Two of my favorite songs share the name “Another Day.” Both are about existential loneliness. One of them, written by Paul McCartney (his first post-Beatles single), has as its protagonist a woman facing the tedium of a work-a-day life without a lover. The other, written and performed by Roy Harper (and covered brilliantly by This Mortal Coil), deals with reflections upon a relationship that could have been, but wasn’t. Each in its own way captures that bittersweet pathos we all share as human beings.
How easy it is to forget the suffering of others. One of the more poignant things about music — great music — is it reminds us that we aren’t alone in our suffering, and by doing so, makes us more attuned. In Harper’s song, the line, “The night is young, why are we so hung up in each other’s chains,” speaks to the emotional bondage created when we project our own fears onto others — and vice versa. It’s a worthy life that is spent learning how to rid oneself of such behavior, because it isn’t easy. The easier path is one of isolation, much like the woman who, “Alone in her apartment she’d dwell, till the man of her dreams comes to break the spell,” as McCartney put it.
As we move through our days resisting the temptation to retreat can be challenging. Earfuls of politics (guilty myself on that one), war, oppression, and basically all the ills of the human race inundate us constantly. Sometimes there appears to be no respite, no solace. Some of us go to church; others work out. All of us are searching for peace.
If you’re hoping for a point, much less an answer, then read no further, because I have neither. I’m not even sure why “Another Day” popped into my head and struck me as material for this. Maybe it has something to do with needing some lunch.
One thing of which I’m certain, however, is this is one killer edition of our humble magazine. We’ve got stories of triumph over adversity, and a story about playing kickball just for the damn hell of it. And there’s the Know Your Neighbor Jr. piece on 7-year-old entrepreneur Henrietta Crumpton, who’s not only cute as a button — she makes . . . buttons!
We’re thrilled to have contributing writer Holly Gleason, whose cover piece on The Voice contestant Sarah Potenza is: The. Real. Deal. Plus, John Mc- Bryde steps up to the plate and knocks it out of the park with his piece “Play Ball!” about the resurgence of Little League baseball here on the East Side. De- Andre Holland shot the photographs for that piece, and he is the subject of this edition’s Artist in Profile (Ron Wynn paints a wonderful portrait of Holland through prose).
The ever-intrepid Randy Fox turns in two this go ’round. First up is the story behind the Bonnaroo Works Fund. Next is his profile of the ebullient singer- songwriter Lilly Hiatt. Rounding out our features is one near and dear to my heart: associate editor Daryl Sander’s “All Quad’s Children” about the legendary Quadrafonic Sound Studio.
All in all a fine piece of reading material if I do say so myself. Enjoy.