My life as a father has reached its pinnacle...

I was driving around with my daughter, five-year-old Anna, on Saturday running errands. I had one of the best albums to come out in the last ten years playing, "Hot Fuss" by the Killers. Out of the blue, Anna tells me, "You know, dad...I think the Killers are my favorite band, and I really like that name for a band." Come on. You can't script a conversation better than that. She went on to tell me that she likes "the song about Jenny ('Jenny Was a Friend of Mine'), but 'I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier' is my very favorite song." I thought that was very endearing, not to be some over-indulgent dad, but it was nice--perhaps even blog-worthy. So I've written about this song before, but I love it so much, and it's my daughter's favorite song now... so I've embedded a pretty cool acoustic version of "All These Things That I've Done", or according to Anna, "I've Got Soul, But I'm Not Soldier". Enjoy.

Faithful Readers: I have returned.

Yes, it's been awhile...well only like 6 months. I have decided to get back on the wagon. I got some comments from some long-lost friends and thought, you know, it wouldn't kill me to keep on this blogging business. Maybe it will help me keep in touch with some folks. Honestly, I have nothing monumental to say at this time, so I guess I'll post a really good song I've been digging lately. I discovered this guy Brett Dennen actually in May. I was waiting in line for a Mason Jennings show and saw this big guy with flaming long red hair just walking around. In fact, I wasn't sure if it was a guy or not. Anyway, tons of people kept jumping out of line to get their pictures taken with him/her. I asked my friend if he knew who it was and he didn't. Next thing we know, he's up there playing to open for Mason. And I'll tell you, he was way good. I've been digging him ever since. I actually thought he had a very unique, yet catchy sound.

Just to add a little validity to my saying that Brett's got a good sound, I must say that I am a pretty tough critic at concerts. I should be more open-minded, but for some reason it bothers me when people go to shows and brag about how 'indie' they are by dropping names of "incredible" artists they saw open for blah blah who you've probably never heard of because you're not hip in the music scene like they are. So that said, I would be surprised if his sound didn't catch your ear and tickle your fancy at a first listen. Of course, maybe you've all heard of him and have listening to him for years and I'm just late on the scene. Nonetheless, enjoy this song. It's a gem.

A very nice day

Yeah, it's true. I had a very nice day today. I played a little hooky from work and went skiing at Deer Valley. I have a friend who has a friend who got two lift tickets to Deer Valley from his work then got in a car wreck and busted a couple of ribs and gave my friend the tickets. My friend invited me along and it was fantastic. They've got 120" base of snow, plus they had a few inches of fresh snow. This wouldn't be a huge deal, but it's April 10th. Come on! Great day. So I got really sunburned if you can't tell from this hideous picture I've included. And even though I've increased my chances at getting a potentially life-threatening case of skin cancer, I would say it was worth it. So picture this: the sun shining, no wind, absolutely no crowds (the longest we had to wait in line was when there were 2 that's right, dos people in front of us. The rest of the time we skied right to the lift.), at Deer Valley for free(lift ticket price: $86), and finally, me skiing whilst listening to the playlist I put together last night for the occasion. How do you top that? It was phenomenal. My friend and I estimate that we made between 40 and 50 runs. We skied really hard with no breaks, and I am sure I will not be able to walk tomorrow. What's more, I was fully planning on telling my work tomorrow that I was at a conference. Yeah, I'm sure they'll buy that story as I walk in with a tomato-red face, ice packs ace-bandaged to my knees, and on crutches. "It was a violence conference--yeah, a conference on gang violence...hands on training. I took on this crazy O.G. who had a knife and a gun. You should see him, he looks way worse than me. Oh, the sunburn? It was at a tanning salon under a heat lamp and I had on goggles to protect my eyes, that's why I look like a raccoon. They broke in. It was all staged, though. It was a really good experience...learned a lot." I think they'll buy it.

So anyway, I'm skiing to this sweet playlist and at the moment when we were making one of the best runs in virgin powder (do I need to remind you that it's April 10th today?) and tonight's featured song comes on. It was so great. "Great" is the only word my below-average vocabulary is supplying me with right now. But it was better than that. I would say that it was awesome, but I can't say that it was literally awe-inspiring. But it was good...great.

I feel like I need a disclaimer because this is another bitter love song. But it's so good. I heard this for the first time on a live album, performed alone by the front man of the band, Jeff Tweedy. It's fantastic live and solo, but then I heard the version of the full band doing it on a Volkswagen commercial several months ago and was able to find the song. So, though difficult to find, I supply you with "The Thanks I Get" by Wilco. Imagine yourself shredding some powder (or looking like an uncoordinated fool on the hill, and do people use the phrase "shredding" in relation to skiing or anything besides confidential documents anymore?). Anyway, it's one of those songs that will have you at "hello". I guarantee you'll love it. Just, sorry it's another bitter love song. It just came on at a good time today. Enjoy.

I'd like you to meet Mason Jennings

Hello, there is an artist to whom I'd like to introduce you this evening. I've actually referenced him before, but I'll do it again tonight. His music constitutes about 50-60 percent of my listening.

Mason is on my mind because I have found yet another tie between him and Jack Johnson (in fact, remind me to feature a great song that they sing together in the coming weeks). I love Jack Johnson. Everything about him is so great. He's just a really nice guy...it seems. And he's really humble...or appears as such. And his music is mind-blowing.

His new album is fantastic. It's called "Sleeping Through the Static". His ability to put 12 great songs on every album truly blows me away. There are no other artists who can consistently do that. My very favorite artists even have lowlights on their albums, but Jack is so consistent with every album. So he owns is own label, Brushfire Records that is everything one would want from a record label--great artists, independent, and even environmentally friendly. The whole thing is run from solar power. So I'm reading Rolling Stone the other day and it talks about Mason Jennings, to whom this post is dedicated. He has been buddies with Jack Johnson for quite some time, but Rolling Stone indicated that Mason recently joined Brushfire Records. He also told RS that the first time he met Jack Johnson was after he (Mason) had been performing. He got off the stage, and a man whom he later recognized as Jack Johnson said, "Hey, that was really good. Why don't you go up there and play some more?" So he did. And, thus, my love for Mason was deepened. So, it is Mason Jennings to whom I would like to introduce you. An old roommate discovered him about 6 years ago by searching for Jack Johnson music. Mason came up under 'related artists'. So I will give you the first song of Mason's that I ever heard as your Earth Glue installment this week. It's called "Living in the Moment" I think. Enjoy. Wow, I just read this post. That was a really round-about way to getting to the subject. Thanks for sticking with me.

Bitter love...

Part One:
Hi there. I'm a little hesitant to approach this week's topic in Earth Glue, but I feel that it's necessary. I recently met up with an old friend I hadn't seen in several years. A good man, Will Daines. He's in medical school at Columbia. Smart as a whip, that Will. Anyway, he was talking about how he had just ended a relationship and was feeling down about it. The first question I asked him was what, I thought, would have been the first question anyone would have asked in that situation, "Have you been drowning your sorrows in bitter love songs?" He looked at me very strangely and I began my lecture on the healing process and music's pivotal role in it. There we sat, my wife Jamie, Will, and I in a quaint Greenwich Village cafe (actually it was a McDonald's on Times Square, but doesn't the former sound more appropriate for the occasion?).

I put my arm delicately around my dear wife, whom I love deeply (and I am not speaking facetiously here), and I said, "Listen, Will, I love being married. The only thing I do not like about being happily married is that bitter songs of heartbreak no longer carry the same weight." It is true. When you're on your way home and Dashboard Confessional comes on the radio, it's hard to get too into it when your wife is going to greet you with a kiss in five minutes, and you, in turn, are really excited to see her. But, alas, I love bitter songs of heartbreak. I don't know why. I think it's because you can really feel the despair in the music. You really feel like the band is putting their all into it. I love that.

I offer the question: is it okay for me to still love this type of music in my situation, or should I grow up and move on? I don't know. For now, I will revel in the heartfelt tones of heartbreak music.

Part Two:

I just got an email from my dad. I hate forwards. No, I loath forwards. But he forwarded me some "put-downs with class" email. He doesn't generally forward things to me, so I actually read this particular forward. It was pretty good. A lot of Winston Churchill quotes. He was quite witty. Anyway, the point of the email was that put-downs used to have class rather than just telling someone to f-off or whatever. I liked it. It got me thinking about music. You know, in the good old days there were some great bitter songs, but classy ones. I like the new ones, too, but man could Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson put together a good bitter tune.

So I focus tonight on the greatest bitter/pathetically sad heartbreak songs out there. I'll offer my favorites in no particular order. Some are classics like I previously mentioned, some are really sappy emo songs, but they all share the same passion in their delivery.

Wanting Her Again--Ben Kweller
The Best Deceptions--Dashboard Confessional
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright--Bob Dylan
She'll Come Back to Me--Cake
I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You--Colin Hay
The First Day of My Life--Bright Eyes
Pictures of You--The Cure
Waltz--Elliott Smith
Out To Get You--James
The Thanks I Get--Wilco
Mr. Brightside--The Killers
Bullet--Mason Jennings
Knives Out--Radiohead
Why Aren't You Here--Rhett Miller
Time To Move On--Tom Petty
Writing to Reach You--Travis
Red Red Wine--UB40
Fat--Violent Femmes
Why Bother--Weezer
Sad Songs and Waltzes--Willie Nelson

Ok, I was able to cut it to 21, but I can't go any further. If you're ever feeling down, check these songs out. You will want to cut yourself for awhile, but your overall recovery time will be much faster. I guarantee it. So, that said, I feature tonight's Earth Glue Song. It is the grandfather of all bitter heartbreak songs written by the master songwriter of all time.

When I spoke earlier of sophistication I thought of this song. Song for the Dumped by Ben Folds Five is good when it says, "Give me my money back, you bitch." You feel his pain, but where's the sophistication, the poetry? I hear 7th graders say stuff like that to each other in the hallway every day when I'm at work.

But Bob Dylan. Ah yes, the man can weave words. So sit back and enjoy a masterfully ironic, bitter, and hateful song of heartbreak. This song is called Don't Think Twice, It's Alright. You've probably heard it, but pay attention this time. It's pretty subtle at times, but this song has serious bite.

"I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier."

Hello, hello to all you people out there. It's a pleasure, truly. I've listened to this week's song no less than 50 times in the past two weeks. I'm not lying when I say that I get chills about half way through the song every single time I hear it. Lately I have been all about The Killers. They are just awesome. I do not dispute that "awesome" is the most over-used word in the English language. It drives me absolutely crazy to hear people refer to rather ordinary things as 'awesome.' "Hey, that lunch was awesome." Or, "Oh man, you went to Skyline? Awesome." Seriously? So you're telling me that it is literally awe-inspiring that the person whom you just met attended Skyline High School? Wow. Come on. But I'm telling you tonight, right this minute, that The Killers are truly awe-inspiring, or "awesome" to me. The large majority of their songs give me chills. I'm not exaggerating.

So I've been really into them lately, then my friend tells me that their front man, Brandon Flowers, is actually an active member of the LDS church. I, being an active member of the LDS church myself, was actually quite pleased and intrigued to hear this. I've heard it before, you know. Steve Martin, Alice Cooper, Billy Corgan, etc. etc. But I actually researched it and found that Brandon Flowers was born in Henderson, NV, just outside of Las Vegas, into an LDS home. They moved to Nephi, UT when he was like 8 years old and stayed there until he was 16 or 17. Then they moved back to Vegas where he started making music legitimately. He went through some crazy years apparently, living like the proverbial rock star. He later got married and (I think) had a baby, then he settled down and returned to his roots as a faithful member of the LDS church (This was all found in a SPIN magazine interview).

I truthfully don't really care if a band, personality, or anyone else in pop culture is of my faith. Honestly--couldn't care less. But it is quite refreshing to see that there's someone out there who's of my faith but not a real dork. I know, it sounds shallow and foolish, but it's true. Have you honestly looked at my religion's reference group? Let's take a quick look at the people who have brought publicity to Mormons:

First, we have the prototype of a nerd, albeit very intelligent, likable and nice:
Ken "Jeopardy Guy" Jennings

Next, a man who really needs no introduction, the slimiest car-salesman-turned-presidential candidate since Wendell Willkie:


The only others that come to mind presently are everyone's favorite B-list duo:


Again, it doesn't matter. I'm proud of my faith, or as Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)." But I also recognize that I'm pretty shallow, and there is something validating about Brandon Flowers being of my faith, though I can't say exactly what it is. So that said, I will give you a YouTube link for a great live performance of the song, or just play the box below to hear the studio version of "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers.

"I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier." I know, Brandon, I know. You give me, the no-name, dorky LDS kid in Utah hope. You'll always be a soldier in my eyes.

YouTube link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5n1aimznE&feature=related

Studio-recorded song, no video:

I was bound for Mexico...

Again, my apologies to my faithful readers. I am very sorry. Please don't give up on me. I will do better from now on. That is a promise. I can't lose you, so please hang on (that's you, Liz, Dave, Hannah...please). I'm not desperate though, I swear. Not at all.

So this week has been very nice. I had a real kick-in-the-pants weekend last weekend in Mexico. Now that sounds a little more glamorous than it really is. Turns out, a couple of friends and I drove all night last Thursday, went 2 hours below the border past San Diego, spent Friday and Saturday there, drove back Saturday night and Sunday. So we totally planned on having beautiful, 70-degree days, but as it turns out, we got there and it was nearly hurricane force winds and about 45-50 degrees. We're trying like mad to get the tent just stand up and running on no sleep when Brandon, the guy who threw all this together and the only real surfer on the trip, suggests that we go surfing. After choking back a few tears at the thought of going in the water that would have been mind-numbing even in 80 degree sunlight, I figured I didn't want to be a pansy, so I went along. Yeah, I'm a follower, and it's gotten me nowhere in life. So here's our first descent to the beach and water in the hurricane. I'm on the right with Brandon, the real surfer, on the left. So we paddled out...

And I got tossed around in the torrential gale like a rag doll...

I was actually completely shocked at how well the wetsuits we had insulated us. The water was only 50 degrees, and still I could stay out there for a long time and not even feel the chill of the water. It was amazing. Anyway, the next day, Saturday was beautiful.

Oh yeah, and when we got there it was so windy that we had to set up the tent by a satan worshiper crack house for shelter. It was a little creepy, but don't tell anyone I told you.
But, yeah...it was a lot nicer the next day. We played football on the beach, surfed (or got tossed around in waves and suffocated in salt water in my case), read on the beach. It was just great. Oh, the fresh fish tacos were unparalleled.
Here we are hanging out on the beach. That's me in the middle on the chair in the wetsuit, Christian on the left and Brandon on the right. Not pictured is Ben Springer, from whom I got all these pictures, and who is responsible for any pictures we have. Thanks, Ben.
It was just great. So, that said, we had a theme song of the trip that is featured in this Earth Glue installment. Christian, again, on the left in the brown shirt, introduced us to the Old Crow Medicine Show (pictured on right). We all loved them and must have heard the following song 15 times. I hope you like it. It's got a great bluegrass sound and feel and you can't help but tapping your toe and hoping you could get rocked like a wagon wheel, whatever that means. Thanks, Christian. Enjoy, everyone. This is the Old Crow Medicine Show with "Wagon Wheel."