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Abstract

May</li><li>preparing an application for a coaching certification</li></ul>All of these tasks were stimulated by the productivity urge.I was overloading myself. Also, I noted with more than a hint of regret that many of these quests to be productive were putting undue pressure on others to be productive too.It was time to be less productive.I set about culling my list.<h1 id="47d5">Forgiveness</h1>Let’s be real for a second. There’s a pandemic out there. We’re all in quarantine. A lot of people have lost their jobs and even those of us lucky to still be working have all but lost the structure to our days and weeks.News cycles are punishing. Everything takes more effort. Energy levels are low. Mood can be low too. It is not a time to overload: it is a time for self-care.That can actually mean doing less. And that is ok.I began cancelling things. I cancelled the webinar on remote working. My friend who was organising it with me immediately said thank you.I postponed the second work-related webinar. Two work colleagues agreed it was a good idea.Launching the new Medium Publication is still an ambition, but I am taking my foot off the gas with that. It can happen later in the year. I forgive myself.I am also taking the pressure off myself to write at all. I still get huge enjoyment out of writing for Serious Scrum, but my inspiration is lower, and that is ok: it always ebbed and flowed. I forgive myself for my lower rate of publication.

Illumination is a new project for me. I have no idea how much I will write here and, you know what, I forgive myself for that uncertainty as well.Writing this feels confessional and unusual for me. It is not how I normally write. But it feels good. As I write, I forgive myself for over-sharing.I hope others will recognise something in my story and perhaps begin to forgive themselves for doing less too.<h1 id="87bd">Distraction</h1>It’s probably fair to point out: I didn’t cancel everything.The meet-up in May was a request from a friend and the topic is one I’ve written ab

Options

out already, so I’m going to continue with that. My friend did ask me this weekend if I was still ok to do it, and I had an opportunity to say no. For once, I didn’t automatically dismiss the idea of saying no. I forgive myself for thinking about saying no.Also, I continue to be inspired to apply for a coaching certification. This is a long-term ambition of mine, and there is no time-sensitivity to the application process. I choose to take that pressure off myself now, and I also choose to forgive myself for taking my own sweet time with it.I allow myself these distractions because they are meaningful to me.Also, without the overload of other tasks, I can do these at a pace that makes more sense to me.<figure id="20f5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*IiUm2PXzVt6r4zhg"><figcaption>Flight Safety Instructions</figcaption></figure><h1 id="e2b3">Moving forward, one step at a time</h1>You do not have to be productive.You need to care for yourself so that you can care for others. Watch out for the to-do list and that feeling of being a little overwhelmed. It can creep up on you.Forgive yourself for taking on less. It’s ok.Forgive yourself for your low energy. It’s ok.Forgive yourself for your low mood or for those days when you don’t want to do anything at all.It’s ok to not be ok.Flight safety instructions tell us:<blockquote id="a104">“If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.” (Source: <a href="https://activerain.com/blogsview/2535480/put-your-own-oxygen-mask-on-first">Active Rain</a>)</blockquote>Self-care means that, rather than feeling pressured to be more productive, you might need to go out for a walk instead.By taking on less and looking after yourself, you will put your figurative oxygen mask on. This will help you to breathe better.First things first. Breathe.If you can, cancel the things you don’t need to do right away.It’s ok. You can forgive yourself.</article></body>

MUSIC PLAYLIST

The Best Covers of Springsteen Songs

Are these the best ever cover versions of the Boss’s songs? I’ll bet you haven’t heard all of them before

How can anyone ever match Bruce Springsteen's passion, energy and delivery?

His songs are the man himself, they have his personality written all over and through them. His lyrics come from his personal observations on life and his considered views and they tell stories no one can match with unique poetry, prose and style.

It’s a tough job covering a Springsteen song well, as I described here:

The Worst Covers of Springsteen Songs Ever

It takes a certain skill to make the Boss’s songs sound this bad

medium.com

And yet, some artists have done a great job with Springsteen songs. They have managed to put their own angle on his songs, finding something else within them.

We all know the famous versions of Springsteen songs, but here are my choices of the best Springsteen covers that are maybe less well known.

Drive All Night by Glen Hansard & Eddie Vedder

Singer-songwriter Glen Hansard is a much-underrated artist. He has played with Springsteen live and name-checked Thunder Road in his lyrics from Roll On Slow:

“Well I’m riding, I wish I wasn’t on my own Thunder Road blasting out on the E Street Radio”

Anyone who name-checks Thunder Road in his songs has to be listened to.

This cover of The River’s Drive All Night comes from Hansard's 2013 EP of the same name. Hansard speeds it up a little, has some amazing harmonies with Eddie Vedder and (drum roll) Jake Clemons on the studio version reprising his uncle’s sax from the original.

This is how you cover a Bruce Springsteen song.

Thunder Road by The Cowboy Junkies

Thunder Road is one of the greatest pop & rock songs of all time. Covering Thunder Road is like trying to cover Hey Jude or Like A Rolling Stone or Bohemian Rhapsody. Not only are the lyrics personal to the writers, but you can’t improve on perfection.

Then along came The Cowboy Junkies to make us think. The Canadian country/folk band turned Thunder Road into a darker, moodier song with a folk feel.

You can’t improve on perfection but you can give it a totally different take. And the fact they could do this shows us just how incredible the song is.

I’m Going Down by Vampire Weekend

This driving rock song was the 6th single from Born In The USA. It’s a classic Springsteen rocker with all the classic Springsteen tropes — the girl, the car and an unfulfilled relationship.

How the hell do you cover this one?

You change the arrangement and delivery. I don’t usually count songs not recorded in the studio and only played live but this one works so nicely I broke my own rule.

Hungry Heart by Jesse Malin

Malin covered Hungry Heart for a tribute album to The Boss. Malin, wisely, doesn’t try to replicate Springsteen's Spector-ish arrangement and full-on vocal performance.

Instead, he slows it down and replaces the clinking piano with a smooth electric guitar arrangement.

Apparently, when Springsteen heard it he loved it so much he called Malin up to work together. It was a session that ended up with the amazing Broken Radio duet.

Who am I to argue with the Main Man?

Dancing In The Dark by Amy MacDonald

Everyone and their dog has covered Dancing in The Dark, one of Bruce’s greatest commercial pop songs. And with good reason, it has a fantastically catchy melody and a classic riff.

Everyone and their dog has also turned it into an acoustic folk-style song. Nonetheless, Amy MacDonald is an avowed Springsteen fan and her acoustic folk version, even without the trademark riff, works.

If you’re going to cover the Main Man, do it differently as you can never match him.

Amy MacDonald has done live versions of this song with a full orchestra which are interesting but I think the studio acoustic guitar-only version works best. MacDonald has a great voice with an incredible depth of emotion.

Tougher Than The Rest — Everything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl stripped down this Springsteen track from Tunnel Of Love to feature only vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar and sparse piano.

Like Amy MacDonald, singer Tracey Thorn backed by Ben White’s harmonies finds exactly the right emotion for the song. Springsteen wrote it while his marriage to his first wife was in trouble and EBTG’s minimalist instrumentation without drums respects this ambience perfectly.

This version is a worthy alternative to Springsteen’s original.

Bonus track — The weirdest best Springsteen cover

When thinking of Springsteen, the ukulele isn’t the first instrument that comes to mind. In fact, covering a Springsteen song on a ukulele sounds beyond weird.

And of all The Boss’s songs you would never imagine being performed on a ukulele, Jungleland would probably be near the top. It’s a powerful, energetic, bombastic finale of a ballad that leaves you breathless at the end of one of rock’s greatest ever albums, Born To Run.

And yet… this one sort of works. Weirdly. It certainly follows the rule of — if you’re going to cover an iconic Springsteen song, give it a different take. Kai Welsh certainly did that with his ukulele version of Jungleland. Nice vocal too.

I know I shouldn’t like it, but I do. I can’t help it.

Best covers of Springsteen songs

Everyone has their own musical taste and their own take on the best cover of Springsteen songs.

What might be more interesting would be to find out if there are any weirder covers that Jungleland on the ukulele. Let me know in the comments.

And don’t say Hank Williams III and his cover of Atlantic City because that’s not weird it’s just wrong.

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And here are some more great cover versions:

https://readmedium.com/when-the-originals-were-better-than-their-famous-covers-e2fcd997611a