No Doubt & The Power of Pop Music

My Blackberry captures No Doubt performing "One More Summer" on Saturday night.

Quite often during live performances, I get all misty and choked up. I don't usually cry but my emotions do regularly swell. Marc Maron talked about this on an episode of "WTF" (I think it might have been the Adam Scott interview), saying he gets choked up at live performances because of how vulnerable the performers are.

I don't know why I find myself on the verge of tears at concerts, plays and the like, I think it might be a recognition of the talent and hard work that have gotten those performers on that stage. When No Doubt hit the Gibson Amphitheatre stage Saturday night, I think it was that sense of homecoming, the triumphant return of the conquering heroes, that blurred my vision.

For someone growing up in Southern California, No Doubt has an incredible story. A group of music-loving high school kids gets together to form a band, works and scrapes and struggles for nearly a decade, then, boom, becomes the biggest thing on the planet. So many people in these parts have personal stories about the band, went to school with them, worked with their parents or, like the guy who talked to my brother and I before the show, grew up on Beacon St. across from the famous house where the band got its start.

Those stories add to the experience, but the power of No Doubt, the reason the band became as big as it did, the reason we all waited 10 years for "Push & Shove," its latest release, is the music. No Doubt makes catchy, fun, energetic, genre-bending, goofy, beautiful, personal, meaningful pop songs and is damn good at it.

Early on in Saturday's show, I took in the capacity crowd, seemingly every audience member on their feet, arms in the air, signing along with everything they had. I saw a wide range of people, 40-somethings who came up with the band, people my age and a little younger who were in school when the band broke, and kids as young as six who've grown up on No Doubt, feeling for the band and its music probably the way I feel for The Beatles and its music, like these people are family and their music is essential to your chemical makeup.

Each song the band played has a story for me, for the more than 6,000 other people at the show with me. I thought about Gwen riding a toppling amp down the ramp when No Doubt opened for U2 in 2001 and debuted "Rock Steady" tracks. I thought about the times I crazily sped down the freeway blasting "Just a Girl." I thought about mending my aching heart to "New" and "Ex-Girlfriend." I thought about the first time I cried listening to "Simple Kind of Life," its words at last ringing true.

"Pop Music" is a massive term, holding within it everything from The Beatles to Justin Bieber. Some pop music is horrifying (I'll let you insert your own examples here) but so much more of it is comforting, inspiring, invigorating and just plain great. The best of pop music can unify strangers, stop fights, cement memories, inspire grand gestures, accompany journeys and get you through your toughest times.

On Saturday night, No Doubt was the very best of pop music, sparkly and gritty, personal and silly, low-key and thrashing. With each song, the band, that fantastic band, pulled so much out of us and gave back even more. Nights like that are why I go to concerts, why I keep buying music, why I like to write about music and why I'm a music fan.

Here's Saturday night's set list, courtesy of the Orange County Register:
Push and Shove
It's My Life
Hella Good
Underneath It All
Ex-Girlfriend
Hey Baby
New
Hey You!
Sparkle
Simple Kind of Life
One More Summer
Sunday Morning
Happy Now?
Settle Down
Don't Speak
Just a Girl
Looking Hot
Total Hate
Spiderwebs

You can read The Register's review, written by my old boss Ben Wener, here. You can read the Los Angeles Times' review here.

No Doubt is playing a total of seven shows at the Gibson Amphitheatre, the second of which gets underway in a few hours. If you're going to any of the remaining shows, I'm definitely jealous. I'm already picturing an outdoor show sometime next summer, the band taking the stage just after sunset, throwing one of the best parties around.

'It Gets Really Lonely When You're by Yourself'

This section of my CD collection is a wonderfully odd jumble, from mellow to funky to poppy to traditional. At work today, I listened to KT Tunstall's "Eye to the Telescope" and Corinne Bailey Rae's self-titled debut at work today, both so talented and, again, CDs I should listen to more after this exercise is complete. While great for work, both CDs are a little mellow for a newly pitch black drive home, so I was happy to see that my drive would be accompanied by The Partridge Family.

My brother and I used to watch the show in the afternoon during high school. I think I'd always known about "The Partridge Family," I knew who Shirley Jones was thanks to musical emersion in elementary school, knew of David Cassidy and vaguely remember the cartoon (it took place in the space-age future for some reason), but the show wasn't on when I was younger, overshadowed by the far inferior "Brady Bunch."

We had so much fun watching the show, bought used records dirt cheap at Rhino and read David Cassidy's memoir when it came out. A few years later, I went to see David Cassidy in "EFX." Even though I watched the show on its third run (at least), the show, and it's music, is nostalgic for me. It's all a more than a bit cheesy but it's fun and makes me smile.

That same feeling has maintained during my travels through my CDs. It's amazing how many moments can be stored up inside of a collection of songs.

Here's what I've been listening to the last few weeks:

Ryan Adams
"Gold"

Linda Rondstadt
"The Very Best of Linda Rondstadt"

BBMAK
"Sooner or Later"

Ashlee Simpson
"Autobiography"
"I Am Me"
"Bittersweet World"

Robbie Williams
"The Ego Has Landed"
"Escapology"

Daniel Lanois
"Shine"

P!nk
"M!ssundaztood"

Television
"Marquee Moon"

Simon & Garfunkel
"The Best of Simon & Garfunkel"

Sheryl Crow
"The Very Best of Sheryl Crow"

Neil McCormick
"The Ghost Who Walks"

The Pogues
"The Very Best Of …"

Pearl Jam
"Ten"

Lionel Hampton
"Golden Vibes/Silver Vibes"

Various Artists
"Metal Mania – Stripped"

Natasha Bedingfield
"Unwritten"

Damien Rice
"9"
"O"

Original Soundtrack
"Saturday Night Fever"

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"Time Out"

KT Tunstall
"Eye to the Telescope"

Corinne Bailey Rae
"Corinne Bailey Rae"

The Partridge Family
"The Very Best of The Partridge Family"

I've listened to 345 CDs since March and have just 69 left. That last bit includes James Blunt, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, Adele and, as the grand finale, U2.

'When I'm in the Mood to Lose My Way With Words'

I've taken a bit of a detour in my trip through my CD collection. Maybe it's not a detour, maybe it's more of a pit stop, a short break at a rest area to let the car cool down and for me to stretch my legs. Accompanying me on this sojourn is the music of John Mayer.

I was certainly looking forward to restarting this trip but didn't realize exactly how excited I was to dive back into my John Mayer chunk until I put "Room for Squares" into my car's CD player last Monday and the first notes of "No Such Thing" started playing. The day changed, I was optimistic and excited. Bring on the day!

It was a complete coincidence that I slid in "Room for Squares" on John Mayer's 35th birthday, though totally fitting. I've been contemplating everything since celebrating my 35th birthday this summer (which I'm chronicling at What Is 35?) so it was comforting to spend the long drives to and from work, my thoughtiest times at my desk, and many times in between with someone who's likely asking the same questions I've been.

I don't know John Mayer, except through his music, but in the more than 10 years I've been listening to his music, I've heard echoes of so many of my questions, concerns, fears, contemplations, resolutions and insights. My logical side understands that there are very few truly unique human experiences, but it's really easy to feel alone in the world sometimes. Hearing a sympathetic voice on the radio is really powerful.

Here's what I've been listening to for the past week (and most likely will continue through the rest of this week):
Room for Squares
Heavier Things
Any Given Thursday
Inside Wants Out
John Mayer Trio: Try!
Continuum
Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
The Village Sessions
Battle Studies
Born & Raised

I made it through these 10 CDs in two days and should be on to Ryan Adams and Ashlee Simpson and Robbie Williams and dozens of others as I near my U2 finale, but then "In Repair" came on and I had to repeat that. And I haven't had the chance to really get to know "Born & Raised," which came out in May, so I spun that a few more times. And "Battle Studies" has definitely grown on me, which means it deserves a few more spins.

I will get back to the rest next week. In the meantime, I'm very happy to be immersing myself in John Mayer's music.

With the tabloid coverage and very public missteps, John Mayer's music gets overlooked. For anyone's who curious, here are 15 songs I believe will make you see John Mayer as a musician first and all the rest a quite distant second.

Dev's 15 Essential John Mayer Tracks
3x5
Bigger Than My Body
Born & Raised
Come Back to Bed
Edge of Desire
Free Fallin'
Gravity
In Repair
Perfectly Lonely
Shadow Days
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Something's Missing
Vultures
Wheel
Why Georgia

'Back to You'

After two weeks spent going back through the first hunk of my CD collection, and emerging myself in Elvis Costello and Madonna in advance of concerts from both, I'm ready to restart my journey through my CD collection. The next stop in my travels is my John Mayer chunk and I'm so looking forward to it.

I've written about my deep affection for John Mayer many, many times, and will surely delve back into that topic once I've made my way through his CDs.

Last week I saw Madonna live for the first time in more than six years. With her fierceness, attitude, intensity and stamina, Madonna remains my greatest idol. She has a lot to say and will find a way to say it all, damn the detractors.

In the midst of her grandstanding, she still knows how to put on a great show, as evidenced last week:

Thank you Madonna for another fantastic show, for being entertaining and challenging, inspiring and intriguing. I hope it won't take another six years for me to see you again.

'My Imagination Just Stole Me Away'

I'm through my first CD shelf, nearly 70 percent this project of listening to all the CDs I own. In February, I started with my Elvis Costello CDs, prepping myself for his show with The Impostors at The Wiltern. From there, I moved onto my Madonna CDs, the anticipation building for the release of "MDNA." After, I went back to the beginning of my collection, starting with The Doors "best of" and winding my way through one-offs, past obsessions and treasured memories—Henry Rollins, The Black Crowes, INXS, The Spice Girls, Alanis Morissette, The Beatles, No Doubt, Green Day, Weezer and The Corrs, with dozens more in between.

In all, I've listened to 240 CDs since embarking on this project in February. At times, it felt like excruciatingly slow going, me not finding the time to get through as much music as I'd like. There were other times, thankfully, that I could zip through five or more CDs in a day. Because of those days, I'm actually much further along in this process than I thought I'd be, so much so that I'm currently taking a break, giving myself the opportunity to pick back through that first shelf, revisiting forgotten favorites, mixing new release (Alanis, No Doubt and Green Day) in with their precursors, and spending a bit more time with Elvis Costello and Madonna in advance of concerts for both.

I heard an interview this morning with a man who wrote a memoir about being in a book club with his mother. The author and interviewer were beginning a discussion on the differences between physical books and e-books when I arrived at work, so I didn't get to hear his thoughts. It did get me thinking about my own preference for the physical over the electronic.

Though not telling the whole story, our possessions do reveal quite a bit about who we are, our interests, priorities, philosophies and habits. If I go to someone's house, I'm curious about the books, movies and music filling their shelves. I do check out the covers of books and magazines people are reading in public. Two grad students actually struck up a conversation with me at a show once because one of the students and I were both reading "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas."

If I was on a Kindle, we wouldn't have had that conversation; instead I would have just been another person with my face illuminated by a screen.

Going back through my CDs, I feel like the music I own is a good reflection of who I was, am and maybe even could be. I'm not afraid of the impression someone will get of me by scanning the titles because I know each of the 345 CDs on my shelves contains some memory, bit of inspiration or big idea that in some small way makes up who I am.

Throughout this process I've smiled many times, sighed quite often and gotten choked up more than once. I've been transported back in time to junior high dances, high school science classes, the college newsroom, the streets of Dublin, hotel rooms, stadiums, museums, car trips, times high and low. Each artist continues to speak to me and most are deserving of their own entries here, but so many of my big ideas about one have been crowded out as soon as I started playing the CD, certain that, yes, this is it.

The truth is, they could all be it, all be the CD I'm listening to when that momentous whatever happens, the one that inspires me, the one that comforts me, the one that encourages me, the one that conspires with me, the one that pushes me out the door or tucks me in at night. At varying times throughout my life, the CDs in my collection have played at least one of those roles, sometimes more.

On the other side of this break, I have 105 CDs of similar importance. Starting that off will be John Mayer, who I've mooned over many, many, many times on this blog. He's so damn good and I'm very much looking forward to spending some time with his words and music. Also ahead are James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Ashlee Simpson, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse and Adele, just to name a few. The grand finale will be U2.

I used to think that I had too many CDs, the great majority rarely listened to, just taking up space and collecting dust as I continually returned to the same 50 or so. Now that I've started going back through my collection, I've recognized the value in what I have and have no plans to get rid of anything. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of stuff, as long as you use it. With my love for my music reinvigorated, I will use it.

I understand that some people reading this might thinking 345 CDs is nothing. With Amazon selling digital copies for $5 or less and people blindly ripping whatever they can from other people's collections until their iTunes folder consumes their entire hard drive, I can see how having thousands of complete albums is not as big of a deal as it used to be. My collection will continue to grow but will probably never reach those heights because it's physical, buying CDs can be costly and I'm getting choosier about what I will buy.

As long as artists continue putting out CDs, and stores exist to sell them, I will continue buying.

Here's what I've listened to so far this year:

Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach: Painted From Memory
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
My Aim Is True (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: All This Useless Beauty (Rhino reissue)
Spike (Rhino reissue)
When I Was Cruel
This Years Model (Rhino reissue)
North
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Armed Forces (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Trust (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Get Happy
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: National Ransom
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Punch the Clock (Rhino reissue)
Original Soundtrack: De-Lovely
Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Delivery Man
Elvis Costello Live With the Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint: The River in Reverse
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Madonna
Erotica
The Immaculate Collection
Original Soundtrack: Evita
Ray of Light
Something to Remember
True Blue
Like a Prayer
Bedtime Stories
Madonna
Live a Virgin
Music
You Can Dance
I'm Breathless
GHV2
Original Soundtrack: Who's That Girl
American Life
Remixed & Revisited I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Confessions on a Dance Floor
The Confessions Tour
Original Soundtrack: Vision Quest
Hard Candy
Sticky & Sweet Tour
Celebration
Glee: The Power of Madonna
MDNA (clean and deluxe versions)

The Doors
The Best of the Doors

Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Lies
The Spaghetti Incident
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II

Motley Crue
Decade of Decadence
Too Fast for Love

The Eagles
Their Greatest Hits
Don Henley: Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits

Henry Rollins
The Boxed Life
Wartime: Fast Food for Thought
Rollins Band: Insert Band Here: Live in Australia 1990
Sweatbox
A Rollins in the Wry
Rollins Band: Yellow Blues
Rollins Band: A Clockwork Orange Stage
Big Ugly Mouth/Short Walk on a Long Pier
Think Tank
Live at the Westbeth Theater
Talk Is Cheap Volume 1
Talk Is Cheap Volume 2
Talk Is Cheap Volume 3
Talk Is Cheap Volume 4
Spoken Word Guy 2
Spoken Word Guy
Nights Behind the Tree Line

Tina Turner
Tina Live in Europe Disc 1
Tina Live in Europe Disc 2
Simply the Best

Stray Cats
Best of the Stray Cats-Rock This Town
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer Live (Two Discs)
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Guitar Slinger
Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Dirty Boogie
Brian Setzer: Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records

NKOTB
Face the Music

The Black Crowes
Three Snakes and One Charm
By Your Side
Lions
Shake Your Money Maker
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Live Circus '95
Croweology

INXS
Elegantly Wasted
Live Baby Live
Shabooh Shoobah
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
The Greatest Hits
The Swing
INXS
Kick
X
Welcome to Wherever You Are
Listen Like Thieves
Beneath the Colours
Shine Like It Does

Ashley MacIsaac
Hi How Are You Today?

Original Soundtrack
Dazed and Confused

En Vogue
Funky Divas

Poison
Poison's Greatest Hits

Live
Throwing Copper

Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth

The Rolling Stones
Bridges to Babylon
Hot Rocks

Kevin & Bean
A Family Christmas in Your Ass
Super Christmas

Original Soundtrack
Grease

Spice Girls
Spice
Spice World
Geri Halliwell: Schizophonic
Goodbye

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.

Bangles
Greatest Hits

Original Soundtrack
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Everclear
So Much for the Afterglow

Stevie Nicks
The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits
Trouble in Shangri-La
Fleetwood Mac: The Dance
The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks

Depeche Mode
The Singles 86-98
The Singles 81-85
Dave Gahan: Hourglass

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Greatest Hits

Alanis Morissette
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Unplugged
Under Rug Swept
Jagged Little Pill
So-Called Chaos
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
The Collection
Flavors of Entanglement
Havoc and Bright Lights

Mariah Carey
#1s

Culture Club
VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Heart
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits 1985-1995

The Allman Brothers Band
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979

Etta James
The Best of Etta James: The Millennium Collection

Hole
Celebrity Skin
Courtney Love: America's Sweetheart

Abba
Gold: Greatest Hits

Carole King
Tapestry
Love Makes the World
The Living Room Tour

Taylor Dayne
Tell It to My Heart
Can't Fight Fate

Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sean-Nos Nua

Tracey Chapman
Telling Stories

George Michael
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Faith

Aretha Franklin
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The '60s

The Beatles
Abbey Road
1
Original Soundtrack: I Am Sam
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Let It Be
John Lennon: The John Lennon Collection
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur
Magical Mystery Tour
Past Masters

Various Artists
100% Dance

Janet Jackson
Design of a Decade: 1986/1996

Destiny's Child
Survivor

Bobby Darin
The Ultimate Bobby Darin

Cyndi Lauper
She's So Unusual

Nirvana
Unplugged in New York
Foo Fighters: Skin and Bones

The Pretenders
The Singles

No Doubt
Rock Steady
Tragic Kingdom
Return of Saturn
The Singles 1992-2003
Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby
Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape
Push & Shove

Jewel
This Way

Social Distortion
Live at The Roxy

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Deja Vu

Kylie Minogue
Fever
Body Language
The Best of Kylie Minogue

Blondie
Greatest Hits

Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American)

The Proclaimers
The Best Of …

Janis Joplin
18 Essential Songs

The Ramones
All the Stuff (And More) Volume Two

The Clash
The Singles

Nelly Furtado
Whoa, Nelly!

Billy Idol
Greatest Hits

The Cars
Complete Greatest Hits

The Osbournes
The Osbourne Family Album

Green Day
International Superhits!
Insomniac
American Idiot
21st Century Breakdown
Uno!

Weezer
Weezer (The Green Album)
Weezer (The Blue Album)
Maladroit
Pinkerton
Make Believe
Weezer (The Red Album)
Raditude

R.E.M.
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
And I Feel Fine … R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987

The Cranberries
Everybody Else Is Doing It so Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993)
No Need to Argue (The Complete Sessions 1994-1995)

Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Tupelo Honey
Moondance

Van Halen
Van Halen
The Best of Both Worlds

Original Soundtrack
Clueless

X
Los Angeles/Wild Gift

Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain

Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
Feels Like Home

The Vines
Highly Evolved
Winning Days

The Corrs
Live in Dublin
In Blue
Borrowed Heaven
Talk on Corners (Special Edition)
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Home

(Past) Half-Time Report

It's been a while since I did an update on my CD-listening project, so here's the latest. Since February, I've listened to 180 of the 341 CDs on my list. It's actually going quite a bit faster than I thought.

Recently, I've gotten to dip into some of my all-time favorite albums—"Rumours," "Tapestry," "Under Rug Swept," "Listen Without Prejudice" and "Abbey Road." Each of those albums, and dozens of others in my collection, have inspired and comforted me. One listen isn't enough, so I think I will take some time to go back through this portion of my collection and re-listen to a few total standouts (including sadly overlooked gems like Everclear's "So Much for the Afterglow") once I get to the end of the first of my two CD shelves.

Here's what I've been listening to lately. Coming up, I've got No Doubt, Green Day, Weezer, The Corrs, John Mayer and so much more happiness. I can't wait.

Bangles
Greatest Hits

Original Soundtrack
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Everclear
So Much for the Afterglow

Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac
The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space
Rumours
Greatest Hits
Trouble in Shangri-La
The Dance
The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks

Depeche Mode/Dave Gahan
The Singles 86-98
The Singles 81-85
Hourglass

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Greatest Hits

Alanis Morissette
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Unplugged
Under Rug Swept
Jagged Little Pill
So-Called Chaos
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
The Collection
Flavors of Entanglement

Mariah Carey
#1s

Culture Club
VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Heart
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits 1985-1995

The Allman Brothers Band
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979

Etta James
The Best of Etta James: The Millennium Collection

Hole/Courtney Love
Celebrity Skin
America's Sweetheart

Abba
Gold: Greatest Hits

Carole King
Tapestry
Love Makes the World
The Living Room Tour

Taylor Dayne
Tell It to My Heart
Can't Fight Fate

Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sean-Nos Nua

Tracey Chapman
Telling Stories

George Michael
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Faith

Aretha Franklin
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The '60s

The Beatles
Abbey Road
1
Original Soundtrack: I Am Sam
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Let It Be
John Lennon: The John Lennon Collection
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur
Magical Mystery Tour
Past Masters

Various Artists
100% Dance

Janet Jackson
Design of a Decade: 1986/1996

Destiny's Child
Survivor

Bobby Darin
The Ultimate Bobby Darin

Cyndi Lauper
She's So Unusual

Nirvana
Unplugged in New York

Shine Like It Does

Fifteen years ago, almost exactly, I was at the Greek Theater for what would be Michael Hutchence last LA concert with the band. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. What I did know was that the show was amazing. Michael Hutchence was one of the most incredible frontmen I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live—sexy, charismatic, energetic, passionate, playful.

After the show ended, my friend and I hung out in front of the Greek for a while, hoping to catch of glimpse of the band members before they left in their tour bus. While sitting on a bench, two guys came up to us and asked, "Do you want these?" "These" ended up being after-show party passes. Naturally, we said yes.

We made our way through the suite to the patio, grabbed a tiny bit of the food that was left and took in the scene. The party was filled with friends of friends and name-droppers, a generally irritating crowd. Mel B., then a newly world-famous member of The Spice Girls, was at the party with friends and the people around us weren't shy about trashing her within earshot. It was so rude!

She quickly left, so my friend and I followed her out (I wanted to complement her on her truly cute lace-up boots). Back into the suite we heard someone excitedly call out, "He's outside!" and followed a stream of people out front to find ourselves in the presence of Michael Hutchence.

He was beautiful. His dyed-black hair was straightened with flips at the ends, sunglasses pushing it back from his face. He was wearing a black shirt buttoned just above his naval, the sleeves rolled up, cuffed faded jeans and flip-flops. His toenails were painted with black glitter polish.

I had so many things I wanted to say about the concert, the band, the videos, the memories I'd had from more than 10 years, and thank him for all of that. In the midst of clamoring girls regaling him with stories of house parties in Mexico, he looked over at me and I froze. I smiled but couldn't speak.

Pretty soon, he was being ushered away by one of his handlers and I'd missed out. I promised myself I would do whatever it took to find another opportunity to thank him for everything and that I wouldn't chicken out.

Four months later, my mom and I were driving home from a Leon Russell concert when KLOS DJ Susan Ansilio reported that Michael Hutchence had died. I was crushed.

I liked INXS growing up but the concert made me into a fan. Michael Hutchence's death ramped that up even further. Though I'm glad for the music I've been able to discover since then, I'd rather be a so-so INXS fan with the opportunity to see Michael Hutchence on stage again than a huge INXS fan with the CDs and books and DVDs and everything, but no shows to look forward to.

A silver lining to all this is that I've learned not to let opportunities like I had that night at the Greek slip through my fingers again. If I have the chance, I let the people I admire know how much I appreciate their work and thank them for the impact they've had in my life. I never want to hear a terrible announcement on the radio again and know I missed my chance to say thank you.

Here's what I've been listening to lately (a few down, so many more CDs to go):

INXS
Elegantly Wasted
Live Baby Live
Shabooh Shoobah
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
The Greatest Hits
The Swing
INXS
Kick
X
Welcome to Wherever You Are
Listen Like Thieves
Beneath the Colours
Shine Like It Does

Ashley MacIsaac
Hi How Are You Today?

Original Soundtrack
Dazed and Confused

En Vogue
Funky Divas

Poison
Poison's Greatest Hits

Live
Throwing Copper

Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth

The Rolling Stones
Bridges to Babylon
Hot Rocks

Kevin & Bean
A Family Christmas in Your Ass
Super Christmas

Original Soundtrack
Grease

Spice Girls
Spice
Spice World
Geri Halliwell: Schizophonic
Goodbye

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.

'Let Your Love Light Shine'

I've made it through a few more artists in my quest to listen to every CD I own. I thought I might fall back in love with some CDs during this process and definitely did over the last few weeks, particularly with the Black Crowes chunk I just finished and the INXS chunk I'm currently enjoying.

I've been a fan of The Black Crowes since junior high. I was trying to remember what originally drew me to the band in 1990 and can't place the exact moment, but think it was probably one of the band's videos. The band's mix of blues, gospel and soul hit me just right back then. On truly hard days, I'd blast "Seeing Things" or "Sister Luck" from "Shake Your Money Maker."

The band's music has made me happy (or at least less sad), comforted me and inspired me. The songs are fantastic and funky. It's definitely something I need to revisit.

Here's where I've been:

Brian Setzer/Brian Setzer Orchestra/Stray Cats:
"Best of the Stray Cats-Rock This Town"
"Brian Setzer Live"
"Guitar Slinger"
"The Dirty Boogie"
"Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records"

NKOTB:
"Face the Music"

The Black Crowes:
"Three Snakes and One Charm"
"By Your Side"
"Lions"
"Shake Your Money Maker"
"The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion"
"Live Circus '95"
"Croweology"

Here's where I am:
INXS:
"Elegantly Wasted"
"Live Baby Live"
"Shabooh Shoobah"
"Full Moon, Dirty Hearts"
"The Greatest Hits"
"The Swing"
"INXS"
"Kick"
"X"
"Welcome to Wherever You Are"
"Listen Like Thieves"
"Beneath the Colours"
"Shine Like It Does"

Wild & Wild

After spending some time walking down memory lane with my a few of my favorite Sunset Strip bands (The Doors, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue and Eagles), I moved on in my CD collection to my Henry Rollins chunk.

I detailed my great affection for Henry Rollins two years ago, so won't rehash that here. What I will say, though, is how great it was to listen to his music again. I've generally been a bigger fan of Henry Rollins' books and spoken word, and haven't found my way into Black Flag, but his solo music is damn good.

I was lucky enough to attend two Rollins Band concerts. Both times, the band played sets comprised mostly of songs from forthcoming or just-released albums, so I knew none of the songs being played. Despite that, both shows were among the best I've ever seen. Henry Rollins always has a good band accompanying him, particularly the bass players he enlists. The man himself is one of the best front men ever, giving every ounce of blood and sweat he can for the benefit of the audience.

I was reminded of all that with the few music CDs I have of his, and I was glad of it.

Here's what my Henry Rollins bit contained:

"The Boxed Life"
Wartime: "Fast Food for Thought"
Rollins Band: "Insert Band Here: Live in Australia 1990"
"Sweatbox"
"A Rollins in the Wry"
Rollins Band: "Yellow Blues"
Rollins Band: "A Clockwork Orange Stage"
"Big Ugly Mouth"/"Short Walk on a Long Pier"
"Think Tank"
"Live at the Westbeth Theater"
"Talk Is Cheap Volume 1"
"Talk Is Cheap Volume 2"
"Talk Is Cheap Volume 3"
"Talk Is Cheap Volume 4"
"Spoken Word Guy"
"Spoken Word Guy 2"
"Nights Behind the Tree Line"

Following Henry Rollins was The Queen of Rock 'n Roll, Ms. Tina Turner. Starting in high school, when the film "What's Love Got to Do With It" came out, I really got into Tina Turner. I've seen the movie many, many times (and quotes from it were an in-joke with some of my friends) and listened to the soundtrack on cassette repeatedly. I've seen her in concert three times and they were all great shows.

With so many CDs in my collection, it's easy to lose some in the mix, and that's what happened with Tina Turner. Her music holds a special place in my life and I know I have to go back to it more often, especially now that I'm the aunt to some fantastic little girls who could definitely benefit from some exposure to Ms. Turner, her strength, grace, playfulness and attitude.

Here is what I listed to today from Tina Turner:

"Tina Live in Europe Disc 1"
"Tina Live in Europe Disc 2"
"Simply the Best"

The going is a bit slower than I anticipated on this CD-listening project and I still have a very long way to go (at this point, it will be months before I can dip into John Mayer again). At least I have some incredible music to look forward throughout this process. Up next, the incredible Brian Setzer, solo, with the legendary Stray Cats and with his amazing Orchestra. Stay tuned!

Attitude of Gratitude

Within my community online, there's been a lot of talk of anniversaries these past few weeks. Last summer, U2 relaunched its 360 Tour on the West Coast, so each week is providing another chance to look back and remember where we were this time last year.

I went to three U2 shows last year. The first (which I detailed here) June 6 in Oakland, and the third and fourth June 17 and 18 in Anaheim. Each show was fantastic and meaningful and extraordinary in its own way.

As has been my tradition since seeing U2 for the first time nearly 15 years ago (PopMart LA Coliseum June 21, 1997), I sent the band a thank-you note, which I share with you now. This isn't a thank-you note just to the band, but to everyone who has shared the U2 experience with me over the last 15 years. It wouldn't have meant nearly as much without all of you.

Dear Adam, Bono, Edge and Larry,

I remember watching the sobbing, shaking, fainting Michael Jackson fans on TV when I was younger and just not getting it. How could watching someone perform send a person into such hysterics?

After Saturday's show in Anaheim, California, I understand these Michael Jackson fans a little bit better. I didn't faint or need medical attention, but several times during the show I felt the moment overtake me. I cried.

This was my 13th U2 show and, without a doubt, the best I've seen. The mixed-up, surprising set list definitely heightened the excitement ("The Fly!" "One" in the main set! "Stuck in a Moment" acoustic!) but the group I was with also helped push me over.

I became a member of Zootopia and Interference.com nearly 10 years ago, following the Elevation Tour. Through these boards, I've gotten to know other fans from all around the world, many of whom have become my friends.

I was surrounded by a dozen of these friends on Saturday. We jumped and screamed and sang and danced together all night. "Oh my God! What's going on?" we'd shout to each other every time the set list took an unexpected turn.

We all knew that would be a show people would talk about, jealous they weren't there. We were grateful not just to have been in the audience that night, but to have been there together.

This is what your band has given me—dear friends, mind-blowing experiences, global adventures. Being a U2 fan, I got to briefly live out my rock journalist dreams when I was contributing editor for Interference.com. I've been given the opportunity or excuse to travel to Dublin and New York City, places I'd always wanted to see, and Nashville and Raleigh, places I never expected to visit but adored. I've found the words to express all the overwhelming love and hope I felt when my niece and nephew were born in your songs. I've bonded with family members and coworkers who are also fans.

I've also connected with other fans empowered by your music and example to work to effect positive change in the world through my volunteer work with the African Well Fund. The number of people I've met through the organization are so passionate about making the world a better place, about giving what they can to help people in need is so inspiring. Aside from The Beatles, I can't picture any other band that attracts that kind of fan base, or has that type of lasting positive influence on its fans.

I attended my first U2 show at the LA Coliseum in 1997, PopMart. A few months later, I sent you a thank-you note, still glowing from that amazing night and the memories of singing the "oh-oh-oh-ohs" from "Pride" under an illuminated sky with tens of thousands of other strangers I knew I was connected to. Fourteen years later, I still feel that way after a U2 show, though it's been magnified by all the fringe benefits loving your band has provided me.

Thank you for that. Thank you for 13 glorious shows. Thank you for the albums, the songs, the videos, the experiences. Thank you. I can't wait for show 14.

Back to the Beginning

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent over the last two weeks in the company of the queen of my universe, Madonna. Listening back through her catalog reinforced why she's played such an important role in my life for the past 15 years and why she's influenced the world the way she has for the past 30. She's an innovator, an experimenter, a trend-setter, a perfectionist and just generally kicks ass in every way possible (you can read more about my feelings about her Madgesty here).

There's no better way to sum up everything that Madonna is and does than through her performance of "Like a Virgin" from the 2006 "Confessions" tour. Having recently survived a horrific horse riding accident that left her with many broken bones, Madonna took to the stage in riding gear and road a carousel horse while singing about "being touched for the very first time" as X-rays of her broken bones showed on screens around the stage. She won't be knocked down.

Now that I've made it through the Madonna CDs, I've decided to go to the start of my CD collection and wind through the remaining 295 discs. Here's what I have on the list for the next few days:

The Doors "The Best of the Doors"
Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction"
"Lies"
"The Spaghetti Incident"
"Use Your Illusion I"
"Use Your Illusion II"
Motley Crue "Decade of Decadence"
"Too Fast for Love"
The Eagles "Their Greatest Hits"
Don Henley "Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits"

I did listen to The Doors this morning, which sent me on a nice trip down memory lane, back to junior high and high school when the band's music and Jim Morrison's everything reached out to me across all the anxiety, awkwardness and general low-self-esteem wonderfulness of being a young teenager. I thought about the words I'd memorized and wrote, the books I poured through, the number of times I saw that terrible movie, the Jim Morrison poster in my room, the Com 101 speech I made, listening to the music in the dark.

Henry Rollins, a fellow Doors fan, had a line about being young and thinking you're so deep, "Jim Morrison would dig me." I used to think that, think I could have connected with him over poetry, philosophy, art, music, but the truth is I never could. Growing up and being exposed to more healthy people and more damaged people, I've realized that charismatic, addictive, destructive people rarely dig anything, least of all themselves. If they did, they wouldn't be so keen to tear everything down.

On that front, Guns N' Roses epic "Appetite for Destruction" is now playing. I'm sure I'll have some reflections to offer on Axl & Co. in the next installment.

'Get Up on the Dance Floor!'

After a little bit of contemplating and a whole lot of procrastinating, I've finally moved onto the second chunk of my listen-to-every-CD-I-own project (still don't have a catchy name, suggestions welcome) and am now tackling my sizable Madonna collection.

I listened to "Erotica," the first Madonna CD and second Madonna release I ever bought (the first being "True Blue" on cassette), on the ride into work this morning. I'll go into this more at the end of the stack, but "Erotica" is a tragically underrated and wrongly vilified album that marked one more step on Madonna's path from pop tartlet to artist.

"Immaculate Collection" is currently keeping me company at work. It's hard for me not to be staggered by this package, the amazing number of hits she created over the last four decades that still hold up and the massive amount of other gems she recorded that didn't find their way onto the CD. Listening to songs like "Holiday," "Into the Groove," "Express Yourself" and "Vogue" sitting at a desk and not somewhere that I'd have the space and freedom to dance and sing out is more than a little wrong.

So here's what I have in store over the next week or so:

Erotica
The Immaculate Collection
Original Soundtrack: Evita
Ray of Light
Something to Remember
True Blue
Like a Prayer
Bedtime Stories
Madonna
Live a Virgin
Music
You Can Dance
I'm Breathless
GHV2
Original Soundtrack: Who's That Girl?
American Life
Remixed & Revisited
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Confessions on a Dance Floor
The Confessions Tour
Original Soundtrack: Vision Quest
Hard Candy
Sticky & Sweet Tour
Celebration
Glee: The Power of Madonna
MDNA (clean and deluxe versions)

Television Out of the Box at The Paley Center

I really do adore television. Because the stories are serialized and spread out over years, it's so easy to get attached to characters and locations and storylines. A favorite show is comforting and inspiring. It can connect you to other people and define an era.

My infatuation with television has really grown over the last few years. Though the total number of hours I spend watching television is currently at one of the lowest points of my life, the intense excitement I feel for the shows I do take the time to watch is strong. Getting to attend three PaleyFest panels this year (detailed previously here and the "Parks & Recreation" event at the Television Academy last year (detailed previously here) seemed to seal my new identity as a TV fanatic.

Fanaticism needs to be charged. Luckily, TV has delivered with stellar seasons from "Community," "New Girl" and "Parks & Recreation." I've gotten into interesting discussions with friends and online about what shows are cutting and what shows aren't at the moment. And, last weekend, I visited the Paley Center in Beverly Hills for Television Out of the Box, an ongoing exhibit celebrating Warner Bros. television.

The exhibit features costumes, set pieces, props, scripts, artwork and memorabilia from a number of Warner Bros. television shows and cartoons. Because the exhibit is going to be at The Paley Center for the next three years, the displays are going to keep changing so it's worth visiting over and over. Currently, the exhibit features displays from shows including "The Big Bang Theory," "Chuck," "Friends," "Fringe," "Gilmore Girls," "The OC" and "Smallville."

It's incredible the tiniest things from shows that are held onto. One display from my much-beloved "Gilmore Girls" had a room key and postcard for The Dragonfly Inn, the bed-and-breakfast Lorelei started with Sookie and Michel. The "Friends" display included a bag of Smelly Cat cat litter and The Geller Cup.

Looking through all these familiar pieces was a little comforting. I spent seven years invested in the world of Stars Hollow, the lives of its residents, so seeing a room key from The Dragonfly brought all that back—the fantastic writing, the lines I'd scribble down during commercial breaks to quote back to friends, the music bits, the clothes, the endless cups of coffee and on and on. It reminded me again how much I loved that show and made me miss it a bit, too.

Luckily, I have every season of "Gilmore Girls" on DVD and Verizon hasn't pulled the plug on SOAPNet yet, so I can revisit Stars Hollow any time I want to. Next time I do, I'll keep an eye out for one of those room keys.

Props from "Gilmore Girls," including a room key for The Dragonfly Inn and the engagement ring Luke gave Lorelei

Rory Gilmore's Chilton uniform

Central Perk from "Friends"

The Geller Cup

Sheldon and Leonard's roommate agreement from "The Big Bang Theory"

The Shelbot

A Chrismukkah card from "The OC"

Clark Kent's jacket from "Smallville"

Falling Under Russell Brand's Spell

I'm a fairly cautious, personally (not politically) conservative person so it takes me a while to warm up to anything. I don't jump on bandwagons; instead I sit back and carefully consider whatever new song, movie, TV show, major personality is rolling down the road and look to make a personal connection before committing.

And I do commit. I enjoy being a fan, collecting useless facts and amassing stuff—books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and so on. I didn't get into Madonna until the end of high school, more than a decade after she'd arrived on the scene, but proudly adore her to this day. My true love for U2 didn't solidify until 2001 because it was that album and that tour that found their way into my system and clicked.

It doesn't always take that long for me to catch onto or catch up with an artist. Maybe it took a year for my John Mayer enthusiasm to take hold with me slowly warming to the singles being released off of "Room for Squares" until the first time I heard "Why Georgia" and was sold. A similar thing happened with Alanis Morissette and Fall Out Boy. I've been disappointed by so many "next big things" that I prefer the frenzy to die down and the artist to prove him/herself to me before I buy the CD, book, watch the show, whatever.

My current late-to-the-party fascination is with the lovely Russell Brand. He's been known in the UK for more than a decade and has been gaining stature in America for about five years. I first heard him on NPR talking about his first book, "My Booky Wook," and his role in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." I saw "Get Him to The Greek" in the theater (so rare to shell out to see a movie in the theater these days when it's so easy to catch something on near-repeat on cable).

He made a bit of an impression on me, I definitely thought he was interesting, but didn't give him much more consideration. That's changed this year, though I'm not entirely sure why. I saw him for the first time in February at the incredible Largo doing a run-through for his upcoming FX show "Brand X." Since then, I've sped through and adored both of his memoirs ("My Booky Wook" and "Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal"), dug up videos online (including his recent testament to a Parliamentary committee on the failed war on drugs), listened to his WTF interview several times, saw him in Eric Idle's star-studded "What About Dick?" (featuring the amazing cast of Eddie Izzard, Tracy Ullman, Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Jane Leeves, Jim Piddock, Sophie Winkleman and Eric Idle) and pounced at the opportunity to see him again at Largo Wednesday night for another "Brand X" rehearsal.

I like Russell Brand because he's clever, he talks really fast, he moves all over the place and he makes amazing sense. On stage he'll talk about compassion for the homeless, throw in an aside about his own checkered past and play at being Morrissey in the span of a few seconds, and it's natural and sweet and funny and thoughtful. I could watch him and listen to him for hours.

His books have that same energy, which is why I think I was able to read through them so quickly. I started a journey with him in a rehab center near Philadelphia, wound back through his rough childhood, teenage years, the drug use, the drinking, the girls, his emergence as an artist, failure, success, burgeoning fame, growing notoriety, into drug rehab and onto a promising future so fluidly. Naturally, I highly recommend both books (particularly the first, for which he helpfully provides British-English-to-American-English translations).

I hung out in the Largo courtyard after the show hoping to get my copy of "My Booky Wook" signed and get a minute to express how impressed I am with him. I was fortunate to do both. In person, Russell Brand is so much more than I imagined him to be in words and pictures. His life experiences have led him down a yogic/philosophical/theological path that has made him so warm.

Most of the 200-ish people who came to the show also hung out in the courtyard hoping to get their moment with him. I think he stopped to talk to and hug every single one. I got a bit of time with him, telling him how fantastic I thought he was in "What About Dick?" (he did properly hold his own against that amazing cast) as he wrapped an arm around me to hug me. I talked to him about how much I enjoyed both books, how easily I could hear him reciting the words as I read along. He held my shoulders, locked eyes, thanked me for telling him that I enjoyed his books and gave me his full attention for that bit of time before he was off to be fully present to someone else.

Yeah, I'm sunk, sunk by this truly lovely man and his many, many words, his long legs, introspection, beautiful skin, fantastic cheek bones, throaty laugh and general cleverness. It took me a while to catch on, but I'm solidly a Russell Brand fan now. I must make a space for him on my cubicle wall with my other favorite boys.

"I Saw You Dancin' in the Gym"

I was so excited when I heard there was going to be a new "American Pie" movie coming to theaters and reuniting the original cast. I saw parts one and two but skipped the third and all the direct-to-DVD sequels because I do believe in the law of diminishing returns.

Maybe I should have trusted that instinct.

"American Reunion" isn't that bad. It's fine. It has cute moments. It has funny moments. It just doesn't live up to the original, and that's really disappointing because I love the original.

I think "American Pie" gets a bad rap because it helped usher in the age of R-rated comedy raunch fests, a fact so many of the reviews I've read have pointed out. Focusing on the gross parts really minimizes what I think is a sweet, honest, heartfelt coming-of-age story.

Sure, there are really horrifically gross parts in the original "American Pie" (I watched the "unrated" version once and will never do that again) and a major theme of the movie was the quest to lose one's virginity, but most of the movie is about four friends dealing with growing up, moving on and, most likely, growing apart.

I had just graduated from college when the first movie came out and could relate to those issues. The older I get, the more I recognize that life is mostly made up of transitions, of learning how to leave people and situations behind. And it ain't always easy.

To deal with this, the friends in the original "American Pie" make a pledge to lose their virginities before graduation, and in the process, they fall in and out of love, make new friends, take risks, and see their worlds grow a little bigger. They make some huge mistakes along the way, but they mostly remain decent, loyal, respectful guys.

One of my favorite parts about the original movie was how, underneath the ridiculous slapstick, sex was dealt with in a pretty honest way. It is awkward. It is a big deal. It can change everything. Through the four couples the movie follows, we see all of that play out.

"American Reunion" brings the four friends back together, each one now struggling with the truth of their 30-something lives. They're not all that miserable, but they're not all that happy either, so maybe going back to where it all started will somehow fix everything.

I wasn't expecting major revelations and breakdowns from "American Reunion," I know it's not "The Big Chill" or even "Beautiful Girls," but I was looking for some of the same heart the original film had in dealing with the frustrations of getting older and finding yourself drifting further and further from the life you dreamed up when you were a teenager, including the friends you hatched those schemes with.

The film didn't feel like it was made to tell any story in particular, really. Instead, it seemed like "a gift for the fans," a film like Kevin Smith's "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" that's more about tying up some loose ends and tossing back to various in jokes. Sure, it was fun to hear Alyson Hannigan say, "This one time, at band camp" again, but the movie needed more than that to live up the original.

I know it's kind of ridiculous to be this disappointed in a movie, particularly an "American Pie" movie, but the original was a film that stuck with me way back when, that still means something to me now because of the when it came from. Maybe I thought because I grew up, the "American Pie" universe would have grown up a little, too, and better tap into what the class of '99 is going through now the way the original did then.

It's foolish, I understand, but I have this habit of expecting pop culture to deliver.

So Deep, Like Dirty Water

There was a time when I would have considered myself a poet. From the ages of 10 to 22 (or so), I filled notebooks with my poems. I'd get on a roll, writing several in one day, and then I'd go through dry spells, going weeks or even months without writing one word.

One of my most-prolific periods was my junior year of high school where my teacher, a writer and advisor for the school's literary magazine, had us keep journals throughout the year. We were given a certain number of assignments and quotes to ruminate on, but also a lot of freedom to just create. In this class, I experimented with style and flow and formatting and phrasing. I felt like I found my voice.

I also wrote short stories and worked on the school paper. Being a writer gave me an outlet and an identity. People knew me as a writer. They'd ask to read my stuff. I enjoyed getting praise from my teachers and friends.

I didn't take enough chances as a writer, though. Despite being encouraged by my junior year English teacher, I never submitted anything to the school literary magazine. I never took a creative writing class. In my life, I've entered maybe two writing contests (the most-recent of which was last year with Esquire magazine).

As an adult, I get paid to write, though not creatively. I had a professor in college who knew I was a journalism major but encouraged me to stick with creative writing as well. I still remember her asking what I'd written lately. I wish I had that encouragement today because my creative writing muscles and my poetry muscles are getting weaker and weaker.

This morning, I wrote a poem. I can't remember the last time I did but am pretty sure it's been years. It came pretty naturally, the first line and then the second and so on. It felt good to get it out, to have the words come to me, to have one line flow into the next. I don't know when it will happen again, but that it happened today at all gives me some hope.

And because I don't know what I'll do with this poem, or the hundreds of others I have stashed in notebooks and folders in my room and my storage bins, I'll post today's here for now.

I don't want you to grow old
Not really
Not truly
I admire the adult
The real man
Insightful
Respectful
Responsible
The student become the master
Shining a light for us all
"Follow me! I know a shortcut."
I take you at your word
I tread along your path
I crouch at your right side
Eager for the wisdom you dispense
Wisdom that only comes from life
     From experience
     From growing old
The lines deepen
The bones crack
The joints ache
You walk the path a little slower
Hold the light a little lower
Pass the time a little slower
I'll catch up
I'll keep going
I'll walk beside you a while
You'll rest as I charge ahead
Further and further I'll go
Then I'll turn back
I won't be able to see you
Walking the path you wore for us
I'll have to walk the rest alone
I don't want you to grow old

'Thinking 'bout This and That'

I made it through the first section of my listen-to-every-CD-I-own project (I really should come up with a catchier name), listening to all 19 Elvis Costello CDs I own over the last three weeks. I listened to angry young man Elvis, politically infuriated Elvis, heartbroken Elvis, romantic Elvis, hard-rocking Elvis, passionately crooning Elvis, the poet, the collaborator, the arranger, the composer, the producer, the jazzman, the New Waver, the balladeer.

In career that has literally spanned my entire lifetime, Elvis Costello has released more than 30 albums covering the worlds of pop, rock, jazz, country and classical. His output is certainly impressive, even if the result isn't always to my liking.

By listening to all these CDs, I've realized that though Elvis Costello's voice is one of my all-time favorites (my elbows and knees get warm when he hits certain notes), it's not always properly showcased (it's a bit too warbly sometimes). I like some of his jazz songs but not the experimental stuff.

This is all down to a matter of my personal tastes and I know that though the CD "When I Was Cruel" will never rate that highly with me, other Elvis Costello fans likely enjoy giving it regular spins. To each their own. And with an artist as prolific and varied as Elvis Costello, there's something within his catalog to satisfy nearly every taste.

For my next step in this process, I think I'll tackle my sizable Madonna chunk. The highly anticipated and well-received "MDNA" comes out in a little more than a week, so I think I'll give that multiple spins and then stack it up next to its predecessors.

Stay tuned.

PaleyFest 2012

When the whole webzine/blog thing started picking up steam a few years ago, I thought it would be fun to start an entertainment zine with two of my friends. Styled somewhat after Entertainment Weekly, the zine would have been written about pop culture fans for pop culture fans. We wouldn't be afraid of calling something out for being garbage if necessary but also wouldn't be too cool to fawn over something if necessary.

The zine would have been divided into three sections—movies, music and TV—with each of us spearheading one section. At that time, I would have been the music girl. It had been my ambition since high school to be a pop music journalist, so being in charge of that section would have been the realization of a longtime ambition.

That idea never grew into more than talk. These days, though, I don't know if the music section would be the most-natural fit for me. I used to consider myself a music fanatic but now I think it's more accurate to describe myself as a pop culture fanatic. These days I'm as likely to become fixated on watching movies, watching TV, reading books, reading magazines, going to plays, going to museums, going to comedy shows as I am in listening to music or going to concerts.

At the moment, the TV fanaticism is the strongest. Unlike my beloved View From My Couch Girl, I don't have multiple DVRs and VCRs set up to keep up with all the show of my much-watch list, but I do have a quite few shows that I really feel like I must watch.



I got to indulge my deep enthusiasm for television last week at PaleyFest 2012. Last summer, I recounted the sad tale of missing the "Freaks & Geeks"/"Undeclared" reunion at PaleyFest. Still smarting from that experience, I made damn sure I wasn't going to miss a single moment of the two (later three) panels I bought tickets for. I had the parking scoped out and my Paley Center membership got me early admission, so I was all set.

The first night of my PaleyFest adventure was the "Community" panel on March 3. In addition to getting the opportunity to learn about the making of this show from cast, producers and writers, the panel was a giant love fest, celebrating the show's long-anticipated return to the airwaves on March 15 and cast member Jim Rash's recent Oscar win for "The Descendants" script.



We got treated to the show's first episode, which I will tune in for again on Thursday. It was definitely a highlight to get to see the first new "Community" in months before anyone, but the standout of the night for me was the relationship between the cast members—they all seem to genuinely like each other. The night was packed with in jokes and little asides. It was really lovely to see.

Jim Rash did bring his Oscar with him and throughout the night, the Oscar would get flashed on the screen, unbeknownst to the panelist. It was a nice in joke for the audience.



Next came the "New Girl" panel on March 5. Again, we got to see the season's newest episode before anyone else. That night's in joke was the Douche Bag Jar, which was presented to the cast by the evening's moderator. Several times throughout the night, Max Greenfield, who plays Schmidt, was asked to throw money in. He eventually threw in his entire wallet clip.



During the audience Q&A, a teacher who's also the mother of a teenage girl told Zooey Deschanel that she's such a great role model for young girls. It was really sweet moment and I have to agree. The thing about Jess, the character, and Zooey, the real-life person, is they're both so happy doing their own thing, going their own odd way, that they're pretty accepting of other people as long as those people are accepting of them.



I look at my four-year-old niece with her thick bangs and large blue eyes and think she could grow up to look like Zooey Deschanel. Match those eyes with my niece's sense of humor and penchant for the dramatically imaginative, and maybe she'll grow up to find a way to be all of the amazing, funny, over-the-top, fantastic things she and be really happy doing it, just like Zooey seems to have.

Like I mentioned above, I'd originally bought tickets for just two panels, but when the cast and crew of "The Office" had to cancel a week out and "Parks & Recreation" was brought in, I thought I might be in for one more night. "Parks & Recreation" is my must-see (and, often, must-re-see) television. I adore this show, the writing, the characters, the town. I'd had such a great time at last year's Television Academy panel (also detailed in last summer's blog post) and the "Campaign Shake-Up" episode was so damn good that I bought my ticket the next morning.

Filming has wrapped for the season, so not all of the cast could be there (the adorable, super-rad Adam Scott was in New York promoting "Friends With Kids," sadly) but anyone who couldn't be there in person was represented by a cardboard cutout.



We got to see last Thursday's episode "Lucky" (and I did tune in to watch it a second time when it aired on NBC) and, very best of all, got to watch the gag reel that was created for the season four wrap party. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Like the cast of "Community," the cast of "Parks & Recreation" really like each other and seem to have a good time working together.

I heard an interview with Maya Rudolph on Friday where she talked about her time on "SNL" and the bond she developed with her cast mates, strengthened by the long hours and hard work. Working on a television show, as Tina Fey pointed out in "Bossypants," isn't as hard as coal mining in South America, but it does require really long hours, flexibility and energy. The only way to get through those kinds of days is to like, maybe even love, the people you work with and have your fun when you can get it.

I hope that pointing out the closeness I saw amongst the "Parks & Recreation" and "Community" casts doesn't give anyone the impression that the "New Girl" cast was icy and awkward toward each other. They were warm and comfortable with each other, but they've only been together for a few months. The "Parks & Recreation" and "Community" casts, on the other hand, have been working together for years and have had the bonding experience of wondering if their shows will air at all or, once on the air, keep airing.

Even though it was very hard to get up for work most of last week because of the late nights I spent at the Saban Theater, PaleyFest was a fantastic experience. In addition to what I mentioned above, a highlight has to be the experience of watching your favorite TV shows with a few thousand other fans. The director of The Paley Center mentions in the video introducing each evening that television is a communal experience, and that's what PaleyFest really was. I do plan to go back again.

There are clips, galleries and other goodies from the panels I attended and the 10 others, here.

Getting Started

Way back in August I wrote about the slightly unusual way I organize my CDs and the idea I'd come up with to listen to every CD I own in order.

More than six months later, I've made my first steps toward completing that task. Over the recent long holiday weekend, I cataloged my collection and cleaned my shelves up a bit (and, sadly, had to toss the Rollins Band release "Come in & Burn" because I'd discovered the disc is missing). A picture of my much-neater shelves (which are actually shoe cubbies) is shown above.

I now have a complete inventory of my CD collection (minus singles and bootlegs because I don't want to delve into that quite yet) that will assist me in this task and be of great service to me the next time I move—no need to worry about my CDs getting out of order and needing to resort to a traditional alphabetized collection because I now have a master list!

For the most part, my CDs are stored in chronological order, starting with the first CDs I got way back in high school. CDs by the same artist are grouped together with the newest purchase slotted at the end. There are currently three exceptions to this practice—Elvis Costello, Madonna and U2. These artists are grouped separately because I have more CDs from each of them than anyone else and it's just so much easier to have their CDs at the very end than taking up space in the middle.

My original thought for this project was to start at the very beginning with the two-disc Doors greatest hits collection I got for Christmas 1994 when I got the stereo I still own and my first CDs. I've decided, instead, to start with my Elvis Costello chunk to prepare for his Spinning Songbook Tour stop at The Wiltern in April.

"Painted From Memory," Elvis Costello's collaboration with Burt Bacharach, is first on my list. I bought this CD when it came out in 1998, intrigued by what these seemingly different legends could come with together and impressed by their first collaboration, the song "God Give Me Strength" from the Allison Anders film "Grace of My Heart" (that song remains a favorite).

Here's what I have to look forward to over the next few weeks. From here, I'll most likely go back to the start, although Madonna's new album could tempt me to spend some quality time with her catalog.

Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach "Painted From Memory"
"The Very Best of Elvis Costello"
"My Aim Is True" (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "All This Useless Beauty" (Rhino reissue)
"Spike" (Rhino reissue)
"When I Was Cruel"
"This Years Model" (Rhino reissue)
"North"
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Armed Forces" (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Trust" (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Get Happy"
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "National Ransom"
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Punch the Clock" (Rhino reissue)
Original Soundtrack "De-Lovely"
Elvis Costello & The Imposters "The Delivery Man"
Elvis Costello Live With the Metropole Orkest "My Flame Burns Blue"
Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Imperial Bedroom"
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussant "The River in Reverse"
"Secret, Profane & Sugarcane"

I currently own 19 Elvis Costello albums and have a sizeable list of releases yet to acquire. He releases one album a year, on average, and had a 20-year head start on me when I first became a fan, so I have a lot of catching up to do. About 10 years ago, he had a reissue deal with Rhino Records and re-released 17 of his albums with bonus CDs and detailed liner notes. What luck that I should become a fan when he started that! The deal ended in 2006 so there won't be any more special reissues, but I still have 10 to get so at least have that to look forward to.

Back to the music. I'll be checking in soon.

Checking Off 'The List'

Going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do. I went to my first concert at age 12 and have been happily shelling out whatever money I have (and sometimes money I don't) to listen to my favorite artists perform my favorite songs in packed rooms and sprawling arenas, screaming along at the top of my longs with other fans doing just the same.

In the more than 20 years I've been attending concerts, I've been lucky to be in the same room as so many of the people who've impacted my life in big ways and small: U2, Madonna, Elvis Costello, John Mayer, Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Stray Cats, Rollins Band, Alanis Morissette, The Black Crowes, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, INXS, No Doubt, Depeche Mode, Aerosmith, Green Day, Weezer, BB King, Anne and Nancy Wilson, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Guns 'n Roses, Crosby Stills & Nash, Carole King. Of these, there are definitely artists I will see again and again, whenever and wherever I can.

My list is by no means complete. There are so many legendary live acts I haven't had the pleasure of being in the same room with. As this summer's concert tours are announced, I know there are acts like Madonna and The Brian Setzer Orchestra that I'm itching to see again, but I hope to fit in a few new acts this year, so I'm crafting a list that thus far includes: Bruce Springsteen (touring this spring with The E Street Band), Pearl Jam, Aretha Franklin, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Paul McCartney.

If I cross any of these off, I'll let you know.