ENOUGH ALREADY!

I have been biting my tongue on this one because even I realize that this particular inanity is without even a hint of charm, but it's too much, I can't take it anymore. I lack the discipline to continue to turn the other cheek.

First of all, I realize I have a certain level of vanity, which I think justifies my cause in this instance as it takes the form of fashion sense. I fully understand and appreciate a fashion trend. I read the catalogs, I feel the same itch and temptation as the next gal. I am a loyal GQ subscriber for crying out loud. I get it. BUT! I think what we have here is a danger ever present with following fashion trends, but rarely realized. If a trend becomes hot enough and enough people jump on board, it overflows so to speak. You walk down the street and see half the people wearing the exact same thing. In that case, the point of fashion, to express oneself or at least project one's ideal image of oneself, is turned on its head. The desire to look special ends up making you look quite ordinary and humorously conformist.

In other words...

CAN WE FUCKING STOP WITH THE NAUTICAL-ISH BLUE-AND-WHITE HORIZONTAL STRIPED SHIRTS AND SWEATERS?!?!?!?!?! ENOUGH ALREADY!!! IT'S TOO MUCH!!! NO ONE IS SAILING!!! AS EXPLAINED ABOVE, IT'S A NICE LOOKING GARMENT, BUT IT LOOKS STUPID WHEN EVERY THIRD PERSON IS WEARING IT AND EVEN WORSE WHEN YOU HAVE THREE VARIATIONS OF IT AND WEAR ALL THREE IN ANY GIVEN WORK WEEK!

(Deep breath)

Sorry, I know that sounds petty, but I just needed to vent.

Can we talk about music for a minute?

Because, frankly, I am overwhelmed. Also, I woke up this morning to "I Saw Her Standing There" so this day was decided from the start.

I'm a big concert guy. Last summer, I barely went to any shows at all. There was nothing that I felt like I absolutely had to see, nothing that justified the cost, and it just kind of felt like a down year anyway. Apparently, that was merely an offsetting precursor to this summer. We are officially looking at the Summer of Music(Love), folks. Here are the shows that have so far moved me to put my cats and car in hock:

Paul Simon @ The Music Box

Punch Brothers @ Largo

Mindy Smith @ Bootleg Theater (not yet purchased, yet a foregone conclusion)

Steep Canyon Rangers w/Steve Martin @ Largo

Brandi Carlile @ House of Blues, Anaheim

Stephen Kellogg @ Bootleg Theater

Star Wars in Concert @ Hollywood Bowl

Alison Krauss & Union Station @ The Greek Theatre

Eddie Vedder @ Long Beach Terrace Theatre

The Avett Brothers @ Pechanga Resort & Casino

And that's not even counting Prince's 21-night run that is an irresistible $25/person including fees! Couple that concert mania with the fact that I have been flooded with new(to me, at least) music in the last week. My buddy T-Bone dropped about 8 new albums on me just before about 7 other new albums from some of my favorite artists came out on the following Tuesday. Thank the lawd for the Amazon MP3 store and their great sales. One in particular that I need to talk to you about is the new album from Brett Dennen, "Loverboy." I think the best introduction to the album is provided by the man himself on the inside cover of the CD jacket:

This is an ode to the wonderful feeling of love. Whether it be romantic, friendly, or just plain caring for people. This album is about having fun and letting go, even if it hurts. Enjoy it in the car, on the dance floor, in headphones, or even on your scrawny little computer speakers. If you love it, share with a friend. If you don't love it, listen to something else that makes you happy. Don't take it too seriously. Thank you for all your love and support.

Mark me down in the "love it, share it with a friend" camp. I lurve this album. Friends, I defy you to listen to the song posted above at a volume level exceeding social acceptance and NOT find yourself dancing. I was blasting this song on my way into work this morning and I was literally moved to tears of joy. This is infectious, joyous, life-celebrating music and, although it only entered my life yesterday, I am already eating it alive. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and declare "Loverboy," officially, The Album of the Summer*. There it is! Boom! I just did that!

*Honorable mention to Guster's "Easy Wonderful." Have no doubt, you will be right up in there, but you released just a little too early to take the title**.

**Story of my life.

I'm back with more pointless drivel!

--I really don't understand why my neighbors have such a hard time avoiding the snails on the sidewalk. Part of me thinks they are not trying to avoid them at all. Part of me thinks they are sadistic, serial killers of innocent, slow-moving gastropads. It's beginning to bother me, actually. As I am hunched over catching my breath after running, I've started taking a closer look at these little guys and I've taken a bit of a liking to them. They're cute. Sure, they eat the plants, but I don't exactly see the garden in dire straits. Just yesterday, I saw a little baby snail. He/she was pointed right at the crushed carcus of an adult snail. I know how ridiculous this sounds as I know snails are not emotional creatures, but, still, I felt for the poor little thing. SAVE THE SNAILS! Hey, that sounds like a great t-shirt.

----If you know me at all, you would probably guess that my alarm clock is set to wake me up with the radio. If I knew me and I were guessing, I would go so far as to venture that I probably had one of those Ipod alarm clocks, complete with its own wake-up playlist*. Well, we would all be wrong. For years, I've gone the way of the buzzer, thinking it was more likely to actually wake me up rather than provide a musical score to my dream state. Last week, I began to question this paradigm. I decided to try the radio. Friends, I will never go back. Isn't it incredible how often the timing of the alarm kicking on and the radio playing the perfect song are miraculously in sync? Friday morning, I woke up to the opening notes of "Grease," I shit you not. My other fear during my buzzer era was that my waking state could be quite volatile emotionally and the wrong song could ruin my day before it even started. Admittedly, I can't yet rule this out entirely, but I will say that the commercials I have encountered a couple of times have caused nothing worse than a snooze hit. And, of course, how could I have underestimated the sheer joy of waking up to the right song? Yes friends, I'm a radio waker now. Who says people don't change?

----The weather is conspiring against me it would seem. All week, as I am required to slave away indoors, the skies are gorgeous powder or royal blue, the sun is shining warmly and brightly, the slight breeze only serving to transport the smell of flowers in bloom. It's agonizing to the soul to see it out there through a 10-square-foot portal of tinted glass while I sit in this dank, swampy tin can of an office. Then the weekend comes and you can imagine me with my flip flops, short shorts, and beach towel, ready to catch some rays only to open the door and have it blown back in my face by a gust of wind from an overcast sky. NO FAIR, I say! In the words of Mel Gibson's character in "Random," GIMME BACK MY SUN!!** And we're right on pace for the same thing to repeat this weekend! ARGH! I'm going to my first baseball game of the season on Sunday and I'll be damned if I am taking a sweatshirt!


*As I think about this, I realize I need one immediately for the sole purpose of waking each and every morning to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." I just can't imagine it gets any better than that.

**That's someone else's joke and I have been trying for years to remember where I saw it. I may never know.