Let's start the new year off with a bang. Literally. As I type these words, some people outside in my neighborhood are either shooting their guns up in the air or maybe shooting off fireworks. It's New Years Eve. People celebrate it in different ways. Their banging outside reminded me of the percussion in this song, so I'm celebrating the new year by playing loud music loudly. This song was originally written for Nina Simone, and has also been performed by The Animals and countless other musicians. My favorite version is this one by Santa Esmeralda. A friend turned this song on to me by putting it on a mixtape that I probably still have around here some place. You young whippersnappers probably don't know but thirty years ago we didn't have mp3s. We had cassette tapes. We'd make tapes for each other. Took days sometimes to get one just right. Nowadays you just make a playlist and email it. Or go to websites like this. I guess here at TIMJ we're each just making one long mixtape, huh?
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