Brother, I Can Spare a Few Minutes For Avicii's Inspired Partnership

From this end of the blogosphere I wish all of you a Merry Xmas. If it has started out well I hope that trend continues. If it started out badly I hope you or someone you know found a way to restore your holly jollies. If you wish Christmas would go away already I'm afraid only Father Time can assist you there. He is good at taking those kinds of requests though, so hang in there. Now then, for those in the "up with Xmas" frame of mind I've got this little musical stocking stuffer for you. Address your thank-yous to Swedish mixmaster Avicii who came up with the genius idea to pair his everything including the kitchen sink found instruments technique with the salt of the earth pipes of bluegrass Bubba Dan Tyminski for "Hey Brother". I applaud the timeliness. I'm also in favor of its capacity to buoy flagging spirits. This guy takes the good samaritan cake for sure. Ever helpful and curious of mind is he. He professes that even if the sky comes falling down he'd be there to lend a hand. He asks his fellow men if they believe in one another. To sister he asks if her believe in love exists. Deep ponderings for the holiday but not exactly out of place. Dan has a voice that likely projects well atop any of this world's mountains. The beat moves with purpose. I'm thinking Mumford & Sons only graced with heartland folksiness. On to Avicii. This 24 year-old whose Clark Kent everyday world name is Tim Bergling (I guess Tim Bergling doesn't look as bad ass on a concert hall marquee, huh.)is generous with the spices he ushers into his mix. The percussion pounds. There's a richly manufactured horns section at work. If you blink you'll miss this parade. You'll find the song on his current "True" album. What Dan is harmonizing about couldn't be any truer. Perhaps the anti St. Nick throngs are going to think "How cheesy. Didn't we get force fed enough of this fluffy goo in 1997 when Aqua foisted "Barbie Girl" on us? There's no comparison. If niceness has gone out of style then I'm glad to be a resident in good standing of Squaresville. Not every tune in the universe has to be about political unrest or the latest batch of societal ills threatening to drag our planet into an insurmountable abyss. Dan says "Hello, I'm here for you." That's enough of an olive branch for me. Avicii's gift for us is lurching into fourth gear in a regret free state of mind. Helping others doesn't sound so much like a society mandated slice of punishment. If you have momentum and the willingness to act on that momentum possibilities sprout up where there weren't any before. "Hey Brother" is the bull antsy to kick up a ruckus in the china shop. We'd be best advised to let it run free. Congratulations Avicii and Dan on a sentiment executed with sizable vigor. Maybe Dan's performance here will entice some record label to gift him with a credited gig next time. "Hey Brother" possesses the power to lift you from your funk whether your a brother, sister, mother, father, grandparent, or beloved house pet. That's a present too important to bury in glossy wrapping paper.