Music of the Day, 19 December 2024

let it shine within your mind

In addition to being extra busy and stressed the past few weeks,¹ I’ve been struggling with negative self-talk. As I look back on this year, I’ve focused mostly on the several craptastic things that have happened (some of which I’ve shared in this space). That’s a great way to strengthen the negativity … which is the last thing I want to do. But it’s distressingly easy to accomplish.

The most remarkable thing about the human brain is how malleable it is. Most people know this mostly in terms of its rapid growth and development after birth, and then in the adolescent growth spurt. But that flexibility exists throughout one’s life—to the degree that one’s own thoughts can change its functioning!²

I was just reminded of all this by a kind soul. And as my mindset shifted to accentuating the positive, a stream of positive things from the year flitted through my mind, followed quickly by a great song I remember most from marching band in high school.

“Spinning Wheel” was one of three #2 Billboard Hot 100 hit singles from Blood, Sweat & Tears’ (BST) eponymous second studio album, released in 1969. I’m sure I heard them all on my parents’ AM radio station, but I didn’t really appreciate them until nearly a decade later, when several BST classics were used in a halftime show.³ The crowd loved the show, and we loved playing the great music.

I have “Spinning Wheel” in my library courtesy of BST’s 1972 Greatest Hits compilation. It’s been far too long since I’ve listened to it; and as usual, headphones or earbuds reveal so many tasty musical morsels. Singer David Clayton-Thomas penned the song and sings the hell out of it; but it’s the instruments that launch it into the stratosphere. They include: Bobby Colomby on drums and percussion⁴; Jim Fielder tearing it up on bass; Dick Halligan on piano, organ, flute and trombone; Jerry Hyman on trombone and recorder; Steve Katz on guitar; Fred Lipsius on alto sax; and Allan Rubin and Lew Soloff on trumpet (the latter played that blistering solo and also the flugelhorn).

The Wiki page for “Spinning Wheel” reveals some details of the song’s trippy ending, including that it’s Colomby who offers his opinion on it right before the fade-out. Even though it’s somewhat jumbled and discordant, I adore its whimsy.

The spinning wheel metaphor works well for me, but the most important element of the lyrics is in the question “Did you find the directing sign on the straight and narrow highway?” Many of us don’t: we need to be true to ourselves, especially when we cut loose a little and explore.

So with my headspace adjusted and a positive message to hold to my heart, I’m feeling better about going in to the next year. Sure, the wheel will keep spinning—but I’m going to do my best to focus more on the positives. Hope you can too, friends.

1. if you haven’t been, I commend you on your coping skills

2. it’s too far off-piste to delve in to the details here; I’ll be taking up the topic soon elsewhere. Spoiler alert: two common ways our thinking patterns shape our brain activity are the placebo effect and nocebo effect

3. Some of the full songs got into our regular rotation in pep band, too

4. is there another drop-in of the cowbell that’s as good as in this intro?