Song of the Day - Day 777

Today's song is...


Mrs. Train

This is going to sound really obvious, but I really love that this song sounds like a train. The ever increasing tempo and percussion and the sax all work together to make a very clever effect. I know it has been done before, but I really like the way it is done here. It is one of those moments where I am just amazed at what you can achieve with music. And considering the song was recorded live, I am even more impressed.

Song of the Day - Day 776

Today's song is...


Radio They Might Be Giants 1

Despite there being 3 different versions of this song, this is the tune I hear in my head when I read the title. It's like a commercial jingle that gets stuck in my brain. Also interesting to note, I just discovered I have a longer version of this song from a live show, that I didn't realize I had. Additional, and quite amusing, lyrics.

Song of the Day - Day 775

Today's song is...


Stompy Intro


This is "my" intro. The one they used at all the earliest shows I attended. This intro was part of my formative show experience. It is forever tied in my heart to that feeling of excitement and anticipation that immediately precedes the start of a show. I will forever associate the sound of crickets with the start of a TMBG show. And once I had been going to shows for a while, there was a brief wonderful moment, when I heard the crickets but the rest of the crowd didn't recognize that the show was starting until the stomping. And for that one second, it was like the show was all mine. Secret, private anticipation. To be perfectly honest, I was a little crushed when they dropped this one in favor of the Sammy Intro. No intro since has ever been quite the same. But given the very special place this song holds in my heart and the type of song it is, I find it very fitting that it is the Song of the Day on the day I get to see a show again for the first time in eight months. It's like the intro is ushering the band back into my life. And I could not be more excited :-)

Song of the Day - Day 774

Today's song is...


Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme

I admit it. I love the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs. While this won is second behind Hot Dog, it still gets me bopping my head. Such a catchy tune and a excellent horn part. Tuba! Not enough tuba in the world. And the little drum roll before the lyrics start is also a personal fav. Yay, Mickey!

Song of the Day - Day 773

Today's song is...


Rabbit Troop Sucks

Such pathos. Such pain and emotion. Poor Rabbit Troop.

Song of the Day - Day 772

Today's song is...


In Fact

This is probably in my top five Flansburgh-written songs. It contains what is probably my favorite instrumentation on Join Us, and is certainly in my top 25 all time favorites. I am pretty obsessed with the guitar/bass part in the song. When I first heard it, I was desperate to know whether it was actually a guitar or a bass playing the line I fell instantly in love with. So I was pretty delighted when Flans told me it was actually both playing in unison with an additional acoustic on the down beats. I was equally delighted to read Marty's account of playing the drum part with two sticks in each hand, to create that wonderful train-like sound that so perfectly accompanies the guitar line. And then there is that Latin-flavor horn part which is absolutely delightful. I would do anything to hear this one performed live with the horn section. And all of that isn't even mentioning Flansburgh's intriguing lyrics. "I want to find a softer spot for my crash landing," is one of my particular favorites, but there is a lyrical rhythm and narrative that runs through the song that particularly appeals to me. Join Us featured some of Flansburgh's best writing to date and this song is one of my best examples of that.

Song of the Day - Day 771

Today's song is...


We Just Go Nuts At Christmastime

Merry Christmas, everyone! Sit back, relax and drive really fast while enjoying this lost Christmas gem.

Song of the Day - Day 770

Today's song is...


Hodgman Promo 1

Totally never letting Jonathan Coulton anywhere near my hypothetical cats.

In other news, I saw Hodgman and Coulton perform together at the beginning of December and it was like watching a classic comedy duo work their magic. It was wonderful and hilarious and they should pretty much always perform together always.

Song of the Day - Day 769

Today's song is...


The Army's Tired Now

Goodness, I can see what Flans meant about the intro sounding like The Beach Boys. I hadn't noticed it before, but I certainly did after reading that quote. Feels like it should lead into a bittersweet break-up song.

Song of the Day - Day 768

Today's song is...


Hall Of Heads

Listening to this song just now, it occurred to me that it has elements not only of creepy haunted house music but also a dash of western theme music in the introduction. It is an interesting melody. To be completely honest, I always found the lyrics a bit too creepy, but the instrumentation is very interesting. Interesting combinations of instruments and rhythms.

The first time I saw an Apollo 18 show, this was one of the few songs they didn't play. It was nice to finally hear it live when they gave it another go a year later.

Song of the Day - Day 767

Today's song is...


Mosh Momken Abadon

I would really like to hear the original Egyptian song this is supposedly based on but I have never been able to find it. Maybe it is just the season, but the song sounds a little Christmas-y to me, in this format. Clearly there are not enough covers of Egyptian pop songs for band organ out there in the world. This really should be rectified.

Song of the Day - Day 766

Today's song is...


Wind Chime

Sounds like the beginning of a horribly cheesy '80s song. Yes, it is supposed to be terrible. Yes, it is pretty terrible. But there is a small element of win hidden in there too.

Song of the Day - Day 765

Toda's song is...


Vestibule

This was a song I didn't pay much mind to for a long time. Until one day I really listened to the lyrics and realized they are pretty humorous and sad and just a little weird. So very terribly Linnellian. And I really wonder how Arlen Specter got in there. Was he recently in the news when this was written? Just one of those names that gets stuck in your head sometimes? It's a mystery that turned into a pretty good song.

Song of the Day - Day 764

Today's song is...


Human Interest

The Asian guy in the suit in the middle of this ad looks so familiar and I can't figure out what else I have seen him in. It is bugging me. In other news, the beard of bees is a creepy concept and image.

Song of the Day - Day 763

Today's song is...


Cocktail

Oh, I get it! It's supposed to sound like background music at a cocktail party or something of that nature! I'm a little slow on making that connection I guess. Doh!

Song of the Day - Day 762

Today's song is...


Songs

I can't remember why, when I was making the final list of unused songs, I decided that this qualified as a real song. Cause honestly, it is just two different bits of onstage doodling with the same name. I don't happen to have either of the shows at which they were played so I can't even attest to whether they are worthy of song status. But I have so few songs left, I'll let this one slide.

Song of the Day - Day 761

Today's song is...


Swing Is A Word

In the quote on the wiki, this song is referred to as "ugly." I have to say I agree. This song is not attractive. But it is a good way to remember the Dial-A-Song number.

Song of the Day - Day 760

Today's song is...


Dear Dead Congressman

More audio book tracks. Every time I post one now, I hope I am done with them. But there is always one more.

Song of the Day - 759

Today's song is...


Call You Mom



Oh damn, this is a good song. I know I shouldn't be surprised. I am rarely disappointed by anything these guys do. But I think, after Join Us so totally exceeded all my expectations, I set my bar lower because I thought I couldn't possibly love this new album as much as I did that one. So I was just a little stunned by how instantly I loved this track. I clearly have an affinity for songs with big bangy piano chords and this song has them in spades.

Actually, to be honest, the lyrics here are almost incidental to my enjoyment. They are fun, a little creepy and exactly the sort of nonsense I expect from Mr. Linnell. There are some wonderful little turns of phrase. "I'm gonna dress her in a sailor suit./That would look very cute" is a particular favorite. But what really struck me is the instrumental track. So explosive and lively and insanely catchy. And those piano chords! Bam, bam, bam, bam. Squeeeee!! Once the sax comes in I am transported to a different place and the lyrics don't matter anymore because the music is SO good. And dear god, the drums. I am warning you all now, please prepare yourselves for more of my extended soliloquies on the brilliance of Marty's drumming. Hell, I even love the guitar line and I so rarely get excited about a guitar part.

That point about half way through the song, when the notes ascend and it sounds like the song might be ending? And then the piano explodes back in and the music swells and I can't help but do a little shimmy shake and some air chords. Right at that point the instrumentation is so good I can barely contain my glee. And if I close my eyes, I can see Linnell banging on the keyboard with determination, and Marty attacking the drum kit, and Flans and the Dans rocking out while Stan leans back into those sax notes. The song is tailor made for show stopping live performance and I desperately hope I don't have to wait too long to experience it. Until then I will let this tune be the jam I need everyday to get me through the last 10 days of retail at Christmas.

So excited for this new album now I could pop!

Song of the Day - Day 758

Today's song is...


Take Out The Trash

When I first started going to shows, the band was playing this song frequently. Before it started Flansburgh would ask the audience, "Do you like fuzz bass?" "Yes," we would all cry. "Do you love fuzz bass?" "Yes!" "Are you ready for fuzz buzz?" "YES!" And then they would start the song. I remember that very fondly. And truth be told, I really do love fizz bass, at least in the context of this song. It's crunchy, delicious. This is exactly the sort of sound that runs through most of the tracks on The Else that makes it one of my favorite albums. This song is also permanently paired with I'm Impressed in my head. Not just because they are one-two on the album, but because they played to two together so often at my early shows. And who could forget Linnell's extremely enthusiastic cowbell playing? Not me, that's for sure!

How Do You Spell TLA?

September 30, 2011 - TLA - Philadelphia, PA

In my years as a fan, following this band around, and all the times they have played this venue, this was the first time I ever managed to see them there. Previous shows were always ones I couldn't get to for one reason or another. This was also a reunion of sorts, as after weeks with just me and Gary driving around to shows, we met back up with most of our friends for this one. We arrived too early, as usual, and discovered we were not actually "allowed" to line up yet. So instead of standing in a line we stood in a cluster on the sidewalk pretending not to be in line. There was also a deal where for $10 you could buy an early entry fast pass into the venue that allowed you to enter before everyone else. I, of course, ran into more IFC guest list ticket issues, as this was the show I had used my tickets for, and in keeping with pattern, the list, and thus my tickets, was not available until probably around 20 minutes before they let us in. It all worked out in the end but, damn, that was a nerve wracking experience to go through over and over again.

There was a lot of confusion over where the line was supposed to be once we were actually allowed to line up. We were directed to an alley that ran down the side of the building. First we started on one side of the sidewalk. Then we were directed to move to the other side of the sidewalk. Then later, those of us with the fast pass tickets were moved back over to the side we had started on. I am always baffled when places who do shows nearly daily, still don't have their line management strategy sorted out.

This show also has the distinction of being the one at which I met my friends Becky and Ryan and their son, Logan, who were in line in front of us. Seems like everywhere I go, I meet more and more cool fans and my "crew" gets bigger and bigger over time. I actually met, at least briefly, a lot of people at this show, because I put some serious effort into getting everyone in line to sign the birthday card I was doing for Dan at the time. That card was really full by time the doors opened. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it once it was complete, but I know there are a few floating out there that show it in a partially finished state.

After running back to the box office multiple times, I finally acquired my tickets, and the early entry line was ushered down the sidewalk and into the theater. I had to stop and snag my goodie bag from the merch table, then joined my group on the right side of the stage. I seem to remember this venue in particular being pretty cramped with people up at the front, and I had some concern over where to put my goodie bag so it wouldn't get crushed or lost. I also had the misfortune to get a goodie bag that was missing half of what was supposed to come in it, though Anna fixed that up for me after the show.

I remember virtually nothing about JoCo's set, except for the fact that when Brandon spotted me he ducked across the stage to give me a high five. This apparently either impressed or confused the people standing behind me as they later asked if I knew him. There are clearly a lot of JoCo fans in Philly (including a few I saw who were more there for him than TMBG) because there were some hearty sing-a-longs to some of the classic songs, Still Alive in particular. This was JoCo's last show of the tour, as there was to be no opener in Boston, so it was a little bitter sweet. I saw him plenty more in the spring, but with a different bass player and I did miss Brandon. Oh, and JoCo made a point of saying that they had had to go out and buy new shirts for the show because they were out of clean ones. I particularly liked the color of Brandon's.



The TMBG set looked like this:

Philadelphia - When WIll You Die - We Live In A Dump - The Mesopotamians - Take Out The Trash - Don't Let's Start - XTC vs. Adam Ant - Can't Keep Johnny Down - Celebration - Birdhouse In Your Soul - Clap Your Hands - Withered Hope - Battle for the Planet of the Apes - Cloisonné - Spoiler Alert - Alphabet Of Nations - You Probably Get That A Lot - Los Angeles - Fingertips - Judy Is Your Viet Nam - Old Pine Box - Ana Ng - Particle Man - Subliminal  Encore - Careful What You Pack - Istanbul  Encore 2 - Lie Still, Little Bottle - Doctor Worm

I was thrilled to finally see the TLA venue song live. I was a little disappointed that the TLA dancers didn't make an appearance, but as Dan Miller entered the stage near the end of the song, he did a round of the T-L-A hand motions while he was walking which made up for it.

Perhaps inspired by our setting in Philly, Flans asked us if we were ready to enact change before they played When Will You Die, which once again featured Flans yelling "Kid Rock" at the end. He went on to explain that Kid Rock's first album featured him yelling "Kid Rock" in all of the silent sections, which made the album second only to INXS in the silent sections being the most exciting sections of the song. Flans said that while yelling "Kid Rock" may seem a little odd for their song, it sounded a lot better then yelling "INXS".

We Live In A Dump was dedicated to all the apartment dwellers in the audience. Take Out The Trash featured some well timed clapping provided by the audience and some very enthusiastic cowbell playing by Linnell.



Flans told us that before the show they had been speculating on whether people posted on Yelp about rock bands. He said it might help people understand the rock experience and went on to provide a mock review of a show. "We left the house around 6:00pm super excited. It started out strong. Too much salt in the middle of the show."

Post-XTC Flans broke in with an announcement that they needed to increase their insurance coverage because Marty was blowing the roof off the room. He claimed that in less than an hour the roof would be gone because "Marty is at war with the roof. Make sure our paperwork is in order."

Flans informed us that they had a new album out and unlike other bands that had "make believe new albums" theirs was real and "not only worthy of mention but of performance."

Flans asked for the house lights to be turned on before Celebration so they could see us and asked repeatedly if we were ready for the celebration. After people hollered "yes" a number of times, he said he didn't believe us but started the song anyway.

Marty really did make a pretty good effort to blow the roof off in his drum solo at the start of Clap Your Hands. I was quite impressed.

Flans divided us with his flashlight for the Battle for the Planet of the Apes. He claimed it had two settings and the second was LASIK. He admonished my friend Cindy for filming the process and told her to put down her camera. Then he criticized the people in the balcony and made them stand up. I was on Team Ape this time around. The battle was declared a tie, which Flans claimed had never happened before (liar!). He started the apes chanting again but declared the battle was still a tie. And then complimented us for keeping the aisle between the factions in tact in case of a recount. But then told us it was time for us to rejoin and for the apes to become sleeper cells to arise again on New Year's Eve when the band would return for a special all ape performance.

Flans claimed an early morning radio performance was putting him off his "A game" even though Marty didn't like him to use the words A-game. There followed an amusing stringing together of phrases that are on Marty's "List" of words you aren't allowed to say in the band.

Linnell collected his bass clarinet and Flan told us that it wasn't acquired from our high school but rather from someone on the open market. Linnell chimed in that that person had taken it from our high school. Flans then realized that he had his guitar set on "super-duper" and said he needed to take it off its "all steroid" settings that he had put it on for the ape battle.

In one of my favorite bits of dialogue from the show, Flans asked Marty what the tempo of the song was and then said "Everybody shut up. I've gotta hear Marty."

Linnell started getting especially hammy for the camera during Cloissonné. He encroached into Danny's space at the keyboard with his clarinet until Danny looked at him with a very "what are you doing dude" face. Then, in an act that cracked everyone up, he reached down and took Cindy's camera right out of her hand. He took it over to the keyboard and ran it over the keys while Danny played before returning it to Cindy. The video is on YouTube. It is awesome. And she put the best possible description on it. It just reads "Some dude grabbed my camera in the middle of the song" and that is the only explanation given. You really did have to be there to understand I guess.



The arrival of the Avatars was heralded by Crazy Train. Almost immediately after the Avatars appeared on camera, Meg Ryan also put in an appearance but couldn't seem to say anything except "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Blue Avatar had to ask her to leave. The Avatars thanked JoCo and TMBG for opening for them and then went into their "Dad, tell us about the 60s again?" routine that they did in Asheville. This time the best quote was "If you have to remember, then you weren't there, man." They thanked Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches for providing stale bread and old baloney. And then Green Avatar serenaded us with the Epic Fail Jingle. Blue Avatar pointed out his soul patch. Meg Ryan tried to make another brief appearance but was backwards. Blue said she was "incognito." The Epic Fail tune snuck in again at the end of Spoiler Alert, this time from Blue Avatar.

Then followed an intense few minutes of Linnell singing directly in front of me, towering over my head while making ridiculous hand motions and microphone tilts. It's not the closest I've ever been but it was close and intimidating.



Flans commented on how great it was to be back at the TLA, a venue with "so much awesomeness in one tiny section of town surrounded by so many scary places to get lost." He asked the band to play some incidental music for a minute while he fetched one of the giant posters from backstage, then informed them that what they were playing didn't have the right feel for this portion of the show. He started to talk about the poster but was interrupted but someone in the audience shouting requests. He pulled out the giant flashlight used for dividing the audience in the Ape battles and pointed it at the dude and declared "Remove that man!" Linnell pointed out that he was actually instructing the laser from the flashlight to remove the man and Flans pointed out that the flashlight has three settings, "Light, LASIK and person removal." Flans made a number of jokes about the poster including saying that it turned any missile silo into a showcase and urged us not to make the same mistake that over 15,000 people in the last two weeks had made by not buying a poster. "Admit it, you own a barn. Admit it, it's a little underdecorated." He claimed it was so thick he couldn't speak through it and that the poster cost less than the price of a T-shirt at a more expensive rock concert. He then gave the poster to my friend Heather and told her the gift was sponsored by Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches.

Linnell spoke about the Venue Songs project and how they were trying to promote it because it was kind of the runt of the litter. He said if they could sell as many copies of venue songs as all of their other projects combined...it would be weird. Flans declared Venue Songs to be the "6-foot poster" of their collection and said they should bundle them together with a boat anchor and sell them off shore. Linnell chimed in, "It's more like an investment...in the bottom of the sea." He also declared Los Angeles to be entirely inappropriate for their current venue as apposed to the earlier appearance of the TLA song.

The band then began a power push to the end of the show, rocking through Fingertips, Judy, Old Pine Box and Ana Ng. Flans stopped for some standard thank yous and encouragements to buy JoCo's merchandise. He started assigning nicknames and dubbed one woman "Tangelo" but then announced that naming would continue later. Then followed some serious accordion in my face. Linnell was catering to the cameras all night, but during Particle Man he stepped out to the front of the stage and stuck the accordion directly in front of me and the couple of people next to me, extending it out to its full length in some shameless pandering. And I loved every second of it.



I was so thrilled by my close encounter with the accordion, I was totally caught off guard by the start of the next song, and for the first time in my memory, let out a completely spontaneous yelp of excitement, when they smashed into Subliminal. Linnell actually chuckled at me, I think.

Upon returning for the encore, Flans thanked Chris Smith, who was apparently in the audience, for making all the videos used in the back drops. Flans said they instructed him to make them look "shitty and homemade" and he wisely ignored them. Flans also thanked JoCo again and said that it was with "a heavy heart and a bruised liver" that they said goodbye to him. "There's no recovering from that, ladies and gentlemen." Someone in the crowd yelled "There's always another liver." Flans declared that there was, in fact, not always another liver. "I had to think about what you said for just a moment and I realized, you are a liar. You only get one pair of livers."

I admit, at some point in this encore, I became rather distracted and concerned by the fact that Dan came back for the encore with his fly unzipped. I have no idea if he ever even noticed but I was terribly embarrassed for him. Fortunately, it did not detract from his ability to play an awesome Istanbul solo.

Flans introduced the band with the alternate intro they had been using in this leg of the tour, eliciting some very odd sounds from the boys. Danny played something that remarkably resembled the underground music from Super Mario Brothers. Dan was all ready to do his bit holding his Fender by the neck but Flans never got to him. At first I thought he just forgot, but then I realized it was deliberate as he intended the intro to Istanbul that Dan was about to play to be Dan's moment in the spotlight. And it was an especially good intro I must say.




Flans invited all of us to clap along with Marty's snare drum on Lie Still, Little Bottle. "It's nice to be back on Eastern Standard time where people understand what a back beat is."

Upside Down Frown was on the setlist for the last song, but Flans announced that they were going to play Doctor Worm instead, by "special request from the drunk guy over there" who had been shouting for it. When it came time for Danny to do his leap, Dan held out his hand to the side at the keyboard, like his was presenting Danny to the audience. And Danny jumped directly forward and so high he nearly cleared the top of the keyboard from our angle on the opposite side of the stage. Still didn't manage a good picture but it was fun to watch and a great way to end the show.



After the show, I stopped by the merch desk to get my goodie bag fixed. I had to wait a bit until Anna was done selling stuff to people, and I couldn't decide if the look she gave me was apologetic or "dear god, of all the people to give an incomplete bag to, why did it have to be her?" She was very nice about it though and I got my missing stickers and such without too much trouble.

After reclaiming my car from the parking lot, we were navigating our way through some side streets near the venue to get back to the highway. It was dark and raining and the streets were narrow and crowded with parked cars. I drove up one little street which had a bus parked on the side. I was idly wondering if it was the tour bus and glancing to the side to look at it, when all of a sudden Linnell appeared out of the darkness at the front of the bus leaping off the sidewalk over a puddle. I was extremely startled and briefly thought he was going to jump right in front of my car. But he was just headed for his Subaru parked in front of the bus (and carrying his coat I might add, which made it useless against the rain). Regardless, this went down as "the time I almost hit Linnell with my car" even though I really wasn't anywhere close to it, and there followed some very humorous conversation with Megan about how terribly stricken I would have been had I hit him and how I would not have been able to live with myself. Just one more amusing anecdote for the files. (But seriously though, dude scared the crap out of me!)

Song of the Day - Day 757

Today's song is...


There's A Light Coming Out Of My Head

I was already starting to write something about not having this song in my collection, when I was once again saved by my folder of miscellaneous tunes. That thing is like the gift that keeps on giving. I can't say there is anything especially notable about this track, but I do enjoy the little lightbulb noise in the middle more than I can really account for.

Song of the Day - Day 756

Today's song is...


I Need Some Lovin'

Interesting. Yet another song where you can clearly hear the bones of a later endeavor. I find these kind of fascinating. Though in this case I am very curious about that female vocal.

Song of the Day - Day 755

Today's song is...


The Life Of Doug

This song has a very interesting sound to it, with the melody passing back and forth between one instrument on the low notes and one on the high notes, but both moving closer together in steps. I find it vaguely unsettling but probably just because it is not what I am used to.

Song of the Day - Day 754

Today's song is...


Everything Is Catching On Fire


By far, my favorite performance of this Fingertips snippet was at Mohegan Sun last year, when the band played just this bit and dedicated it to all their gear they lost in the trailer fire. Hilarious, tragic and sadly true. But even it the worst settings these guys can still crack a joke.

Song of the Day - 753

Today's the song...


Counterfeit Faker

So yes, some of the strings present are not played as expertly as they could be. But I actually really enjoy the sound that is produced. And Eric's guitar part is quite excellent, as is the bass part.

Oddly, when I started thinking about this song a few minutes ago, a line came to me that I was convinced was from a different song and I was thinking how much that other song reminded me of this one but I couldn't place what song it was. Come to find out, the line was actually from this song and the song was just reminding me of itself. Whoops.

Song of the Day - Day 752

Today's song is...


Critic Intro

The inclusion of Orson Bean in this intro has always amused me, because I know him from years as a Doctor Quinn fan in my tweens. This is the intro that was used at the first Flood show I saw at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton in 2008. Even as a baby fan I knew that was cool :-)

Song of the Day - Day 751

Today's song is...


Skatellite Transmission

Hey, how did the Avalon venue song sneak its way into this song? Oh, wait....that's just the theme from Sesame Street.

Happy Birthday, Danny Weinkauf!!

Put on your red pants and start practicing your epic rock 'n' roll leaps! It is time to celebrate Danny Weinkauf's birthday!

Have you ever sat down to write a birthday card for someone really important to you, and found you didn't have the words to express what you wanted to say? I love all the TMBG boys like crazy, but I don't think it is much of a secret that Danny has always had a very special place in my heart. So much talent and such incredible kindness in one exceptional person. I am in awe of the man and so grateful for the dozens of small kindness, epic bass solos, and kick-ass songs he has shared with me and the rest of the fan community. I am privileged and proud to be a fan. And I would like to offer sincere and heartfelt wishes for a wonderful birthday and another exciting year ahead.

This past February, I drove down to Florida to follow the band on the last full week of their Join Us tour. It had been a difficult and tumultuous past few months for me, and perhaps more so than at any other show, stepping up to that stage felt like coming home. It warmed my heart, when the band took the stage, to have nearly every member acknowledge my presence with a grin, a nod or a little wave. They whipped into Doctor Worm, second song in and I stood, camera ready, eagerly awaiting that moment when Danny would leap into the air. He mounted the drum riser at the appropriate time, then, just before the big moment, he met my eye across the stage and gestured up with his eyebrows as if to say "I'm going that way. You ready for this?" And then he launched himself into the air. I missed the picture because I never time it right, but I stood there and thought, "Now THAT's a rock star move, right there." And right now, I can't wait to spend another year trying to get the photo.

Happy Birthday, Danny! You are a genuine rock star and I hope this year is your best one yet!

Song of the Day - Day 750

Today's song is...


Omaha

After watching most of the videos submitted to the video contest for the song a couple of years ago, I came to the conclusion that I pretty much never needed to hear it again. It was a bit of an overload. But I will say, that I got very excited the first time I saw a Kum 'n' Go in real life.

Song of the Day - Day 749

Today's song is...


You Are Old, Father William

This song was not at all what I was expecting when I heard the band was recording this poem as a song for the Alice In Wonderland soundtrack. Not in a bad way. It is just very different. Much more electronic that I was anticipating. There are some fascinating sounds mixed in here. I think I would almost enjoy the song better without the lyrics. They distract from some of the parts I like best in the music. I would be very interested to hear more songs in this vein.

Song of the Day - 748

Today's song is...


Minneapolis

Question: How far will I travel to hear a venue song I really love performed live?

Answer: All the way to Minneapolis.

True story. And totally 100% worth it.

Song of the Day - Day 747

Today's song is...


I Miss Side 2

I really like this instrumental but it reminds me strongly of something else, some theme song I think, and I can't place it. That's gonna bug me. I also have to say, it's placement in See the Constellation is so subtle I can't even recognize it. Maybe I need better headphones.