The year 2023 is going down in the books as the worst year ever for me. Nothing holds a flame to it and what has transpired over the last 12 months.
First, my wife of 20 years and I are concluding a divorce. It has gone very amicably, and we still see each other when I go over to the house … but the whole divorce is something that saddens me. I am a better person for having spent 20 years with her, and I owe her a lot. She will always have a place in my heart, and I’ll always try to take care of her.
As if divorce wasn’t bad enough, the date October 3rd is burned into my brain. That was the day that my 16 year old son took his own life. I can’t begin to convey the heartache, the sadness, and the feelings of being powerless that I’ve been struggling with. I’ve been actively trying to reframe how I think of Brendan, and you’ll see that in this year’s mixes. The Ambient-Chill mix and Mish-Mashup mix each conclude with a song that brings me some comfort. The last song on the Dance-Trance mix feels like it was written for me (in addition to being a great tune). Listen and you’ll see what I mean.
But I’m guessing you didn’t come here to listen to my woes, so on to the music.
If there was any potential upside to this year, it’s that I listened to a lot of music. That’s reflected in the mixes, and I’d guess they’re 33% longer on average. Recent years have felt like I was struggling to pull some mixes together, but I had none of that this year.
Also making an appearance in the Bunker Tuneage mixes this year: generative AI. I did some manipulation and coloring with Photoshop, but the front and back image content for the mixes was generated with Adobe Firefly. It’s great fun to play with and experiment. I see generative AI as neither good nor bad – it’s just another tool.
If you take a listen to the mixes, please let me know what you think of them, what you like, etc. Over the years, a number of you have given me suggestions for music I might want to listen to, and more often than not they’ve been solid recommendations. Many of them have made it onto Bunker Tuneage mixes.
I’m hoping that 2024 proves to be a better year than 2023. I don’t want to tempt Fate, but I don’t think it could be any worse.