I have a habit of making lists for almost everything. Enumerating and dividing tasks helps me to believe that the world can be a little more manageable. The first thing I do when I sit down to work is write a list of things pending… and believe me, there is nothing comparable to the immense satisfaction that comes from crossing out a task on the list.
The only lists I have never liked are the ones that are made at the end of each year to choose the best songs. I have never been able to make one of those. I refuse to have to choose some and discard others. However this year there is a song that has haunted me even in my dreams and that should be on all the best of lists of all media. It would undoubtedly be number one on mine. Night Shift by Lucy Dacus.
It’s that kind of song that builds up little by little, patiently, unhurried but without looking back. From the first sentence “The first time I tasted somebody else’s spit I had a coughing fit” until the heart-breaking climax “In five years I hope these songs feel like covers, dedicated to new lovers” is pure emotion. A cure for love and the lack thereof.