Missed the boat yesterday… no blog post. There was just way too much fun stuff going on… so I’m cheating and backdating this post so I can at least keep appearances up. Arrived in MD and spend some time with Dan & Jen before heading out to rehearsal with the JC crew! It was great to see the old crew and jam a bit in preparation for Sunday’s set that we’re helping out with. Afterwards we went to see Dan play some ice hockey with his team and didn’t arrive home until well after midnight… all in all, a full day. Oh yeah, did I mention there was snow too? Good times…

So since I didn’t have a chance to blog yesterday due to the time, I’m choosing “Apologize” for my entry today.

Listen on LaLa.com

Read Lyrics

So today is the last day in Philly after a nice LOOOOONG visit with Mom and Dad, Rich, Chris. Morgan, Colin & Tyler. I started looking for songs about Philadelphia, then family, then saying goodbye and along the way it morphed into something else. I was “this close” to using “Hard to Say Goodbye” by Boyz II Men, since they’re from Philly and all, but I resisted the urge. I’m sure you’ll all thank me for it.

During the trip so far I’ve had a great chance to catch up with extended family, friends and former co-workers. I got a chance to make some new friends, visit some old haunts and cruise the hometown streets again. We still have another few days to come and I’ll be seeing even more close friends, sharing a ton of laughs, recounting old stories, playing some music and having a stinkin’ good time all the while. I know a lot of who I am is because of who I’ve grown up with, and I’m sure that “because I knew you, I have been changed…”

The song for today is “For Good” from the musical Wicked. I knew I was going to use this song at some point during the year because it’s just so AWESOME, but I didn’t think it would be so soon.  :-)

If you haven’t heard it before, you’re in for a treat. Two of the best voices in musical theater today, and overall a great message. Enjoy.

Listen to “For Good” on LaLa.com — pick it up about 30-40 seconds in…

Read the lyrics

Started the day off today with a great breakfast at a place we found online at Yelp.com… this little “hole in the wall” was the combination of a greasy spoon, grandma’s kitchen and Cheers. When we walked in, we were greeted with “Hi Hon, you want some coffee?” Apparently everyone is named “Hon” or “Sweety”… cause she said the same thing to someone else that came in without even turning around. It was actually kinda cool. Within 3 minutes of coming through the door, we noticed the regulars sitting and the bar, talking to anyone within earshot. Ethan then exclaimed, “Hey, they don’t have any menus!” to which our server/host/cook/waitress/owner/who-knows-what-else said “Ah, I don’t have time to print any up doll… So what can I get you?” Apparently you can order ANYTHING and they’ll make it. Seriously. And they don’t write anything down. You also get your own refills on coffee. Mismatched silverware, plates and cups. Family photos on the wall and tons of Philly sports memorabilia.

We also found out there were no checks… they just kinda walk by your table and tell you how much you owe. Sometimes you can order the same thing and it will cost a little more, sometimes a little less. Very unique… and kinda cool to be honest. We had a great time… the food was pretty darn good, nice atmosphere, great people. As Sarah said, “The typical East Coast experience. I love it!”

To be honest, you can’t really order ANYTHING — Sarah wanted biscuits and gravy and they didn’t have that, but they did make Ethan a killer pancake, Sarah had eggs to order with homefries and toast and I had a ham & cheese omelette. Yum.

So in the spirit of this great little place, today’s song is Roy Orbison’s “You’ve Got It.”

Anything you want, you’ve got it
Anything you need, you’ve got it
Anything at all, you’ve got it…

Listen to Roy at LaLa.com

Read the Lyrics

Jamie Cullum via last.fm

Well, I now have seven days of official vacation. Sarah and I decided that today should largely be a day made up of doing absolutely nothing, and we seemed to accomplish that in a grand fashion. The only things we did today are things we WANTED to do… visit with good friends (and drink a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and a Belgian Tripel), watch UP with the P’s and E, go to the mall for a little light shopping, play Wii (Lego Star Wars to be exact), and a few other odds and ends. All in all it was quite the non-day for which I was immensely grateful.

Since it’s pretty close to January 1 and New Year Resolutions and such, I think I’ve found the perfect song for today from my good friend Jamie Cullum. OK — I don’t really know him, but I sure do like his music, and would like to think that if I were British, cool, smoked and could play the piano like Harry Connick meets Ben Folds that he and I MIGHT be friends.

First time I heard this song I just about fell out of my chair. It’s a trip… there’s no such thing as a “quick fix”. Life is hard work and nothing comes without a price… there is no free ride. Anyone who tries to tell otherwise is as full of crap as the salesman hawking his cure-all in this song…  So do the work, make the call, put in the time. It will take longer than 7 days, but you’ll be all the better for it.

And if you’re in desperate need to lighten your wallet, I’ve got some beachfront property in Ohio I’d love to sell ya..

Read the Lyrics to “7 Days to Change Your Life”

Listen to “7 Days to Change Your Life” on LaLa.com

I bleed Green. Maybe not as much as those folks who pay $30 in parking, tailgate in sub-zero temps and paint their faces, but I live and die by my Eagles. Even though there was a lot on the line, it sure looked to me like they were out of sorts. The Cowboys shut them out and now, instead of getting a first round bye in the playoffs and a week off, they have to play Dallas AGAIN in Texas and don’t get a home game during the playoffs. Definitely not the way to start 2010.

My brother, being the Dallas fan that he is, thought I should choose Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 for today’s post… but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, so I’m choosing something else. (Actually, he was quite humble…even after a threw his Dallas pillow on the ground during the game cause I couldn’t stand the sight of it…)

Today’s song — “Love Hurts” by Nazareth. Discover it again for the first time. The lyrics are PERFECT for today… and I’ll still be there next week singing another one of my favorites… “Fly Eagles Fly, on the road to vic-tor-y…”

Bonus song! While searching for the lyrics for this song, I also had a chance to check out a song of the same name by Incubus. Not bad… might have to purchase it on iTunes!

Party today… good times had by all. Had a great time hanging out with the family, eating, drinking, playing games… Aunts and Uncles made a trip over to see us, and it was nice to see everyone. Family is really what it’s all about… that, and a well-poured Guinness. But I digress…

Even though it was BOOTY COLD today (and windy) and not at all resembling beach weather, the carefree time we all had today reminded me of all those days and nights at Dewey Beach playing with Flip Like Wilson. One of the songs we used to cover (and SLAM) was Dave Matthews Band’s “Trippin’ Billies.” A fairly unknown song off of Under The Table and Dreaming, this song says it all…

“So why would you care to get out of this place?
You and me and all our friends, such a happy human race
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we’ll die…”

Now keep in mind — we definitely weren’t “tripping” any “billies”… just having a good time. There were no drugs smoked, ingested or snorted — either then or now. And definitely not during the typing of this blog entry.  :-)

Read the Trippin’ Billies Lyrics here

Listen to Trippin Billies on Lala.com

I’ve been talking about doing this for about a month now, and feeling a bit inspired by Penn State’s win today and the adventures of Julie in Julie and Julia, I’m restarting this blog up again and will attempt to post daily for the entire year.

The idea is simple — I am going to choose a song each day that attempts to sum up the feelings of the day. Sometimes the choices might be reflective, sometimes descriptive, and sometimes just silly… and maybe along the way I may introduce some of you to some new music.

It would be too easy to choose “New Year’s Day” by U2 for today… so I think I’ll start with a deep Billy Joel cut off of Cold Spring Harbor, his first album. In many ways, this album’s failures could have sunk many artists. One main problem with the album is that when it was mastered, everything was about a quarter step fast, making Billy’s early stuff kinda sound like it was being sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks. No lie.

The song I’m choosing for today is called “Got to Begin Again,” the last track on the record. Yes, kids… I’m calling it a record. For those of you who don’t know what one is, look it up on Wikipedia.

The song isn’t necessarily about turning over a new leaf — it’s really about getting over a failed relationship. Still, every time I hear this song I feel like the singer is pushing forward and seems determined to get to his final destination. I feel the same way… turning 40 two days ago has me thinking about all the things I’ve wanted to do but haven’t been able to. I’m totally OK — it all has just kinda made me a little reflective. Hopefully I’ll be able to start checking some things off my list and catching up with reality during this process… “It’s been quite a while since I lifted my head, and I’m sure the light will hurt my eyes…”

See ya tomorrow with a brand new ditty for your listening pleasure!

Check the song out and let me know what you think… Listen on LaLa.com

Got To Begin Again, Billy Joel on iTunes