Planet C - Top 15 of 2012
2012 has been an amazing year for Walking on Planet C. Looking back at Nile's cancer, music and life blog's highlights for 2012 makes us very proud. Mostly, though, we thank everyone who's supported, those that read your weekly briefs, and those that are dedicated to it every day.
Here are the Top 15 blog posts of 2012. Happy New Year!
#1 "I'm Still Freaking Out" - September 23, 2012
On my sixtieth birthday I was on a plane heading over to London, England. I was going to attend an old friend's wedding. Nobody could reach me in the air on my milestone birthday, so some of my closest friends embarked upon an epic undertaking.
#2 "I Know That I'm Dying" - May 20, 2012
I've slept more in the past few days than I can ever remember. I've been very sick and I've had to marshal my strength for the extensive travel and concerts. Even with all the rest I got progressively worse. On the drive home from the airport today I felt so sick that I couldn't help but think "I Know That I'm Dying." I tried to think positively - but the phrase "I Know That I'm Dying" kept repeating in my head.
#3 "Freakout! Montreux" - June 28, 2012
I was up all night planning the final pieces of our mega Dance Party at Montreux Jazz on July 13. It will be the first event of it's kind that I've curated since the formulation of CHIC. I see it as "The Evolution of Dance Music."
#4 "Madonna to Adam Lambert" - September 7, 2012
There have been so many deaths of friends and acquaintances lately, which remind me just how precious the gift of life is. Some friends had passed away unexpectedly and others after long bouts with various illnesses. There's a saying that goes, "When one door closes another opens" – that's truly been my life's pattern.
#5 "Daft Punk is Hanging at My House" - February 7, 2012
Today I'm going to spend some time with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo better known as Daft Punk. We've briefly met before when they were doing some sort of listening party in NYC back in the 90's. The scene was chaotic and we didn't really have a chance to have an artistic connection, except they did tell me that they were sorry about my former partner Bernard Edward's death. And they dug CHIC. The feeling is mutual.
#6 "Daft Punk Album - I'm Hyped" - August 10, 2012
Over the last few days I've had tons of meetings to plan for the rest of what's already been an exciting year. Just when I thought I couldn't get more hyped up about the future, I got a call from Daft Art's Paul Hahn. He was in New York and so was I - we figured out a way to meet between our other meetings. We linked up at the bar at Michael Jordan's restaurant in Grand Central Terminal. We talked about as many things as we could fit into our quick meeting.
#7 "Trust the Process" - May 9, 2012
Adam Lambert's new album Trespassing has leaked out. Most of you have already heard the song that I played on called "Shady." What you don't know is the Process. It started with a tweet to me from Adam and Sam Sparro asking me to play on this funky track.
#8 "Singing and Dancing My A$$ Off!" - January 20, 2012
Yesterday I took the Acela train to Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I went there for a number of reasons, but while I was there I went and visited their music archives.
#9 "I Guess We All F***'d Up?" - October 6, 2012
I'm going through a low-point in my physical health but I'm not complaining. Instead I ask myself, "Who has it better than I do?" I've cheated death more times than I can count and I'm currently on the mend (again) and working more than ever before.
#10 "Declared Officially Dead" - December 1, 2012
I've been playing with some of my demos from the 80's lately and it's been exciting jamming along with my old band mates. I love to play guitar and I could do this every day for the rest of my life just for the fun of it.
#11 "When Death Comes Knocking" - September 4, 2012
Summer is officially over and now we Americans go back to work. I've worked harder this summer than any summer of my life - so the calendar has little meaning to me other than it being a measuring tool of events. My life is a journey through endless mazes, tunnels, windows, and doors with no knowledge of what's on the other side of any of them.
#12 "My Favorite Daft Punk Records" - February 8, 2012
I had to grab an early morning train because I wanted to spend as much time with Daft Punk as possible. We had to make up for years of lost time and missed meetings in the past. During the meeting, Thomas said, "Nile, everything has worked out perfectly to bring us to this moment."
#13 "They Know the Song" - June 5, 2012
Bernard Edwards, my long time partner, peeked out from behind the curtain at the sellout crowd in Tokyo's Budokan. "Look at that," he said to me right before we took the stage. "We did it. They didn't come to see us, they came to hear our music." That would be my last concert with him. After that show he went back to his hotel room and died on the sofa. His words were prophetically correct. We had done what we'd set out to do.
#14 "Walking on Planet C with The BBC" - September 15, 2012
Over the last couple days, I've been Walking on Planet C with Paul McClean of BBC Radio, and my Jack-of-all-trades assistant Rich Hilton. Planet C is a term I've coined for life once cancer strikes. Walking is the main part of my therapy that I can control. It helps with my overall fitness and it's the peaceful time of the day that I have to myself. On my walks I never carry a music player because music is always inside my head - that music is always inspired by the sights and sounds I encounter on my walks.
#15 "Feeling So Shady" - April 24, 2012
Hey guys, it's D (IAmMisterD). Nile's in London taking over the world, but I had to hack the blog and share this with you guys (hope he doesn't mind!).
As many of you know, Nile worked on Adam Lambert's latest album, and the anticipation for their collaboration, "Shady" is just incredible!