#3EB Semi-Charmed Life | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aydann-runs · 5 months

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“Hey Mike,” Dallas says, following him inside when he goes to get another beer. “I found this stuck in the back of a drawer in the Airstream. It seemed like something you’d want to decide what to do with.”

Michael takes the crumpled envelope Dallas is holding out. Alex's name is scrawled across the front, and he recognizes it immediately. It's not like he’s written many letters in his life.

“You read it?” Michael asks aggressively. Before Dallas has a chance to respond, Michael grimaces and holds up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Sorry. I know you didn't read the letter. Stuff from that time in my life makes me defensive, and when it involves Alex…”

“Yeah man, I get it. It's okay,” Dallas says. He claps Michael on the back. “I'm gonna head back outside, but come on out when you're ready.”

Michael nods and sinks down onto Max's couch. Carefully, he lays the envelope on his thigh and smoothes it out the best he can. He remembers writing this letter, agonizing for weeks over whether or not to send it. He remembers getting drunk one night and stumbling to the nearest blue USPS box and pushing the letter through the slot.

He remembers sobering up a bit a few hours later and running back to the mailbox, using his telekinesis to pull the letter back out.

Michael remembers shoving the letter away, out of sight, as soon as he'd gotten back to the trailer. He'd done his very best not to think about it over the next half a dozen years, and then Alex had come home, had become his home, and he'd forgotten about the letter entirely.

Michael swallows hard and runs a hand through his curls. He's tempted to just toss it in the fire pit, to let it burn to ashes. He still remembers what he'd written to Alex, even if it's been close to ten years since he'd sealed the envelope, but it feels wrong, disrespectful to who he'd been, to destroy the letter without rereading it first. So, after a final glance around to ensure his continued privacy, he pulls open the flap to the envelope and slides the single piece of paper out.

Alex,

You left again the other day. Headed somewhere in Texas, I think, from something you let slip. You're always so careful to avoid telling me where you're stationed. Are you afraid that if I know, I'll show up uninvited and ruin your perfect little charade of a life? That if I know how to find you, I actually will? Would that really be so bad? I know how to keep a secret. I could be your secret.

But don't worry, because I don't actually know how to find you. I have to send this letter to your squadron home base, and they'll send it on to you, wherever you actually are.

I know I just said I could be your secret, but that's a lie. And I know that’s how it has to be right now, but I'm so tired of being someone you're ashamed of. Do you know how much it fucking hurts every time you leave? I love you, and I want you to love me back. And maybe you do, and you're doing the best you can right now, but it fucking HURTS. It's not enough. I can't be the person you come to only on your terms.

I'm living this double life, this semi-charmed life. You come around for a few hours or a few days, and the rest of the world fades away. And it's so good! While we're together, I can almost believe that you love me too, that this will be the time that you don't put up your walls and leave. That you don't remind me that I can't talk to anybody about you, about us, as you're heading out the door. As if I could ever forget. That's Rule #1. Keep this a secret.

And then you always leave, and it doesn't matter how good things were while you were here, because when you leave, it destroys me every time. It must not hurt you, the leaving, like it hurts me being left behind, because if it did, you wouldn't be able to keep doing it. There's no way you could feel like I do right now, like your heart was ripped from your chest, and walk away.

I'll get through it this time like I have all the other times, but Alex, you've gotta stop. I love you, but I can't keep letting you do this to me. If you can't stay, then next time, don't come at all.

He hadn't signed the letter, hadn't wanted to give the Air Force anything that could be used to hurt Alex.

Reading those words, scrawled in his own hand, brings back an echo of how he'd felt at the time, and he rubs at his chest, soothing the remembered ache. But that is all it is–a memory. He and Alex have talked through everything that had happened during those years and have done the work to soothe old hurts and build a solid foundation to move forward.

So Michael gives himself a minute or two more to ground himself in the here-and-now before he pushes up from the couch to rejoin Alex and his family outside. He crumples the letter in its envelope and tosses it into the fire as he steps into Alex's space. He leans against the solid weight of his husband and watches the letter burn to ashes.

#30 day writing challenge #day 18 #use the title of the last song you listened to #roswell new mexico #malex fic #my fic #3EB Semi-Charmed Life

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m-a-k-k-u · 3 months

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lol i hope you remember this

None of the responses really fit because 3eb is great and that whole album is fire.

Send me a song

#?#maskku #godlyrot

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randomvarious · 3 months

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Today's compilation:

Vox: Class of 96 1996 Britpop / Power Pop / Alternative Rock

Remember the era of the freebie CD, folks? Music magazines liked to pump these things out on about a monthly basis to be packaged with their own issues, and while we may not have fully appreciated them as they were being distributed to us at the time, in retrospect, they actually really serve as very important pieces of ephemera that, in totality, can authentically document what a whole part of a certain time period sounded like. I closed out last week's comp run with one of these things from UK music magazine Q, which provided a short list of what the publication had deemed as the best tracks in the UK for 1997, and this week, I'm kicking off with another one of these freebie CDs, from what was once one of Q's biggest competitors, the now-defunct Vox, which is obviously not to be confused with the liberal news site of the same name that's still very much around today.

But while that Q CD dealt with 1997, this Vox one tries to tackle 1996. And once again, although this comp isn't nearly as good as the Q one, it still nevertheless reinforces my opinion that the UK's alt rock landscape of this time period was of a *much* higher quality than the US's. Grunge had led the way throughout the early-to-mid-90s in America, but once it fell off, we were left with what was basically this empty void of nothingness, or as Thom Yorke once put it, 'fridge buzz.'

From the 1998 Radiohead tour doc, Meeting People Is Easy:

There's a line in "Karma Police" about 'he buzzes like a fridge.' And to me, when you're driving around in America and you have the alternative stations on in the background or in your hotel room or whatever; and it's just like a fridge buzzing. That's all I'm hearing. I'm just hearing buzz. It's really odd. It's kind of funny, though, really. You just have to laugh.

So, I really think where American alt rock radio programmers screwed up in the post-grunge era was when they collectively decided not to fully embrace Britpop. It could've been such a great, contrasting commercial successor to grunge, but instead we tried to replace it with Third Eye Blind and such. And not to throw too much shade on them, specifically, because "Semi-Charmed Life" is still, and will always be, the fucking jam, but 3eb is just not nearly in the same stratosphere as what so many Britpop bands were doing at the same time. Alt rock radio would give us glimpses of Britpop with some Radiohead, Oasis, and Blur singles, and to be clear, those three are really the royal triumvirate of the whole era, but there really was so much more to it than just some of those bands' songs and The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony."

And this Vox CD from 1996 offers up some of those bands that Americans are undoubtedly less familiar with, like Suede, Kula Shaker, and Ash, who were leagues better than pretty much every other alt rock radio group that got played in the US. Don't get me wrong, I very much love to wax nostalgic about the American 'fridge buzz' too, but this Britpop sound was just so much richer and more dynamic, overall, and it's a total shame that it didn't get a significantly larger chunk of the American alt-rock radio pie than it did, because I think we would've been much better off with having something like Suede's Bowie-channeled "Trash" in constant rotation—one of their most popular songs, but still never charted Stateside in any capacity—rather than, like, I don't know, the super dorky "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)," by Blessid Union of Souls?

All in all, this CD honestly still isn't *that* great, and if compared with a generic American alt rock radio playlist from the same year, I still might prefer the American radio one instead. But that would really only be purely for nostalgic reasons, because when I take these rose-colored glasses off, even though some of the music on here definitely feels a bit clunky, it's still a whole lot more substantive than just about everything else that American alt rock radio was serving us up at the time. And that really just goes to show how drastically the programmers were missing the boat by back then, because second- and third-tier Britpop bands were, I think, inarguably, qualitatively outshining whatever American stuff was being put into the heaviest of rotation. And unfortunately, a whole lot of us ended up missing out on some *very good* Britpop tunes as a result of that decision-making 😔.

Highlights:

Suede - "Trash" Kula Shaker - "Smart Dogs" Ash - "Oh Yeah" Geneva - "No One Speaks" Super Furry Animals - "Hometown Unicorn"

#britpop #brit pop #power pop #alternative rock #alternative #alternative music #alt rock #alt #alt music #music #90s #90s music #rock #90's #90's music

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blurrry-faced · 4 years

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Day 8: A Song About Drugs or Alcohol

#day8 #30 day song challenge #third eye blind #3eb #semi-charmed life #semi charmed life

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rgr-pop · 6 years

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cowboykiller replied to your post :

I just think “semi-charmed life” is the absolute...

I have similar feelings about Celebrity Skin.

I agree, absolutely!

#music #although rando bands like 3eb had the advantage of being unknown & being able to make SNEAKY dark music vs dark music by known alts #but formally they work the same #I was SO so sos so so into celebrity skin when that album came out #because it was functionally an everclear album LMAO!#semi charmed life has more of a magic to me now because i like did not listen to that album #whereas I have been listening to celebrity skin relatively consistently for omg almost 20 years #:O #postgrunge princess

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ttoxicblonde · 7 years

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summer gods tour 2017 was amazing. oceanpark standoff and silversun pickups were some amazing opening acts to THIRD EYE BLIND!! they played the entirety of their first album, and it left me in tears. it was so emotional and lively and fun. can’t wait until they come to Phoenix again… 💕

#third eye blind #concert #music #new music #lost my voice #semi charmed life #narcolepsy #jumper #3eb #i love you #me #personal

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kayjemusic-blog · 7 years

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youtube

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHzNE7tgO7M)

#wilson phillips #hold on #cover #third eye blind #3eb #semi charmed life

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weepingwitch · 5 years

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bold of 3eb to include the lyrics "the four right chords can make me cry" in semi-charmed life, a song that only has three chords, but still makes me cry

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chickrawker · 6 years

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Third Eye Blind at Voodoo Fest 10/26/18

I wasn't really feeling the first day lineup at Voodoo this year but I figured it was my chance to see Third Eye Blind. I got to the stage pretty early and figured it would be a mellow show. I was totally wrong. It was packed and joyous and kinda amazing. Set list first per usual.

Third Eye Blind Voodoo Music Experience New Orleans, LA 10/26/18

Graduate Faster Wounded Never Let You Go Losing a Whole Year 10 (Happy Diving cover) Motorcycle Drive By Company of Strangers Jumper Semi-Charmed Life How's It Gonna Be

So first off, Stephan Jenkins and Whitney Sudler-Smith are each other's doppelgangers. I wasn't really getting over that the entire time he was on stage but it kinda made for a good inside joke where I was definitely the only one laughing. Anyways, was never a huge fan of 3EB, just the stuff from on the radio, which honestly has held up pretty well over time (except for that ridiculous panties lyric in SCL.) Luckily, they played all "the hits" (SJ's words and also true). I was really surprised at the crowd being so diverse in age and even more surprised to hear young kids singing along. Who knew? SJ was very talkative, telling us that he went out the night before, egging the crowd to sing along, saying they are working on a new album and were there because they wanted to play and have fun. Mission accomplished, for everyone really. In spite of my cynicism, I really enjoyed myself. That's always been the best part of a festival, where you go with zero expectations and leave with that show afterglow.

#Third Eye Blind #3EB #Voodoo Music Experience #voodoo fest 2018 #set list

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ljbarks · 6 years

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Random Ticket #15

Band: Third Eye Blind/Our Lady Peace/Eve 6

Where: PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

When: July 25, 1998

This was the second concert I ever went to. Two weeks after my sixteenth birthday.

Me, three friends. My parents drove us, and dropped us off somewhere on the grounds of PNC. My sister was in the car, and very mad that she wasn’t allowed to come with us. Surely, my friends’ parents didn’t know about the whole “dropping off” part, but whatever, we were 16 and super cool and who cares what parents think. I think we waited approximately six seconds from the departure of whatever Subaru wagon they were driving to start smoking cigarettes.

This was like a dream lineup for 16 year-old, MTV watching, K-Rock listening us.

Eve 6 had just started to blow up with ‘Inside Out,’ the best song about swallowing your pride and hearts in a blender something something something. They played it. We thought it was amazing. I don’t remember this actually happening, but there is no way it didn’t and we didn’t think it was AMAZING.

Our Lady Peace was next, and again, it was the late 90s this was like the best thing ever. Clumsy had been out for a while at this point, every song was a huge single and our favorite. We definitely belted out that Superman song along with the band.

And then, Third Eye Blind.

I am an unapologetic lover of Third Eye Blind’s first record. The self-titled. Or 3EB. Whatever. The red one. I will defend this record forever. I will fight you about it. I don’t care that it’s the worst, that they haven’t aged well as a band. Everything about that record is perfect and I will, some 20 years later, still sing along to every single overwrought word. Remember when they used ‘Jumper’ on Road Rules? And then remember when they used ‘Motorcycle Drive By’ later on that same season of Road Rules? Holy shit.

Holy shit.

I have no idea what they played because this was 20 years ago, but probably they played all the songs, because what else would they play? Probably there was a fire version of ‘Graduate’ that changed my entire life forever. And then rinse, repeat with ‘How’s It Going to Be.’ Probably we got sad and went lighters-up for ‘Jumper’ and ‘God of Wine’.

Here is what I definitely remember as actually happening. They closed with ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ (obviously). The entire place was singing along and then Stephen Jenkins told us to sing along more.

More.

The greatest moment of our 16 year-old lives.

#music #randomticket #third eye blind

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objectivesubjectivity · 7 years

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There is no reason for “Out of the Vein,” to be a good album.

3EB could have coasted on their “doot-doot-doos,” falsetto “turn arounds,” and white boy rap post-scripts to put out an album that sounded like the shittier version of “Blue,” which, in turn, was the shittier version of their self-titled debut.

But they didn’t.

Instead, they pushed the petal to the floor and penned their most balls-to-the-wall rock songs, replete with slick riffs, anthemic refrains, and mathy breakdowns. Jenkins’ lyrics dripped with lust and regret; At times too intimate, they tiptoed the thin line between revealing and uncomfortable. They weren’t interested in carbon copying the three chords that propelled them to 90s rock stardom - both “Semi-Charmed Life,” and “Never Let You Go,” utilize the 1-5-4 chord structure - they were interested in seeing just where they could go as a band, what they could accomplish.

A while ago, I wrote about about “pivot” albums. This is different. This is a “give-a-shit,” album (GaS). This is a band embracing their sound and expanding upon it. And I love when bands sound like they give a shit.

It’s easy for a band to coast, to find a winning combination and ride it for decades to come. And that’s not a bad thing. Less Than Jake, one of my favorite bands, have been doing that for over 20 years. Cake, Built To Spill, and Aimee Mann all coast and are all damn good at it.

But coasting can limit the potential of what a band can accomplish. I’ve always felt that Motion City Soundtrack never fully embraced the unique sound crafted on “I Am The Movie,” and instead, discovered how to pen a killer pop-punk emo tune. “Broken Heart,” “Make Out Kids,” and “Her Words Destroyed My Planet,” are solid tracks, instantly catchy and quotable, but they’ll never be “The Future Freaks Me Out,” or “Perfect Teeth,” or “A-OK.”

It’s also easy to shit out an album. Hell, Cartel did that in 20 days while living in a see-through bubble for an MTV reality show. And you can buy that album. For $12.50. On Amazon. Today.

3EB had all the makings of a band set to coast. They could have shit out albums for decades to come and people would have flocked to them. I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t be a part of that crowd. And yet, they didn’t. They battled against the monster of mediocrity and gave a shit. And I thank them dearly for that. So does my wallet.

For all of this, “Out of the Vein,” doesn’t get a contender slot. It’s lows are really low and once you hit that level, it’s hard to pull yourself back up, no matter how good the song, “Company,” is.

Other GaS albums:

Tom Waits - Bad As Me

The Starting Line - Based on a True Story

The Matches - Decomposer

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

Better Than Ezra - Friction, Baby

Less Than Jake - GNV FLA (I know, I know, it contradicts my point from earlier)

Maritime - Heresy and the Hotel Choir

Audio Karate - Lady Melody

Braid - No Coast

Thursday - No Devolución

Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland

Our Lady Peace - Spiritual Machines

The Verve Pipe - The Verve Pipe

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

What I listened to this week:

Top 100 contenders in bold.

A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea

The Bloodhound Gang - Once Fierce Beer Coaster

Beck - One Foot in the Grave

Yellowcard - One For The Kids (PPP #49)

Avail - One Wrench

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Jets To Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary

The Streets - Original Pirate Material

Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days

Small Brown Bike - Our Own Wars

EPMD - Out of Business: Erick Sermon, 9th Wonder, Kanye West. The top three hip-hop producers of all time. End of story.

Rogue Wave - Out of the Shadow

Third Eye Blind - Out of the Vein

R.E.M. - Out of Time

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Outer South

The Police - Outlandos d’Amour

Owen - Owen

Owls - Owls

Unwritten Law - Oz Factor (PPP #50)

Albums listened to in total: 1,172

#third eye blind #3eb #out of the vein #give a shit #coast #less than jake #cake #built to spill #aimee mann #motion city soundtrack #cartel #mtv #collection #collections #obsession #obsessions #top 100 #lists #coabba

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shrimpkardashian · 7 years

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I’m going to see 3EB in three weeks at the Pier and they are playing their s/t debut in full... alright, alright, cool, cool. Yeah. The thing is, I love that record––and the tour hasn’t started yet (so I haven’t been able to peep a setlist)––but the backend of the record has all the slow stuff while THE HITS are all back-to-back starting at track 3 (the immortal “Semi-Charmed Life”); so I wonder, friends: will they be playing the album in order or will they mix it the heck up? Any Third Eye Blind heads feel free to chime in.

#music

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rbeatz · 7 years

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Third Eye Blind Unplugged and Totally Uncut

Listen to “Stephen Jenkins From Third Eye Blind” on Spreaker.

Third Eye Blind will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of its eponymous debut this summer with an expanded version of the multi-platinum album that includes several unreleased recordings. The band will also headline an extensive North American tour that begins on June 9 in Miami where the band will play the celebrated album in its entirety throughout the tour.

On the same day that the tour begins, Rhino will release multiple versions of THIRD EYE BLIND: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, including a double-CD set ($19.98), a three-LP collection presented in a gatefold sleeve ($44.98), and digitally.

All versions combine the original album with several unreleased demos and new recordings. For this special anniversary edition, the band recently recorded “Alright Caroline” and “Scattered,” two songs that were written for the Third Eye Blind album, but were never fully realized in the studio until now.

3eb made a splash in 1997 when the San Francisco alt-rockers scored a #1 Modern Rock hit with the group’s debut single, “Semi-Charmed Life.” Later that year, it was named Modern Rock Track of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards.

Third Eye Blind spent more than 100 weeks on the Billboard 200 Chart and has been certified six-times platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA. In addition to “Semi-Charmed Life,” the album boasted several more major hits: “Graduate,” “How’s It Going To Be,” “Losing A Whole Year” and “Jumper.”

THIRD EYE BLIND: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION features unreleased demos for the album track “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Kiss Goodnight,” which was later reworked as “Ode To Maybe” for the band’s sophomore album, Blue (1999). Also included is the band’s cover of the Velvet Underground classic “Heroin,” as well as an early version of “Slow Motion” that includes the song’s lyrics. The controversial track about the media’s glorification of violence was released as an instrumental on Blue. A full version with lyrics did not surface until 2006, when it appeared on A Collection, a greatest hits compilation released by Rhino.

from rBeatz.com http://ift.tt/2sHClbc

#rBeatz.com #Third Eye Blind Unplugged and Totally Uncut #Music #Fun #Dance #Love #Baila #rBeatz

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theadamantium · 7 years

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Harri’s Concert Photography // Third Eye Blind // Echo Beach, Toronto // June 2017

Full concert review here:

https://theheavypress.com/2017/06/30/concert-coverage-third-eye-blind-siversun-pickups-rbc-echo-beach/

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maheineatworld · 7 years

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I want something else, to get me through this, Semi-charmed kind of life, I want something else, I'm not listening when you say, Good-bye 🎶 #NowPlaying: #ThirdEyeBlind ♡ ~ #SemiCharmedLife ♡ ~ #ThirdEyeBlind ♡ #Alternative #AlternativeRock #90s #BeautifulVoice #Rock #PowerPop #PostGrunge #3EB #PopRock

#alternativerock #powerpop #poprock #rock #nowplaying #beautifulvoice #3eb #alternative #postgrunge #thirdeyeblind #90s #semicharmedlife #maheineatworld #soundtrackofcity

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blondijen · 7 years

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Fights kept breaking out in the pit during the opening acts, so for safety we had to leave the front row before Third Eye Blind, but it was magical even from further back. Probably my 100th show, not even kidding. I am grateful to the Hard Rock usher who gave us a safe space to watch the show. The setlist was amazing! I don't remember the last time I heard them play Horror Show... it instantly made me think of my friend and SF roommate Janine and how excited she would be, jumping up and down. I can still remember how she looked in the front row with the stage lights reflecting off her smiling face and lip piercing. That was her favorite 3eb song! She was such a huge fan. She was once on MTV with the band as their "super fan" and the former guitarist gave her his guitar. Janine died by suicide in June 2007; I remember being super pregnant and crying so hard I thought I was going to go into labor. Miss her; we used to talk on AOL instant messenger all day every day for years. It's crazy how a song can transport you back in time. It's also crazy how a song's lyrics can take on alternate meanings depending on your current situation. I've listened to The Background for 20 years, but only now that I've lost Dan do the lyrics hold a real meaning to me. "Everything is quiet, Since you're not around, And I live in the numbness now In the background." "But the plans I make still have you in them, Then you come swimming into view, And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do, The words they use so lightly, I only feel for you, I only know this because I carry you around, In the background." Today is 4 months since Dan took his life. I know he would be so happy that Ava and I went to the show yesterday - living! I hope Dan and Janine were watching together from heaven. Setlist: Company of Strangers Horror Show Wounded Shipboard Cook Losing A Whole Year Narcolepsy Semi-Charmed Life Jumper Graduate How's It Going to Be Thanks a Lot Burning Man Good For You London I Want You The Background Motorcycle Drive By Never Let You Go God of Wine (at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)

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