the good doctor

http://youtu.be/wwxQTQAC2Fg

heavy heart

I have two children.  They are 4 and 5 (almost 6) years old respectively, and I love them more than I ever thought was possible.  As a family, we are all up each others asses all the time.  My wife is gone long hours during the day due to a job with a lot of responsibility and a very long commute, so when it comes to the weekends we are together the whole time.  During the week I have the responsibility of caring for my kids in a full time capacity, while having a full time job of my own.  I get them ready for school, make their lunches and snacks, pack up their little backpacks, brush hair and teeth and get them out the door and delivered to school.  More often than not I'm rushing around, behind schedule and trying to get everyone to shake a leg so that we can all get to school so my son can walk to his classroom with his pals, instead of having to go with me to the school office, and then be escorted to his class from there.  It's not that big a deal, but I always feel that I'm under the gun and that everyone decides to be a pain in the ass right when I'm starting to feel the pressure. But when we finally get to school and it comes time for my children to leave me we hug and kiss, and say "I love you"  and sometimes "I'm sorry" when it's appropriate.  No matter how mad I am at them, or they at me, we always make it ok before we leave each other for the day.
So I drag myself to work everyday, but all day long I think of my kids and smile about the crazy things they do, and laugh and joke about how they drive me crazy.  but they don't drive me crazy.  They're like all kids and want to get away with as much as possible.  They want to test me.  At the end of the day, I pick them up from school and bring them home.  I normally have so much to do when we get home that I put them in front of the television so that I can get many things done in a very short period of time before I have to get them bathed and into bed.  Time is always an issue.  It's what is the cause of much of the tension.  But when it comes down to bath time I always try and do something that I hope brings them some joy.  I put on a record, and we dance.  And when we dance, and listen to music and have this brief moment that is just for us, something that we have together and it will never be .  For me and my children, this thing that we have together is something that gains greater meaning in the light of recent events.  I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the tragedy, but all I can do is love my children and hope that when I send them out into the world they will be safe and happy, but the way the world is, there are no guarantee's.
I needed to talk.  thanks for indulging me   

10am Automatic

It's Monday morning.  Play this one loud.  It might be the only thing that gets you through the week.

dramamine

a little Modest Mouse for your sunday morning enjoyment.  enjoy it with a pastry and a coffee.

Lillian Todd-Jones

Through the years there have been a lengthening list of women singer/songwriter types as well as rock and roll vixens who have blown me away with the force of their performances, or at least the strength of their vision and ability to construct a song that makes me think, and impresses me to the point of digging deeper into their catalog.  Women in music who inspire and impress me are the likes of Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega, Fiona Apple, Aja Volkman, Patsy Cline, Joan Jett and Roberta Flack.  There are more for sure, but those are the names that stick out with me at the moment, and adding to this distinguished list is Lillian Todd-Jones.  The track Butter Soul is nothing short of brilliant!  The Structure and vocals are a haunting mix of pain and ambition that make me think that this young woman is poised for greatness.  I look forward to hearing what she has to offer in the future.  Dig it...  I know I do!

no titles, just words

I have been out of the loop for a while, but now that the summer is over and my kids are back to a relatively normal schedule and my wife's traveling has eased up a bit it's time for me to get back to it.  I've missed the research, and the act of writing.  The physical act, not to mention the discipline of actually doing it instead of getting sucked into whatever nonsense is on television.  If anyone has any bands that they want to recommend, or anything music related that they think should be discussed here, I would love the input.  I hope to be posting three times a week at least.  Here's hoping that I actually do it.
~the goose

guilty pleasures

I'd like to take a minute to talk about guilty pleasures.  While there are some that I wear like a badge of honor, and I'm not afraid to tell anyone about, like Madonna, there are others that lay dormant and hide in the shadows.  The ones that I would deny if called out on it.  One of them is Billy Joel.  I spent the better part of my younger days actively disliking Billy Joel, but perhaps now that I'm getting older, and I'm listening to more Belle and Sebastian and less Minor Threat, I feel like there are things I can revisit from my youth.  Billy Joel is one of them.  The other day riding in the car, I pulled him up on MOG and found myself jamming out.  When I got home I had to take a shower, but nothing would wash the dirty feeling off.  The next day, I listened again and at that point decided that I wasn't going to beat myself up about it. I decided that I wasn't going to be ashamed any more about!  I won't go out and buy any of his records, and I'm certainly not going to rush out and see him live and in concert.  But there was a reason why he was so popular, and there is some semblance of legitimacy to that popularity.  If nothing else, it's fun music.  Nothing to analyze too deeply, and don't judge me too harshly, but it feels good to finally admit it.