Too High To Die

“We should put together a supergroup.” The term is kind of absurd to begin with. It was coined in the late sixties to describe bands comprised of members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. Think Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Think Bad Company. Or Cream. Of course,…

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Don’t Cry Out Loud

It was early. Mom, dad, and even Chris were still asleep. I couldn’t wait any longer. I snuck downstairs in my footed pajamas. I clung to the edges, stepping slowly to avoid tell tale creaks. The dining room was still, its wood-paneling brushed by morning sunlight. The green, shag carpeting was freshly vacuumed. The table…

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Lucky Number 13

I was pooped on last night. The incident occurred at approximately 7:13 pm last night. I was running through Central Park, cranking my “Rock” playlist. “Sugar, We’re Going On” was playing. I was sprinting eastward on 72d Street, just past Bethesda (which is flowing again). I thought it was just a branch or something, falling…

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The Grand Prize

As a seven-year-old growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, summer vacation was comprised of a week-long fishing trip to northern Minnesota. The drive to Lake Vermillion seemed eternal. Dad stared stoically ahead, piloting our Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser. Mom would crack the window, exhaling long ribbons Benson & Hedges smoke. Chris and I struggled over an…

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Soul Meets Body

I was within about two feet of being hit by a truck this morning. Seems like I’m always a heartbeat away from The Big Hit. I was walking diagonally across Amsterdam Avenue. I was listening to Fastball’s “The Way” (“Where were they going without every knowing the way?”). The sky was impossibly blue. The air…

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Electron Blue

Funny how quickly things change. And for no apparent reason. Maybe it was work. I had a couple of cool meeting, which in itself is oxymoronic. But I did. One of ’em was with a really cool dude from New Line (home of one of my favorite films, “Magnolia,” one of my soon-to-be favorite films,…

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Move Along (Just To Make It Through)

I don’t do well in a sky without stars. And by “stars,” I really mean “goals.” I walked out of the office tonight in a foul mood. I rushed through Times Square cranking All American Reject’s “Move Along.” I’ve been rushing around to a bruiser of a soundtrack lately: Guster’s “One Man Wrecking Machine,” Fall…

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Ghost World

Sometimes I think this place is haunted. The wind was howling something fierce last night. My walls were creaking at the seams. Things were banging around on my roof. The din finally stirred me from restless sleep at 5:56 this morning. In the confusion of that half-light, I thought maybe someone was trying to break…

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All I Want Is

What did you expect? It was Monday. The MTV dragged. I felt kinda’ useless. I shipped copies of “The Desert Star” to everyone who pre-ordered it (have you?), and submitted it to CD Baby and iTunes. I did some reading on Bonaire (Abbi and I are going in July!), and generally muddled through. Then I…

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When I Look At The Stars

We look a little drunk, don’t we? We’re not. We’re on ecstacy. Nils G. Holm’s “Ecstasy Research In The 20th Century” describes the experience thusly: Ecstasy is derived from a Greek word, with the original meaning of removing oneself from a given place. By an extended sense of the word, this implies that the ego…

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