It's like that Wham! song but less gay...

So thanks to unnamed evil persons, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! is stuck in my head, pretty much making me want to die. The "Jitterbug" chorus is especially fitting this evening, as I've been in kind of a "needles and pins" mood all day, and the large iced latte caramel super sugar special has, by no surprise, amplified the jittery-ness by about 2000%.

I have to work an overnight tommorrow night (which is, in an ugly coincidence, Game 1 of the World Series.) The Red Sox in the post season does not help my antsy tendencies, either. At least I will have a TV present at work to watch this game and either be extremely happy or reduced to throwing things about the office in a violent manner should our National League adversaries get a leg up.

I'm not quite sure of the reason for my antsy-ness. It's been a pretty good couple of weeks. I'm still not thrilled with working any weekend hours, but the sheer amount of money offered to me to work every other Sunday has made it more palatable. Regardless of what some may say, I am truly going to miss producing Matt's show on Saturday mornings at WPRO. The previous 4 hours that have been added to that shift really make it unpleasant (who wants to wake up at 4 o clock on Saturday morning for less money than a Dunkin Donuts drive thru clerk?) I'm glad to be maintaining a postion at the radio station however, as I've made some great friends there (old and new). As I believe I've mentioned before, it will be the first time in 7 years I haven't held some sort of a regular radio shift.

Neil Young's new album came out today, and while some of it left me kind of cold, the track Ordinary People really rocks like a motherfucker, and sounds fantastic. I also like "Dirty Old Man", a track about, um, a dirty drunk old man.

I kind of wish I was in San Francisco this week for Liz's Halloween party, The Bridge School Benefit Shows with Neil Young and Tom Waits, and The Pogues at the Fillmore. It would have been a financial disaster to take vacation at this time though, and it's probably better spent the last week of November for my birthday celebrations, anyway. I'll get back out there in April at the latest.

Life is truly moving fast right now. It is very difficult budgeting time and matching schedules with people I want to see, things I want to do, things I am SUPPOSED to do, and all that. It's been echoed by quite a few of my friends of all different ages (21-47) that I am not alone in this.

Next week should harvest some good old fashioned rock and roll cheese with the Van Halen concert. I look forward to watching a David Lee Roth in his 50's ride and inflatable microphone around the stage.

As a final note, I am at work right now and just recieved an order but had to go outside and get it. The reason? The driver had no legs. Life could be worse. It's pretty good right now, all things considered.

Further Ruminations of Jersey Lore.

I've been brushing up on my Springsteen for the concert coming up in November. While it's safe to say my favorite material of his would be his early stuff, I was playing the "Born In The USA" album yesterday and remembered how great the song "Bobby Jean" was. This song was written as kind of a send off to Steven Van Zandt who was leaving the E Street Band at the time to go solo (even if he never played Sun City). Bruce changed the subject into a girl, but the heartfelt lyrics remain poingant especially knowing what the song was about (and don't we all have friends like this?)

Well I came by your house the other day, your mother said you went away
She said there was nothing that I could have done
There was nothing nobody could say
Me and you we've known each other ever since we were sixteen
I wished I would have known I wished I could have called you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean

Now you hung with me when all the others turned away turned up their nose
We liked the same music we liked the same bands we liked the same clothes
We told each other that we were the wildest, the wildest things we'd ever seen
Now I wished you would have told me I wished I could have talked to you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean

Now we went walking in the rain talking about the pain from the world we hid
Now there ain't nobody nowhere nohow gonna ever understand me the way you did
Maybe you'll be out there on that road somewhere
In some bus or train traveling along
In some motel room there'll be a radio playing
And you'll hear me sing this song

Well if you do you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between
And I'm just calling one last time not to change your mind
But just to say I miss you baby, good luck goodbye, Bobby Jean

Perhaps the greatest thing about the song is that the music is really upbeat, but there's a sad minor chord in there that makes the tune really kind of into a melancholy song of loss.

Springsteen's done the tune on a number of occasions recently, including a radically reworked version with the Sessions Band that comes off pretty cool. He's yet to break it out yet on this tour, but maybe he'll have added it to the set by the time I get to see him.

Anyway, the whole rediscovery thing reminded me how powerful a force music is in my life. There's got to be hundreds more of forgotten songs in my music library that will one day jump out at me. It's one of the best thrills in life as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a live version of Bobby Jean from 1985 if you've never heard it...

Ordinary People

So there's been some changes 'round here lately, at least since I last wrote. It's Sunday morning and I'm pulling my bi-monthly 12 hour Sunday shift. It's not as bad as it sounds. The pay is good as well.

I'm back at Now Delivery, now working a much more palatable 2nd shift during the week. I also put in my notice at WPRO. I'm going to remain on in an "auxilary" role, but it will be the first time in 7 years I haven't pulled a regular shift at a radio station. As much as I'm going to miss producing Matt's show, the increasingly inelastic management stylings inherant to radio and the incredibly early start time (coupled with the 3rd world compensation package) make it no longer feasable or desirable. "When they said 'sit down' I stood up...ooooh ooooh Growin' Up", indeed.

I've got my fall/early winter concerts chosen for the most part. I'm checking out Van Halen on the 30th, Bruce Springsteen in November (general admission floor tickets, nice), and The Hold Steady next Sunday night. If you haven't heard of the Hold Steady, I heartily recommend you check them out. They're kind of like Elvis Costello leading the E Street Band, singing songs from the dark side about fighting, drinking, fucking and everything else that makes life worth living.

I'm rather annoyed at myself for forgetting to buy Neil Young tickets. He's playing at the Orpheum in Boston, and the shows sold out really quickly. I'm sure I'll end up getting a ticket "night of" or if I get nervous about getting in I'll hit stubhub or something. I was just listening to a live performance of "Ordinary People", a song from his new album (even though it was recorded twenty years ago...) and now I really want to check out Neil and his "new direction".

Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello was an enjoyable show a couple of weeks ago I checked out with Mike who was back from San Fran Freako for a few days. Elvis Costello was fantastic in a solo-artist setting, doing pretty much everything you'd want to hear from him in that setting, although he could have played for another hour and I'd have welcomed it. Dylan was more funny to me than anything else. He comes out to a Wagner-esque score and a monster-truck style announcer proclaiming him "voice of his generation" and touching on his career milestones (born again in the late 70's..etc.). His band is very good, but it's obvious he has either no interest in playing his older material or enjoys pissing everyone off by offering half-assed mumblings through them. This didn't annoy me as much as it may seem. I was laughing my ass off at such performances as "Don't Think Twice" and "Watching the River Flow". He seemed to be having a good time fucking with everybody, breaking out into little jigs as he stabbed at his electric keyboard. The newer stuff sounded pretty good, but I would have liked to have heard some "Time Out Of Mind" material, and maybe "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar". It was entertaining and I was satisfied. The true encore was the puzzled look on people's faces as they streamed out of the Ryan Center.