Is It Getting Better ...

"One" may very well be U2's most-famous song, and maybe it's because of that that the song stirs up quite a lot of debate in the U2 fan community. Since its live debut in the early 1990s, the song has been a concert mainstay and the moment when concertgoers grab their lighters or cell phones to light up the night sky if they love the song, or just wait for the whole thing to be over if they don't.

I do love this song, quite a bit, actually, but I can see how easy it would be for some people to be over it. It is one of the few U2 songs that gets any real radio play anymore, which is so absurd considering this comes from a band with well over 500 songs to its credit, the worst of which run circles around most of today's biggest pop hits.

For nearly 20 years, "One" has managed to hold on, becoming a pop culture hallmark (as evidenced by that Bank of America version a few years back or "Glee's" cover last season) because it's a fantastic, moving, honest song that speaks to people in bad times and in good. That's why I love it.

I think Bono has given a different interpretation for the song each time he's interviewed about it. It's definitely about a relationship, but the exact relationship changes, it's either romantic, platonic or familial. I've tended to connect with the song on the family level, thinking of it after run ins with particular family members I have very strained relationships with. The song fits those relationships so perfectly that I've been tempted to send it off those family members, hoping they'd understand what I hear when Bono sings, "Did I ask too much? More than a lot? You gave me nothing, now it's all I got" or, "I can't be holding on to what you've got when all you've got is hurt." I couldn't have said it better myself.

That's my take on it, based completely on my life, my relationships and my experiences. Like all great art, "One's" meaning changes depending on the audience. A song that garners so many different reactions and interpretations can't have just one video, so U2 made three. I think Anton Corbijn's original version shot in Berlin is my favorite, but Phil Joanou's New York City version is also very special, so I share it with you now. Watch, listen, enjoy and find your own connection to "One."

Easy A

I've grown up in a world where teen culture has consistently ruled. It started with the baby boomers, my mom's generation, the first generation to prove that teenagers were a worthy market to pander to, so, as a result, books, television, music and movies have been created specifically for this group but consumed by all the rest of us.

I've been consuming teen media since I was around six and my babysitter would watch "Square Pegs." From there, it was the John Hughes oeuvre, "Saved by the Bell," teen magazines, NKOTB, "Clueless" and on and on. As I've gotten older, my appreciation for teen culture hasn't waned. Well into my twenties I was watching all that The N (now Teen Nick) and the pre-Miley Cyrus Disney Channel had to offer. I will stop to watch "A Cinderella Story," "John Tucker Must Die" and other better-quality teen movies whenever they're on TV.

Like I wrote a few months ago when I got the "Daria" DVD set, I think all these teen stories still appeal to me, and to so many other people ("Gossip Girl" wouldn't be as popular as it is if only teenagers watched), because, even as adults, we don't have it figured out and we don't always fit in.

That struggle is what "Easy A" is all about. The clever premise and fantastic cast piqued my interest earlier this year when I first saw the trailers and pop-ups at the movie theater, and I was happy that I finally got to see it tonight. The movie is so smart and funny and ultimately honest, but still romantic and fantastic and hopeful. It shows how terrible girls can be to one another, how human teachers and parents are, and how hard it is to be different, but then it does have the well-deserved justice that rarely seems to come in real life, and the perfect guy coming at the perfect time and saying the perfect thing in the most-perfect way imaginable.

In case you've missed it, here's the preview:



Emma Stone carries the movie effortlessly as Olive, too smart for her own good and too awkward to catch a break. Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church and Lisa Kudrow are fantastic as the mostly well-meaning adults. The friends and foes at Olive's school are equally great; particularly Amanda Bynes as the self-important leader of the school Christian club and Penn Badgley as Olive's perfect guy, and maybe mine, too.

After seeing the also-great "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" on its opening weekend in a nearly empty theater, I was so glad to see "Easy A," now two weeks old, in a theater that was more than half-full. It not only does my heart good to see people flocking to a movie as smart as "Easy A," this kind of success can only lead to more teen movies being made that are just like it, clever, funny, sweet and worth seeing again and again.

Off the subject, but OMG, tonight's "Simpsons" may be the best yet with appearances by the cast of "Glee," Flight of the Conchords and Ira Glass.

Please

OK, taking another entry from John Mayer because what he's writing has once again clicked with me. I think we all get into the habit of talking ourselves out of doing things before we even try. Why? Of course things could go all pear-shaped, but they could also go completely right.

Whether it's something as relatively minor as cutting your hair or something potentially life-changing like going for a new job, give it a go! You could end up having an experience so great it becomes one of your best stories. You could learn a fantastic lesson that sends you on a better course. You could meet someone who sets your world on its head for a bit.

Whatever the outcome, it's worth it to try. What's the alternative? If you constantly talk yourself out of doing or trying or being anything, you're left with nothing.

I went to my last concert of the summer last night and do promise that very, very soon I will be summing up my summer with Carole King & James Taylor, Ringo & His All-Starr Band, Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes, John Mayer, and Green Day. Until then, John Mayer's latest journal entry:

Please

I’m not out to please everybody - I’ve actually been out to try not to displease anybody, and that’s even harder work. It’s like Prozac for creativity - cutting off the highs and lows and the risks and the rewards so that nobody walks away from a show or listens to an album with a passionate enough take on what they didn’t like. Maybe I’ll take ten minutes each show for the rest of this tour and just play shit I love but think might turn people off. Then when the tour is done I’m going to take a good long nap and work on becoming irrelevant. I think that’s what’s bugged me so much about the last few weeks of stupid media speculation. I’ve been hard at work since spring trying to become irrelevant in all the places where being relevant gave me a headache and made me rock my right leg back and forth and made me ask my therapist if my heroes’ ghosts would hate me and basically take a match to the bottom of any moment with half a shot of being a proud one. I think I owe it to my fans to disregard them during the making of an album. Writing music while also writing a future negative review of the music is a really great way to make slop. Of course, then I’d still be aware that I was trying to be unaware, so right there I’ve got the makings of a head-shaped hole in my own ass. Do you see what I’m saying here? If I don’t risk it all on tape soon I’m going to be in trouble. I need to be loud. Slightly out of tune. Stick around in a solo a little too long. Maybe not know exactly what I’m doing and let that be the document.

See? I almost did it again. I just told myself that I shouldn’t post this because maybe people would think I didn’t enjoy the tour I was on, which I absolutely love. I just considered the consideration, which is what I said I wouldn’t do. So now I’m definitely posting this. I’m excited. I keep talking about how I’m going to disappear on a ranch somewhere when really I’m going to go straight into a studio. But when I do I’m going to waste lots of time. Which really isn’t wasting time, it’s giving myself some room to play and jam and experiment. But I have to call it wasting time because my preset is to walk out of the studio on day two and have a “big” song with only a missing line in the bridge. I should call it what it is - being a musician and experimenting and not caring about anything else but what’s hiding inside and what I need to get out, no matter how long that takes. I need to make what I think is shit, which will be nothing close to shit. It’ll just be free.

This is how I talk when I get excited for the future but still have to live through the present. Oh, well. I’m gonna go track down a sandwich.

Two Quarters and a Heart Down

Listening to my iPod today for the first time in ages. Proud to save I haven't skipped past a single song because they've all rocked, every one of them has been a nice surprise, a window on a happy memory, a path down a lovely escape route. With decent headphones, everything is amplified.

The song that got me hardest today was Fall Out Boy's "Dance, Dance." I've listened to that song hundreds of times since first catching FOB fever (OK, Pete Wentz fever followed by Patrick Stump fever) three years ago, but I guess my car speakers are way worse than I thought because this was the first time I really, truly heard the song, and damn it's great.

The talented and adorable Patrick Stump was lustfully chatting all those sweet nothings in my ear and I couldn't concentrate on my editing for a minute. Praise that rock 'n roll music!

I have shows to report on and other goodness to share, but all of that will have to wait until another day, this afternoon is all about sharing the Fall Out Boy love. The guys got a bum rap, being cast into that guilty pleasure pit, and are now scampering off to do other projects, conquer the world in new ways, but the young, adorable, full-of-bravado versions I was first introduced to will always hold a special place in my heart.

I don't see how anyone can watch this video and not fall for Pete or Patrick or Joe or Andy (or all of them) just a little bit. I also don't see how you can sit calmly in your seat when this song comes on, it's called "Dance, Dance" for a reason.

Simple

First things first, the African Well Fund did win one of the $20,000 donations in Chase Community Giving today so thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for casting votes and asking everyone you know to do the same. This is truly a case of a few people working together to make a positive change in the world, because of 1,503 votes thousands of people are going to have access to clean water and sanitation. Thank you!

And now for something completely different. I think I should just have John Mayer write journal entries for me, because so much of what he writes matches up with how I feel or somehow manages to shine a light on something I've been investigating for a while.

In his downtime before the North American leg of his summer tour launches (orchestra seats for Irvine in August, hell yeah!), he took the time to share this with all his readers, and now I share it with you.

Simple.
I wish that when I was younger I could have met my current self. We would have sat down at a coffee shop so that I could explain life to young me in terms that only we would understand. It would have saved me a lot of hardship.

You can listen to all the sage wisdom you want, but things only make sense when you can explain them to yourself in your own words. For instance, I’ve been told for three years that Breaking Bad is the best show on television, but only after I watched it was I able to tell myself exactly why everyone was right. Other truths I know now that I can explain them: that I’m not missing any crucial information and that poker really isn’t all that fun; that heartbreaks do fade but they take about a year longer than you expect and by the time they do you really don’t care about it enough to notice; and above all else, life is simpler than you think.

I used to think that life was an intricate series of levers and pulleys, buttons and switches, Mexican standoffs and hostage negotiations. As I get older I realize that life is more Netherlands minimalist than Jackson Pollock. The problems don’t get fewer, and in fact they grow in number, but the way I index them in the database is different. More problems get filed under fewer category headers.

Things are getting simpler, and it’s making life better. Here’s the cheat sheet:

People want to be liked. We all crave attention and affection and we all reject shame. When we get embarrassed we send a thug version of ourselves to the forefront to do our fighting for us. We’re at the top of the food chain just under fear. We don’t want to be in a relationship to hear the words “I love you,” we want to be in a relationship to say the words “I love you.” We want to feel needed, and exceptional and we hate feeling insignificant. We want to ace a hearing test. We are binary creatures; if we’re the plaintiff, we want to win every dollar. If we’re the defendant, we want guard every penny. We want to make more money than last year. We don’t want to get cancer or die in our cars and we want the same for our loved ones. We go out on weekends to try and have sex while trying not to get punched in the face. We drink so we can be ourselves and not mind it so much. We’re desperate to be understood. We want to know someone else has felt it, too. We hate being judged unfairly. We want to make the person we heard wasn’t all that into us change their minds and admit they had us wrong. We want sunny skies with a chance of killer tornadoes, just to keep music sounding good. We take hours upon hours to admit to self consciousness. We don’t know exactly how to pleasure each other. We just want love. In any and every form.

See? It’s simple. :)

African Well Fund and Chase Community Giving

I was anti-Facebook for the longest time. Maybe it was because MySpace hadn't done much for me, or maybe it was because I'm anti anything new and supposedly cool and all that, but for whatever reason I held out until earlier this month. It's a fun thing to be a part of, I get to share pictures with friends all around the world (or at least check out the pictures they've posted of us) and keep up with my cousins. Facebook also gives me the chance to tell more people about the African Well Fund.

Right now, AWF is taking part in Chase Community Giving, an online challenge sponsored by the banking company in which grassroots, nonprofit organizations ask their supporters to cast votes for them. The organization with the most votes will earn a $250,000 donation from Chase, the next four charities will get $100,000 and the next 195 will get $20,000. AWF has held steady in the top 200 since voting began on June 15 but needs continued support to win one of the donations when voting ends on July 12.

If you're on Facebook, you can help AWF win one of the donations up for grabs by becoming a fan of Chase Community Giving and casting your vote for African Well Fund Inc. Everyone has 20 votes to cast and can cast one vote per charity. After five and 20 votes, you earn gift votes that can be sent to friends who can use those votes for any organization, even one they've already voted for.

African Well Fund is currently raising money to fund a water pump project in Benin. Winning one of the donations from Chase will help fund this project and provide a reliable clean water source to as many as 1,000 people. Learn more about the project here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting the African Well Fund!!

What do you do when you are having an awful day?

John Mayer answers reader questions on his blog and this one stuck out to me quite a bit. Seems like we've all been having bad days lately, some worse than others. It's nice to get a little perspective, nice to know you're not alone in it. Like U2 said, "This time will pass."

Q: What do you do when you are having an awful day?
-- asked by mmkayy


A: First of all, sorry you're having an awful day. (People don't ask these kinds of questions when they're sipping drinks by a pool.)

What do I do when I'm having an awful day? I time travel. Well, sort of. Here's how I cheat the math:

Question: Is this problem going to change your life forever or will there come a day this problem will no longer exist?

If you decide the problem won't exist after a certain period of time, then you can file it under "temporary." Which brings me to step number two: if the problem is temporary, then you can sort of detach from the "now-ness" of the discomfort. I'm not saying ignore the lessons in the problem. Definitely learn from the problem, work to solve it, but spare yourself the existential grief, because it will get you nowhere. (This coming from an existential grief-master.)

Okay, better way to explain it: you wake up to find you have a giant zit on your nose. Everyone can see it. But within a week that zit will be gone and nobody will remember you had a zit. Maybe they'll have one instead. So if the zit will be gone next week and people will forget, is the zit REALLY there now? I say you can answer "no" if you bend your brain around it the right way.

You can't travel through time, but you can send your thoughts and hopes into the future to camp out and wait for you to arrive there, where you'll meet up and hug and decide that everything is alright again.

Henry Rollins at Largo

I have a safety pin stamped on my hand, a fading reminder of the amazing time I had last night at Largo, a tiny theater in Los Angeles. My brother, nephew and I were second row center for the last of Henry Rollins' three-night spoken-word stand at the theater, a three-hour show that was hilarious and thoughtful and inspiring and reinforced why I have so admired this man for more than half my life.

I was introduced to Rollins in high school by my then-boyfriend who told me about this punk rock singer who wrote poetry. How could I not be hooked? I saw him perform with Rollins Band for the first time in 1994 and I got my first, and favorite, book, "One From None," a few months later. Soon followed more books and CDs, some music, most spoken word.

On his spoken word CDs, Rollins would talk about having his number listed in the phone book and answering calls and letters from kids in trouble. I wasn't in trouble, but I definitely could use some guidance from someone older, someone who made it out of a tough childhood, someone who'd seen a bit of the world, so I sent him a letter and asked for some advice. My brother was sorting the mail one day when he asks, "Who's Henry?" I couldn't think who Henry was, so he handed me the index card repurposed as a postcard that was addressed to me and had a perfectly thoughtful one-sentence answer to my question signed "Henry." Yeah, he wrote me back, twice in fact. I'll never forget that he took the time to think about me and my teenage problems and try to send some advice that would make me feel better, make me feel like my situation wasn't hopeless.

In that time, I also developed a crush that's never gone away.

My first spoken word show was in 1996 at Cal State Fullerton (front row center) and I met the man for the first time a year later at a book signing. I had so many things I wanted to say, like thank you, but as I moved closer and closer to the front of the snaking line, closer and closer to this amazing man in his black slacks, shiny dress shoes and silver long-sleeved shirt with banded collar (a perfect fit for a buff guy with a square jaw), I lost all composure and could only manage, "Hi!Wouldyousignmybookforme?" He wrote in my well-word copy of "One From None," "Hello from Henry Rollins."

He's signed a few more books for me, but that first one is still the most special, and, along with the postcards he sent me, among the items I would try to grab in a fire.

I did actually talk to him a year later, encouraged/pushed by a friend who knew I wouldn't be able to live myself if I chickened out a second time. I thanked him for answering my letter, told him how much it meant to me. He told me how hard he tried to answer all the letters he got from kids asking him for help. In between touring the world with spoken word shows, writing books, acting in TV and movies, hosting a weekly radio show, working with the USO and on and on, I think he still does.

I've been to eight Henry Rollins spoken word shows and two Rollins band shows. I've met him five times. I interviewed him for my college paper. I always have a picture of him on my desk. I have my books and CDs and ticket stubs and T-shirts. I have my article and interview notes. I still don't have a picture, yet, but feel pretty confident I'll get that chance at some show someday.

In being a Henry Rollins fan for 16 years, I know that he's not everyone's cup of tea, I know that some people think he's too angry, too preachy. I know there are people who don't agree with his political views or musical tastes (he famously dislikes U2). I know I'll never be able to convince them of the greatness I see and hear at any of his shows, in any of his books, on any of his CDs. Sometimes I think if they really listened, they'd understand why I still get so excited about going to see him in action, about reading his blogs for VanityFair.com, about him in general.

For instance, he gave this fantastic commencement speech last year in Northern California. I like that he not only respects people who are educated, but also has high expectations for what those grads (and the rest of us) can accomplish with that knowledge.

His shows mix that inspirational vibe with comedy, such as this clip:



Last night with Henry Rollins was an awesome three-hour ride. Sure, I didn't home until after 1 and had a very hard time getting out of bed for work this morning, but it was totally worth it getting to spend some time with one of my favorite people.

Teenage Kicks

I never understood adults who talk about their teenage years being the best time of their life. I remember myself from the ages of 13–19, I felt awkward and frustrated and lonely and powerless and wanted nothing more than for those times to be over. Go back to that? No thank you!

Now that I'm quite beyond those teenage years, I don't have that drippy nostalgia that leads women of questionable age to get tramp stamps and spend thousands of dollars on various torturous procedures that keep them looking "young" (if "young" means stretched and pulled within an inch of your life), but I do have such a fondness for teenage culture. I enjoy tuning into "Degrassi" or watching Zac Efron movies or catching a "One Tree Hill" marathon on SOAPNet or blasting Fall Out Boy's teen angst anthems at full blast on my very long commute.

With my purchase of the "Daria" boxed set a few weeks back, a release I'd been anticipating for years, I think I finally figured out my teenaged pop culture tastes. Even though I am very much no longer a teenager, there are still so many times when I feel as awkward and frustrated and lonely and powerless as I did when I was a scrawny girl with braces and terrible hair, and there are still definitely times when I want nothing more than for these times to be over.



I'm about five discs into the eight-disc "Daria" set and have loved every minute of it. It takes me back to my college days when the show first came on MTV and I was so happy to have a television character to relate to, even if she was animated. It also takes me back to my high school days when I would get frustrated in English class because everyone was happy to just give stock answers and never delve deeper, the times when I wondered how my brother and I could have grown up in the same house but have such different priorities, the times when my friendships would thrive or crumble, the times when I would fall hard for a rebel boy and never quite know how to act around him.

Who wouldn't want to relive that?

With the "Daria" set, I get a sharper view of that time and it helps me realize that even though there are days when I feel like my 13-year-old self, I know that I'm no longer that girl, that I am stronger and smarter and calmer than she was. I may not be the person I dreamt I'd be back then, but I am a pretty good version of myself for right now. And maybe 15 years from now I'll have some kind of weird nostalgia for my 30s on days when I get stuck inside the groove, but hopefully I'll be able to really look at myself, look at my life and see that I'm in a pretty good place.

Wherever Daria and Jane and their compatriots ended up, I hope that they're happy with where their lives are at, too.

YouTube is filled with many clips, episodes and odes to "Daria." This one caught my attention because I do have a soft spot for Trent, who is a bit of a dirt bag but has a really good heart.

Half of My Heart

I'm sending out best wishes to a few of my favorite guys today. Last week, Bono had to undergo emergency back surgery so U2's North American tour has been postponed to next year. I was supposed to see the band next Sunday in Anaheim and the following week in Oakland, so have to admit I'm a little disappointed that I have to wait nearly a year to see the band live again, but I hope Bono will take the time to fully recover.

Yesterday, John Mayer announced the postponement of his remaining European tour dates because he's had to come home to recover from illness.

To both of you, get well soon!!

John Mayer's latest video also premiered yesterday. It's for the song "Half of My Heart," which has really grown on me since "Battle Studies" first came out. Even though this duet with Taylor Swift doesn't fully live up to the Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty comparisons that have been made about it, "Half of My Heart" is still a really good song and I like the video, too. How does an artist recover his image after being trashed every which way for being a unapologetic heartbreaker? By casting himself as a runaway groom, of course.

Enjoy!

Dancing in the Dark

Today is Triple Play Thursday on The Sound, so I was enjoying their U2 block and stayed on for Bruce Springsteen. I am an admirer of Bruce Springsteen but not a super-fan; I own two albums ("Born to Run" and "Born in the USA") and have a few favorite songs ("Born to Run" topping that list and many others) but have never seen the man or his E Street Band in concert and don't know about all the bootlegs and rarities and imports and all that. But when I hear one of the Bruce songs that I love, I turn it up and sing along.

One of those songs was part of today's triple play—"Dancing in the Dark." I've liked this song since I was a kid when the video was being played all the time and the world was first introduced to Courtney Cox. As I've gotten older and learned the words and felt the words more and more, I've grown to love the song.

A lot of us are in a physical, spiritual, emotional or metaphysical place we don't care for very much and want desperately to change. Wanting to change and actually making change happen are two very different things, which is what "Dancing in the Dark" is all about for me. I've been waiting for that spark, that jolt for so long, maybe I have to ignite it myself.

I'll keep you posted.



One more thing, there are just 11 more days until Bono turns 50 and the African Well Fund's Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser ends. The support so far has been amazing but AWF can still use all the support it can get to reach its goal of raising $50,000 in honor of this amazing man's big day to fund a clean water and sanitation project in Zimbabwe. For more information, including how you can make a donation, click here. Thank you!!

For the Boys

Just wanted to throw out a few things relating to two of my favorite boys tonight. First, the African Well Fund is 26 days into its 50-day campaign to raise $50,000 in honor of Bono's 50th birthday to fund a clean water and sanitation project in sub-Saharan Africa. If you'd like to learn more about this campaign inspired by an amazing man, click here.

Second, John Mayer wrapped up the winter leg of his tour this week in Chicago and posted a great thank-you note to his fans on one of his blogs. As a fan who attended one of his shows (and will be buying tickets Monday for a summer date), I appreciate that he takes the time now and again to say thank you to all of us and hope to one day be able to thank him as well because his music has ridden along with me during some bumpy times, and will continue to. The note was heartfelt and sweet, so I wanted to share it:

Greetings from the land of decompression…

The Battle Studies winter tour is a wrap!

As a thank you to everyone who came out to a show on this tour, my friend 13th Witness put together a little video memoir of the times we had on the road.

To those who came out…It’s safe to say I had some great times and some not-so-great times on this run. Every second on stage was an uplifting and beautiful experience for me, as I hope it was for you. My new favorite part of playing shows is looking around and watching you. It’s impossible to take a second of this for granted when I can see you letting loose and dancing and singing along and getting to watch that weight on your shoulders lift for 2 hours.

Everything in my life seems to happen in multiples of 1,000. The good happens 1,000 times greater and the not-so-good seems to follow that math as well. But the most amazing part of working in those multiples is getting to meet so many different types of people who come to my shows. I have met fans who tell me their stories of how my music got them through unthinkably tough times, and those who are celebrating the best times in their lives with me.

The days of my “talkin’ loud and sayin’ nothing” are over. I have been given a big voice that reaches so many different walks of life, and I never want to lose sight of that.

Thanks for standing not only in front of me, but also by my side…

See you this Summer?

John

Accompanying that was a cool video featuring candid snippets from the tour, all set to "Edge of Desire," one of my favorite songs off of "Battle Studies" (I love its restrained intensity), so I wanted to share that, too.

National Express

Working at home has many benefits, including being able to stream radio. Today, I have been listening to Ireland's RTE 2fm for the first time in about five years. One song they played took me back to my first trip to Ireland and our bus' theme song, "National Express" by Divine Comedy.

I haven't heard that song in seven or eight years, but perked up as soon as the tune started in. This was the song that woke us up in the morning and got us excited for our next destination. Hearing it today, I saw the faces of my tour mates, the piles of peet being harvested on the side of the road, the flocks of sheep, the puffy clouds.

I can't believe it's been so long since I was last in Ireland. Though I've only spent a few days there in my entire life, it's stuck with me. I should go back.

So wake up everybody and get ready for your next exciting destination with "National Express."

John Mayer and Michael Franti & Spearhead at Staples Center

Twenty-four hours ago I was walking around the Staples Center, smiling at the memories that lurk around the place and eagerly awaiting John Mayer's show that night. The man far exceeded my wide-eyed expectations.

I will freely admit that I am quite biased when it comes to John Mayer. I'm a fan because I think he's immensely talented and also because we seem to speak the same language, have the same reference points, have muddled through similar wastelands in our heads (OK, so I don't have the paparazzi camped outside my door to find out which A-lister I'm sleeping with, but I can relate to that feeling of being 32 and knowing that this is nothing like you thought 32 would be and seeing that you have a list of things you'd like to accomplish in your life but knowing the time, energy and skill it would take to get it all done are fleeting).

I think Ben Wener, pop music critic for the OC Register (and a former editor of mine), hit the nail on the head for me, "Staples Center was packed to the rafters Thursday night with thousands of screaming fans—guys who want to be him, women who’d gladly let him peruse porn for two hours before sleeping with him, and people of both genders who simply think he’s among the finest purveyors of sophisticated pop music today." Yeah, I think I fall into two of those camps.

Michael Franti & Spearhead opened the show. I'd heard the name but didn't know much about the group until I heard an interview with Franti on NPR a few months ago. After more than 10 years in the business, he's had his first Top 20 single ("Say Hey (I Love You)") so was warmly embraced by the crowd—Staples Center was about two-thirds full for the opening set, which so rarely happens.

Franti & Spearhead brought so much happy, infectious energy to the arena. People were dancing, jumping, singing, waving their arms, couples were making out, there was just a really joyful vibe in the place. Franti walked around the floor, performing from the audience (even in my section!), and I think that helped to condense the massive Staples Center. Granted, I was in the first section above the floor, but the place felt intimate and unified.



I was really impressed with Michael Franti & Spearhead and think they'd make a great opener for U2.

Then it was time for John Mayer. He had a great stage enclosed in a translucent drape. A silhouetted video of the performer doing his pre-show preparations (coat on, walking up the narrow corridor, etc.) was projected on the drape as the opening notes to "Heartbreak Warfare" started up. The curtains opened and John Mayer was at the mic, backed by a newish band that features three long-time collaborators (Robbie McIntosh and David Ryan Harris on guitars and Steve Jordan on drums) and four newcomers (or at least new to me—Sean Hurley on bass, Charlie Wilson on keyboards, and Julie Delgado and Melanie Taylor on backing vocals).



One thing I've always admired about John Mayer live is that even though his name alone is on the marquee and every ticket, he treats his band as a band and he is just another member. Everyone gets their moment to shine, and when you have really talented, accomplished, veteran musicians sharing the stage with you, it makes sense to share the spotlight, and I think it only adds to John Mayer's credibility that those artists would be willing to travel the world alongside him.

Overall, I was happy with the set list. I really try not to complain about set lists at shows because I'm usually just so excited to be at a show, but I did have one small issue with last night's set—there was not a single song from "Heavier Things" played at the show. I know that with five major-label studio albums under his belt, and the latest needing to be highlighted the most, that it's impossible for him to play every song that everyone would like to hear, but I was surprised that hits like "Bigger Than My Body," "Clarity" or even "Daughters" didn't make the cut.

So while I didn't get to hear anything from what is probably my favorite John Mayer album last night, I did get to hear my favorite John Mayer song, "Why Georgia." Last night was my sixth tine seeing him live, and I think he's played "Why Georgia" at all but one of those shows. That's the song that really caught my attention in 2002 when John Mayer was first catching fire, that's the song that got me to buy "Room for Squares," that's the song that perfectly sums me up when I feel like I'm treading water. I sang myself nearly hoarse on that one.



The covers were great. "Ain't No Sunshine" was just totally stellar and will hopefully get some kind of release. "Half of My Heart" was bumped up so many notches when melded with Fleetwood Mac's gorgeous "Dreams" and Journey's epic "Don't Stop Believing."

He bared his heart a little during some of the on-stage banter, he made fun of himself in songs, he busted some pretty hot moves in advance of Steve Jordan's stunning drum solo, and he showed off all his best guitar tricks. John Mayer was really on last night and I think that might have been the best concert I've ever seen by him.

Since his tour to support "Continuum," John Mayer has sold limited-edition posters for each stop. I have the Hollywood Bowl poster hanging in my room and an Irvine Meadows one somewhere. I bought last night's limited-edition for a somewhat-surprising $40. It's cool to have something that's limited to just 300 prints, but I was still a little hesitant about the amount I spent until I read about this particular print and exactly how special it really is. Shirts last night were selling for nearly that much and I have John Mayer shirts, but this poster is something really special that I'll keep for a long time.



The poster came in a specially made tube that features the John Mayer "Battle Studies" logo and said "Tour 2010–2011." Sounds like he'll be coming back soon. I'd love another outdoor show, maybe at The Greek. Whatever it is, I'll be there.

African Well Fund Launches Eighth Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday Fundraiser

For the past four years, I have been lucky enough to volunteer with the African Well Fund, a completely grassroots, volunteer-run nonprofit founded by U2 fans that raises money to fund clean water and sanitation projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, AWF hosts a fundraiser in honor of Bono's birthday. This year, the U2 lead singer, Nobel Prize nominee, artist, humanitarian, hero to us all is turning 50 so AWF is aiming to raise $50,000 between now and May 10, Bono's birthday. This money will be used to fund a project in Zimbabwe.

To reach this goal, we need to spread the word to as many people as possible, so any support I can get from those of you who happen upon this page from time to time is tremendously appreciated.

Thank you!!

African Well Fund Launches Eighth Annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday Fundraiser

Nonprofit organization hopes to raise $50,000 between March 22 and May 10 to fund water and sanitation projects in Zimbabwe in honor of the U2 lead singer's 50th birthday.

SCHENECTADY , N.Y. – The African Well Fund has launched its eighth annual Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser. To honor the U2 lead singer's 50th birthday, the nonprofit is aiming to raise $50,000 during the 50-day period of March 22 to May 10. All funds raised will benefit a community water and sanitation project in the Buhera District of Zimbabwe that will be implemented by Africare, African Well Fund's partner.

"It makes me proud to be a part of the U2 fan community and, in my opinion, there is no other community like it and that's why this year, in honor of Bono's 50th birthday, we've decided to set our highest goal yet to raise $50,000 in 50 days," said Rob Trigalet, board chairman for the African Well Fund. "We know that it will not only take people donating but, just as important, we'll be asking everyone who supports us to help spread the word through Facebook, Twitter and the various blogs and fan sites that our supporters may be involved with. We think this is a great year to try and really get the word out to as many people as possible."

To reach the $50,000 goal, the African Well Fund is accepting donations through its website, selling a limited-edition print by artist Azalea Millet, selling limited-edition merchandise through Zazzle, and auctioning U2 live photos and U2 360 Tour concert tickets on eBay.

Millet has donated limited-edition hand-signed and numbered prints that will be sold for $50 through the African Well Fund's website beginning Monday, March 29.

"I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for AWF and its mission to provide villages in Africa with clean water by building wells," said Millet, whose artwork has also been used as the inspiration for this year's Build a Well for Bono's Birthday logo and merchandise. "I want to show my support by doing all I can to help them raise money to meet their goal of $50,000 for Bono's 50th birthday."

The U2 live photo auction, the third auction of U2 concert photos taken by fans and professional photographers that the African Well Fund has hosted, will be held from Sunday, April 18 through Sunday, April 25. The 2007 photo auction raised over $7,000 for that year's Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser; the 2006 photo auction raised over $11,000 for that year's fundraiser.

General admission tickets for U2 360 Tour dates in Salt Lake City , Anaheim and Philadelphia will be auctioned between Monday, May 3 and Saturday, May 8. In 2009, auctions of U2 concert tickets raised nearly $500 for that year's Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraiser.

All donors will be invited to add their birthday wishes to a card that will be sent to Bono via Principle Management.

"Bono has referred to this fundraiser as his 'favorite birthday gift,'" Trigalet said. "I really believe that this year might be the best one yet."

Donations from the seven previous Build a Well for Bono's Birthday fundraisers have totaled over $170,000 and have been used to fund water and sanitation projects implemented by African Well Fund partner Africare to benefit more than 28,000 people in Angola, Ethiopia, Liberia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The African Well Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of funding clean water and sanitation projects in sub-Saharan Africa . Since its founding in 2002, the African Well Fund has raised more than $700,000 to fund more than 200 projects in 13 African nations, benefiting more than 260,000 people.

One More Try

I could easily waste away entire days on YouTube checking out all the videos from the '80s and '90s that I adored, the songs that played at junior high dances, whose lyrics made it into yearbook messages, the songs I bought as cassette singles.

In homage to the wonderful treasure trove that is YouTube, from time to time I'll seek out and post one of those classics of the video era.

Thanks to the constant rotation of "oldies" on KGGI, I get to relive the glorious music from back in the day. Today on the drive home from lunch, Timmy T's mega-hit "One More Try" was playing (it hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and was played about 20 times a day on Top 40 radio). The song came out in 1990 and probably hasn't been played much since about 1992, but I still know all the words. I can remember being one in a busload of seventh and eighth graders singing "One More Try" full out on the way to and from a choir competition (it was played a lot).

For your listening and viewing pleasure (because we sure did know how to dress back then, got to love the mustard-color sports jacket and harem pants), Timmy T's "One More Try":

Erin Go Bragh

To honor St. Patrick's Day, I don't drink green beer or eat Lucky Charms or anything else cheesy like that. I do like to pull out music by some of my favorite Irish artists and think about my long-ago, far-away home.

Below, a few favorites:

The Pogues "Dirty Old Town" (my go-to request at pubs)


The Cranberries "Dreams" (I love the banshee-like notes she hits at the end)


The Corrs "Breathless" (this song is directly responsible for my second trip to Ireland)


U2 "Pride" (of all of U2's videos, I chose this one because it was filmed in Dublin)


Bono and The Corrs "Summer Wine" (two great Irish voices comes together in this sexy cover of a Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood classic)


Enjoy what's left of your St. Patrick's Day!

I Gotta Feeling

I've been thinking about making a mix with inspirational, get-up-and-face-the-day songs. A few have been kicking around in my mind, but I haven't started making the set list yet. When I do, I know that the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" will make the list.

The song is just pure energy. I dug it throughout the summer during its reign at the top of the Billboard charts, but hearing it live at the Rose Bowl, closing out a fantastic set that featured a guest appearance by Slash, nearly every one of the 90,000 people packing the stadium on their feet, arm waving, jumping up and down, the energy climbing with U2's set just around the corner, has deepened my enthusiasm for the song.

It's Friday, the weather may suck but the weekend is here. Whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, have a ball. With a theme song like this, it's kind of hard not to.

His Stupid Mouth

The Twitterverse exploded early this morning after Us magazine published excerpts from John Mayer's new interview with Playboy. I haven't seen the Us snippets and, because it's not on newsstands until Friday, haven't read the Playboy interview yet, but intend to because I like John Mayer and am always curious to read what he has to say.

I've been a fan of this singer-songwriter-guitar hero for nearly a decade, his song "Why Georgia?" hitting me just right when I was a 23-year-old facing down a quarter-life crisis. I've felt a similar connection to each album he's released since his major-label debut, "Room for Squares." Even though I don't love his latest, "Battle Studies," as much as I did its predecessors, there are still songs on the album that I know I'll be as excited to listen to and sing along with in 10 years as I am today ("Perfectly Lonely," "Edge of Desire" and "Friends, Lovers or Nothing" standing out the most).

I have tickets for his show in LA next month. I have pictures of him on my cubicle walls. His sites are part of my regular Internet sweep. I think he's talented and smart and a great writer and an amazing guitar player and, honestly, super-hot to boot. I appreciate the amount of work he pours into his music, pushing back or refusing to commit to release dates until he's totally satisfied with the end product. I like his introspective side, the columns he used to write for Esquire, the occasional honest, inspiring, life-affirming blog post. I mostly like his sense of humor.

It's that sense of humor that's gotten him in trouble today. For whatever ridiculous, immature, boy reason, he ran his mouth in Playboy, said some things for laughs, for shock value, to bolster his standing in the eyes of the magazine's red-blooded American male readers or something, and the whole thing has failed pretty miserably. Even if the stupid, childish things he said make up only a tiny fraction of the long interview and the remainder is thoughtful, interesting and insightful, it won't matter, the focus will remain on the bad, at least for this news cycle.

John Mayer used his Twitter account this afternoon to try to do some damage control. Here's what he had to say:

"Re: using the 'N word' in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it, because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged. And while I'm using today for looking at myself under harsh light, I think it's time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews... It started as an attempt to not let the waves of criticism get to me, but it's gotten out of hand and I've created somewhat of a monster. I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don't have the stomach for it. Again, because I don't want anyone to think I'm equivocating: I should have never said the word and I will never say it again. I just wanted to play the guitar for people. Everything else just sort of popped up and I improvised, and kept doubling down on it..."

John Mayer is now one more of my favorite artists who's had to learn a very hard lesson on watching what you say and will now have to fight even harder to make his music the focal point and not the regrettable interviews and tabloid headlines. John Lennon had to fight that battle, as have Bono and Madonna. Even though they were never able to completely put those little scandals and missteps behind them (it's been 44 years since John Lennon said The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus now" and apologized for it, yet practically every documentary on Lennon or The Beatles brings it up), creating great music and trying to do good in the world has helped.

John Mayer has a show in Tennessee tonight, his first official stop on his global redemption tour. Perhaps he'll play one of my favorite songs tonight, "My Stupid Mouth," because it's fitting and because maybe the lesson has finally sunken in for him, "think before speaking."

Here he is playing "My Stupid Mouth" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum a few years back:

Hope in the Ruins

Last night on the drive home I tuned into KNX for its "Traffic on the Fives" but instead was presented with a news special called "Hope in the Ruins," a collection of reports the station has run from Haiti since the nation's capital was hit by a devastating earthquake last month. The stories alternate between heartbreaking and inspiring, with each one showing exactly how much need still remains and how long it will take for this country and its people to live in any kind of normal way again.

You can listen to or download the special report here.

Believe in Grace

I moved into a new desk today, my fifth move with this company. It took me very little time to pack up the old desk or settle into this new one because I believe in packing fairly light and moving about rather efficiently.

I was plastering my gray cubicle walls with pics of some of my favorite girls and guys, trying to get everything to fit on these new walls pretty much like they had done before. I got my areas just right—Madonna, Gwen, Audrey Hepburn, John Mayer, U2, Pete Wentz. I laughed on my lunch break when I saw a girl with a license plate holder that read, "I ♥ Pete Wentz". Good to know I'm not the only one.

But today, it's not Pete Wentz, The Edge or even John Mayer that I'm majorly ♥-ing, it's the glorious Eddie Izzard. A dear friend was kind enough to join me at the Nokia Theater on Saturday for Mr. Izzard's "Stripped, Too: Big Intimacy" show and we both laughed ourselves sore.

If you don't know who Eddie Izzard is or have never seen one of his comedy specials, get thee to Netflix!! He is so smart, so clever, so odd, so amazingly, superbly, fantastically funny with the way he blends together history, science, linguistics, philosophy, religion, politics and pop culture. His sets are so brilliant and quirky and divine and hilarious.

Eddie Izzard may be best known by some as an "action transvestite." He sometimes wears woman's clothing (and knows how to work a pair of pointy-toed, stiletto boots like no one's business), nail polish, eye makeup or lipstick, but lately he's been in "boy mode" and looks damn good doing that, too (although even in boy mode he wears eye makeup, but I'm a fan of guyliner—witness my love of Pete Wentz—and with his stunning blue eyes, it works).

In his recent documentary "Believe," there's a section about Eddie Izzard being a sex symbol in boy and girl mode. One man said his wife was quite "besotted" with the comedian. I know I am, as were the many women at the show this weekend who were posting suggestive Tweets to his Twitter page during intermission. He is pretty much the total package—super smart, totally funny, fairly dorky, a bit odd, generally lovely—so can you blame us?

Here's a picture of Eddie in boy mode for the current tour:



And live a few years back from the "Dressed to Kill" tour, available on DVD and regularly shown on BBC America:



Eddie Izzard doesn't believe in God, but he does believe in the potential of people and he believes in grace. I believe in all three, which was furthered by the arrival this weekend of my new nephew. In honor of his birth, I made him his first mix CD (I did the same when his sister was born). Here's the tracklist:

John Lennon "Beautiful Boy"
Madonna "Little Star"
REM "Everybody Hurts"
The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun"
Madonna "Imagine"
U2 "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
The Beatles "All You Need Is Love"
John Mayer "Wheel"
Mariah Carey "I'll Be There"
John Lennon "Stand By Me"
U2 "Fourth of July"
Brian Setzer Orchestra "Sleepwalk"
The Beatles "Good Night"

Welcome to the world my new little love! I can't wait to take you to your first concert, your first museum, your first Eddie Izzard show. There's so much to see and explore, and I'm happy to be beside you on your journey through this amazing world.

Golden State of Mind

Happy New Year! I made it through The One Week Digital Cleanse no worse for wear. Work's been pretty crazy lately, so I think the timing was just right to take that short holiday from distractions.

I have a new song for the New Year, "Empire State of Mind." I am a California girl through and through, but have a great love and admiration for New York, for the adventures I've had there, for the inspiration it's provided some of my favorite artists, for the impact it has on the world, so I get really pumped up every time the song from Jay-Z and Alicia Keys comes on the radio.

The song was debuted at a 9/11 tribute concert, and I can picture the fevered excitement of the Madison Square Garden crowd as the song built toward the chorus and Alicia Keys sang, "Let's hear it for New York!" for the first time. The place must have nearly melted down when Jay-Z called out, "Long live the Word Trade" in the second verse.

There's so much love displayed for New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys in every second of this song, it's hard not to be moved by it. Why else would the song be played nonstop from coast-to-coast? Why else would it have topped the Billboard charts? Why else would the Los Angeles Times have dedicated a cover feature in its Calendar section earlier this month? Even if you're not from New York, it's hard to ignore that kind of home state pride.

I have that kind of pride in my home state, too, but the success of "Empire State of Mind" has me wondering why California hasn't inspired the same kind of musical love that New York has. Sure, The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, The Doors, Everclear, The Mamas and The Papas, Gwen Stefani, Weezer and X have all performed songs about California, but even a classic as great as "California Dreaming" can't really match up to the extraordinary list of songs inspired by New York. This is a place that both Madonna and U2 have been inspired to write about, as well as Ryan Adams, The Beastie Boys, Billy Joel, John Lennon, John Mayer, Paul McCartney, The Ramones, Lou Reed, Run-DMC, Paul Simon and countless more.

Do people love New York more than California? Is New York somehow more inspiring, more dynamic, more invigorating than California? Why is there more musical love for the Empire State than the Golden State? Wikipedia has lists of songs about Los Angeles and New York City, and The Big Apple has it all over the City of Angels, 862 songs to 413.

So while I'm enjoying listening to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys profess their love for New York, I'd like to hear a little more love for California. A state of more than 163,000 square miles with more than 36 million citizens has to be enough to inspire a few more jaw-dropping, ass-kicking, arm-pumping songs.

In the meantime, "Empire State of Mind:"