In terms of the sheer number of musicians we lost, this was undeniably a brutal year. Mac McCaughan of Superchunk has struck upon the overall tenor many people have felt about 2016 and written a new song, “Happy New Year (Prince Can’t Die Again),” and it’s embedded below.

He posted the song to his Bandcamp page, where he wrote about the impetus for its creation, “Written and recorded Dec 24, 2016 in a moment of trying to look at any possible bright side of the coming new year after the disaster that was this one.”

Oh, it was a year when everybody died,” he sings at the beginning, “And it was a year where the adults and children cried / For the loss of their hope / For the loss of their youth.” In the chorus, he recommends getting together with your remaining friends and drinking a toast to 2017, because there's nothing that could hurt as much as when we lost Prince back in April.

In the second verse, he sets his sights on the presidential election and the incoming administration, singing, “OK, but this could be a great year if you’re rich / Or if you’re a racist craving an authoritarian hand.” After a slightly distorted melodic guitar solo, he suggests using that evening with your friends to create a plan to fight back and “work to make that arc bend … away from these old white men.”

Superchunk haven’t released an album since 2013’s I Hate Music, but Superchunk made headlines earlier this year when they performed with their original drummer, Chuck Garrison, for the first time since 1991. The occasion was a live version of The Best Show With Tom Scharpling comedy podcast, which co-starred Garrison’s replacement, Jon Wurster. Superchunk performed “Slack Motherf—er,” with Wurster, in his character of “Philly Boy” Roy Ziegler, on vocals. Bassist Laura Ballance, who quit touring with the band in 2013 due to hearing problems, also performed with them.

Listen to “Happy New Year (Prince Can’t Die Again)”

Musicians We've Lost in 2016

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