Miserable Retail Slave

by RFP

Here we are with a menage a trois of alternative rock sonic sex circa '94-'95. Believe it or not, these three songs have some threads that can connect them to each other. Yes, two of the songs are by the same band, but the threads I"m talking about aren't that superficial.

We're going to dig a bit deeper, jumping between songs, flash forwards, flashback, flash sideways. It's gonna be like an episode of "Lost' up in this mug, secrets revealed, more mysteries raised, storylines that require your full attention to follow, and an emotional ending that is open to interpretation.

Here come the completely superfluous numbers...

1. "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here" both come from my favorite album ever, August and Everything After. One single was more commercial than the other. I believe you know the one.
2. "Mr. Jones" is about two struggling musicians (Durtiz and his friend, Marty Jones) hanging out in the bar, dreaming about what it would be like to become big time rock stars.
3. In a 1994 Rolling Stone article profiling the band, reporter Mark Siegler noted how a fan ran up to Duritz in a Paris museum saying, "Hey, Mr. Jones! Hey, man. You're Mr. Jones!"
4. "Believe me, that's not so bad," Duritz said later. "I mean, someone came up to me and said, 'Hey, man, I think I finally figured the whole thing out. Mr. Jones is your dick, right?"
5. Probably not. But, Mr. Jones is the main character in Bob Dylan's song, "Ballad of a Thin Man".
6. Line from "Mr. Jones": "I wanna be Bob Dylan". 
7. When I was a kid, I always heard that line as "I wanna be popular." Maybe that was my own subconscious talking or something.
8. BTW, that interview took place on April 8, 1994. The day that Kurt Cobain killed himself. What a journalists dream. He was able to catch Duritz's reactions firsthand. You should definitely read it.
9. "Only Wanna Be With You" was the 3rd single from Hootie & The Blowfish's Cracked Rearview.
10. Released in July 1994, Cracked Rearview is -believe it or not- the 15th best selling album of all time.
11. This song also features a more blatant tribute to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks album.
12. The tribute was so blatant that Bob Dylan sued the group for plagiarism.
13. Lyrics: "Put on a little Dylan/Sittin' on a fence" references Dylan's "You're a Big Girl Now" ("Bird on the Horizon, sittin' on  a fence)
14. The narrator of "Only Wanna Be With You" says his girlfriend asks what the following lyrics meant:
15. "Said I shot a man named Gray/ Took his wife to Italy/ She inherited a million bucks/ And when she died, it came it to me/ I can't help it if I'm lucky"
16. Those lyrics, word for word, are from Dylan's song, 'Idiot Wind'
17. Lyric from Mr. Jones: "Yeah, y'know, Gray is my favorite color/ I felt so symbolic yesterday"
18. Bob Dylan and Hootie & the Blowfish reached an out of court settlement.
19. Of course, the lyrics after that plagiarized section are "Ain't Bobby so cool" and later "Yeah, I'm tangled up in blue" a reference to one of Dylan's most popular songs, "Tangled Up in Blue"
20. Since all these tributes were going on, it makes me wonder....
21. The line from "Only Wanna Be With You": "I'm such a baby cause the Dolphin's make me cry."
22. I wondered if that inspired Live's song, "The Dolphin's Cry"
23. A song that Adam Duritz of Counting Crows regularly performed onstage with Live during a 2000 tour.
24. Probably not.
25. Lines from "Round Here" by Counting Crows: "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand/ she said she like to meet a boy who looked like Elvis"
26. Lines from "High Lonesome" by The Gaslight Anthem: "And Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand/ I always kinda sorta wished I looked like Elvis"
27. Other song referenced in "High Lonesome":  Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" (And at night I woke up up with the sheets soaking wet/ It's a pretty good song/ Maybe you know the rest)
28. The Gaslight Anthem have covered Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" numerous times in concert, but not "Round Here"
29. Panic at the Disco and Dustin Kensue of Thrice have though.
30. I karoaked "Only Wanna Be With You" with Paulie Walnuts at Beerwad's wedding, which was one of the best nights I have ever had.
31. "Round Here" is one of those songs that I have always listened to whenever I felt sad. 
32. Usually listening to that song makes it worse. But something about the emotion in that song....
33. I have listened to "Round Here" a lot over the last few months.
34. Part of the reason Beerwad's wedding night was so great was because two of my best friends were getting married. And I was surrounded by every I know and care about. And...I was with someone who had been the end-all, be-all for a very long time.
35. It was all downhill from there.
36. I'm fine now. And the period hasn't been place on the final page of that chapter yet.
37. But I apologize for the mess I had been during that time and the people that had to deal with me. Specifically, Beerwad, Tic Tac, Xena, and Trigger.
38. Life is nothing without good friends.
39. 
    

Essential Songs of the 90s:  “Question Everything” by 8stops7

By Paulie Walnuts

1. This amazing song appears on the band’s second and most successful album, In Moderation.

2. This album was released in 1999.

3. It barely qualifies as a 90s song, but, alas, it is.

4. 8stops7 is also known for their songs “Satisfied” and “My Would-be Savior.”

5. “Question Everything” is easily one of my favorite songs of the 90s.

6. I can’t believe it never got that popular.

7. The song peaked at #38 on the US Adult Top 40 and #16 on the rock charts.

8. The lyrics of this classic really hit home.

9. There’s something incredible in the line, “I lost half my life to wisdom so forgive me if I come off sounding bitter, if my words push you away…”

10. Don’t you agree?

11. Yeah, I know it’s vague, but listen to that line in the context of the song and then judge.

12. The song is about daddy issues.

13. Most teen boys have daddy issues.

14. I was no exception.

15. There is something hopeful in the way the song is played and sang.

16. It builds up slowly into a chorus about coming home 10 years later to rectify things with a father figure.

17. It’s about acceptance.

18. And forgiveness.

19. 8stops7 is currently working on another album that should be released sometime this year.

20. Interestingly, American Idol icon David Cook lists 8stops7 as one of his most influential bands.

21. He also enjoys the musical stylings of Our Lady Peace who, I’m sure, will eventually pop up on our Essential Songs list.

22. “Question Everything” came out during a rough time in my life.

23. It spoke to me when I felt like I had no one to turn to.

24. I realized I wasn’t alone in my daddy issues.

25. I’m 10 years older now.

26. I’ve learned to forgive.

27. 

by RFP

1. Here it is. Because no one demanded it.
2. The return of the Essential Songs of the 1990s.
3. Here's the song I'll be rambling about
4. 
   
5. Can you believe that "Song 2" was the 2nd track off 1997's Blur?
6. AND, it was the 2nd single off that album.
7. Guess what? It's 2:02 long.
8. It also peaked at #2 on the UK charts.
9. Eerie.
10. Everyone likes this song because they like to do the "whoo-hoo" part.
11. Turn the song on. 8 out of 10 people will "whoo-hoo."
12. It's also true that not one single person sounds the same when they do it. Everyone whoo-hoos differently.
13. These days lead singer Damon Albarn is best known for being the voice of the animated pop group, Gorillaz.
14. Stephen Colbert had Gorillaz on The Colbert Report last week.
15. His first question to Albarn: "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
16. "Song 2" was covered in the mostly dreadful Punk Goes...series. In this case, Punk Goes 90s and by Plain White T's of the annoying 'Hey There, Delilah' fame.
17. Dude can't "whoo-hoo" right. You be the judge.
18. 
    
19. In 2007 on MTV New Year's Eve, AFI also covered the song to ring in the new year.
20. It's pretty bad, so I won't share it here. If you're really curious, click this.
21. There's really not much to the lyrics.
22. After looking at them, I realize I really never knew much of the words.
23. Except for whoo-hoo.

by RFP

1. Sad to say that Pauly Fuemana, aged 40,  of OMC was found dead today.
2. OMC's one and only hit was 1997's "How Bizarre"
3. But you already know that.
4. What you might not know is that OMC broke up in 2000 and Fuemana went bankrupt in 2005.
5. So life was not kind to him the last few years.
6. In 2007, Fuemana tried to make a comeback, reforming the group and recording a song with Xena, Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless, called "4 All of Us."
7. Pauly Fuemana was from New Zealand and came from a poverty-striken city called Otara.
8. Fuemana joined a group of rap lovers called Otara Millionaires Club or OMC.
9. The group broke up, but Fuemana kept the name for himself.
10. Fuemana was the frontman, played most of the instruments on the recordings and cowrote the material with Alan Jansson.
11. "How Bizarre" sold over 35,000 copies in New Zealand, which is considered 3 and half times platinum for the country.
12. It is one of the top selling singles of all time in New Zealand
13. 
    

by RFP

1. Here's a quick experiment. Ask the female that's closest in proximity to you whether or not she likes "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks.
2. Now, in the next day or two, ask 9 more women you know the same question.
3. Chances are that 9 out of 10 of those women will bust in song, quoting the chorus, no doubt: "I'm a bitch / I'm a lover/ I'm a child/ I'm a mother..."
4. Because any time I have been around a woman and this song has come on, they mumble through their way through the verses.
5. The verses just get in the way of what really matters: the chorus.
6. That chorus comes on and they just belt it right out.
7. And after the song is over, after the last "bitch" has been uttered, they always, without fail, say, "yeah, I'm a bitch. So what?"
8. In this day and age, there is nothing more empowering for a woman than to call herself a bitch.
9. At least that's what I gather.
10. Same thing happens when "Crazy Bitch" by Buckcherry comes on at the bar.
11. The women squeal and sing along. 
12. If you listen closely, you can hear some of them shrieking, "That's my song! This is my song!"
13. That is, if you can decipher the high pitched shriek that a woman utters after about 5 fruity mixed drinks when she's really excited about something ridiculous.
14. And I'm like, you do know that "Crazy Bitch" is about a guy staying with a woman because he likes nailing her, right? And she's great in the sack. 
15. So...if you're into being a living sex toy, then great. That is your song.
16. Your mom would be proud.
17. ANYWAYS.
18. Back to Meredith Brooks' "Bitch"
19. In 2000, 3 years after the release of this song, Austrailian comedian Chris Franklin released a parody of the song called "Bloke".
20. If you're into unfunny motherfuckers who "sing" in a thick accented monotone and use stupid Aussie slang in order to make a sub-par parody of a crappy pop song, then, by all means, you should look it up on youtube.
21. Meredith Brooks on her song: "It simply means that when we don't honor every mood we're in, we move away from it and don't notice what's really going on with us....I think most people get the point that it's not about bitch — it's 'I'm a bitch, I'm a mother, I'm a child, I'm a lover,' I'm all these things. Men completely get it and are so relieved that somebody's saying it; all they want us to do is admit that we can be irrational and illogical sometimes, and then it's their job to put up with it." (from Entertainment Weekly, June 13, 1997)
22. Women can be irrational and illogical???????
23. No.
24. I refuse to believe it.
25. 
    

by Paulie Walnuts

1. One of the all-time greatest one-hit wonders.
2. The timeless song with the unforgettably long title appears on the album “Rocket.”
3. It came out in 1996 – the same year that everything else good came out.
4. By “good” I mean everything that reminds me of the greatest Summer of my life.
5.  I only recently found out that the lyric “I’ve been down hearted baby” is a cut from B.B. King’s  How Blue Can You Get?
6. RFP and I used to bellow that part of the song in our gruffest man-child voices.
7. I remember staying up until dawn watching music videos with RFP and my other cousin, Pot, and seeing this song for the first time.
8.  I thought, “Does that gentle voice really come from that dude?”
9. I’ve always been enamored by the lyrics to this tune.
10. At times they don’t make sense, at other times they’re brilliant, but they’re always catchy and memorable.
11. Take for example: “Ma Teresa’s joined the mob and happy with her full-time job” or my    personal favorite “Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?”
12.  What an interesting question.
13.  Kinda inspirational, too, if you think about it.
14.  I wanna live awake, don’t you?
15.  I wish, in a way, I were still stuck in 1996. Life was easier. I guess life has always been hard for just about everyone, but in 1996, I never found myself standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand.
16.  Metaphorically speaking.
17. 
    

by RFP

1. This is it. You can blame this song for everything.
2. Before Oasis, I really did not listen to music. And for that matter I didn't see that many movies or care about TV or anything. This was different from "Peaches"; this was a song and band I actually cared about.
3. But then I heard "Champagne Supernova" and I bought their cassette, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? I was hooked. It all kinda snowballed from there. I started listening to more music, which lead to watching more movies, which lead to being completely obsessed about pop culture, which, inevitably, led to this here web site.
4. Don't blame me, blame Oasis.
5. Why it took a band from England in 1996 to make me fall in love with music, I will never know. I'm not comfortable with saying that Oasis changed my life, but....
6. Enough about me (for now), let's talk about the song and the band (Rest In Peace, Oasis),
7. In case you didn't hear, perpetually feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher finally had enough of each other. Noel, the writer of this and most of Oasis' songs, left the band. Liam has said that he and the rest of the members will stick together and make music under a different name.
8. Liam = lead vocalist, Noel = lead guitar, writer.
9. So the new band will sound the same vocally, but the songs will probably suck.
10. Ben Folds Five, Hootie & The Blowfish, and, most recently, Snow Patrol have covered "Champagne Supernova". Snow Patrol covered it after Oasis pulled out of a music festival this year because Liam Gallagher was sick.
11. Speaking of Liam Gallagher being sick, I still remember watching MTV Unplugged when I was in my Oasis faze. Liam was having throat problems, so Noel filled in on vocals while his douchebag brother heckled him from a balcony.
12. Speaking of Snow Patrol covering Oasis, 
13. As for that Hootie and the Blowfish cover, download a live version from 8-23-08 here.
14. This song will forever remind me of freshman year of high school.
15. For one, the video was on every single morning on MTV between 6:40 and 6:55. It was usually the last video I got to see before I had to go catch the bus.
16. For another, the line "where were you while we were getting high?" reminds me of Geometry class that year.
17. I sat in the back of the class with three stoners. Every day they greeted each other by saying, "I got sooooo wasted last night." They would proceed to talk about pot for the next 45 minutes. 
18. The song "Crossroads" by Bone Thugs N Harmony also reminds me of those kids because that was their favorite song at the time. More on that one some other time.
19. Got stuck on me, me, me again. I'm sorry, but I'm my favorite subject to talk about.
20. Riddle me this: "How many special people change?" and "Where were you while we were getting high?"
21. I don't know the answers to those questions and, apparently, neither does Noel because he doesn't attempt to answer them within the song's lyrics.
22. Ah. Apparently, "where were you while we were getting high?" was included because (says Noel): "because that's what we always say to each other."
23. Noel on the song's lyrics: “This writer, he was going on about the lyrics to Champagne Supernova,” Gallagher recalls, “and he actually said to me: ‘You know, the one thing that’s stopping it being a classic is the ridiculous lyrics.’ And I went: ‘What do you mean by that?’ And he said: ‘Well, ‘Slowly walking down the hall / Faster than a cannonball’ — what’s that mean?’ And I went: ‘I don’t f***ing know. But are you telling me, when you’ve got 60,000 people singing it, they don’t know what it means? It means something different to every one of them.’ ”
24. What is a Champagne Supernova?
25. The Urban dictionary says: "A martini  glass full of champagne with cocaine on the rim, as salt would be on a margarita."
26. That sounds about right. 
27. Especially since Gallagher says he wrote some of the lyrics when he was "out of it."
28. Liam on the song's title (from a 2006 issue of Uncut magazine): "I like the title, me. That's when it was like, that's when it was havin' it. The name says it all, d'you know what I mean? Champagne Supernova. What the fuck's that about! I haven't got a clue. It just reminds me of getting pissed, in a big style way. Fuckin' havin' loads of fucking drugs. That's what that means. Champagne just means booze and Supernova is fucking out of it! We usually play it around the end of the night. I'm usually a big fucked by then."
29. What a poet. 
30. Can you imagine partying with that guy? Unbelievable. Nothing but drugs, alcohol, sipping tea, chasing birds, having rows with geezers, taking the piss out of bloody wankers, having bad teeth and overall questionable hygiene, plus other generic British stereotypes.
31. In the same article, Noel says that "Champagne Supernova" is "kinda like our "Stairway to Heaven."
32. Noel's former home in Belsize Park in London was named "Supernova Heights" after...you guessed it. This song.
33. Connecting "Champagne Supernova" to Quiet Riot in 3 easy steps
34. i) An official remix to "Champagne Supernova" was released as a b-side to a 12" of a cover of a Slade song.
35. ii) That Slade song was "Cum On Feel The Noize"
36. iii) "Cum On Feel The Noize" was a hit for Quiet Riot in 1983.
37. In 1996, Noel Gallagher prevented the band Urban Cookie Collective from releasing their version of "Champagne Supernova". Probably, a wise choice.
38. Take A Listen:
39. "Champagne Supernova" also reminds me of the summer, specifically being up north in the summer.
40. There's nothing like being up north in Michigan during summer vacation in high school. Just ask Kid Rock. Or if you can't get ahold of him, listen to "All Summer Long".
41. I remember fishing in a small canal with Paulie Walnuts, alternating between listening to this, Alanis , and Metallica, discussing the hot housekeeper that was seen cleaning the motel rooms earlier in the day.
42. It sucks because, at the time, you don't realize that small moments like that are the ones that you remember and cherish the most. Maybe then you would appreciate those moments more at that the time, rather than years after the fact,
43. Also, be careful about the music you listen to. Because you never know what song will be forever tied with a happy memory.
44. And in the next decade, remember to appreciate things as they happen, not after they have occurred.

by Ro-Ads

So, maybe it’s MY turn to type about an essential 90s song of mine. Bandwagon, here I come.

(RFP's Note: Yes, I am a trend setter. I am THAT cool.)

1. I chose "Firestarter" by The Prodigy.
2. The song appeared sometime in the summer of 1997.
3. The magical summer between childhood and high school disappointment.
4. The first time I saw the video on the freshly Comcast-carried MTV2 I fell in love with that English doubla-hawk-and-eyeliner-wearing-pierced-insane-teddybear of a man.
5. There are three members; Liam Howlett (composer/keyboards), Keith Flint (dancer/vocalist), and Maxim Reality (emcee/vocalist). Liam is the nerdy-looking guy, always in the back ground. Keith, the make-up wearing tweaking dual-hawk wearing guy. And Maxim is better known as the token black man who wears random eye-changing contacts.
6. The video was a stark difference from others in its time. Black. White. Dirty. Grainy. Genius. With its star dancing around in a gutter-punk parody of Captain America ’s super suit.
7. Song was simple and driving. The first song I can remember instantly knowing the “singer” was not American.
8. “I'm the trouble starter/punkin' instigator/I'm the fear addicted/a danger illustrated/I'm a firestarter/twisted firestarter” made me think bad things. And want to DO those bad things. And BE those bad things.
9. While I am listing these reasons, the song is repeating in my head. Over. And over.
10. And over again. And I’m okay with it, but my roommates aren’t, as I’m
11. THE SELF INFLICTED, MIND DETONATOR….YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
12. Everyone knows that you’ve not relevant until Weird Al has parodied your song. Which he did. And he called the parody “Bad haircut”.
13. The Sneaker Pimps covered “Firestarter” as a lounge song, and released it on the “Six Underground” single re-release.
14.  Apparently that re-release is rare.
15. I have now watched the video on youtube 23 times. In a row. Instead of writing about it.
16. This song is off of their third album, “Fat of the Land.” Other songs from this album to chart in the US are “Breathe” and “Smack My Bitch Up.”
17. During a performance at the Reading Festival the summer of 1998, apparently The Prodigy and the Beastie Boys had an onstage disagreement over the “Smack My Bitch Up”…the Beastie Boys asked for it to be pulled from their set…saying it could be considered offensive to those who had suffered domestic abuse…
18. Choosing to ignore the Beastie Boys plea, Maxim Reality introduced the song, declaring "They didn’t want us to play this fucking tune. But the way things go, I do what the fuck I want!”
19. That had nothing to do with Firestarter, but I thought it was bad-assed enough to mention.
20. This song inspires nostalgia.
21. The Prodigy is credited, along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and The Crystal Method as a pioneer of the big beat electronic music
22. I don’t buy it. But they HAVE sold over 20 million records worldwide. So…okay.

- Ro-Ads

RFP says, Take a look at this ridiculousness. Gene Simmons covering "Firestarter"

by RFP

1. I mean, now is the obvious time for this one, right? (Note for the dense: Because it's December).
2. From the Crows' sophomore album, Recovering the Satellites (1996).
3. The music video featured Courtney Cox.
   
4. The last time Courtney Cox had been in a music video was Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," in which Bruce pulled her on stage and they danced a ridiculous little jig.
5. She turned this exposure into a role in the He-Man movie with Dolph Lundgren. That's success.
   
6. Fact: Lead singer Adam Duritz dated 2/3 of the female cast of Friends,
7. Courtney Cox and Jennifer Anniston.
8. This was back when Friends was the hottest show on Earth and Cox and Anniston were the hottest women on Earth.
9. Fact: This makes Adam Duritz 1997's LUCKIEST MAN EVER,
10. On the media's reaction to him always dating hot actresses: "It's always set up as 'How does that fat fuck always get all these women?' "
11. "There are so many phrases that have become idiomatic because they are so used--they go in one ear and out the other.But if you tell someone something in a smaller way, in between the lines is where all that feeling is. In "A Long December:" "All at once you look across a crowded room / and see the way that light attaches to a girl." You know how that guy feels about that girl at that moment.You don't have to say, "She takes my breath away," or all these things that you've heard. Rather than say that she takes my breath away I'd rather explain that I can't breathe." - Adam Duritz
12. That's how he gets the ladies. Adam Duritz can spit some game.
13. Back when I used to sing karaoke on a regular basis, I made sure to sing this song at least once in December, hoping the crowd would appreciate the irony.
    
14. In retrospect, this probably made me more of a douche than anything.
15. Fact that ruins Adam Duritz's street cred: He wrote three songs for the fictional band Josie and the Pussycats to sing in the live action movie of the same name.
16. From VH1 Storytellers: "In the middle of December of ‘95 my friend Jennifer got run over by a car, and just creamed; and I spent that whole month, while we were just beginning the record and most of Jan & Feb in the hospital...one day I just left the studio about 2 in the morning, and I went to my friend Samantha and Tracy's house which is Hillside Manor; and uh.. That's what we call it anyway, it's just a little house and I sat there talking with them, I woke ‘em up, got ‘em out of bed and made ‘em talk to me for a couple hours, then I went home to my house. And I wrote this song between about 4 and 6 and then went to the hospital the next day"
17. For the record, his "friend Jennifer" is not Jennifer Anniston.
18. Because, as far as I know, she never got creamed by a car.
19. If you paid attention to Duritz's quote from Storytellers and know some of the lyrics from A Long December, some things should jump out at you.
20. Let me break it down for you.
21. Lyric: "the smell of hospitals in winter" = Adam visiting his friend in the hospital
22. Lyric: "Drove up to Hillside Manor, sometime after 2 am and talked a little while about the year" = going to his friend's place (which they had named Hillside Manor) and talked about life with them.
23. In 2005, Dead and Dreaming: An Indie Tribute to The Counting Crows was released by Victory Records with Bayside contributing a cover of "A Long December".
24. It's not as good as the original.
    
25. Hearing "A Long December" always reminds me of winter and, believe it or not, the month of December.
26. No shit, right?
27. Like, obviously, it's not going to remind you of May is it?
28. First of all, songs can remind everyone of different things. I'm sure that somebody somewhere heard this song some balmy May night and it's forever associated with that night or that girl or that movie. Whatever.
29. The line: "A long December and there's reason to believe/ Maybe this year will be better than the last" is what does it.
30. For me, December seems to just drag on. All the holidays and the spending and the crowds and all the irrelevant bullshit and unnecessary stress that comes along with Christmas just make December seem like a burden.
31. It shouldn't be that way, I know. 
32. Anyway, by mid-December, I just can't wait to get to January 1. 
33. Whenever the new year comes, I always look at it as a blank slate. A chance to start over. Every year I promise myself to take chances, to make changes for the better.
34. Not really New Year's resolutions. But personal goals.
35. I started off strong this year, but as is often the case, life got in the way.
36. So at the stroke of midnight, as December 31 dies and January 1 is born, I always think to myself: "Maybe this year will be better than the last."
37. Because the possibility is there. This could be the year everything falls into place.
38. Damn. 
39. It got serious there for a minute.
40. More on the song, straight from the Duritz's mouth (also from Storytellers): "Like the guy says in "A Long December": "And there's a reason to believe/ Maybe this year will be better than the last/ I can't remember the last thing you said as you were leavin'/ Now the days go by so fast." That's me in a nutshell--people leaving, me leaving, days going past.
41. "By the end of the song, what he says is "I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself/ To hold on to these moments as they pass." You have to remember to hold on to these moments. Life can be flashing moments that pass by you and add up to nothing, or they can be things that you keep and cherish."
42. "Loss doesn't mean gone forever: you have your memories. The things you lose don't have to be such ghosts as we always make them out to be. They can be memories that we can keep--especially me, since I get to write songs about them."
    
43. That Duritz is a deep man. I think I would date him at this point. I like that quote a lot.
44. The things you lose don't have to be such ghosts as we always make them out to be.