Cretin, Uncle Levon and Moonbeam all died in 2008. Along with them, there were a number of other relatives, friends and acquaintances who passed away during that year. A number of these individuals I really didn’t know well, but it was a frequent reminder of my own mortality. I was pushing 30 and two of my friends who died were actually younger than me. For a period it was bumming me out. It took me some time to process.

There was one song in particular which helped me to put things into perspective. The song was “P.S. You Rock My World” by the Eels. It was from their 1998 album Electro-Shock Blues. That album is an absolute underrated masterpiece and it has been one of my personal faves for quite some time. The song didn’t start to fully resonate until 2008. I was actual...

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