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Greatest Song: Round 2

Well, the first round is over. There were some great contests, and some upsets. The closest contest was between The Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop and Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Paradise City. The final tally read 50% for each side, and The Ramones tune squeaked through on a tie breaker. I’ve asked for clarification from Bracketeers.com to see exactly how that was determined.

Round 2 for me was very interesting. Often, I found myself voting against some of my favorite bands because of the quality of the songs they were going against. That’s enough talk for now, if you haven’t made your Round 2 votes yet, do it now.

Have You Noticed...

the more expensive your car is, the bigger hurry you are in and the more entitled you are to drive like a maniac.

Greatest Song Challenge

Sorry to post another work related story. I usually laugh at the absurdity of trying to name the "Greatest Of All Time" when it comes to art and music (they are so subjective). However, with March Madness starting, I figured we could have some fun with this. I selected 64 songs from Rolling Stone's Greatest 500 Songs of all Time list.

The songs were randomly ranked, and they will compete head to head with each other in a bracket system. I must say, the first round already has some intriguing match ups (Johnny Cash vs. Hank Williams, or Redemption Song vs. Respect anyone?).

Each week, you will have a chance to weigh in with your vote on the songs in the round. It will be narrowed down to 32, 16, 8, 4, and 2 songs with a champion named on the 29th of April. Click HERE to participate in round one. You can sign up to be reminded to vote in future rounds if you desire.

Eddie Gavin in Jack White's new Band?

Jack White (of The White Stripes) has a new band. This time, he has put down his axe and picked up some sticks. That’s right, Jack White will be playing the drums for The Dead Weather. As I studied the official band photo by David Swanson, I discovered that one of the members bears a striking resemblance to Columbus Crew and U.S. Olympic team midfielder Eddie Gaven. Stooping down on the right hand side of the photo, Gaven’s long body can barely fit in the frame. You may ask yourself, can someone really be a rock star while simultaneously being a soccer star? Two names for you: Rod Stewart and Alexi Lalas. Seems to me like just the kind of thing that the tall, young player would be involved in during the long, winter offseason. He has apparently taken the alias of Dean Fertita, which if you scramble spells “Edie Frattan” Suspiciously close to his real name, don’t you think. Eddie (or Dean), I know who you are, but your secret is safe with me (and my small but loyal following).

Grounded

I said a long time ago that I would post a song a week. Well, I've been slacking. Click on the title of this post to listen to Grounded. I wrote this song after going through all of the crazy and sudden changes that come with graduating, job hunting, finding a job, moving, and being away from Natalie for the first time in our married life. The phone calls we shared during that period helped keep me sane and moving forward.

Gearing Up for the Season

Rocking the Suburbs

I have always enjoyed mowing the lawn. One of the main reasons for this is that whilst mowing the lawn, I can listen to loud music at high volumes. I can also sing along to said loud music at high volumes and be drowned out by the even higher volume of the lawn mower.

Or so I thought. After years of singing my guts out while maintaining the yard, I discovered last summer that my lawnmower world is not as small or alienated as I once perceived it to be. On a sunny, Saturday afternoon last August, I came upstairs to shower and change out of my sweaty clothes. I had just finished mowing the lawn to the soundtrack of Against Me!'s latest release, New Wave. As I headed into the bedroom, my wife Natalie said, "I could hear you."

"Hear me what?"

"Singing."

Confused, I replied, "over the lawnmover?"

"Loud. Even upstairs with all the doors and windows closed."

Suddenly my little lawn mowing world shrunk into a diorama on display for the entire neighborhood to see. My soul was laid bare for all of my neighbors to hear, and I had been quite unaware of it. Every Saturday, my yard had been a sanctuary for me and my loud singing. Little did I know that it was a stage and that there was an audience who was hearing every note whether they liked it or not.

Lawn mowing has never been the same since. Sure I sing along from time to time, but the days of belting it out with reckless abandon are over and gone. Sometimes, when I'm alone in the garage with the lawn mower, I'll look over and say, "It was a good run kid."

Natalie es Numero Uno

I've been meaning to do this post for a while. With no further adieu, I give you a list of ocho things about Natalie that make her numero uno.

1. She is unapologetic in her admiration of Dr. Pepper.
2. Every Sunday without fail, somebody sitting in front of us in sacrament meeting turns around during a Hymn to see who belongs to the beautiful voice. It is usually a young girl, and Natalie usually receives an approving smile.
3. She hates wearing socks. She almost never wears shoes even in the winter, but she never complains about cold feet.
4. She hires, rejects, and fires people as a major part of her job. She also listens patiently as employees spill their guts to her about their latest dramas and heartbreaks in the office and life in general.
5. The still small voice for me has taken on an eerily similar tone to hers, as she often softly but firmly reminds me of household responsibilities.
6. She loves completely.
7. She is an incredible mom.
8. She helps me be a better version of myself, and she understands and encourages me when I fall short of where I should be.