My Current Musical Obsession

I've been listening to Fountains of Wayne for years and I think they're fabulous!

Actually, I haven't. I've only been listening to them for 2 months, but it feels like much longer. And it may be more like 10 years. Let me explain...

This past Christmas I received a $30 gift card for Rhapsody's music service for some downloads. In order to use the service, I had to sign up for their basic account, which includes 25 free plays from their website each month. Being somewhat of a "techno-pi-rate", I've been using some specialized audio software in conjunction with the free plays to complete some music collections (in January I recorded my favorite Partridge Family songs and created my own greatest hits compilation) and try out some new music. While going thru some computer files, I ran across a WMV version of "Stacy's Mom" video someone sent me when it came out - before the advent of YouTube. Back then, I probably listened to it for 2-3 days straight. The tune was so catchy and hilarious - not to mention Rachel Hunters performance. But I wrote FoW (how REAL fans refer to them) off as a one hit wonders and never checked out any of their other recordings. Big mistake. So when I saw the file, I made a mental note-to-self to check them out in March.

Late one night in February after a long day of snow blowing, I recorded "Welcome Interstate Managers" to my Zen for work the next day. I then preceded to listened to it for 3 days straight! Every song on the album is a hit, but my favorites are "Hey Julie" (one of my favorite love songs) and "All Kinds of Time" (with song lyrics based on football play-by-play). I started researching their other albums and found out they'd been together since 1996! How did a band this great fly under the radar for so long? Fortunately I'd found them with a pretty good catalog of music - 3 other albums (one being a 2 album set) and one coming out soon (April 3rd). I had enough free plays to make my own copy of one of their first 2 albums, but I'd have to buy the other 2. Or wait for the next 2-3 months to compile enough free plays for the other albums.

Interlude... I don't make it a habit of recording music this way. Normally, if I like a artist/group, I'll buy their stuff. It just so happens that I need to keep inexpensive gift giving options available to the wife and kids. Father's day is coming up...but I couldn't wait until June! So I recorded what I could until I get originals in my hand. Now back to the story.

So I recorded "Utopia Parkway" - with my favorite song of theirs, "Red Dragon Tattoo" - before our trip and bought a copy of "Out-of-State Plates" - which has one of the funniest songs I've heard in "Maureen" and a song I can relate to in "Baby I've Changed". When we got back, my free plays had reset and I recorded their debut "Fountains of Wayne". By then it was April 3rd and "Traffic and Weather" was available, so I bought it.

Now I had all 86 tracks of their published music. But that still wasn't enough. While obsessing about the group one day while Googling, I saw that FoW made an appearance on an NPR program and that the good people of NPR were making the audio available with the click of a button. You know what that meant: more recording. Then I saw that they would be hosting an XM Loft Session. 45 minutes more of acoustic Adam and Chris - the brains behind the group. Further searches turn up nothing more. So I think that I have all I can get...for now.

With only a couple of exceptions - in my car and at home - this is all that I've been listening to. It's not the first time it's happened to me. Other artists and/or groups to have been the object of my obsession are: Elvis Costello, Squeeze (both of which were referenced by FoW during their Loft Session - a huge plus), The Police, REM, Bob Marley, The Bangles, Steely Dan, The Guess Who, Bruce Springsteen, and of course, The Beatles. They're in pretty good company in my opinion.

If you feel inclined to check them out beyond "Stacy's Mom", I'd suggest you listen to "Welcome Interstate Managers" first. Its loaded with great music that will appeal to a wide audience. If you want to hear more of their guitar work, move on to "Utopia Parkway" or their self-titled album. If you want more evolved sounds, take a listen to their newest, "Traffic and Weather". Many of the people who have been with them from the beginning are disappointed by their last 2 efforts because they feel they've abandoned their roots of solid guitar pop. And to some extent they may be right. But would they rather have had The Beatles stay in the "Love Me Do" phase and never create "Sgt. Peppers" or "Abbey Road"? Or how about Bob Dylan sticking with "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" (which is a great song!) and never see him record "Tangled Up in Blue" (my personal favorite of his)? And I suppose REM was to continue "Murmur"-ing and never go "Out of Time". I don't think so. So don't listen to early fans that want things to stay the same. Both of these efforts are great. And so is their earlier work. Try it all. Who knows, maybe you'll obsess over them, too...

And I didn't forget my 10 years ago reference. Does anyone remember "That Thing You Do" - the movie written and directed by Tom Hanks? It followed the short career of a fictitious 1960s one-hit-wonder group called The Wonders and their hit "That Thing You Do". Even thou I didn't see the movie until 2 years after it had come out, I owned a copy of the soundtrack based on the title track shortly after it came out. The title track was so infectious! During my research on FoW, I found that Adam Schlesinger, one of FoW's primary songwriters, wrote the song. So, to some extent, I HAVE been listening to them for years...and I think their FABULOUS!

Life Lessons

Among the toys The Boy received for Christmas this year was the Lego version of Darth Vader's Tie Fighter.  He's only seen each movie once or twice (except for Episode III, which he hasn't seen yet - not sure his sister could handle the ending) but is totally plugged in to the mythos.  Playing hours of Lego Star Wars on the Playstation 2 nurtured it, but building his own ship just cemented his love for the saga.  And made him thirsty for more.  For his birthday, he asked for and received the Lego versions of the X-Wing fighter and General Grievous' starfighter.  But in between then, he lobbied to buy an Imperial AT ST with his own hard earned can-crushing money.

We tried to dissuade him, citing all the toys he had just received at Christmas and the gifts he was sure to receive for his birthday in March.  Even if he didn't receive it from us, he might from one of his aunts or uncles. I also explained to him that if he bought it, he'd wipe out nearly all the money he had saved up to that point.  If he spent it, he'd have to save longer for purchases like the laser dart tag and Lego Star Wars II video game that he'd been talking about longer than the Lego model.  Words like these seemed to fall from my mouth much too easy.  With good reason.  They were the same ones my dad would use on me time and time again when I had money burning a hole in my pocket.  Now I know that he was trying to build a good financial decision foundation in his son.  But back then I resented it.  It seemed he brought it up with every purchase I wanted to make, to the point that I rarely bought anything and spent Saturday mornings counting quarters ($.75/week allowance) like King Midas.  This lasted until college when I had my own job and cheap access to used records.  But that's a story for another day.  I promised myself that I would never use those words to manipulate (which is what I thought happened to me) - only to educate.  So when I heard myself begin Dad's diatribe, I changed it to become a dialoge.  After explaining the principles of "which do you want more", I asked him if he understood and never brought it up again.  It seemed to work until we got back from vacation and he saw the girls celebrating their birthdays with gifts.  The "can I buy it now?" question resurfaced.  Busy-ness during the month of April has prevented us from getting together with my sister and her family for gift exchanges, so we were still able to use the soon-to-be gift excuse to hold him off.

Fast forward to today.  Prudence left at noon to attend a women's retreat with some other moms, which left me in sole charge of the kids.  Friday afternoons, The Boy and Em attend a gym and swim program at the local YMCA, so I took time off work to take them.  On the way, The Boy asked me if we could go to Walmart so he could buy the AT ST.  I reminded him that we would get together in the next couple of weeks for more gift exchanges.  He informed me that he now wanted to create an army of AT STs, and that buying one before he received one from his aunt would work out in his plan.  After making sure of this, I agreed to let him buy one.  So he counted out his $22 (made up mostly of $1 bills and quarters), put it in a zip lock bag, and tucked it away in his backpack.  After gym and swim, we visited the Walmart where he last saw one.  They were out.  Luckily, there is another Walmart within a few miles (almost becoming like Starbucks in this part of the country).  They were out as well.  I told him we would try Target and Toys R Us.  If they didn't have one, he wasn't meant to have one.  But when we arrived at Target, they had 2.  He took one to the cashier and gave her 2 fists of money - bills in one hand, metal in the other.  She didn't even count the quarters - she just took my word for it (yes, I did recount it!) and gave him his receipt.  After all the waiting and work it took to get the goods, I expected to see a "bouncy Tigger" with a big grin on his face.  But he simply took the bag and left the store.

Five minutes down the road, I heard him say something that will stay with me the rest of my life:  "I thought I'd be happier, but I just feel empty."  I asked him what he meant by that.  He said he expected the toy to bring joy, but he didn't feel any.  Even though he couldn't verbalize it, it wasn't that he didn't want the toy.  He just wasn't sure that this was the right time or way to get it.  I believe he also realized that he didn't really buy the "army of AT STs" rationalization he'd sold himself earlier. We talked about the idea that everything we do/give/receive comes as a cost.  And that we have to weight that cost.  He asked me if the choice he'd made to buy the toy was a good one.  I told him only he could make that decision.  But I asked him to think about it overnight before opening the box - just in case he wanted to return it.  He asked me how much Lego Star Wars II cost.  When I told him he went silent for a few minutes.  Trust me, this is rare for him.  He just stared at the box.  After a while he asked if it would be okay to wait to build the AT ST until after we saw his aunt.  "Not a problem, buddy."  Then he wished he had a good hiding place for the toy.  I told him I'd take care of it.  After all this, he seemed to be at peace with the decision.  Only once later in the night did he come to me with a request to open the box (while it was still out on the counter), but he stopped himself in mid-sentence.  He realized he was being tempted to go back on his agreement, and overcame it.

Sometimes the best lessons are learned when you're not in school.  My dad would be so proud.

Back to Reality

When our plane touched down at 5:30am on Friday and it taxied to our gate, I knew what our stewardess was going to say...and I dreaded it. It's the same phrase you hear at the end of every flight: "We know you have a choice in airlines, and we thank you for choosing United". But this one would be special. Not only would it signal the end to our trip to Paradise, but it would also be punctuated with a word I'm sure not to hear any time soon on the mainland: Mahalo, the Hawaiian word for "thank you". It's the one native word I had managed to work into my vocabulary, and this was the last opportunity to hear it and use it. In a matter of moments, I would be back in Chicago listening to everyone talk like a member of the Superfans ("tanks!", "what haive you", "over by der", etc.). Not something I was ready to go back to. But it happened. She said "Mahalo" and I returned the phrase as I left. We walked the gangway and were back to light jackets and jeans, fast-paced walking, and surely cab drivers. The dream was over and it was back to reality.

Here are a few notes from the trip:

• Our flight there was great. We were worried about how we would entertain the kids for 9 hours in a confined space, but thanks to in-flight movies ("Happy Feet" and "Night at the Museum"), my brother-in-law's portable DVD player (with spare battery), and the fascination with airplane bathrooms, we made it without a hitch. I listened to an hour of my audiobook, "1776", watched the above movies (plus "Casino Royale"), and took a short nap. We were there before we knew it.
• We stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki on Oahu. I woke up at 3:30am the first night there and couldn't go back to sleep. So I went for a drive up to Diamondhead and watched the sunrise. Pretty cool. And I made it back to join the family for a tremendous "everything" omelette (including spam and shrimp) at the Seaside Cafe!
• The kids, Prudence, and her sister swam with dolphins at the Sea Life Park. I'm just glad The Boy didn't stick his finger in the blow hole.
• We played on an incredible white sandy beach in Lanikai with some great snorkeling and a view of 2 small islands off shore. Very picturesque.
• We endured a long drive and day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Don't get me wrong - there were some cool things to see and learn there, but at 5-6 hours with kids was too long. And I'm not sure how many times rednecks from Illinois can watch natives stomp, clap, and hula. To top it off, my brother in law had a bout of "Hawaiian revenge" from some Chinese food he ate at lunch.
• We couldn't visit Hawaii without a trip to the USS Arizona memorial. What a moving experience. We also toured the USS Bowfin and USS Missouri.
• Our family visited 3 beaches on the North Shore. Lots of surfing. None by me. I'd end up eating a rock like Greg Brady. But we did climb around some cool tide pools with water so clear it was like looking thru glass.
• On Monday we left for Maui. We spent the entire afternoon in Lahaina. They had a local craft show that took a lot of our souvenir money. Prudence ended up with a jewelry box made of koa wood, inlayed with shell in the color and shape of turtles. We also bought Christmas ornaments made of koa and shells for the kids. I bought a surfer-type necklace that features blue coral. Panda also chose a necklace. Em wanted dolphin earrings. And The Boy picked a men's jewelry box for his shark tooth necklace. I also bought my Hawaiian shirt there, as well as an orange & blue Maui cap. I paid $10 for the cap, then wandered down 2 stores and found it for $7. Later in the week I found the same hat in a K-Mart for $5. So I bought another one.
• Tuesday found us whale watching. On the way to the whale tour, Prudence spotted a momma and calf just north of Lahaina, so we pulled over to watch them swim and play. As they moved down the coast, we followed them. After a quick bite at Peggy Sue's (thanks for the tip, Aynde! The kids especially liked the juke box that played real 45s!), we set out on our tour and met up with another mom/calf pair. These 2 were flanked by a primary and secondary male escorts, so we got to see and hear a lot of whale pick up lines. Nothing seemed to work for the poor guys, but it kept the trip at a G or PG rating.
• Tuesday night was our luau at the Old Lahaina Luau. Great setting and show. Good food - if you like Hawaiian food.
• Wednesday we woke up at 3am to make the trek to the top of Haleakala to see the sunrise from above the clouds. it's a 2+ hour and -50 degree trip from our condo. When we arrived it was 36 degrees. The Boy did nothing but complain until the sun came up. But it was a breathtaking site. The trip back down the mountain was just as impressive. So many incredible views.
• Our last beach run was to Kapalua. The cove we swam in had righteous waves. The surfers could ride them easily to shore. The kids enjoyed body surfing and jumping into the waves, but they knocked Prudence on her butt. To top it off, we had another whale show. This time a calf breeched (jumped out of the water) at least 4-5 times. Incredible!
• Thursday we began the journey back at 7:30am (actually Prudence and I were up at 5:30am). We flew to Oahu to catch our flight home, but had a 5 hour layover there. So we rented a couple of cars and drove the 10 minutes back to the Pearl Harbor sites where the kids could expend some energy before the long flight home. With the time change, we arrived in Chicago at 5:30am. But we still had a long drive back to the Bloomington area. After picking up Lance (freshly groomed!), we arrived back at our house at 11:30am. The end to a LONG day.

Much sleep ensued on Friday and Saturday. And after avoiding a cold before and during the trip, I finally came down with a bit of a head cold on Sunday. Lance really brought us back to reality this morning. Beginning at 2:30am, he woke us up every hour or so with a bad case of diarrhea. Unfortunately we all had to leave the house this morning, so he left us a lovely mess to clean up when we came home. Yup, the vacation is truly over.

Pictures will be coming soon. You thought I wrote a lot. I need to weed thru almost 6GB of data to pull out the keepers from all the thumb shots. Plus I need to get my taxes done. The reality just keeps coming...