"And I Was Foggy, Rather Groggy"

I'll tell you something this weather is really starting to wear on me. It seems like the last two weeks have been nothing but gray (at least it's raining today so the gray is justified). Most of the time I don't mind, there's something comfy and inviting about rainy weather. It's like saying (in a Barry White smooth, sexy way):

"Hey baby, why don't you come home and wrap yourself up in a blanket and watch a movie. You can even take a nap if you want to. Get all warm and fuzzy like. Yeah."

I wonder if my rain voice is creepy or not? Hmmm I wouldn't call it unwanted seducing but it's something to keep on notice. But why is it Barry White... Anyway this gray seems like it's been going on forever and I just want to see the freakin' sun! Although I'm kind of secretly hoping that there's a thunder storm tonight (well I guess it's not so much a secret now). A thunder storm is the rains way of telling you that the date went well and now it wants to "takes you" thus throwing you on the couch and saying (use Joe Cocker voice here):

"Baaaaaaaby! I want ch'a! Yeeeeeeeah!"

I'm starting to believe that I might have some weird sexual misguiding about the rain but that's a topic for another day or maybe even another blog. Actually does anyone want to read that?! Do I even went to delve into that?! Moving on.

Needless to say I was hoping for a pick me up with today's song. Mike and Mike were both back on the radio waves so I started my morning off as per usual. They were talking about Josh Hamilton and his now broken arm and whether or not it's worth putting yourself in position to get seriously hurt this early into a season (two cents: if it helps you win the game no matter how early in the season it's worth it). The debate was good and kept my interest but I kept thinking how it was a tough break for Hamilton (pun not intended), good ballplayer and an even better story. I think he wrote a book last year... going to have to check it out and maybe add it to my ever expanding list of books to read.

So during the first commercial I hooked up my ipod and hit shuffle. It took me a minute to figure out what song was playing but I eventually recognized Phish's Sample In A Jar. This happens to be a  live version from Hampton, Va (3-6-09) during their reunion shows. Remember when Phish took a break because there were no more jams to be had, but five years later discovered that jams were jams and got back together? Yeah that's what this song's from, and to celebrate the re-united re-discovery of jamming for hours Phish posted this show as a free download to thank their fans for waiting it out for the five years.



(Side Note: Question about Phish fans. What term is best to describe you? I've read things like Phans, Phriends, and Phamily but those seem kind of lame to me. I understand why they wouldn't refer to themselves as Phish-Heads as it's too close to Dead Heads (one of the best names to a fan community ever) but are we failing to see the humor here? Phish-Heads is hysterical! And I will now refer to Phish fans as such for the remainder of this project.)

I'm a sucker for free music which is why I downloaded this particular show.That and the fact that Phish is  well known for being a live band and I didn't have any of their live stuff.  Plus on three separate occasions I tried to really get into Phish only to fail each time (although my last attempt gave me a better appreciation of their music). The first being in high school when a bunch of kids lost their mind for Phish and started trading tapes and following them around. I tried then by buying their album Rift. I listened to it but I think at the time it was too much for me to digest. I wasn't into the whole jam band movement yet and much preferred my Nirvana records.

The second time was my senior year in high school. People were still falling all over them and I had just discovered the magic that is the Grateful Dead so I was a little more open to the idea. I bought Hoist and found that I really liked the album. There are some really good tracks on there (Julius, Down with Disease, Lifeboy, and today's Sample In A Jar). So I picked up Farmhouse as well and liked that less. So I was kind of in this Phish purgatory, and they fell to the wayside. I couldn't shake the feeling that I always felt like a poser when I put a Phish album on. It was like "dude who are you kidding?"

The third attempt happened junior year of college. One of my roommates, Chris, would play a lot of live Phish and I grew to really enjoy it. It was here that I discovered the awesomeness that is Divided Sky. This attempt kind of stuck a little more but not enough to make me lose my mind for them. I never needed to hear Phish, if it was on cool if not I wasn't going to have a seizure or anything. I still felt like an idiot when I put on one of their songs. It was almost like the track was mocking me while it was on. The song knew it wasn't for me and I knew I wasn't for it. I've since made me peace with that feeling and when a Phish song comes on the ipod I'm more receptive towards it.

So as you can tell I will never attempt to come across as a Phish-Head (haha) but I do have a handful of favorites.Sample In A Jar happens to be one of them. It's a good song, and as far as I can tell it's just about a dude who gets a little too drunk and someone puts him in his car (not very responsible) and he feels like he's on display there. At least that's what I make of it. Maybe this is my core problem with Phish... I'm just missing the deeper meaning, but I'm pretty sure it's all surface level. Maybe Phish's big statement (or cruel joke) is searching for a deeper meaning that's not there. It's just a bunch of guys who created a trendy band that like to jam out and write nonsense lyrics. Any way I like the sound of the song and the chorus, it's a catchy little hook... haha Phish hook. This version though isn't very good. I prefer the studio cut. I don't know if it's rust from five years of not playing together or they just weren't interested in the song but it comes across flat. Not my particular favorite and it's made worse because the second song on shuffle today was All My Life by the Foo Fighters (my ipod knows it's new Foo week too). Oh well. It could've been worst.

I'm worried that I might have come across a little anti-Phish here and that's not the case. Their music is on my ipod for a reason but I'm just not their biggest fan. I'm sure when Phish is in the studio I am not the key demographic. I appreciate what they do but like I said before... I won't be mistaken as a Phish-Head.

I'm going to try and listen to the new Atmosphere album today. Actually really excited about this one. Although there is something kind of creepy about the picture they used for the ablum cover. What's up with that arm? It looks kind of deformed. I don't like looking at it.

Closing Note: Shameless Hudson the Cat plug-

It's his Rebel Yell... or maybe a yawn.