Archive for August 2004
I Believe In A Thing Called Love
An amber moon is rising full over Biscayne Bay. Heat lightning streaks the horizon. Over my shoulder, the diaphanous curtains shift in the warm breeze. And I yawn. MTV News’ Pre-Show By The Shore and MTV’s Video Music Awards were, without fail, the largest effort in which I’ve participated. It was like going to war.…
Read MoreThe Wonder Of Birds
I took a rare road trip from my basement hovel below the Video Music Awards in the American Airlines Arena and was dually rewarded. Much of my time in Miami, nay, all of it, has been spent in the one square mile between the Marriott Biscayne and the AAA, and most of it’s been spent…
Read MoreA Shot In The Arm
It’s 110 degrees in Miami, and I have a cold. I first notice a touch of the postnasal drip around 4am this morning. I’m dreaming about foreign lands where people wear T-shirts with their country in the center of the globe — “Look,” I said, “Everyone thinks they’re the center of the universe!” — when…
Read MoreCraft Services 101
I just got handed a flyer that says “join us for the CREW WRAP PARTY at Bongos.” Bongos is the poorly-named restaurant about six feet above my head. The party there begins at the end of the Big Show, which ought to be just about the time when my work really begins. Overheard During VMA…
Read MoreStaring At The Sun
I wake up just before we land. I gather my baggage from the overhead bin (yes, they shifted during flight), thank the pilot, and step off into the warm, wet Miami air. I cue up my iPod to U2’s ‘Miami,’ and walk through the terminal like Bono himself. Her eyes all swimming pool blue Dumb…
Read MoreLeaving New York
I am at Gate D7 at La Guardia Airport. American Airlines Flight 1647 to Miami has begun preliminary boarding. I am steadying myself for takeoff. Standing out front just a second ago looking out at the orange glow of the city on the clouds, I began to do the math. I will board at least…
Read MoreHyper Ballad
I’m seated outside of Hi-Life on the Upper West Side. There is a pint of Stella in my left hand, a turkey burger deluxe with cheddar cheese in my right. I’m looking westward over my dining companion’s shoulder when everything turns hyper-real. The leaves on the trees vibrate in unison. The brownstones glow amber in…
Read MoreDon’t Panic
I am on a train platform staring westward with my fellow Monday morning commuters. Dateline: Paoli, Pennsylvania, the western terminus of The Main Line, seventy miles south of New York City. It is 7:56 a.m. I am going home. The blood settles in my ears, and I begin to hear the sounds of this suburban…
Read MoreGreen
My adolescent home is ablaze in green: deep, resonant, prehistoric, jade, kelly, moss, olive, pine, sage, and a thousand other hues that elude language itself. I am Homecoming King. I blow into town to wed off a buddy from college. It is a lazy afternoon. The air is cool and dry. The sky is blue…
Read MoreA Movie Script Ending
First things first: I’m one hell of a singer/songwriter. This much I finally know. You, Dear Reader, are like, “What an asshole!” Right? Well, as always, let me explain (though you’re welcome to think that I’m an asshole). I turn 33-years-old on September 4th. Now, I’ve been singing on stage in one capacity or another…
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