Posts by Benjamin
My American Idols
I shuttled between mixing “Feels Like Home” in my bedroom studio and “American Idol” on my living room flat screen tonight. I caught Black Eyed Peas “performance” (freaky nails, Fergie), Cyndi Lauper and Allison Iraheta’s “Time After Time (like the pants, Cyndi, but not nearly as deep as Tiff and my version), Rod Stewart’s “Maggie…
Read MoreStreet Fair Rules
The balloons were Trojan Horses, really, or slight of hand at best; mere diversions intended to lure the children closer before handing off a pamphlet to the smiling parents gently instructing, “What do you say?” Once in Ethan and Edward’s hands, the shiny, green and orange West Side YMCA helium balloons trumped all of the…
Read MoreThings To Text In Denver When You’re Bored
I spent this afternoon tracking vocals on my cover of The Nadas “Feels Like Home” for the band’s forthcoming tribute record. I don’t know what I was thinking. Mike Butterworth hits a superhuman high note in the chorus, one I can only nail consistently in falsetto. I’ve seen him hit higher notes on a radio…
Read MoreAll Stars
I’m pretty sure it’s the oldest thing I own: a tattered, No. 80, nine-inch, horsehide-covered, cork and rubber-centered regulation baseball with with seven faded words written in capital letters: 1981 Pinto North All-Star Ben Wagner. I hit the first RBI in that all-star game, a triple. It was a scorching-hot July Fourth at Ridgeland Common…
Read MoreRun, Part II (Or, Know Your Enemy)
Who needs the self help section at Barnes & Noble? I have an iPod. I don’t need to tell you that last week was a motherf*cker. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. Ask John Edwards, Manny Ramirez, or Allison Iraheta. They all had tough weeks. Heck, ask anyone on Earth these days: economic meltdown,…
Read MoreBroken Glass
Sunday afternoon, long after the hangover recovery run, the ham, egg and cheese sandwich, the last cup of coffee and final page of The Sunday New York Times, Abbi and I sat on the couch channel surfing. In my experience, asking my wife if she wants to watch a documentary tends towards a gentle “No…
Read MoreLove In The Time Of H1N1
One never knows how a four o’clock rock show is going to turn out. We’re not talking the Iowa State Fair here. We’re talking New York City on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Ends up it’s one heck of a time to rock. Chris Abad and I booked the show months ago not because four o’clock…
Read MoreSerious Business
Used to be, I thought that rock bands solely made records like The Rolling Stones, Warren Zevon or Guns ‘N Roses: late at night, loaded with gin, and stuffed with amphetamines. And maybe some still do. What’s more, I held some sort of anxious romance for the studio, like the magic there is intangible, elusive…
Read MoreFeels Like Home
Oh man, wait until The Nadas get a load of this. At one point in tonight’s rehearsal, I said to the guys, “You know this is The Official Song Of The City Of Des Moines™, right?” But let me back up… My name is Benjamin Wagner. By day, I am a middle manager for a…
Read MoreHush
I’m a long-time admirer of CBS Sunday Morning, especially the segment before the show’s closing credits when our host (once, Charles Kuralt and now Charles Osgood) transports us somewhere tranquil and scenic for a few, restful moments. Those patiently unfolding natural scenes — from a babbling brook in Arcadia, Maine, to the desert alpinglow of…
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