On January 1, 1943 Woody Guthrie wrote 33 New Year resolutions – or rather, “New Years Rulin’s.”  Click on the above image – via woodyguthrie.org – for a larger view of what was on the Dust Bowl troubadour’s mind 70 years ago:

• “Change socks”
• “Write a song a day”
• “Read lots good books”
• “Wash teeth if any”
• “Make up your mind”
• “Wake up and fight”

Resolutions are a fine line.  To lead to impact they must be practical (“change socks” is do-able) but are also the perfect opportunity to think big…
…. like Tim DeLaughter – frontman and mastermind behind the Polyphonic Spree and Preteen Zenith.  Ever-ambitious, Tim recently discussed new years resolutions with MTV Hive:

“It’s a great way to wipe the slate clean and start over. After all, you are the one holding the eraser. You can make it happen.”
“I have this goal that I want to do.  I want to build the world’s largest band.”
“I have one of the largest touring bands but I want to make it bigger.”
 “To start I’d like to get every member that’s ever been with Polyphonic Spree, which is over a hundred people, and play a huge show. But that’s just the seed-planting. The big goal, the big plan is to get as many singers and musicians as I can to come to Central Park, to be in the world’s largest band, which I will conduct and orchestrate from a hot air balloon floating overhead.”

Here’s some more ideas for the new year from the start of 2012:

Brendan Benson:
“Somebody wise once said, ‘a New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.’ I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I like to make my resolutions on a daily basis.”

Bear in Heaven’s Jon Philpot
2012 New Year’s Resolution: “Clean my apartment.”
2011 New Year’s Resolution: “Write new songs.”
Did you live up to your 2011 resolution? “Totally, we made a new record! That’s why my apartment is so messed up.”