10 Things to Be Grateful for This Thanksgiving

This year delivered a series of straight-up gut punches, with the passing of David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, the Loft founder David Mancuso, and other legends. While the pain of losing these icons has sent many of us into bouts of weeping on the living room floor (just me?), we can—and must—continue celebrating the incredible cultural contributions of each of these figures. Mancuso was crucial in cultivating the spirit of love and acceptance that became pillars of dance music culture. David Bowie forged the shape-shifting, costumed androgyny that inspired countless artists (Empire of the Sun, anyone?) to push boundaries of gender and sexuality in the realm of music and beyond. Prince fucking wrote “Purple Rain.”

While Outkast once noted that heroes eventually die, the legacies of these greats don’t have to. It’s easy: Just turn on some of the music they made, and crank that shit up loud.

2. The Future Is (Still) Female

Okay, yes, HRC will not likely be made president in January—unless the Electoral College is immediately abolished—but the fact that we haven’t yet elected a female president doesn’t negate the incredible strides women are making in the world of dance music and the culture at large. This past June at EDC Vegas, for example, Anna Lunoe became the first woman to ever play kineticFIELD, while ladies including Alison Wonderland, Mija, Nina Kraviz, the Black Madonna and Nina Las Vegas destroyed their sets at festivals and clubs around the world. The best part is that they shattered the glass ceiling with pure bass.

Okay, that joke was hella lame, but the fact remains that these women are building on the legacies of the many female artists who have come before them. They are further normalizing the sight of a woman behind the decks so that one day, we won’t even have to have the gender inequality conversation. Bitchin’.

3. Four Tet’s “Kiss It Better” Remix

Kieran Hebden’s cosmically pared-down treatment of RiRi’s ANTI-slow jam makes for one of the smartest, sultriest remixes of the year. Put it on repeat, and float right on into 2017 on those shimmering beats.

4. The Incredible Privilege of Celebrating

It’s 100 percent true that we all, from time to time, have to deal with some bullshit in our lives. All of us have experienced heartbreak and confusion and self-doubt. The fact remains, however, that if you are setting foot in a club, concert or music festival, you have been blessed with the bountiful resources and excellent health required to make it happen. It also means you’ve got a hell of a lot more than many people on earth. The things we get to do—dancing at parties, singing along to the songs we love alongside a crowd of thousands, wearing ridiculous costumes just because it’s fun to do so—are ones that many less fortunate people can only dream about. Hell, a lot of people might opt for just the two hours you spent wandering around the parking lot at dawn, looking for your car. This is all to say that we’re lucky. Let’s remember that.

5. Nicolas Jaar’s New Album

It may take a few listens to really get into Sirens, but the investment of time is well worth it.

6. Life, Post-Pulse

June 12 marked the worst mass shooting in United States history, when a gunman opened fire on Orlando nightclub Pulse and left 49 dead. Feelings of trauma, grief and terror rippled through the country and beyond.

But in the aftermath of this horror lie a few silver linings. The hospitals that treated the victims of the attack have covered all the related medical costs, meaning that roughly $5.5 million worth of bills will not be passed along to victims and families. The city of Orlando is also in the process of purchasing the club in order to turn it into a memorial. As it stands, the building is covered in notes to the deceased and surrounded by flowers and candles. In the wake of such an unspeakably awful event, there is gratitude to be felt in the spirit of community and generosity that has emerged.

7. Burning Man

Is it over? Isn’t it? Have the noobs ruined it? No? Yes? Don’t they have cell service there now? Doesn’t that make it, like, terrible? Yes, right? Right?

Whenever Burning Man season returns, the cultural conversation about whether or not the famed desert party is “over” swirls up once more. No bother. Most everyone who goes out to the Black Rock Desert of Nevada comes back saying that it was one of the best experiences of their life, and by many accounts, this year’s party was one of the most powerful to date. Major gratitude that this legendary flying-of-the-freak-flags happens every summer.

8. Moby’s Post-Election Letter

Perhaps you were thrilled with the results of the recent election. That’s fine; you have every right to celebrate. Some people, however, were less thrilled, and one of those people was Moby, who not only campaigned hard for Hillary but also penned a rather perturbed letter in the aftermath of Election Day.

You might not like his assertions that “junk food makes you fat and kills you, cigarettes give you cancer, and Donald Trump is a racist and a misogynist who has ruined countless businesses and will be the worst president our country has ever, ever seen.”
You might, however, feel that he captured a lot of the rage you experienced in one succinct and all-lowercase rant. Regardless, the fact that the first amendment protects your right, my right, and Moby’s right to voice opinions such as these is something that we should feel gratitude for.

9. Americans Can Now Travel to Cuba

And there are dance music festivals there. Tight.

10. You. Yes, You.

Each and every one of you brings your own unique flair to every show Insomniac throws. We love your dance moves. We love your outfits. We love the way you love the music. We mean it: We’re grateful for you. Have a happy and healthy turkey day.

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