Hi there!

A few weeks ago my friend Vickie asked me if I wanted to write a story/article about Geek Rock.  Vickie has co-authored a book, called “Geek Rock: An Exploration Of Music And Subculture” with Alex DiBlasi. She also writes an occasional article for the Guitars & Geeks section of the Professor Awesome website. I was very happy to contribute something, and I hope to do so again in the future.

So, here’s a link to the article, and you should spend some time looking around the whole site. It has lots of cool stuff!:

They Might Be Giants, They Might…ROCK?

Also check out the book “Geek Rock” here.

A new blog post will appear on this website…soon!

Until then…

I believe it was Stanley Kubrick who said n 1968, “If you understand ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ after seeing it the first time, then we have failed.” “Interstellar” is a far more accessible film then it’s 46-year-old counterpart, but in my opinion it is the first movie that equals the sheer magnitude of “2001” and I believe it is a film that should be seen more than once to fully appreciate.

I’ll be brief because it is a film that needs to be seen rather than read about. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and the always wonderful Michael Caine star in this story where the objective is quite literally to “save the human race.”

Combining elements of classic movies like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “The Abyss” and including several long stretches of scenes that harken back to Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Interstellar” is nothing less than part quantum physics problem brought to life and part classic Hollywood movie joy ride.

You’d have to be very cynical and jaded not to enjoy this movie, and, if you allow philosophical thought to combine with your entertainment, you’ll leave the theater asking yourself questions about the universe and the human race that you probably didn’t even consider when the movie began. It’s an experience that will stay with me for weeks and one I will see several times while it’s in the theater.

So in short, go see this movie on the big screen (or in IMAX on an even bigger screen). Let it envelop you in its reality and enjoy the ride. This is almost a perfect example of how great and thought provoking a Hollywood blockbuster can be.

[Note: I saw the film in standard format, but do plan to see it in IMAX soon.]

–Barry

In the summer of 1997, I visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland while on a road trip with some very dear friends. Two things I remember vividly about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during my visit are the top floor rotunda and the gift shop.

The top floor rotunda has large columns of marble with autograph signatures of every Hall of Fame member etched into the marble. It’s a very cool and at times somber memorial when you see autographs of members (Lennon, Joplin and Hendrix for example) who were inducted posthumously. As I looked in the K section at the autographs for members of The Kinks and Gladys Knight I laughed and thought, “KISS doesn’t belong here, between these two [groups]!”

The gift shop boasted that it had every official release of every Hall of Fame artist that was available on compact disc. Looking thru the “K” section of the CDs I saw that they had every title that KISS had officially released on compact disc, even though they weren’t yet members of the Hall of Fame. Talking to the gift shop employee, we both agreed that KISS would “be in the Hall soon after they became eligible in 1999” (Twenty-five years from the year of their first album).

Well, 1999 came and went with no induction for KISS. Then I thought with their announced “Farewell Tour” (cough cough) in 2000, an invite from The Hall would come in 2001.

It didn’t.

After many years, it became a joke. Bands that began their careers long after KISS were getting inducted into the Hall of Fame while KISS (and more importantly, their fans) waited.

Eventually, the snub became a badge of honor. KISS was NEVER going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and the band and the fans acted as if they didn’t care. “F*** YOU Hall of Fame!! We don’t need you!!”

Well, this past autumn, for the first time ever, the Hall of Fame allowed Fan Voting, where fans got to choose four artists from a list of ten bands. The Hall of Fame didn’t say that the winners would automatically be inducted, but KISS were included on the ballot of nominees, along with Nirvana, Deep Purple, Hall & Oates and Chic, among others. KISS and their “Army” of fans topped the voting, finishing ahead of all others. Since The Hall had opened the door to fans, and the KISS fans had spoken, there was really no way The Powers That Be could ignore the result.

So, in late December, the announcement was made. The announcement that legions of KISS fans truly believed they would never hear: On April 10, KISS were (finally!) going to be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

It should have been a joyous moment; a sweet justified victory lap for the band and their fans.

Instead, in the three months since the announcement, members of KISS, past and present, have seemingly been in the press every week, sniping and feuding with one another in a sad display of ego and pettiness.

Bear in mind, I’ve been a KISS fan for over 36 years, so I have lots of baggage and zero objectivity where this band are concerned. I won’t give a rehash of the daggers…I mean quotes flying through the press. If you want to read those, go check out the recent ROLLING STONE cover story. Instead, first here is a brief history (KISSTORY) lesson (Click on the pics to see entire image in a new webpage):

* In the 70s, the name/band KISS meant these four names: Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. As a young fan at that time, it was impossible to think anyone else would ever be in this band.

* Summer 1980, Criss is fired and replaced by Eric Carr, who takes on The Fox persona and is immediately accepted by fans.

Eric Carr Pictures
* Autumn 1982, Frehley quits weeks before the band is scheduled to go on tour. He’s replaced by Vinnie Vincent, who, unbeknownst to fans played all the lead guitar parts on that year’s “Creatures of the Night” album, even though Ace’s likeness appeared on the album. Vincent is given The Ankh makeup design. The less said about this moment in KISSTORY, the better. (L to R: Eric, Paul, Vinnie and Gene)

* After a very tumultuous two-album tenure, Vincent is fired in 1984 and replaced by guitarist Mark St. John for the “Animalize” album. During the sessions for that record, St. John is diagnosed with a severe form of arthritis, Reiter’s Syndrome, which caused severe swelling of his hands and arms. In December of 1984, St. John is replaced on lead guitar by Bruce Kulick.

* After three new members in two years, this lineup of Simmons, Stanley, Carr and Kulick finally provided some stability. KISS had a very successful run of pop hits in the late-80’s, culminating in the 1990 single “Forever,” the band’s first US Top Ten Single since “Beth” in 1976. (That’s Bruce top right, and Eric in sunglasses in the pic)

* On November 24, 1991 Eric Carr died after battling cancer for a year. KISS soldiered on, enlisting Eric Singer to be their new drummer for 1992’s “Revenge” album. (Singer’s the blonde…and Bruce is wearing WAY too much lipstick!)

* The lineup of Simmons, Stanley, Kulick and Singer disbanded when Frehley and Criss joined their former bandmates for the mammoth 1996-97 Reunion Tour. Eventually the original lineup repeated their 70s history, becoming one of the biggest touring acts from 1996-2000, only to have Criss and Frehley be dismissed a second time (in 2001and 2003, respectively). Rather than ending KISS entirely, Gene and Paul brought back Singer and put him in the Catman Makeup, and hired Ace’s former guitar technician, Tommy Thayer, to fill Ace’s platforms (and wear his makeup).
KISS in 1996: Ace, Paul, Gene and Peter
KISS in 2014: Gene, formerly blonde Eric Singer, Paul and Tommy Thayer

Okay, If you’ve been paying attention, from 1974-2014, there have been ten official members of KISS. When the Hall of Fame announcement was made, fans and even some band members wondered, “Who would be inducted? Just the original four, all ten members, or some combination thereof?”. The Hall of Fame board informed Stanley and Simmons that the honor was only being extended to the original lineup.

As a fan, that didn’t surprise me, but it angered me. There’s no disputing the game-changing impact that Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter had on fans who later became musicians because of albums like “KISS ALIVE!” and “Rock And Roll Over” (the first KISS album I ever had, the one that shaped my life forever). But, every member of KISS (yes, even Tommy Thayer) has made a contribution to KISS, helping make KISS what it is. True, the sight of two “replacements” in the iconic makeup kinda waters down the brand, but ignoring Eric Carr or Bruce Kulick when deciding who from the band gets enshrined is not only shortsighted, it’s disrespectful.

I really wanted to see Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter share the stage one last time, play two or three songs, hug (even if it’s insincere) and then I would’ve been fine with the four of them going their separate ways again. Once Stanley learned that only the original four were being honored and The Hall of Fame didn’t want a performance from the 2014 lineup, Paul and Gene decided that n o version of KISS would perform at the ceremony. I agree with the decision and I think it’s the correct one. If The Originals aren’t gonna play, at least I won’t have to see the current lineup limp through an off-key rendition of “Rock And Roll All Nite.”

Does KISS deserve to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Absolutely. If you dispute that, you haven’t been paying attention for the last 40 years. Without KISS, there would be no Motley Crüe, no Bon Jovi, heck, even country mega-star Garth Brooks was a card carrying member of the KISS Army in the 1970s! Even if you discounted everything that came after 1979, KISS would still warrant induction based on that five-year span from 1974-79 that saw KISS release fourteen (!) albums. 

I’m not kidding when I say I have a love/hate relationship with this band. Since there will be no performance by Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter,  I won’t be getting HBO for the sole reason of seeing the ceremony. As many missteps and screw-ups as this band has had, I can’t stay completely mad at them, because in 1996, KISS gave their fans The Reunion Tour of the original lineup, something I NEVER thought I would see. (Backstory: In July 1979, Matt Richards, a very cool teenage neighbor of mine invited me to see KISS on the DYNASTY tour at The Capital Centre. I was five years old. My mom said “No!” and then Peter left the band the next year, so I thought my chance to see The Originals was gone forever.)

This band gave that wish back to me, seventeen years later, when I truly could appreciate it. 

How many times in anyone’s life does that happen? How cool is that?

So, I can’t stay mad at them, even as they now have become a caricature. Anything worth merit after The Reunion is a bonus in my book, because The Reunion will never be topped. 

Congratulations to Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Eric Carr, Vinnie, Mark, Bruce, Eric Singer and Tommy. But, most of all, congrats to The KISS ARMY, because THE FANS are not only the reason KISS’ influence is so far-reaching, they are quite literally the reason KISS will be crashing the party on Thursday night. 

In closing, i will add that it’s a bit of a letdown to know, for  a band synonymous with fire and bombast, the only explosions we will see from KISS at the  Induction Ceremony will be their acceptance speeches!

I wonder if Gene will make Tommy videotape the evening’s proceedings, so Gene can include them on the next KISSOLOGY DVD set? 🙂

–Longarm, KISS ARMY member since 1977

Almost two weeks ago now, I posted a blog entry. First, I would like to thank you for the comments, the texts, the emails, the phone calls and care packages that I received in the wake of sharing my pain.

Your show of support meant (and continues to mean) more than you will ever know, or that I will ever be able to fully express.

This is where I’m supposed to tell you I’m all better and the dark thoughts have left my head and I’m happy and healthy.

Oh, how I wish I could. But, even after writing it all down, I’m not past it.

Every day is a fight. Every day it’s a struggle to find a glimmer of motivation to get up, start a day, commute to a job that, while I can do it well, I’m not very excited by.

These are some of the questions I wrestle with every hour of every day… questions that I wish I had an answer for:

*If I break my lease, how much money will that cost me, and would it damage my ability to be a renter in the future?

*If I left my job without giving the usual two week’s notice, would it mark me as ‘not hirable’ among staffing agencies?

*If I moved back to Virginia, how would I get from point A to point B?

*If I moved back to Virginia, where would I live?

*If I moved back to Virginia, and am unable to find a job, how do I pay for food etc.?

*Will the pain ever stop?

*If I move back to Virginia, does that mean leaving my job in July, and the last six months mean absolutely nothing? Can I live with that?

*I don’t have anyone who depends on me, not a girlfriend, not even a pet…so would anyone really notice if I decided one day to go to sleep and not wake up?

*Has anyone else ever felt like this, where they have absolutely nothing to look forward to in their daily life, be it a workday or a weekend? I feel like I’m emotionally flat-lined, if that makes sense.

Those questions, and others, are bouncing around my head constantly. It’s exhausting.

Wednesday last week, I couldn’t go to work because my left leg was too swollen to fit in my leg brace. I spent the day with both legs elevated and did a lot of thinking and, if I am honest, crying. On that day, and every day since then, I have come to the internal realization that ‘this’, whatever ‘this’ is, isn’t working, and I need to change something. Does that change mean leaving Atlanta and coming back to Virginia? I don’t know, because, as several questions note above, there are answers I need before I pull the plug on this ‘Atlanta Experiment.’

All I really know on a daily basis is that I am unhappy, terribly unhappy and have been unhappy since early December. I guess early December is when the daily barrage of pain started too, so, when you think about it, I have been taking way too much Advil for over a month.

I take Advil to combat the leg pain, then that causes severe stomach pain, so I stop the Advil for a bit…then the keg pain starts back up, so I take more Advil…it’s a vicious circle, one that I’ve been on since I started my job, and Advil, for all the damage that it may do, is the only way I’m able to make it to work. Tylenol and aspirin have never helped with pain for me. If either did, I would try one to save my stomach.

I have faced battles my entire life, and almost every other obstacle I’ve conquered. This time it feels different, like I’ve suffered a knockout punch.

After being SO CERTAIN about moving to Atlanta, and having it turn into…this, I’m not certain of anything. I know I need to take a step, but I don’t know what that step is, or where I’m stepping toward.

Something needs to change. I’m tired of this fight. I’m tired of sleeping away entire weekends…and I still want the pain to end.

Thank you for reading. The phrase I’ve heard from friends is “Things will get better…”

God, I sure hope so.

Barry
01.21.13

I came back to Richmond for Thanksgiving, yearning for something familiar, aching to be able to relax, and, quite literally, exhale.

First, let me say that I love my mom, and I am very grateful she could host me this week, saving me the cost of a hotel. About six weeks after I left Richmond for Atlanta in August, mom left the apartment we shared and moved into a Senior Living Unit. It’s a very cozy apartment, perfect for one person.

What that meant was that, even though mom fixed the full Thanksgiving meal (and it was FANTASTIC), her current abode didn’t lend itself to me feeling completely comfortable. It is like a hotel that I am using, with the great added bonus of having mom nearby to talk to. Still, the setting meant that I couldn’t quite relax.

I realized after being here for a couple of days that I don’t miss Richmond very much at all. The city itself holds very little for me now.

It’s the friends and family  I miss.

I (intentionally) kept a very low profile upon my return. Tuesday, driving around running errands, mom and I passed Anthem.

“Wanna go say hi [to your former co-workers]?” mom asked.

Truthfully, I would’ve given my right arm and all the cash in my wallet to see Beth right at that very moment. But I couldn’t even think about seeing Frank, Tony or the other wonderful people I used to see everyday. For a millisecond, my heart leapt at the prospect of popping in on Beth unannounced, but as soon as that feeling briefly swept over me, I answered quickly and directly.

“Oh, god no! I couldn’t possibly go in there. That would be…too much.”

Again, not that I didn’t want to see Beth or Frank (and yeah, everybody else). It’s just that I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer the one question I was certain to hear:

“So, how are you doing?”

That question has had a very complicated answer for the past four months.

I saw Beth, as planned, on Friday. How long had I been waiting to see her? The night before I left Richmond, (August 13), I set a Countdown clock on my iPad for November 23, so quite literally the minutes ticked away. I went about my daily life, but I kid you not when I say a small part of me was always waiting. I would go days without checking the minutes remaining, because that hard number made it seem so distant, like it would never arrive.

I was never like that about Christmas as a kid. This whole thing was new for me. I hope she believes me when I say I miss her “more than I should be allowed to, and more than anyone who is not a relative should…”

Beth and her husband Seth arrived shortly after 1, and we decided to go to Five Guys for lunch, since I hadn’t had a Five Guys burger since I moved. Like a chemical reaction, as soon as I sat in the passenger seat of their SUV and clicked the seatbelt — a seat I had taken countless times over the years when Beth and I would go out to lunch in the middle of our workday — even though Seth was driving this time, I immeadiatly felt I could relax; I finally exhaled.

After lunch, Frank called Beth and plans were made to meet Frank and his wife Carol for drinks. I initially was hesitant, but I’m thrilled I went. It was great to see them again and catch up.

The rest of the day and evening was spent at Chez deTreville, talking in the den while the television droned on in the background. No big plans, which was exactly how I wanted it. I had emailed Beth in late October, stating “I don’t care what we do, or where we do it. I simply want to bask in the glow of “The ‘Eths” for a night”, and that’s exactly what I did.

I love and live for our reunions, and while the moment is happening, I’m immersed. It’s the leaving that devastates me.

Beth and I refuse to say goodbye to one another. I would say it’s an unspoken rule as the night comes to an end, but I’m sure this summer, one of us stated out loud hat we were not going to say the word “Goodbye”.

Now, as I write this, a few hours removed from getting one last hug in the parking lot, I really don’t know when I’ll see her again. It could be many months from now. While I can’t say I’m happy about that, I can tell you that I know two things for certain:

A week after I left Anthem, I was riding around town with my brother Brian. He asked, “How ya feeling?”

My answer to him was, “I’m…okay. I stand by all of [what I chose]…except I don’t know how I’m supposed to function without seeing Beth everyday.”

“Oh”, Brian said, “that’ll pass. “

Well, one of the two things I’m certain of tonight is, no, it doesn’t pass or fade. You cope. Because you have to.

Lastly, the night of my last day at Anthem in July, I compared not seeing Beth everyday to losing my right arm. While it’s true that you can never really go home again, for a time on this Friday after Thanksgiving, I guess you could say I was made whole again, and it was wonderful.

Atlanta has a lot that I love. Richmond will always have my right arm.

Barry
11.25.12
3:16am

There was a night, in November 1994, when I was at my absolute lowest. I was 21, in a hospital bed and had just had my colon removed a few weeks prior. Now, on this night, doctors told me complications had arisen and the newly configured digestive tract had turned over on itself, causing anything I ate or drank to be trapped in my stomach. Doctors told me that night that the following morning they would have to go back in surgically to correct the issue if things didn’t improve overnight.

As I turned out my bedside light, I resigned myself to another very long ordeal and a new recovery. I said, to no one or nothing in particular, “Okay, if I don’t wake up tomorrow, that’s fine with me. At this point I am tired of fighting, and if everything ends tomorrow, so be it.” I told myself silently, as I listened to Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” on headphones in the dark, ‘If I wake up tomorrow, I’ll fight. I’ll hate it, I’ll complain…but I’ll fight.’

Apart from the week my father died in 2001, no period in my life has ever had me feeling so emotionally beaten and insecure as that night in 1994.

That is, until this past week.

Even with the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, this week was where I hit my emotional wall, or my emotional rock bottom. To quote a lyric from the new record (from a song that has been on repeat a lot this week), “I might be okay, but I’m not fine at all.”

Back on Thursday, October 18, I had two interviews for jobs; one was in person and one was on the phone. And then, the following day, I landed another phone interview. All three positions were for Help Desk Support, and all three interviews went very well. I particularly felt I had ‘knocked the in person interview out of the park’. After those three interviews in two days, I was confident enough to feel that things were finally breaking my way, but cautious enough that I only mentioned the interviews to two friends via text.

Wednesday I had to run an errand that could not be avoided, even though my knees were very sore and I really didn’t feel well. I got back a couple of hours later from running that errand and looked at my phone to see a new email message. It was a ‘Thanks but no thanks….’ automated email from one of the three interviews.

That’s when I hit my emotional wall and I kinda sorta lost it for an hour. I screamed. I threw books at bookshelves, hurled my cordless computer keyboard toward my bedroom wall. (It still works…not as cheaply made as I thought.) I was a complete and total emotional wreck.

After the episode was over, I took a bath to calm down. After getting dressed, I heard my phone’s ’email notification’ bell sound again, so I checked it. It was another ‘Thanks but no thanks…’ email, this time from the in person interview that I thought had gone so well a week earlier.

I was too numb to be mad. I texted a friend to tell her of the recent events and then I decided to go see a movie. As I sat in the theatre waiting for the previews to start, I was completely convinced that I would never be hired again. (If you’re curious, I saw ‘Seven Psychopaths’; good film. Sam Rockwell annoyed me to no end, but the movie is worth seeing for Christopher Walken.)

While I continue to send resumes and apply for jobs, my confidence, which was flying high a week ago this time, is now completely shot.

The ugly truth is, being broke sucks, no matter your zip code. While I am not actually broke, I’m close. I know I can pay rent for November. December? That’s an unknown right now.

In an effort to save money, it’s been a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches and Cheerios. That’s fine with me right now. It’s not that I don’t have other food, I do. My freezer has lots of chicken, hamburger and two steaks, but this week especially I have not felt motivated to cook much of anything.

I’m just tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of being turned down for jobs I am more than qualified for. Tired of asking and hoping for things that never materialize.

Trust me, all day every day, the phrase “You chose this!!” echoes loudly in my head.

Plan B? I don’t know yet exactly. On Thursday I heard back from the third interview. They like me, but they don’t foresee any openings for 30-60 days. I can’t wait that long, so at some point, I will begin to make some very tough decisions, especially if things don’t improve soon.

The morning after that dark night in November 1994, I woke up and doctors found that things had improved overnight, so a second surgery was avoided. I fought and I recovered.

I’ll keep fighting now, but I admit, it’s much easier to fight at 21 than it is at 39. Whereas my definition of ‘winning the fight’ in 1994 was being able to eat a full meal again, my definition tonight for ‘winning the fight’ is not going crazy.

It’s gonna be a long fight…

–Barry

First, I readily, happily admit that I am a Taylor Swift fan, so if you are looking for a purely objective review of her new album, you won’t find it here.

Okay. Now, on to the review.

It took four studio albums, but Taylor Swift has finally written her ‘break up album’. Oh sure, all of her albums have breakup songs {most famously, “Dear John” from 2010’s ‘Speak Now’], but with her latest effort, titled ‘Red’, Taylor explores the pain, regret and even wistfulness of love found and love lost. It’s a theme that colors all sixteen songs and, despite some great moments of pop and dance, the mood is melancholy.

That the various stages of relationships are covered in song should surprise no one. Also, it really shouldn’t surprise her fans that this album is mostly ‘pop’ and not very ‘country’, though if country radio is smart, they will play any and all songs they can from what is sure to be another platinum seller. (In fact, I bet Swift breaks her own record and sells over one million copies in the initial week). Genres don’t really matter when an album sells, everyone wants a part of it, so you’ll be just as likely to hear a song from ‘Red’ on the Top 40 pop radio station as well as country radio.

The opener, “State of Grace” has huge guitars in an obvious nod to U2, “I Knew You Were Trouble” sounds like it could be a Katy Perry tune, and the title track ‘Red’ has a vocal effect on the chorus that sounds like something I heard on the last Lady GaGa record. Even with these moments that bring to mind other artists, what sets this album apart from most, even from Taylor’s other releases is the confidence and self-assuredness in her lyrics and vocals. She’s at the top of her game.

Unlike 2010’s “Speak Now”, which saw Taylor write all of the songs by herself, with “Red” she’s back collaborating with some big names. Max Martin, who co-wrote and produced the album’s lead single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has worked with Justin Timberlake, Britney and Kelly Clarkson, just to name a few. Dan Wilson, who co-wrote ‘Treacherous”, also co-wrote tracks on Adele’s Grammy-winning ’21’ disc. The most welcome name though for me is co-writer Liz Rose, who helped Swift pen ‘You Belong With Me’ and ‘Fearless’ in 2008. For “Red”, Rose and Swift write what I think is the album’s strongest track, ‘All Too Well’, a song that I assume is about the infamous relationship Taylor had with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, which began just before Thanksgiving 2010 and was over before Taylor’s 21st birthday that December. But, unlike other songs in her catalog, Taylor doesn’t name drop here. Instead, she paints a very vivid picture of the pain and heartache that follows any breakup, and notes how most of us save at least one keepsake from a past relationship, even if it’s against our better judgement.

While I feel the album’s overall tone is somewhat  sad, there are still some upbeat, even funny moments. “Stay, Stay, Stay” is a song with such a catchy chorus that I dare you not to sing along before the song ends. A bit of Taylor laughing after finishing a vocal take is included, which only adds to the fun. “22” and the aforementioned ‘I Knew You Were Trouble” are made for the dance clubs, suitable for remixing by DJs. And the album’s closing track, ‘Begin Again’ leaves the listener on a hopeful, positive note that love will find us once more.

There’s a lot here, a lot to take in, and even though the theme is constant throughout, it never gets boring or predictable. On a personal note, for me, the song that has been on repeat the most today has been ‘I Almost Do.’ While I’m not mourning an ordinary breakup, the lyrics sum up my mood right now in much the same way “You Belong With Me’ spoke to me on a very personal level when I heard it for the first time. It doesn’t matter if you’re fifteen, twenty-two or thirty-nine years old, if you’ve loved with everything you had, and then survived the breakup, there’s something on this album you will identify with.

As a listener, that’s the moment when you rediscover why you love music.

RED – Taylor Swift

State of Grace
Red
Treacherous
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well
22
I Almost Do
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
Stay Stay Stay
The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody)
Holy Ground
Sad Beautiful Tragic
The Lucky One
Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran)
Starlight
Begin Again

Target Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks:
The Moment I Knew
Come Back… Be Here
Girl At Home
Treacherous (Original Demo Recording)
Red (Original Demo Recording)
State Of Grace (Acoustic Version)

Thanks for reading,
Barry

The regular season has ended for Major League Baseball. No teams ended in a tie, forcing a one game playoff….but thanks to Commissioner Bud Selig’s new fangled playoff format, there will be two Game 7s…without playing Games one thru six.

See, this year there are two additional Wild Card teams, which now means TEN teams make the playoffs [WTF is this, HOCKEY??] Anyway, the two Wild Card teams now play one another on Friday. The winner advances to what used to be the first round of the playoffs, the Division Series. The Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals at 5pm on Friday, and I will be there.

It could be the start of a deep run into the postseason…or it could all be over by 8pm Friday.

My stomach will be in my throat for the entire day, I promise you that.

But, before that nerve-wracking exercise in stress overload commences, let me take a moment to look back at the portion of the 2012 season I was able to see in person.

I saw 19 games at Turner Field, beginning with an August 14th win against San Diego, and ending with a September 30th win over the Mets. I only missed one series, the weekend of August 17-19 against the Dodgers, partially because I wasn’t originally planning to be in Atlanta until August 20, so I never bought tickets for that series, but mainly because the night of the 17th was spent buying and installing a new TV with friends Vickie and Travis, and the 18th and 19th, friends Mimi and Mandy were in town…plus on the 19th I saw Duran Duran.

The Braves lost two of three of the games against the Dodgers that I did not see, but when I was in attendance, the club went an impressive 15-4. I saw Kris Medlin and Paul Maholm dominate from the mound, and most memorably, I witnessed two walk-off home runs; first on September 2 against the Phillies when the club came down from a 7-1 deficit to win it on Chipper Jones’ three run home run, making the final 8-7. It will probably be the only time I will be rendered speechless at a ballgame. I don’t even remember screaming, though I am sure I did. I just remember thinking for the next hour as I made my way home, ‘Did that really happen? Did I really see that?’ It has been called the best ending to a regular season game in Atlanta Braves history. I truly felt privileged to be there.

The other walk off moment happened on September 25 against the Marlins. The Braves were behind 3-2 in the ninth. Funny thing is, no one in my section of the park at least publicly doubted that the team would win it. The inning began with a double by Chipper, and Freddie Freeman took the third pitch he saw deep into the Atlanta night, winning the game and securing a spot in the playoffs. I can’t say that I expected a walk off home run, but I was not at all surprised that the Braves won that game.

The other moment I was very happy to be there for was ‘Chipper Jones Night’ on Friday, September 28, It was the first of what would be three sellout crowds at The Ted that weekend, and while The Ted will never be as loud as old Fulton County Stadium [simply because the sound doesn’t reverberate like it did at the Launching Pad], when Turner Field is sold out, it is amazing!

This was the game I wanted to see, because they had a 30 minute ceremony before the game honoring Chipper. I was there to see Pete Van Wieren and Bobby Cox, who both spoke about Chipper’s career and place in baseball history. Appropriately, Bobby got the loudest ovation of the night, maybe of the entire weekend. No disrespect to current manager Fredi Gonzales, but there is and will only be one Bobby Cox, and he is missed since he retired at the end of the 2010 season.

Between innings of the game on Friday night, they showed video messages from teammates, legends like Hank Aaron and Michael Jordan and opposing players (Jeter). The line of the night though goes to catcher David Ross, who said in his video message to Chipper: “I remember my granddaddy tellin’ me about seeing you play in the old days…” That line had me laughing for the rest of the night.

I thought as Braves Country said farewell to Chipper over three days, I would be a bit more emotional, but I wasn’t. As I thought about it, so much of my life has changed in the last three months, that the fact that number 10 won’t be at third base next season, while a bit of a letdown, doesn’t make me sad. In fact, when he tore his ACL in Houston on August 10, 2010, I thought right then and there that his career was over. To his credit, his 2012 season has been one of his best ever, and the best by a player in his final season since Ted Williams in 1960. I’ll miss Chipper, no doubt, but I have many important people in my life that, daily, I miss on a level that cannot be equaled by a baseball player. So, above all I am happy he is able to exit on his own terms, and his career will end as it began: in a Braves uniform.

But let’s not say our final goodbye until very late in October, okay? There’s still work to do, and it starts Friday!

Thanks for reading,
Barry