10 years ago

I turned 33 last week. 33 really didn't feel any older than 32 until I remembered that it has now been 10 years since I had the best concert experience of my entire life. For some reason, hitting the 10 year anniversary of anything seems a lot longer than 9 years. It must be the extra digit.

February 3rd, 1999 Moxy Fruvous played at Canal Street in Dayton. Canal Street is a venue fits at most 200 people. We got there early and managed to get a seat off to the side of the stage, probably 30 feet away from the band. They started playing sometime around 10:30 and "finished" right at the stroke of midnight. When they came back onstage for their encore the girls I was at the show with (Sarah and Betsy) started yelling that it was my birthday. Then this happened:

My Birthday Medley - Moxy Fruvous

It was awesome. For years it lived on in memory only. Then, thanks to the magic of the internets, a very nice person on the fruhead.com message board sent me a copy of the show. Now I'd like to share that show with you.

Fruvous Live at the Canal Street Tavern - 2/3/1999

If you go strictly by number of concerts attended, Moxy Fruvous is my 2nd all-time favorite band (behind Barenaked Ladies) but sadly they've been on "hiatus" for 9 years. Luckily, archive.org has 45 Fruvous shows ready for downloading and since every Fruvous concert was a new experience (the banter was almost as much fun as the music) it helps fill the void of no new music for years (and probably never again.)

Enjoy.

Keep an eye on this space rest of the week... tomorrow, look for a "live" blog as the project hits song 2000. Then the plan is to make the 1001-2000 mix available by the end of the week.

Oh, and I may need to move soon.

from I Was Hoping to I Wish

Day 862, Session 143:
When/Where: Wednesday November 5th - The aisles of Jewel (I never realized before my unemployed stretch how much time one spends in the supermarket.)
First song: I Was Hoping by Alanis Morissette
Last full song: I Wish by King Missile
Progress: 2161-2172 of 6110
Total Songs Heard: 1841

Rambles...

I Was Hoping to get a job with Chicago Public Radio. A friend got my resume looked at, and I ended up with an interview which I thought I nailed. Found out Wednesday I was no longer under consideration for the job. Rats. Believe it or not, this was the first time I've gotten as far as an in person interview where I did not end up getting the job. I was holding that fact as my ace in the hole during this whole employment drought. I figured if I could just get an interview, I'd be back to work shortly. Now I don't even have that going for me.

I Was Only Kidding is one of my favorite Weird Al originals. The gospel choir style opening into the maniacal ranting is exactly the way I would assume the mind of someone who would sing that song would work. And make no mistake, I believe there are guys out there for whom this song is real. There was a time when I considered trying to be one of those guys, just to see what it would be like. I couldn't pull it off. It still makes me mad knowing those guys probably got laid more than I did in college.

I Will - Coulton + Beatles = Good. About halfway through this one I realized I was singing along quite loudly in the pasta aisle.

I Will Be The One - Third Wish was my favorite college band for two reasons: 1) They put on a great show. The music was genuinely good and fun to listen (especially while enjoying a few under-age beers.) 2) Tara Marie O'Malley. I (along with probably every other male in the audience) had a bit of a thing for the band's female singer. They toured the Great Lakes region extensively in the mid-90s, even being named Cleveland's Band of the Year one year, but have since disappeared. Attempting to Google them has taught me one thing: Third Wish is apparently a very popular band name.

I Will Hold On - My favorite song from the last Fruvous cd, although I'm still not quite sure if it's being sung from the point of view of a stalker.

I Will Survive - Cake This may be the greatest cover song ever recorded. It would also probably make a kick ass track on Rock Band. It came on as I reached my car. I transitioned the iPod over to the car stereo, downed the windows and turned it up real loud. (Don't worry, the version I have backmasks the F-word so I wasn't going to offend any of the folks out trying to enjoy the last nice day of the year.) I don't have the Gloria Gaynor version of this song, but I believe it may be THE WORST karaoke song in the history of karaoke. Every time you go, you're guaranteed to see a lady attempt to perform this. 97 of 100 times it is awful.

I Wish - King Missile. I also wish for everything he mentions in this song, especially the part about the tractor of innocence.

from I've Got Dreams... to I Am Not...

Day 789, Session 134:
When/Where: Friday August 15th - Puttering around the house
First song: I've Got Dreams To Remember by Oh Susanna
Last full song: I Am Not The Only Cowboy by Josh Joplin
Progress: 2056-2070 of 6038
Total Songs Heard: 1701

When I was thinking about going to college, there were two things I was sure I wanted to do:

1. Play ultimate frisbee.
2. Sing in an a capella group.

(Ok sure, there were other things that almost all teenage guys have on their list of things to do in college, but you all have active functional imaginations, so I'm not typing them out.)

I ended up doing neither. There was ultimate frisbee at Dayton, but it wasn't nearly as big as I had heard of it being at other schools. There was a club team, but no intramural league. I wasn't nearly committed (or skilled) enough to play on a club team. I don't think I really missed it that much. I played a lot of pick up volleyball and basketball, at least until drinking and bar trivia became my full time sport of choice.

I was however disappointed that I was not part of an a capella group. I had a pretty good excuse though. There was no a capella at Dayton. At least not in the 4.5 years I was there. I always found that strange. I thought a capella groups sprouted up at colleges like foot fungus in dorm showers. I guess I was wrong. I suppose it's ok though. I doubt any group I'd have been in would have been able to do anything as good as this:

I've Gotta Get A Message To You - Moxy Fruvous

Edit - Damn it. This was actually day 787, not 789. (Passing math classes was another thing I didn't do in college.) Fuck it, I like the song, I'm leaving it.

from How Sweet It Is to Human

Day 689, Session 127:
When/Where: Friday May 9th - At the house, trying to work down the playoff nerves.
First song: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor
Last full song: Human by Josh Joplin Group
Progress: 2041-2048 of 5916 (one skipped podcast)
Total Songs Heard: 1626

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - James Taylor: Would anyone ever actually be wooed by this song? I mean besides Mena Suvari in American Pie? Listen, there's a lot of James Taylor I do like but this song is so saccharine that I can feel lab mice getting cancer while I'm listening to it.

(skipped Podcast)

How To Fight Lonliness - Wilco: The best advice Wilco has to give? Smile all the time. BTW, Lonliness is officially how the cd database that iTunes referenced spelled the word. I've been lonely a lot over the course of my 32 years, but luckily for all of us, live blogging doesn't give me too much time to go into all of it.


Howard Is A Drag - The Rake's Progress: At the store on Tuesday I saw the worst looking trannie I've ever seen. Long curly hair appeared real, but the low cut blouse revealed a crop of chest hair and the make-up was doing nothing to conceal the 5-o'clock shadow. It took a lot of effort not to laugh. I know that's rude, but c'mon! If you're going to go through the trouble of cross-dressing, you can at least put a little effort into it!


Huge On The Luge - Moxy Früvous: Perhaps the last original song they released. If you go to their official website, it's still posted on the home page as being new despite the fact that it's been over 6 years. Man I miss those guys.


Hulkster's In The House - Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band: The less here the better. The only idea that could possibly be worst than Hulk Hogan having a band would be Hulk Hogan starring in a reality series where he tried to turn D-List celebrities into professional wrestlers. What's that you say? Oh shit. (And yes, there's a good chance I'll watch it.)

Hullabaloo - Various Artists: Apparently Hullabaloo was a TV show. I know absolutely nothing about it.

Human - Josh Joplin Group: And this is where the wife got home and the live blog ends for the day. Go Flyers.

from Home Soon to Hopelessly Devoted

Day 672, Session 124:
When/Where: Tuesday April 22nd - Mopping the kitchen floor - ah glamorous life (someone please give me a job!)
First song: Home Soon by Oh Susanna
Last full song: Hopelessly Devoted To You by Clem Snide
Progress: 1983-1996 of 5889
Total Songs Heard: 1588

Three versions of Homeward Bound today, two proper Simon and Garfunkel versions and one off the cuff concert version from Fruvous. Hearing these songs got me to realizing that this particular musical treasure has absolutely no application to my life whatsoever.

When I was growing up, my Dad (at approximately the same age I am now) was going out of town all the time for work. He spent days upon days working and driving around Nowhere, West Virginia and Middle Of, Kentucky. Actually I believe he used to go to Hazard. Every time he got back from Hazard I asked him if he saw the Dukes. He never did (probably because the Dukes were in Hazzard, Georgia, not Hazard, Kentucky.)

Back when she was an engineer, the wife spent a lot of time on the road, mostly in Florida.

Even my professional student friends take extended trips away from home to exotic places like Antarctica and Rwanda.

I have been on exactly one business trip in my life. I went to Portland, Oregon and wasn't gone long enough to start thinking about Homeward Bound. I know everyone who does travel for business eventually tires of it, but there's a part of me that is really excited by the idea. So, yeah, if you've got a job to offer me, don't hold back just because it involves travel. I'd even be willing to get a passport.



Two other things I head today that I wanted to share. Being a nerd, I'm a big Weird Al fan, and one of my favorite things he does are his mash-up polkas, so here's one I heard today:

Hooked On Polkas - Weird Al

And being a theater nerd, I suppose I'm contractually obligated to be a fan of "Grease." The movie is ridiculous and I hold a grudge against the stage version based on the time I was on the crew and I almost had my ankle crushed while moving a piece of scenery, but I do like the music well enough. I especially like this cover by Eef Barzelay. He takes all of Olivia Newton John's manufactured Australian-playing-1950's angst and completely blows it out.



One more thing about "Grease." At the end of the movie when Sandy goes from good-girl to bad-ass-leather-girl... am I the only one who finds the transformation totally unattractive? I mean, completely ignoring the "you have to change yourself to get your man" message that it sends, I just find her hotter when she's playing the good girl. Am I the only one? Please use the poll over on the right to tell me whether I'm right, or whether I'm crazy.

from Highway One to Holly Tominack

Day 664, Session 122:
When/Where: Monday April 14th - Back to the traditional running (around to the post office and grocery store.)
First song: Highway One by William Topley
Last full song: Holly Tominack by Moxy Früvous
Progress: 1948-1974 of 5894
Total Songs Heard: 1568

Two bad songs (not surprisingly from the Metal Ballads collection) get the boot. Hold On by Roko (who?) and Holiday by the Scorpions are no longer part of my music collection.

The weirdest thing I heard today came from Rockapella. You may remember them as the guys who sang the theme song to "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?" Well, now you can also remember them as the guys who included a Folger's commercial on their cd.

Holiday Wake Up - Rockapella

That's weird, right? To include a commercial jingle on your CD?

I was also surprised to find that Hold Her Down by Toad The Wet Sprocket had been censored at some point while I wasn't paying attention. Hold Her Down was the first song I ever owned that contained the word "fuck." I remember how red faced I went when I forgot about the expletive and we listened to Fear on one of those long family car rides to Pittsburgh. Mom and Dad didn't say anything about it, but I know they were silently judging me (and probably still are.)

Now it doesn't say fuck anymore. I'm not sure why they felt the need to remove it. I remember being surprised that Toad had a song with "fuck" in it, but it made sense since it's a song about sexual assault. (Toad was heavily involved raising money for women's crisis centers.) Apparently some time between 1992 and 1999 the word fuck became so offensive that it had to be eliminated. Strange. (Fucking strange even.)

Hold Her Down (Remix) - Toad The Wet Sprocket

Finally, I love songs that start with counting.

Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel

Edited much later to add: Lots of folks have ended up at this page in search of the Fruvous tune about Holly Tominack. Let it never be said that I am not hear to serve (as long as the song I'm serving is not something I'm going to get a lot of shit from the RIAA for reposting.)

Holly Tominack - Moxy Fruvous.

from Goodnight Saigon to Greetings

Day 587, Session 108:
When/Where: Monday January 28th - Wandering around Dominicks, trying to figure out why there are so many varieties of balsamic vinaigrette.
First song: Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel
Last full song: Greetings to the New Brunette by Billy Bragg
Progress: 1671-1700 of 5687
Total Songs Heard: 1361

When I was six, my family took a trip across country in an RV. It was a truly incredible trip. I saw a lot of the country that, if it weren't for the trip, I know I still wouldn't have seen today. (Somehow I don't think any trips to Cody, Wyoming would have been taken by this point.) I don't remember much about the long hours spent in that camper, but I do remember listening to an extraordinary amount of country music. Which is strange because I don't really come from a country music family. Growing up the radio was generally set to the local adult contemporary stations (Magic 103 and Sunny 104.5 for those Philly folks who can remember back that far.) But I guess my parents thought country music was better traveling music. So I heard a lot of Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and most of all, John Denver.

Without a doubt, my favorite John Denver song back in the day was Grandma's Feather Bed. As I was listening to it today (twice actually, there was also a live version) I realized once again, that as much as I love the song, I still have no idea what several lines in the refrain are.

I know the first two lines:

It was 9 feet high and 6 feet wide
Soft as a downy chick.

And then things start getting hazy:

It was made from the feathers of (fort eleven?) geese.

WTF are Fort Eleven geese? A specific breed secretly grown by the military for their extra soft feathers? Hey, at least I knew were were talking about geese, next line I'm completely lost:

Took a whole ford a paws for a tick(?!?)

What in god's name is a ford of paws? And isn't it bad if the bed has ticks? Really, I have absolutely no idea what that line is. I went back and listened to it 20 times, but still, nothin'. Still, I have reasonably clear memories of singing along at the top of my lungs whenever this song would come on during the trip. But what on earth was I singing?

And yes, I realize through this magical series of tubes that I could use the google and find out exactly what that line is, but I think I like it better not knowing. What do you hear?

Grandma's Feather Bed - John Denver

Postscript to the country music in the camper... eventually the tape deck ate the John Denver tape and we had to spend the last part of the trip (Yosemite back to Philly) listening to whatever was on the radio. Not surprisingly, it was mostly country.

This day also brought two Früvous songs that I do happen to know all the words to. Gord's Gold is from the "B" cd. It is my favorite one minute song ever. I kept hoping that eventually an entire full length version of the song was going to come out, but alas it was not to be. The song is a tribute to Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot, if you're not familiar with him, the song probably won't mean much, but if you know him, you'll recognize the song is spot on.

The other song is a 'rare' Früvous track that, to my knowledge, isn't included on any of their cds. It was originally released on their indie cassette in Canada (damn, another time the canucks get over on me!) but never included on any commercially released cds (probably due to the fact that the good Dr. Seuss didn't sign off on it.) I saw the guys in concert 10 times and only saw this song done once (Ludlow's in Cbus.)

Gord's Gold - Moxy Früvous
Green Eggs and Ham - Moxy Früvous

Finally, this made me laugh out loud in the middle of the snack aisle. (Doritos' Hot Wings & Blue Cheese Collision, hooray!) If you don't already subscribe to The Onion Radio News podcast, you really should.

Greenpeace Releases Dolphins - The Onion

from Fun & Games to Get It Together

Day 546, Session 103:
When/Where: Tuesday December 18th - Running some Christmas related chores around the 'hood.
First song: Fun & Games by Barenaked Ladies
Last full song: Get It Together by Jackopierce
Progress: 1521-1546 of 5594
Total Songs Heard: 1234

First things first... let us all acknowledge the move from 'F' (last song: Future That Was) to 'G' (first song: G.O.D. which in this case stands for Good Old Days, but had an entirely different meaning in college when it was the wife's (then, the girlfriend's) BOX pledge name; and no, I'm not going to tell you what it stands for.)

Seems like I was in the 'F's forever. 193 songs isn't forever I guess, but considering it was still summer when the 'F's started and it was 3 days before winter when they ended, it certainly makes sense why it would seem that way. (Also, I still had a job when the 'F's started. In fact, the move that would eventually end with my quitting had just taken place.)

26 songs (most songs in a while) today but no giant I-have-to-write-about-this standout. Here's a Christmas sampler of music for your listening pleasure (no songs are Christmas related:)

Fun & Games - Barenaked Ladies
Is this a political protest song? Me thinks it is. I think this is one of the benefits BNL saw from releasing their Barenaked Ladies Are... cds on their own label. As much as I enjoy hearing a song about the complete boondoggle of a war we're totally stuck in right now, I can't imagine a major label would have given the ok to include such a song on a cd. The war in Iraq is another one of those things that I'm just not going to talk about here. But if you know how I feel about the completely corrupt and idiotic government that led us into this position, I think you can figure out how I feel about Iraq.

Fur Elise - Ludwig Van Beethoven
I taught myself how to play the main right hand part of this song. Unfortunately, I'm left hand stupid on the piano. I just don't understand chords. (I actually have the same problem with the guitar, which is why I continue to hesitate on signing up for banjo lessons.) Little known fact about me: I do everything right-handed except swing a baseball bat. Yep, I bat left-handed. Littler known fact: The only time I was able to hit 10 straight home runs in Wii Sports baseball, I did it hitting right-handed. Moral of the story, if I had switched to batting right-handed when I was a little kid, I probably would have been named in the Mitchell report last week.

Furry Old Lobster - Jonathan Coulton
This song is even more enjoyable if you have read John Hodgman's book. Oddly enough, after the song was released, an actual furry lobster was discovered. It's not the same lobster.

Gaelic Song - The Arrogant Worms
And the winner for best use of both strings and bits of the meow mix song goes to... this song. I'm sure if I spoke a Gaelic tongue this song would be even more moving.

Generator - Foo Fighters
This blogject very rarely rocks, so I thought it was important to point out a time when it does.

Get Back - The Beatles
When I was kid, I thought the first line of this song was, "Jojo was a man who thought he was a woman." This was in the days before I had heard of transvestites, so I thought this about the funniest opening line to a song ever. A man who thought he was a woman? That's just the sort of thing that will blow a 6 year-old's mind. Combine that with the later line (this one is real,)

Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man

and I can honestly say that I didn't get this song at all, but I knew it was funny. Come to think of it, I still don't know what this song is about... except that it is not about trannies.

Get In The Car - Moxy Früvous
This one is a live recording from Canal Street Tavern in Dayton. I love every time I come across a track from that show, just wanted to share the love.

So that's about it. It's possible that this will be the last entry for a while (and yes, I'm happy to have ended up on song 1234.) The Wife and I head back to the family compounds for the holidays this weekend and I'm never sure if the computers back there are fully functional.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have a safe and happy new year. Thanks for your continued visits. See you again soon.

from Flowers In The Windows to Fontanelle

Day 486, Session 97:
When/Where: Sunday October 21st - Aboard Southwest flight 499 from Philadelphia to Chicago.
First song: Flowers In The Windows by Travis
Last full song: Fontanelle by Clem Snide
Progress: 1385-1399 of 5413
Total Songs Heard: 1142

Synergy people, synergy. I hit the section of songs that start with the word fly while I was in an airplane, flying back from Philadelphia. You couldn't plan this stuff any better. I managed to hear seven 'different' songs that started with fly. Different is in quotes because they were actually only 4 different songs. I have 3 versions of Fly by Moxy Fruvous and 2 versions of Fly From Heaven by Toad the Wet Sprocket. As an added bonus, the other two fly songs were by the same guy: John Denver.

I'd be lying if I didn't say it creeped me out a little to hear John Denver singing about flying while I myself was in an airplane. Luckily my flight ended without incident (of course all of his flights did too until the last one.)

The reason I was in a plane to begin with? I was flying back from Philadelphia where I served as the officiant at my cousin's wedding. This was actually my second wedding as Reverend Matt. My first was last summer for my sister and brother-in-law. That one went extremely smoothly as they had written out every single word that I was going to say during the ceremony. I got a hold of everything with enough time to add a few personal touches. It ended up being a fantastic experience all the way around.

This past weekend was also an experience. Not as much content was written for me before hand (just the vows,) so I surprised myself by writing a 15-minute ceremony just a few hours before things were supposed to get underway. Things ended up going great and of course the important part was that the bride and groom were satisfied (and married) at the end... but man oh man was it stressful.

The good news is, if you're getting married and need a Reverend, I have a ceremony written and ready to go.

The final song of the day tied in nicely to the whole wedding vibe. Fontanelle by Clem Snide was the song that I danced with my Mom with at my wedding. Due to the song's prayer like quality, I actually wanted it as part of our ceremony but apparently the Catholics have rules about what can and cannot be sung in a church. But if you're going to have me do your wedding, you should know that I have no such rules. You can definitely use this song.

Fontanelle - Clem Snide

Oh, and just so you don't have to look it up... fontanelle is the soft spot at the top of a baby's head. (The title of the cd the song is on? "Soft Spot".)

from Doug to Downeaster

Day 210, Session 73:
When/Where: Thursday January 18th - Coming home from work.
First song: Doug Levy by Moxy Fruvous
Last full song: Downeaster "Alexa" by Billy Joel
Progress: 1008-1014 of 4802
Total Songs Heard: 864

A couple things to say before we hit the music.

First, sweetness! I think I've set this dealee up so that whenever I'm linking directly to a song, you should be able to play it without leaving the page. For now that mostly means Coulton songs will play directly on this page. (Of course if you like those songs, I can't recommend highly enough that you go to his site and pick up a cd or find out when he's playing near you.) For the future that opens up all sorts of possibilities, most of which I'll probably never fully realize.

Second, not so great, as of this evening this blog now appears on the first page of results if you Google zip gun plans. Even though THERE ARE NO PLANS HERE. (I realize of course that by typing this I'm only encouraging Google results to point this way, but maybe that's actually my plan. If people can't actually find the plans they're looking for that potentially means one less gun out there. Grass roots gun control at its lamest.)

Let's see about using that new feature. The first song of the day was another Fruvous fan song:
Doug Levy - Moxy Fruvous

Give it a shot. Let me know if you were able to play the song with the little blue button.

There was a little juxtaposition of two of the last songs from today:
Down to the Old Pub Instead by Stephen Lynch is an old Irish song encouraging the guys to get away from the wife and off to the bar during certain days of the month.
Down To The River To Pray by Alison Kraus (from "O Brother Where Art Thou?") is an old timey gospel type song encouraging everyone to follow the lord down to the river for some good old fashion baptizin'.

It was jarring to hear these two songs back to back. I'm pretty sure if you combine the two songs together, you should make sure your old pub is not located in shark or piranha infested waters.

Friday September 29th - Morning

Day 99, Session 30:
Location: The only good morning to head to work... Friday!
First song: Bittersweet by Moxy Fruvous
Last full song: Black by Pete Yorn
Progress: 420-428 of 4413
Total Songs Heard: 368

9 tracks - 6 of them by Fruvous. 5 of them related to the song BJ Don't Cry (seen in an earlier post as B.J. Don't Cry.) Apparently back in October of '98 (while I was still in college, so a long time ago, sigh) Fruvous did an entire set during a show in Massachusetts where every song was preceeded by a narration of a different part of BJ's trip. Trip to where? I'm not sure exactly. I've tried downloading the rest of the show through the magic of the intraweb but I haven't been able to find an active seed. But just the fact that they were willing to put on a show that was part concert, part audience participation story-time gives you another pretty good idea of why I loved those guys. By the time this project is done we're all going to be sick of me continuously supplying reasons why I loved Fruvous and why I'm sorry they're on (permanent) hiatus.

A welcome to anyone who ended up here from a link on my new account at facebook.com. That's right, facebook now allows old people to sign up for accounts, and since half my sisters are active there I thought I'd sign up so I can keep tabs on her.

Also, welcome to anyone who ended up here after using Google to look for "zip gun plans." Um, you're in the wrong place, sorry for the confusion.

Monday September 25th - Evening (right before napping)

Day 95, Session 28:
Location: For the first few minutes of the ride home, before falling asleep.
First song: Billie Jean Medley by Moxy Fruvous
Last full song: Biminy by Hello Dave
Progress: 398-401 of 4316
Total Songs Heard: 352

Once again sacked out on the train on the way home. I only remember 4 tunes before the sweet sweet rocking of the train put me to sleep. From all the times I fall asleep on the train (you know, 2 so far) you may think that I have some sort of crazy sleep disorder. That's not the case at all. It's just that I desperately cling to the hours of the day when I'm not working. For me, work time is any time that I'm not free to do what I want. So yes, technically my work day runs from around 9:15a until around 5:45p. But in my mind, my work day begins the first time the alarm goes off in the morning and I'm fighting the battle of snooze (around 7:15a) until the moment I step off the train on the way home (usually around 6:20p.) The entire 11 hours and 5 minutes in between there is all devoted to getting myself ready to go to work, being at work, or getting home from work. 11 HOURS!!! Almost half my day. Leaving only 13 hours left for play. In order to maximize those hours I tend to stay up later than I should and get less sleep at night than I should. Even 6.5 hours of sleep a night (a good night for me,) cuts my play time in half. If sleeping for 20 minutes on the train (which is still technically part of the "work" part of the day and where all there is to do is read and sit and listen to music) gives me 20 more minutes play time from 1:00-1:20 AM at home (where I can be on the internet, play playstation, watch a movie and drink a beer... all at the same time!) then train sleeping is where it's at.

Seriously, think about that for a second:
24 hours in a day = 11 hours in "work" mode + 6.5 hours to sleep + 6.5 hours to play

And my work life isn't that bad. I could skim some time from the work hours by transferring some more to the sleep time in the morning. Plus I only have to work an 8.5 hour day and my job is tolerable. What about the people who hate their jobs or have a 3 hour commute or work 10 hour days?

No wonder so many people are unhappy most of the time. The people who are really happy are the ones that really enjoy their jobs and have a very short commute and don't need sleep.

In conclusion, lack of play time is fucking us all up! Play more! (Reading this counts as play unless you're at work.)

3 of the 4 songs I did hear today were Dayton related:
Billie Jean Medley is from a Moxy Fruvous concert at Canal St. in Dayton. A great night all around and one that I'm very lucky to have a recording of.

Biminy by Hello Dave was their most popular song when they would play at UD. Oddly enough they're a Chicago based band and I've seen them once or twice since I moved here, but it's never been quite as great as it was seeing them in college.

Billy & the Mystery Box is a song by Heywood Banks. Heywood is a touring comedic singer and a really nice guy. I met him several times during my Dayton radio days. I feel a little bad about having this song though. Apparently when I was cleaning out my desk at Z93 after getting fired, one of Heywood's cds ended up in my box of possessions. I always meant to take it back, but after the whole firing thing, I really didn't want to show my face around there again. Which was really too bad. Except for the peckerhead boss who fired me, I really liked almost everyone else who worked there, but after that morning I only spoke to one of them again (and I haven't heard from him in years.) My time at Z was the happiest I've ever been working, probably because being an on-air radio personality was a lot like playing all the time. I loved my job and my commute was short.

I still needed sleep though, so I guess it wasn't perfect.

Thursday June 29th - Morning

Day 7, Session 7:
Location: The trip to work, and some of the morning work day.
First song: Agnus Dei by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Last full song: Alice by Various Artists
Progress: 117-132 of 3975

Nothing like walking out the door first thing in the morning rocking out to a little Mozart.

AJ and Lisa Lo Cicero by Moxy Fruvous is the first of about 40 songs in the library that were recorded by Fruvous for fans who had attended a certain number of shows (18 maybe?) over the course of a certain amount of time. (18 months?) As if Fruvous weren't great enough, what other group out there has recorded 40 different songs about their fans? Seriously, if someone else has done this let me know. I'd probably like them. Unfortunately I didn't see enough shows to have a song recorded about me, but things ended up working out ok for me. We'll get to that in about 1800 songs.

If you'd like to hear any of the Fruvous awesomeness, I encourage you to visit Fruhead.com.

Random number of the day: 6 - The number of songs that started with the word Ain't.