Day 0: The Fall of Another Year

You're never more in the moment than when you're confronted with the stark realization that something is ending, and this song captures that feeling perfectly. A contemplative bass line, spectral organ, and driving percussion lead into the scratchy, soulful vocals of Malcolm Mooney, the American artist and traveler the German band met in Köln and whose often ad-libbed vocals appeared on the debut Can album. The mood of this song as a fascinating mix of melancholy and jubilant. Aother year is ending, the lights are about to be turned off and the curtain closed as we head into a new round of unknowns. This is an occasion of reflection and even some sorrow, but as the flute kicks in and the volume picks up, there is also a sense of celebration amid the decay. The lyrics speak for themselves (to the extent that they make sense at all) but for me the key word here is "another." Even in a year as monumental and cataclysmic as 2020, it's still just another year. But before it does end, we'll mark the occasion with music.