Why I Can't Keep Up

I may just have to give up on music, I tell ya.

See, just when I think I'm starting to catch up and get a bit ahead of the curve on music, either some previously-unknown-to-me band comes along that I have to now catch up on, or they re-release an old album that I love that's either remastered or has added bonus tracks (or, often, both).

Take, for instance, that the Van Morrison catalog is being re-released this week with remastering and bonus tracks. Now, considering that most of Van's catalog was released on CD a couple of decades ago now, the sound quality on the original discs ain't great. Remastered CDs would be a great draw.

So what do I do? Do I just stick with my old, don't sound as good CDs, knowing in my heart that there's a better-sounding version out there with bonus tracks? Or do I buy new copies of all these albums that I've already got?

Argh! Music just doesn't want me to catch up.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Van Morrison, "You Make Me Feel So Free"

"Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah"

I have come to hate driving on the East Coast, and by extension, every single person who lives here.

It took us an hour to get home from work last night. It's a drive that, even with traffic, shouldn't take more than 30 to 35 minutes. On top of that, I had some asshole pass me on a windy, hilly two-lane road. And all it got him was just ahead of me. That's it. Not like he got miles and miles of distance on me from that asinine, that cockslap.

But I've noticed this about East Coast drivers: every single one of them acts as though they were the only person on the road. When there are thousands of cars around you all the time, you can't act like that. It's one thing to act like you're the only one on the road in Oklahoma, where there's at least a 50% chance you are the only car on the road, but it's absurd to do that here.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Beatles, "Drive My Car"

"Provide Some Distraction"

Spent most of the past week up in New York. The trip was sudden, and the reason for it rather sad: Michelle's grandmother passed away on Tuesday. We left early Wednesday and didn't come back until Saturday afternoon.

Her family's taken it rather hard, understandably. But man, they come out of the woodwork for funerals up there. There must have been over 200 people at the wake Wednesday night, and the funeral on Thursday had a good 75 to 100 in attendance.

The post-funeral lunch was an event unlike any I've ever seen. Some 60 family members crammed into a single room, eating pasta and drinking wine. Lots of wine. Sooooo much wine. Michelle's family went through a lot of wine this week.

It was a sad event, all told, but there was a sense of relief in everyone's eyes. Her grandmother had been suffering for quite awhile, having dealt with kidney failure for the past couple of years and going in and out of the hospital quite often. She was in pain, and now she's not.

She's been posthumously sainted by the family, we noticed. Michelle's grandmother was quite the crazy character, but you wouldn't know it from the way they all talk about her now.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Rufus Wainwright, "Katonah"

"We Got Married"

A year ago tomorrow, Michelle Branco and I got married.

So this weekend, we're heading out of town to celebrate. We're going down to Fredericksburg, where she'll get a massage and a facial (her anniversary present from me). We're also probably going to see a movie to kill time between the end of that and the beginning of the next part of her gift: a big dinner at one of her favorite restaurants with lots of our friends. Should be a blast.

We're also staying at the Kenmore Inn, which I've heard nothing but good things about. I also happened to snag the last room in the joint when I made the reservations earlier this week, so this was clearly meant to be.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Spoon, "The Book I Write"