer don’t hold back here – The Harvester is near, his blade is on your skin – yet – to echo Ben’s last point – it is love – love of and from a God that is promising new life – that enables this process.  So yeah – Love definitely merits a couple of tracks back to back on a list about spirit!

Beautiful World – Rage Against the Machine

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Sixpence song before, and definitely never heard this track before. I love the bassline carrying the song, juxtaposed against Leigh Nash’s angelic vocals. This bass reminded me of a classic Tim Commerford riff on a Rage Against the Machine track. Rabbit hole engaged. As I took a long overdue trip down memory lane, blasting old Rage songs like I was still in my dorm room at San Diego State, I remembered what is my favorite cover album of all time: Renegades, and the rare but impactful slow jam, Beautiful World. And probably the only Rage song without a bassline (facepalm emoji).

What I find fascinating about the afterlife is this promise Andrew references – a promise that what is coming is literally infinitely better than what we have going on here on Earth. The next logical thought is, “well then what the hell am I doing sticking around this dump?” And I know the right answer is “family and friends and blah blah blah,” but if the promise is legit? Whatever I lose in those relationships I gain exponentially on the other side, right? 

This is the talk of cult leaders, the words of suicide notes. Most religions counter fatal actions by clearly classifying suicide as a sin. A sin that would potentially send you to BAD afterlife, which is presumably profusely worse than life on Earth. 

Where does that leave us? Living in a world we know sucks, crossing our fingers that we made the right choices, or was chosen, to punch a one way ticket to the afterlife beyond our dreams? Or living in the moment, still crossing those fingers, but making our current life so phenomenal that it only raises the floor for what the afterlife has in store? I think I can make for myself a beautiful world, and have hope that ultimately it’s not for me – that the next chapter is the real beautiful world, one where I can finally understand the answer to “what was all this about anyway?”

The World I Know – Collective Soul

But it’s so infuriating, right? ;-p Existential dread exists and there’s nothing we can do about it except accept a placebo.   I guess that’s what the modern ethos of – as Ben writes: “Living in the moment” is all about.  If you can’t know the beginning and can’t know the future – the only thing you can do is experience the now.

Which is terrifying as sometimes the now is just shit – so externally and chemically imbalanced it can make suicide a reasonable option.  And it’s not from a position of giving up this life to get to the next one – it’s giving up this life because this life hurts.  I know this.

This song has been with me for a while – it’s not that it “saved” me when I was in trouble but it certainly helped me move through a difficult time.  It doesn’t shy away from all the things that life can do to beat you down – to get you to the point where leaving is the only sensible option – it doesn’t offer palliatives or structure, but instead proposes acceptance.  The world may not be what we wanted – this life either – but it’s the only world, the only life we have.  And maybe – if we learn to accept it for what it is and our role in it – maybe that’s enough.  Maybe just by acknowledging the spirit of being alive, is enough to keep us here.

Moment of Clarity – Jay-Z

Andrew’s right: we’re stuck with this life. There’s no worse feeling than thinking the only way out of a rough patch (cause bad times always end) is death. There is accepting it, there’s enjoying it, and then there’s the concept of leaving a legacy. A life with no regrets seems to be the secret to how to do this life thing the “right way.” 

It’s fitting to have my penultimate track be a Moment of Clarity. Moments of clarity occur right before death, a final awakening before leaving the physical form. Where life becomes clearer than it has been our whole existence. But I didn’t just pick this jewel from the 3rd Golden Era of Rap just because of the title. Jay speaks to the clarity he has, regarding his legacy, and his regrets. This is the Jay-Z I love, the one who makes him my favorite rapper of all time: Introspective Jay. 

With all the concern and anxiety about what’s past this life, is there an omnipotent and omnipresent god out there, which religion got it right, etc.? it’s good to remind ourselves that looking inward is the real feat. Being able to reconcile the past, be present and self-aware, and aim towards creating a legacy for loved ones and beyond to cherish and benefit from. 

To me, that’s the win-win.

Do You Feel Like We Do – Peter Frampton

And it’s one hell of a win-win:

“Being able to reconcile the past, be present and self-aware, and aim towards creating a legacy for loved ones and beyond to cherish and benefit from.“

I mean – shit – if you can execute on that – how fucking good does that feel?

“Fuck perception! Go with what makes sense
Since I know what I’m up against
We as rappers must decide what’s most important
And I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them
So I got rich and gave back, to me that’s the win-win
So next time you see the homie and his rims spin
Just know my mind is working just like them (Rims, that is)“

My dad would’ve been a JAY-Z fan.  He taught me about the Rims.  His spirit lives in me and my family – I think he’d dig this conversation.

I’m coming down firmly on the idea that spirit is how you animate the meatsock. Spirit is what you need to feel – and feel – feeling – that’s how you know you’re alive. 

So – how do you feel?  

Can you feel JAY-Z’s truth?

Can you feel the love?

The despair?

The existential dread?

…

Or maybe, 

you can feel like we do.

Not sure of anything, but curious as fuck.

Super interested in what it feels like to know – to be connected – to be one of 50,000 people grooving on the same vibe – and feeling the same.

Feeling the same.

I do.

I wanna feel like you do.

Feeling Good – Nina Simone

Well, this has been quite a journey, hasn’t it? One which began with no defined destination, filled with candid confessions and ending with a renewed resolve. As I’ve done throughout this playlist, taking cues from Andrew’s previous selection always takes me in an unexpected but natural direction. And what more natural way for me to close out my selections than with the incomparable Nina Simone, an artist who always seemed very sure of herself and her place in this world, despite the world’s attempts to define and box her in. 

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me. And I’m feeling good.

Nature is so precise, every living thing has its routine, its schedule. We can predict weather events, seasons, birth dates. We can anticipate threats and identify defense mechanisms that transcend species. But it’s universally acknowledged that when the norm is broken, that’s literally where the magic happens. In nature – in life. Taking comfort in the unknown – even feeling good about it – is my definition of enlightenment.

It’s our spirit at work. It bypasses logic, which is shared, and instead accesses feeling, which is unique. The most accurate criticism I can give to a religion is, “I’m just not feeling it.” 

Go with spirit.

Go with feeling.

Freedom is mine (and yours). Go!

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

I know there’s no direct relationship between spirit and inspiration but Nina Simone has always seemed to embody both of those traits – at least to my ears & eyes.  Her uncompromising approach to the realities of racism and fearlessness in not kowtowing to label bosses –  ultimately leading to a rocky financial future – speak to a life lived with authenticity, unbowed by expedient compromise.  

What spirit that woman must have had.  Taking a song written about a white man who’s having a good day and turning it into an anthem of the civil rights movement – yep – she inspires me – she inspires me to see what I too can do with my spirit while I’m here.

But now, hell yes – this white man’s feeling good – and what better track to sign off on this – unexpectedly optimistic ending – than ELO’s epic ode to being alive!  

I remember hearing this track when it came out and just grinning my way through it ;-p  And even though it’s ridiculously upbeat – the essence of this playlist can still be found at its core – no matter how wonderful a day – how wonderful a life – it inevitably comes to an end.  But – whether it’s Mr. Night’s or Mr. Death’s hand on your shoulder, it’s lovely to know that we will be remembered.  And hey – if we’re holding the day / life analogy a little further – it’s even nicer to know that we’ll be back!

---

Go With Spirit 1

Track Listing

• SOUL SURVIVOR – C.S. Armstrong
• War/No More Trouble – From “Bob Marley: One Love” Soundtrack – Bob Marley & The Wailers
• King Without a Crown – Live at Stubb’s, Austin, TX – February 2005 – Matisyahu
• How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) – James Taylor
• Lost – Mai Spann
• Strangers In The Night – 2008 Remastered – Frank Sinatra
• Blasphemy – Makaveli
• Controversy – Prince
• NO EVIL – SiR
• Everyday People – Sly & The Family Stone
• Aerials – System Of A Down
• Hurt – Johnny Cash
• Gravedigger – Dave Matthews
• Beam Me Up – P!nk
• Love Is Everywhere (Beware) – Wilco
• Love – Sixpence None The Richer
• Beautiful World – Rage Against The Machine
• The World I Know – Collective Soul
• Moment Of Clarity – JAY-Z
• Do You Feel Like We Do – Live – Peter Frampton
• Feeling Good – Nina Simone
• Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Playlist Image AI Prompt

---

This playlist is part of The Human Collective. Each week we take a prompt and create a playlist and accompanying articles. Learn more about The Human Collective here.