Practice Breathing

My body is exhausted. My mind is too. I woke up as the morning sky was still kneading its sleepy eyes and drifted off to work. There I drank about five cups of iced coffee and three cups of iced black teas. I couldn't tell if I was thirsty or tired or sipping to give me something to do other than ponder. See, I get in these ruts where I think too much. I clam up like sweaty palms and crave pills. I stay awake until I can't stay awake any longer so I won't have to sit in the dark and be along with my thoughts. THAT scares the shit out of me when I'm wallowing in these gutter moods, and all I can do it wait for the tide to change on its own accord.

Instead of a gradual orbital switch, my email hit me with a brutal wave to the face. When I got home from work, hyped like an overhype, I realized that I had to conduct a phone interview with Chris Carrabba within the next two hours. Because my stomach wasn't already knotted and tense enough. Because higher forces could probably sense that only something that would force me out of my rut would force me out of my rut. And it did. The interview kept getting pushed earlier, and I kept pacing the space between my bed and my dresser, lips pursed. Interviews don't really make me nervous anymore, not like they used to. Interviews with men like Chris Carrabba, arguably one of the most important musicians to nestle into my CD case, do make me nervous.

But he was really nice.
And he was very well-spoken, articulate and ... I don't know ... soft?
And he said some really neat things that I can't wait to get up for the Internet world to buzz about.

I think this album is going to be similar to AMAMABAS. More organic, maybe? Keep watch for the 'view. "Thick as Thieves," "Little Bombs," and "Keep Watch For Mines" are all killer teasers, and I've been replaying them like I used to with those old Places and Swiss Army tracks of my youth. The Shade of Poison Trees is going to dominate Dusk and Summer, and I have never been so relieved. Maybe Chris can help me work on this rut too.

Say Anything, The Tornado

My 2007 could come tornado-ing into an unmatched and encompassing climatic point with the new Say Anything album. The new song I've heard hasn't struck me yet, but this doesn't bother or phase me. I am intrigued. My mind is at ease like a calm before a storm, and I am just waiting to get swept into its whirling winds. I hold the highest expectations for Bemis and crew because they have blown my mind lyrically and hook-wise more than any other band. A double-disc, hour and a half epic brain buster like the new album is a feat for the ages, but if there is one band that can do it, it would be Say Anything (and not The Early November). This might be the highlight of my year, for serious. Never has looming disappointment struck with such fear.

Poptarts and Sex

On Beat # 3: Hell hath no fury like the Copyright Royalty Board
On Beat # 2: Jammin with boredom
On Beat # 1: Pirates own streets, musicians lose beats

Hot stuff, huh? The tides are changing, my friend. They are crashing upon the millions of particles of sand opportunities that inhabit this earth and the little satchel I bring with me to the beach is filling itself up with grains and treasure trinkets. I will be watching the waves as they crash and retract with a careful but eager eye.