I have deemed 2026 a year of distillation: to live more faithfully in line with hard earned and well-considered authenticity. And for the moments when those aspects do not inform me, I will be still, and I will listen. I will not explain to people who are incapable of hearing me; something I began doing earlier this year. It feels subversive, radical, necessary. It reminds me of this poem, which I first heard referenced in a Marina and the Diamonds song, I Am Not a Robot.

Better to be hated
Than loved for 
What you are not

—André Gide 

Linking to my favorite version of it, a bombastic clubby mix that is forever in the rotation when I’m doing cardio. It has such great chord substitutions and I love the juxtaposition of the aggressive synths and how light her voice is. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

This playlist consists of three albums essential to my education, each phrase a master class in this is what good musical decisions sound like. I would encourage those of you who do not normally interact with jazz to venture forth, to build your lexicon of comparative sounds and styles. Allow new music to be the soundtrack of your life, grow the base of things you are familiar with, that make you feel new things and think in fresh ways. Wishing each of you peace, health, and abundance in the year ahead. 🕯️