And there’s nobody around to break my fall…

The Mountain Goats – Matthew 25:21

They hook you up
To a fentanyl drip
To mitigate the pain a little bit
I flew in
From Pennsylvania
When I heard the hour was coming fast
And I docked in San Barbara
Tried to brace myself
You can’t brace yourself
When the time comes
You just have to roll with the blast
And I’m an eighteen-wheeler headed down the interstate
And my breaks are going to give
And I won’t know till it’s too late
Tires screaming when I lose control
Try not to hurt too many people when I roll

Find the harbor freeway
And head south
Real tired
Head kind of light
I found Telegraph Road
I’d only seen the name on envelopes
Found the parking lot
And turned right
I felt all the details
Carving out space in my head
Tropicanas on the walk way
Neon red
Between the pain
And the pills trying to hold at bay
You stand as a traveler going far away
And I am airplane tumbling wing over wing
Tried to listen to my instruments
They don’t say anything
People screaming when the engines quit
I hope we’re all in crash position when we hit

And then I came to your bedside
And as it turns out
I’m not ready
And as though
You were speaking through a thick haze
You said hello to me
We all stood there around you
Happy to hear you speak
The last of something bright burning
Still burning
Beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy
And you were a presence full of light upon this earth
And I am a witness to your life and to it’s worth
It’s three days later when I get the call
And there’s nobody around to break my fall

Gilad

Dear Friends,

This morning, my brother passed away. Those of you who know me personally, or have been following this blog know that my brother Gilad has been battling cancer for the past three years. In accordance with Jewish custom, I won’t be listening to any music for the month of mourning.

I don’t know how often I will be updating in the next few weeks, but I do want you to do a few things for me. First of all, listen to these songs I’m posting. These are the songs that he and I have used to get through this difficult time. Secondly, please leave your thoughts in the comments or email them to me. Finally, please check out Gilad’s blog. I know he only posted a few times, but his posts are clever and well written – written as only a smart 19-year-old with cancer can possibly write.

So long for now, and I’ll be back soon.

Pearl Jam – Daughter/It’s Ok

Dispatch – Hey Hey

U2 – One

Day Three

So it goes. Here I am in Boston, MA, sitting down to my desk on my third day of work.

To go along with this theme, I thought I’d share a song by Explosions In The Sky, called Day 3. Of all their albums, this one is probably the most intriguing to me. Maybe it’s because they have the entire album for free download on their site.

But I don’t think my frugality is what drew me to this album; I think it’s the story. From what I can glean (and I haven’t listened to the entire album all the way through in some time), the band’s van broke down thousands of miles from home, and they had no money or way to get back.

It’s difficult for a lyric-less band to tell such a story, and this track, which includes some “spoken-word” does help a bit. But overall, it’s the mood of despair that jumps out at the listener which seems to confirm those fears of wrong decisions and poor choices. This regretful despair is what this entire album signifies.

My third day of work will hopefully not be marred by such a mood (so far the first two days have been great), but since this was the only song I found with “Day Three” in the title, and since I haven’t shared Explosions in a while, I figured it was worth giving it a go.

Explosions In The Sky – Day 3

In Memory of LeRoi Moore: 1968 – 2008

[Today is the second anniversary of the tragic death of Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore. To commemorate his life and his music, I want to re-post the eulogy I posted for him right after his untimely death.]

There are some forms of writing you never want to have to learn to write. A eulogy is one of those. Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 8/19/08) LeRoi Moore, the saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, passed away.

For me, this is the first time I’ve felt the loss of a musician so personally. I was too young to understand when Kurt Cobain died. I remember the deaths of John Lee Hooker and Chet Atkins- but never had enough of an emotional connection with their music to really feel the loss fully.

But the Dave Matthews Band, well, I grew up on the Dave Matthews Band. I remember the first time I saw a video of DMB playing live. It was their performance at Woodstock ‘99. I remember thinking how cool Dave looked when he danced. I remember how much fun Carter looked like he was having from behind the kit. I remember how Boyd twirled around onstage. I remember how Stefan was able to look uber cool without even trying. But what stood out the most to me was LeRoi. LeRoi stood stage right, wearing a huge peach colored t-shirt, corn-rowed hair tied back in a pony tail, and sporting a pair of Ray Charles style shades. What struck me most was how out of place he looked in this band; the rest of the guys looked cool in the rock star sense, while this guy looked like he would’ve fit in better at a dressed down blues jam.

That was LeRoi Moore. He may not have looked like he fit in stylistically, but musically he was the perfect match. His saxophone skills were amazing. The two times I saw him play live, his playing was out of this world. He may not have moved around onstage, but his music was able to move the audience.

And that’s exactly what he was able to do. The horns played by LeRoi brought the music regular pop music to something better. They combined the old school big band with the new school jam band. They refused to bow down to the stereotypes of the modern rock band with 2 guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. They broke all the rules, and because of that shined through. And LeRoi was one of the brightest lights out there.

So let’s celebrate the life of this great musician. For those of us who were able to see this band live, let’s remember those shows, our favorite jams, and the excitement of watching this master of the saxophone onstage. If you never saw LeRoi perform live, listen to the live tracks, and let the music paint the picture for you.

Dave Matthews Band – #41

Steve Earle – Repost

I always love when I introduce friends to good music. And when both the friend and the music are great, it makes it even nicer.

Avi, or The Daily Snowman, my former roommate of 3 years and longtime friend, went to see Steve Earle last week. If you’d like to read his review of the show (along with his witty writing, and fun use of parentheses), check it out here.

I’ve been to Boston before

Counting Crows – Walkaways

I gotta rush away, she said,
I been to Boston before.
and anyways
this change I been feeling
doesn’t make the rain fall

No big differences these days
just the same old walkaways
and someday
i’m gonna stay
but not today

We’re Engaged!

Dear friends, family, loyal readers, and music lovers alike,

Just yesterday, I got engaged to the most wonderful girl in the world. And now, on top of the world, it’s time to share my joy with you, in the form of wedding songs. Thanks for reading and sharing in my happiness and as always – enjoy the music.

The Avett Brothers – January Wedding

Band Of Horses – Marry Song

Drive-By Truckers – Marry Me

David Bowie – Be My Wife

Grateful Dead – Live at Red Rocks (8-12-79)

Yesterday was Jerry Garcia’s 15th yartzeit. (Or, for those of you who don’t have any knowledge of Yiddish, yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death.) My dad informed me of this at about 11:59PM last night, as the day was almost over, and thus I had no time to put together a quick post about The Dead.

Truckstop Coffee – Tennessee Time

Truckstop Coffee – Tennessee Time

Smoke em while you can
We got two left in the pack
We’re 18 deep and it’s too late to turn back
Burn it all down
Nothing left for later
Save some memories we’ll savor down the line

If I ever do
One thing right
I’ll get back to
The southside of the Kentucky state line
Back to
Tennessee time

Like a faded tatoo
I wear these worn out pictures of you
Lately looking back is all I do
To a winter sky
A soft winter sunshine
Reflecting off the back of blackbirds in flight

If I ever do
One thing right
I’ll get back to
The southside of the Kentucky state line
Back to
Tennessee time

It was snowing in Chatanooga
The first night we rolled in
Kinda cold for some Florida boys
But we warmed up when we went in
Saw some good old rock n roll
And we made some brand new friends
I swear it was the happiest
A boy’s ever been

If I ever do
one thing right
I’ll get back to
The southside of the Kentucky state line
Back to a place where everything was alright
Where the breeze was blowing a better state of mind
Back to
Tennessee time
Tennessee time
Tennessee time

Arcade Fire: Live at MSG

[Editor: This guest post was written by Av Sinensky.]

Picture via Brooklyn Vegan

The first time I heard of Arcade Fire was at a U2 concert during 2005’s Vertigo Tour when U2 used the band’s hit “Wake Up” as their intro music at the start of the show. (They were also an opening act for a part of that tour.)

The first time I saw Arcade Fire perform live was in 2007 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, an intimate 3,000 seat auditorium.

The first time I saw Arcade Fire play The Garden was last night and it was a special occasion not just because it was my first opportunity to see them play there but because it was the first time they had played at a venue of that magnitude (at least on this continent.)