Song Spotlight: Thirsty Merc - Tommy and Krista

There are a few ways into my musical good graces. The first is to be an Aussie band, because I'm a total sucker for a whole lot of them. The second is to sing a song that tells a story, especially if it is a true story but even if it's not I'm a sucker for the Billy Joel style. Another thing I love probably also comes from my early love of the piano man and that is an accent in a song. I always loved when Billy sang "Don't axe me why" in his Long Island accent, which was also a testament to the differences in recording process from then till now.

There are many other things that will make me love a song, but the list above is all contained in this track by Aussie group Thirsty Merc. Not only is it a him and her song about Tommy and Krista but with the Aussie accent it becomes Tommy and Krister. It's also catchy and doesn't beat you over the head with a happy ending even if one is hinted at. Enjoy:

Well Tommy met Krista at the age of 19
The prettiest girl that he’d ever seen
And there was not a lot of waiting
They started dating
They used to hang out at the coffee shop there
And the weather was nice, the stakes were quite high
And one day Tommy made Krista cry
A little mix-up, do wop started a fight
And Krista went and said goodbye

She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.
She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.

Well a couple years on he was out with his friends
When Tommy walked into a room and saw Krista again
The crazy thing was it was all still there
So Tommy said Hey you wanna drive somewhere
So they drove to the city where the lights shine low
And Tommy had the feeling that his heart could re-grow
But, in a second he was down at something she said
Tommy I’m with someone else
Tommy I’m with someone else

She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.
She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.

Well Tommy never turned to aggression or fear
Instead he started working it he new year
But at night she’d invade his thoughts and his dreams
He can’t keep his mind away from Krista it seems
And so cold but funny enough
Krista and her boyfriend were broken up
But until they meet again and the time feels right
This is how is tonight
This is how it is tonight

She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.
She used to be in love with me
And now she’s gone and taken all the love away
She used to be in love with me
And now I’m just a memory.
_________________________

Song Spotlight: Clare Bowditch and Lanie Lane - Now You're Home

With all the time I've been spending away from home over the last month and a half this song was of particular interest to me when I heard it. I love Clare Bowditch and Lanie Lane to begin with but when they start harmonizing a little ditty that speaks to loved ones being forced to spend time apart that's a hit in my mind. Inky and I only have to spend two more weeks apart and then I get to move back to my real office and spend my nights at home with her and the Captain.

In the meantime enjoy the song...

Song Spotlight: Missy Higgins - If I'm Honest

I was really excited to hear that Missy Higgins was down in Nashville working with Butterfly Boucher on a new record. Well, that work has now apparently all paid off and the new record should be out late this year or early in '12. Her last disc came out in '07 so the wait has been substantial.

But I ain't mad at her.

Missy headlined the Australia Rocks the Pier concert at Santa Monica pier a few weeks back and she graced the crowd with four new tracks. I hadn't herd Deep Red Dirt, Tricks or Cooling of the Embers yet so I'm still digesting them. But I had herd If I'm Honest when she performed it at Lilith Fair so this rendition was more familiar to me. Skip ahead to 3:03 to get to the start of the song. Enjoy:

Darling, if I’m honest
you’ve been on my mind
On my mind all day.
And lately, if I’m honest
I can’t bring my self
To think no other way

I’ve been finding all kinds of reckless ways
To forget your face.
Like going out on the town
Throwing around all that love I kept for you

But no one touches me like you used to
It’s a shame but it’s true
Nobody loves me the way that you used to

And darling
I’ve been moving
through seas of faces
hoping to meet your stare
And dancing
towards any stranger
with your crazy eyes
or way with golden hair

I’ve been trying of all kinds useless ways just to push it all down
Like spinning around, spinning around till I fall on to the ground
But no one touches me like you used to
It’s a shame but it’s true
No body loves me the way that you used to

So I painted over all the cracks
But now the paint is pealing back.
Oh Yeah
Oh Yeah, Yeah

It’s a shame but true…

How Does Something Like This Get By Me?

The other day a few of the people in my training class were talking about this video and I had no idea what it was. So, when I got back to the hotel tonight I checked it out. God damn is this shit hilarious. I hope to hell this guy is for real and not just playing a "gay with attitude" for the video, because it is a riot.

The combination of the classical music, the NatGeo video and Randall's narration mix to form the perfect web video. His other videos are good (I also like the bullfrog one) but nothing could be better than Honey Badger. For me the only thing missing here is video of Randall watching the footage and narrating. If this guy wants to start his own nature show I'd watch for sure.

Home Away From Home

Since I'm spending so much damn time here at the Double Tree in Marlton NJ I thought I should give a little tour of my home away from home. It's a nice hotel and as welcoming as any place that you have to spend two months away from home it. The only thing missing is Inky...

...and a computer for the desk in the living room/office. I get pretty tired of walking down to the "business center" which consists of two computers and two printers.

It's nice to spend some time on the couch watching the TV after work. In a regular hotel when I traveled on business in past jobs you get the bed and maybe a chair. And even if you get a couch it's normally in the same room as the bed. The separate rooms allows for a sense of normalcy in that when I'd done watching TV at night I can "go to bed" in a whole other room.

The refrigerator is also a nice touch. I go shopping at the local Wegmans each Sunday night to get everything I'm going to need for breakfast for the week. That way I can have some OJ, a granola bar and some Greek yogurt in the morning while I sit on my couch and watch Sports Center.

The sink area is also quasi-separate from the living room and bedroom which allows a lot of room to get ready in the morning or to clean up after my trips to the hotel gym.

While this bed can't possibly live up to the high standard set by the Captain it's been getting the job done. The biggest downside to 40 nights in a hotel is I seem to be falling back into bad sleeping habits. Namely: sleeping on my back which causes me to snore. Inky did a great job of breaking me of that over the 15 years we've been together and now I'm regressing.

Lastly, it's nice to have a second TV in the place so when I want to lay in bed and watch TV I can. Then I can just turn the light out and fall asleep. Inky and I used to have a TV in the bedroom but we never used it. We'd always just rather talk to one another before falling asleep. I can't wait for that to be full time again.

Song Spotlight: The Living End - The Ending is Just the Beginning Repeating

I was struggling trying to come up with a new tune to post this week and then Inky reminded me that the new record from The Living End came out this week. This is the first track off the new record (of the same name) and it is fantastic. I'd expect nothing less from TLE who have been consistently making great records for over fifteen years now. This track is a worthy successor to other great Living End songs like White Noise, Long Live the Weekend, Prisoner of Society and Roll On.

We are the wounded soldiers
We are the refugees
We are the dead eyed workers
I am you, and you are me

We are the model citizens
We are the absentees
We are the politicians
I'm exactly like you, you're just like me

We are the tired and weary
We are the restless and bored
We are the start of something much better
We're the end of what came before

The ending is just the beginning repeating
The ending is just the beginning repeating
Everything goes away but comes back some day
The ending is just the beginning repeating

We're not always survivors
There are no guarantees
We have our drink, we drink to our health
And I am like you, so have one on me

We're getting tired of waiting
And the rain always comes with the storm
And they always say lightning never strikes twice
But then came the knock at the door

The ending is just the beginning repeating
The ending is just the beginning repeating
Everything goes away but comes back some day
The ending is just the beginning repeating

We are the tired and weary
We are the restless and bored
We are the start of something much better
We're the end of what came before

We're getting tired of waiting
So we're running into the storm
And they always say lightning never strikes twice
But then came the knock at the door
____________________________________

Every Day at A&J

While most of the rest of the people in my eight week training session have opted for sit down chain restaurants for lunch, I was looking for something different. I've always thought that if you could skip a chain for a local place then you should, so I did a bit of shopping around during my first week here in the Philly burbs. Then I found my joint and I don't need to look any longer.

It's called A&J Deli and Grill on North Maple Ave in Marlton NJ. If you are in the area I strongly suggest you stop by. The first thing I had there was the Roast Pork with Provolone and Broccoli Rabe (picture above). It was so good it was also the second, third and fourth thing I had there. It got to the point that when I finally ordered something else on my fifth visit the guy behind the counter said that as soon as they saw me walk in they had already started slicing the pork for my sandwich.

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows... your order.

It was hard for me to stop getting the pork provolone and broccoli rabe. The pork is perfectly roasted and sliced to just the right thickness for it to be substantial but not chewy. It mixes so well with the sharpness of the cheese and the bitterness of the broccoli rabe that it is one of the most well balanced things I've ever eaten.

But, I didn't want to be a one trick pony, so I opted to explore the menu a bit the last few times I visited. I've had a buffalo chicken wrap, a turkey club and "The Bing" which is just like the pork sandwich but with a fried chicken cutlet in the place of the pork. So far they've all been amazing although I'm afraid that I may be messing with my weight loss plan a bit. I may have to have a grilled chicken wrap or sandwich or a panini in between some of the more classic deli fare over the next 4 weeks that I'm here.

Either way, I'm happy to have found such an amazingly high quality joint to eat at while I'm in my training exile.