“… you read 429 books about a better world, but you wake up early, and you still don’t know what they mean… It took 23 years just to get this stupid, wondering when will I get wise…”

dog’s eye view - “The Prince’s Favorite Son” from the album  “Happy Nowhere”

From the nostalgia collection, this song has been a longtime favorite of mine. In the mid 90’s, this band had a Top 40 radio hit you may recall called “Everything Falls Apart”. I have always found a number of songs on this album quite powerful. (The lead singer and lyricist, Peter Stuart, is still playing, solo now, and his current stuff speaks to me as well.) This one hit me late today, when I was stumbling for a topic to post on today. Then I heard these lines, and it made sense.

I spent time with my family at dinner, for my grandfathers birthday later this week, and a belated celebration for mine. Sitting with my cousins and siblings, catching up on our lives and jobs and such, it made me realize that there are no answers. Our parents do their best showing us the way, and then we continue on, doing our best to figure it out on our own, leaning back on their guidance… and then life happens. We try our damnedest to find a happy medium between making ourselves content, and our families proud.  That’s all we can do. Keep reading the books, keep getting better, keep learning and striving and struggling… and then cross your fingers that wisdom finds you eventually. And… for your grandparents sake - get married and have kids soon. It’s really all they want from you….

“Figure out what you wanna do, then do it, that’s all there is to it”

Josh Dion - “Do It” from the soon to be released Josh Dion EP

I’m heading out to Josh’s show in a few minutes, where I will have the unique honor of getting paid to capture his energy and talent onstage. I’m beyond excited to see and hear Josh and his current band inspire and rock the Bitter End for an hour or so. I’m also lucky, and feel blessed, to get to do this for a living. This song is one of his simplest and most beautiful. The message need not be expounded upon at all, as the lyric is powerful in it’s simplicity. From a musician who lives by this very credo, it is even more so. Done. Go live…

“I rent a room, and I fill the spaces, with  wood and places, to make it feel like home, but all I feel’s alone ; It might be a quarter life crisis, or just the stirring in my soul; Either way, I wonder sometimes, about the outcome, of a still verdictless life; Am I living it right?”

John Mayer - “Why Georgia” from the album “Room for Squares”

Yesterday was my first time going an entire day without posting on this site, and this is also my first relatively “down” post, mood wise - and those two facts sort of explain each other, I suppose. I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, although things aren’t “bad” per se, just a bit off where I think they should and could be. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe other things. I have a few ideas. But I’ve certainly not been chipper the last few days. I’ve pretty much only been happy during my runs, and while seeing live music. Luckily, I ran today, and am going to a show now. Yay.

So this song is from an album I come back to very frequently, and I could have used almost any line from this song, or even quoted it in it’s entirety. I’m not sure I need to explain much more why it’s been on my mind, given my earlier explanation of my mental state. But it just speaks to the scared, uncertain, second guessing, full of self doubt creature I am - and I think we all are somewhat - at 20, at 30, at 40 even… you never quite “know” you’ve figured it, and if you think you have, you’re probably just asking for a let down, when you become complacent and overconfident, like you’ve mastered life. Even on my best of days, I wonder if I’m “living it right”. The truth is, as we all know, there is no right or wrong. It is what it is. Just make the best decisions you can each day by itself, and hope for the best, short and long term. Doesn’t mean I’m any more confident or assured I’m not totally fouling it up on a daily basis…

“I’m so inspired, but you know how short lived inspiration can be; ’cause I’ll brag about my self improvement, which just ends up lost deep inside of me…”

Matt Nathanson - “Naked” from the album “Please”

This song hit me like a ton of bricks during my run today, and I felt like I’d never heard this line before. Sometimes you just never pay attention to a lyric, until it’s time for it to affect you. That time was clearly today. We all tell stories, and spin tales about our lives, to our family, to impress out friends, on dates and interviews, to ourselves even sometimes. They may not be lies or even exaggerations - but they are certainly told in a certain way, in a certain order or tone or from a certain angle. So even when it’s the truth we are talking about, it’s a sliver of the real truth we are sharing. And inspiration is certainly about moments and timing as well. Good can go bad so quickly it hurts to even try to figure out what happened or why. Here’s my idea, and if and when I manage to master it - life will be very good. Try this: Truly believe the adage that you’re never as good as your best, or as bad as your worst. Stop swinging up and down and riding every moment fully. Balance it all in the middle; stop lying to yourself to make it all rosy, and stop hating yourself , and being all gloomy. Just be honest, and let the good, and the bad, and everything in between, come out naturally and unfiltered. The rest will fall in to place beautifully from that point. As my run wound down, my shuffle wandered over to “Two Gunslingers” by Tom Petty, wherein there is a refrain chanted over and over, “I’m taking control of my life, I’m taking control of my life now, right now…” As I finished my run, the whole message came full circle. Just be who you are, period, and then work from right there. Embrace the whole of it all. And then, right after, “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder popped on…. Sometimes it all has a way of taking care of itself, as if my iPod had a story to tell me today. Life is good, indeed…

“It’s not your mind that you’ve been losing, but you’ve been losing anyway… “

Nick Howard - “Up and Down” from the album “Something to Talk About”

It’s not often that I have a lyric already in my head, and then a day sort of falls in to it’s meaning. One of those life imitating art imitating life things I guess. I went to see my friend Nick play locally last night, with a very close friend, and we both agreed that we love this line, and the way it fits so well, and so seamlessly, in to the song. The song is about owning up to your mistakes, and bouncing back, on your own, from them. Today was a FUBAR kind of day, where I got very little done, and a lot, all at once. I lost today’s battle in my ongoing war with technology, but struggled and muddled through long enough to complete the major task at hand, and kept myself mentally upright throughout. I definitely would have packed it in, two times over, at many points in my past, but that was then. Now, I’ll keep figuring it out, as slow as I need to… cause I get up when I fall down, as Nick closes out the refrain of the song. Life, art… art, life….

“We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out, we’re gonna rock this town, make ‘em scream and shout…”

Stray Cats - “Rock This Town” from the album “Stray Cats”

“I came to get down, I came to get down, so get out your seats and jump around; Jump around, jump around, jump up jump up and get down.”

House of Pain - “Jump Around” from the album “Fine Malt Lyrics”

I offer a double dose of lyrics for the afternoon, as together, they are one thought in my head. This was not  the second post I had planned for today, but I got a wonderful phone call earlier, and these two songs immediately came to mind. I have a friend who works for a big company, one that co-sponsors a float in the NYC Village Halloween Parade. For a few years now, some of my friends and I have been privileged enough to be on said float. Last year, through a quirk combination of fate, and costuming, I was asked to be Co-MC of the float, with a live microphone and the responsibility of “hype”ing up the crowd as we went up 6th Avenue. Suffice it to say, the experience was both surreal and quite fun. Today, the same friend called to inform me that, not only was I invited back on the float, but was in fact requested by her boss, by name, to reprise my role, solo this time, as the Master of Ceremonies. So naturally, I thought of the song that was most exciting during last year’s parade, “Jump Around”, during which I had the entire corner of Waverly and 6th bouncing to my hand motions, throngs upon throngs of screaming Halloween revelers jumping up and down at my command. This year, I plan to “rock this town” in a similar fashion, and I can’t wait  until that amazing night. Lyrics don’t always have to be deep and intense. Sometimes, they are exactly as simple as they seem.

“… as long as you got me, and I got you, you know we got a lot to go around, I’ll be your friend, your other brother, anther love to come and comfort you; and I’ll keep reminding, if it’s the only thing I ever do, I will always love you.”

Jason Mraz - “Song for a Friend” from the album “Mr. A-Z”

Firstly - my apologies to those of you who have come to expect a daily offering from me. Yesterday was long and hectic, and I was simply exhausted by 8 PM, and asleep by 9. No excuse, but an explanation. (I will post multiple times today, to make up for my lax behavior, so please come back often.)

The theme of Sunday, which is one that has been in my head much recently, was kinship and true friends. This lyric relates back on to the last few days of my life. From the confidence and support my friends gave me in my training for the Staten Island Half Marathon yesterday, (where I ran a personal best 1:32:09, thanks to you all,) to lunch with my brother and sister in law and their friends, (where I reaffirmed the importance of family as more than just family, not just because they are related, but out of true appreciation of them as friends and peers); to the comments some of my nearest and dearest have been offering right here on this site, and the reminder they serve as - of why we are such close friends, and why those I care for most truly appreciate me - for we think on similar planes and express ourselves through art and deep thought and music. The clincher was an email I woke up to, alerting me to a comment recently posted here by a very very close friend, who happens to love today’s artist as well. More than almost any other friend, she truly gets why music means so much to me, and has been so supportive of my efforts in to the music world, this site, and my recent move. Her, my brother and sister in law, my very close friend from years ago, (who magically appeared out of thin air this month, back in to world, thankfully), my college best friend, (who is frequently attending shows with me again, thankfully)… these friends, and many others, are the reason I post on here, the reason I feel good about my life, the inspiration for my positive energy on down days. As long as I got them, I know I got a lot to go around… Thank you all…

“I’m not saying you were perfect, ’cause no one really is; but perfection’s in perception, and it’s what you make of it…”

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers - “It’s Only That I Miss You” from the album “Bulletproof Heart”

So occasionally I take individual lines way way out of context, and warp them to mean something I’m quite confident is nowhere near the intended meaning. This song, while powerful in it’s own right, becomes, to me ,a completely different beast when I think of just the above lyric, and not the rest of it’s couplet or verse. If I understand correctly, the lyrics refer to the singer’s relationship with his estranged, or possibly deceased, father figure, fathers being a common thread in this band’s writing. I personally have taken it to a much broader and uncertain place, although family and parental figures certainly fit onto the open canvas of meanings this song offers me. Part of it is about friendships, and how we sometimes love people for only part of who they are, because, over time, people change, and you still have a fondness for the era in which you were closest, despite not being quite the same people anymore. Part of it is relatable to dating - “perfection’s in perception”, how we just all need someone to have flaws that mesh with our own. But mostly, it means accepting your life, and being self aware. Our lives are “what we make of it”, because it is truly up to us, and us alone, to define ourselves, and act accordingly. The sooner you can look at yourself honestly, and be comfortable with the good AND the bad, the sooner you can realize your potential, imperfections and all. It’s not as easy as it seems, and it doesn’t seem very easy….

“Lonely days keep me lying here awake; I write songs just to fill up all the space…”

The Paper Raincoat - “Safe in the Sound” from the album “Safe in the Sound”

I promised you early on in this musical journey we are sharing together, that I would be introducing you to music as I discovered it. Last night was one of those magical moments. I arrived at one of my favorite local venues, right in time for the start of a “secret show” by this delightful songwriting duo I’d heard so many great things about, AmbeR rubarth and Alex Wong, who have formed themselves a marvelous band called “The Paper Raincoat”. Technically, last night, they played under the pseudonym of “The Cardboard Bikini” (a sense of humor and a flair for performance, they surely do not lack.) Amidst a stellar show, this song in particular jumped out and stuck with me, well in to today. It is a light, beautiful, melodic little charmer, and at it’s peak, Alex and AmbeR alternate lyrics in this perfect two part harmony. Her line is above. It reminds me a bit of why I love music, and why I especially love lyrics. It fills up my mind, and keeps me from going to bad places in my quietest moments. There is always a song, even a sad or negative one, that can capture my mood, and keep me distracted, from the truly troubling parts of life. In this sense, thank you, Alex and AmbeR, for keeping me safe in your lovely sounds.

“Hold on tight, stay up all night, ’cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong; By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms …”

Bruce Springsteen - “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” from the album “The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle”

I could have chosen pretty much any line from this song; in fact, I could use the entire song as one long lyric. I’m posting it today because I’m walking out my door with a very close friend to see BRUUUUCE rock his home stadium in Jersey, and this song is by far my favorite of his alltime. But it’s meaning, to me, is one of sheer rock and roll perfection. Of Freedom. Of Rebellion. Of teenage impetuousness and young love. Of unbridled joy and passion. Of FUN. Mostly - it’s an ode to living as you want to. If anyone can tell me a more carefree rock song that yells “screw you” to everyone who ever said “No, you’ll never make it” or “You’re not good enough for xxx”, please let me know. For now, for me, “Rosalita” just screams every perfect word, so loud and so clear - live your life, and love every second of it, and forget the naysayers. Oh- and don’t forget to follow your heart and fall madly in love…