This past week ushered in the Summer Solstice along with a god awful, thick heatwave here in Tennessee. For those unfamiliar with the Solstice, it is the day that marks the beginning of summer when the sun stands at it’s highest and laziest point in the sky. Everyday thereafter the sun shines a little less, until it’s descent to the breezier season of Fall. At least, that’s how I’m thinking of it, because for this New England bred babe, it is officially a countdown to Winter. Seriously, where’s the snow? 106 is too hot people.
This also happens to be the exact same time we recorded my album, ‘Standstill’ 4 years ago and for which the record is titled. Oddly, it was also a bit of a premonition in title choice, as the world came to its own standstill during Covid times and around its release. That said, it was a memorable recording experience burnt into my brain. I talked about the process in this interview I did with the local roots radio station WMOT over a year ago. I can only presume the ancient rhythm of the season change had something to do with the energy we all felt that day.
And then, unfortunately at the end of this week of figuratively shedding light on all our truths and celebrating the brightest sunshine of year, we all received the nightmare news that Roe v Wade had been overturned by the Supreme Court. I can only interpret this as a large conservative Christian majority’s truth is that they deeply fear and don’t trust women.
And that is where this newsletter got a little bit hijacked because how can I not mention the fact that my civil rights have been taken away as well as half of this country’s? After reading that headline Friday on New York Times, I became nauseous and throughout this weekend have been feeling righteously angry. As a working class woman, living in a ‘Red’ state, though white and educated, I and a lot of my peers and especially poor people are more targeted by these laws. Just watch "The Janes" documentary on HBO to see what times were like for women when abortions were illegal. It is both deeply upsetting and yet also inspiring to see how these women banded together to create a secret network of abortion providers in Chicago.
The thing is, abortion is a normal medical procedure in a healthy society and a choice between a woman or person, their family and their doctor. End of story. It’s no body’s business ya’ll. This Supreme Court and the Far Right are so out of touch with reality. They clearly do not know us or our world. They are greed-filled, dysfunctional and dystopian in their ideology, peddling fear at every turn. And I absolutely refuse, REFUSE to have their draconian, oppressive laws silence me and my joy, my humanity, my rights and beliefs.
I know we’re all exhausted by the endless news cycle of war, political gridlock and the general dehumanization we see through government, social media and the people in power. But I have to say it, even if you’re tired, stay with your truth and protect it. Protect your hope. Protect your people. Don’t let them take your joy. Resist, resist, resist. I recommend channeling your rage into art, into activism, into music making, marching, donating, into human to human connection and care OFF the internet. Fight disinformation. Check your sources. Stay angry. Figure out your way of fighting.
I personally will fight with songs, I will fight with my words, I will fight with care for my communities, poor and working class, artists, especially my women, black, indigenous and people of color and all my LGBTQIA family. I’ll reject the boring, toxic whiteness they subscribe their supremacy too, because no one will ever be white enough, conversative enough, rich enough to be accepted into their medieval circle. I personally find that liberating and I hope that you do too. And I hope that we can all hold a vision of a future beyond these dark times for us all. One where we care for another, no matter the cost, where diversity is commonplace, energizing, exciting to be around and to learn from. Where differences bring us together and do not divide us. Where more women lead us in this fight, and where love and understanding prevails.
In personal news, I did find myself down with Covid this past week. I’m luckily starting to feel a lot better 12 days later and thankfully can finally taste my morning coffee. During my downtime and recovery, I did turn to some binge-worthy finds on bad-ass women musicians and wanted to share one today.
I discovered this documentary on the life of the great jazz pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams. I sadly had never heard of her and was shocked to learn about her musical legacy;
Mary Lou Williams was not only the First Lady of jazz; she wrote over 350 compositions throughout her rich and highly eclectic musical career. She helped spawn an entire generation of young musicians during the 1940s that would precipitate the birth of one of the world’s most influential musical styles, known as bebop. Her students included musicians as influential and varied as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and countless others…”
https://www.marylouwilliams.foundation/about
I, of course, was disheartened to learn about Mary Lou’s struggles as a black, female musician. The sexism and intimidation she faced is unfortunately still so dominant in the world of music today. She was clearly a pioneer and an astounding musician and I actually wrote a lot of this newsletter while listening to her work here. A fun introduction to her playing and compositions would be to listen to her “Zodiac Suites” piece. You can listen to your sun sign in honor of the Solstice and her!
I’ll leave you with some zinnias that are coming up from my garden! The resilient, sun worshippers.
I hope you enjoyed this smattering of feelings and inspirations.
My questions for you are there other great music documentaries I should check out? Any tips on how to resist the despairing narrative in the world today? Let me know in the comments!
Stay cool out there my friends. -Nellen