Category: Blog

This is about 20 years old, written about the time I moved, for all intents and purposes, from San Francisco to San Jose. The only thing that really rang true to my life was the move itself. I missed the city, I was a little further away than I thought I’d be, and those sentiments drove the initial idea here. The song itself is about a relationship going a little south, and settling on a plane a little lower than expected. It doesn’t always reach the heights expected, but those are still within range.

We took off “Kissed Her Goodbye” this week. Thanks again for listening…

This rotation’s song was inspired by a conversation with a good friend. In the course of outlining why a relationship wasn’t working, and she used the phrase “I just want us to align to a purpose.” I immediately thought, well shoot, there we go—I’ve never heard that phrase in a song. I started writing it largely attacking myself, with a much more personal, Dashboard Confessional-type feel to it…slower, and more biting lyrics. I ultimately sped it up some, cut out two versus and, hopefully, wound up with a better song.

I took off “Lift” this week. Once again, welcome to the new folks. Let us know what you think…

Five years ago, this thing was a mess –I totally forgot I’d written it, it was too long and lyrically inconsistent, and I only stumbled on it trying to find another song. That said, I felt like there was something there. It wound up being the first song I overhauled in my massive song restoration process, and it’s now the first song I’ll post as I exit that phase of my life.

The lyrics are about cutting the chord, escaping toxicity, and trying to move forward. In retrospect, I now see it as a song about cleaning up your life, with a tune that had to be cleaned up itself, which was re-written and recorded in a time period I was focused on cleaning up my life. It’s a living symbol of the times.

Lyrically, I wish I could’ve executed better on the concept of the last line (I can’t bend). I initially attempted to hit on the concept that constantly bending to the will of others, and not straightening out your own life, led to the circles. A few edits later (which I liked)…the reference now just kind of sits there alone. Oh well. Songwriting is hard.

I took off “I’ll Blame You.”

 

I’ve been feeling like the song list’s been a little eclectic lately. This one might center it a little, since it’s pretty simple all-around. It’s about taking 21 days off from a relationship to break the addiction/habit/inertia.

I tried this a couple times, one well over 20 years ago. It doesn’t work. I figured out later the science actually suggests it takes 66 days (even worse, the standard deviation is high—by person, it can range from 18 days to 250+). “66 Days to Kick This Habit” didn’t have quite the same ring to it, even with the right number of syllables. So a magical 21 it is.

We took off “Unjustified” this week.

As always, thanks for the support.

I feel like I should say something this week because there’s no question that Petty was one of my top 5 influences. You can hear it in my vocals, you can see it in the structure of bridges in my songs—I see it all over the place. I adored his first five albums from start to finish (yes, even Long After Dark). The early-era Petty—feisty, fighting for his existence—was glorious.

In his last interview, he talked about being an artist. “It was about something much greater. It was about moving people…I really believed in rock-n-roll. I believed in it in its purest sense, its purest form.”

I hope some of the spirit of that quote comes through here on this site. I can safely say this site doesn’t exist without that man.