The noughties, a closing of a decade......

I have to admit that I'm normally rubbish at 'blogging' anything that isn't an update, but as we're at the closing of a decade (and I'm stranded in bed with Tonsillitis) I'd thought I'd share a few insights and thoughts about the last year and more! Feel free to post your thoughts and forgive me if my grammar and or spelling is out, my concentration has 'gone sideways' today!
The last year couple of years have been pretty eventful and by the end of the decade everything had changed. On the good side, I married my long term friend and soul mate in Italy after years of searching, I had my little boy, I achieved countless accolades and exposure in my music career, and grew as a writer and a person.
On the not so good side, I found the pregnancy difficult and challenging and it's taking me a long time to level with that. I also lost two close members of my family to Alzheimer's (my dear nan) and stomach cancer (my granddad), as we'll as a former friend and colleague under mysterious circumstances.
At the moment I'm having a little time out before the album is released, by the end of 09 I felt like the world was spinning so fast that I couldn't keep up and I crashed. I'm obviously not the only one, I've read countless tales of people 'dropping out' of society, and in one newspaper I read that anyone over 21 now feels old before their time and out of touch, at 'the grand old age' of 28 I find this incredibly worrying.
I'm also find that I'm starting to become sick of society's obsession with youth. When you're in your teens/early 20's you have no experience of anything, the world is new and open. How can an artist at 18 be better than one at say 33? There is no character or expression, there can't be (unless of course that person has had trauma growing up). I always remember what Phil Jupitus said about some of my old stuff back in 2003, at the time I took offense, now of course I understand.
I think as an artist I've discovered that we need time to just enjoy the simple small things, or there becomes no point. It's probably one of the reasons that I've gone back to basics with this new album, to allow the songs (and the listener) the space they need to breath. Commuting in and out of London brings this home more than anything else. London is a fantastic and vibrant city but to work in and travel in during the rush hour it's pure hell, all the jubilee line is missing is the visual flames.
So, hopefully this year will bring success, space, time to process, a personal settling down, and a taking off, there are probably some contradictions there but I think that's all part of being a musician.
Red x