Where Do You Go When the Lights Go Out?

Congratulations to Coleman Greer Griffith for correctly naming John Fogerty's "Centerfield" as the song of the day for the last post.

I'm not really sure why, but I always have a funny feeling when I come back to the blog after missing a few days. Perhaps that is only an expectation that I have created in my own mind since I usually attempt to post each day, but nevertheless, I notice a difference when I do not have the opportunity to write on a given day.

It was very good this last weekend to go visit Heather before Christmas. Being the great girlfriend that she is, she of course found a Christmas gift that could not be beat. Ever since I read the book a few years ago, and due to the fact that we do not get HBO, I have always wanted the Band of Brothers DVD set. I'm not sure how many of you have seen this mini-series, but for my money, it is the best mini-series that I have ever seen, just ahead of Lonesome Dove (I'm sorry Cody, but it's just the way it is).

During my trip to and from Arlington this past weekend, I was reminded again of why I love music so much. I am sure that everyone has one band that always makes them remember why music is such a powerful force. For me, that band is Phish. All of the hippie jokes aside, I listen to Phish because they remind me of what music can be and what it can do. The best way to experience Phish is to listen to a live show, but listening to Phish live is often a maddening exercise.

As a "jam band", they begin a song in a usual manner, but from that point the song can take any given turn on any given night. On the same tour, a song may be played for 8 minutes, only to be extended for 20 minutes a few nights later. The tough part about this is that each of the members of the band have no idea what the other members of the band are about to play or where they are about to take the song. This paradigm is filled with songs that seem to be twisting and turning with no logical conclusion, but it also produces some of the most beautiful music that I have ever heard. Music is created during some of these jams that never would have existed if they had not pushed through some of the more muddy parts of the jam.

All of this may seem like the inane ramblings of someone who has listened to too much Phish, but as I said earlier, I think each of us has one of these bands. A band that makes you sing a long in the car even if the other people on the road think you are talking to yourself. A band that makes you turn your dashboard into a piano, your steering wheel into a drumset, and if they are good enough to pull out your air guitar. Basically, they make you feel alive. You hear their emotion even if it is being transmitted through a Telecaster.