Remembering Mystery Girl
Mystery Girl is satisfying, wonderful. It's also so sad. Roy Orbison's final album, released after his death, is the best farewell album you'll ever hear. But it wasn't meant to be a farewell. It was meant to be a 'Hello, remember me? I'm still better than everyone else" album.

I first became aware of Orbison after his death. The Traveling Wilburies (Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Orbison)had released a very good rock album, and I played it continuously. Orbison's voice, even at nine, was something amazing to me. It was like no rock voice I'd ever heard.

When Orbison's Mystery Girl was released, I had just enough allowance money to purchase it. I loved the upbeat "You Got It," but didn't care for the melancholy ballads. Call it youthful ignorance.

The album sat on the shelf for nearly a decade. My father played it occasionally.

I re-discovered Mystery Girl a decade later, when I was working on an album of my own after graduating high school. I'd written some songs and wanted to record them before I left for college (a wise move, since once I got to college I didn't have the time or energy to spend five hours a day writing and practicing).

I was going to try and duplicate a "Wilburies" sound and started playing Mystery Girl again.

I was stunned.

What I had originally found boring was an amazing mix of soul and sadness. Orbison's voice was amazing for a 52-year old man -- he sounded 22. But my appreciation for ballads made me appreciate the haunting nature of Orbison's performance, something a nine year old can't understand.

"She's a Mystery to Me" quickly became one of my favorite recordings. Written by Bono and Edge, it was a song that could have been done 30 years earlier, but you weren't sacrificing much by recording in the late 80s.

Lynne, who produced the album, played to Orbison's strengths, allowing his voice to be featured and not lost behind elaborate setups. "The Only One" was a perfect example of this.

I'd like to say that listening to Orbison helped my brother, our friends Danny and Justus I produce an excellent piece of work. Curtis, Justus and Danny did their parts, but my vocal style at the time was more influenced by Petty than Orbison.

Talk about youthful ignorance. Not that I could sing like Roy anyway.

The sadness of the album is that Orbison's death was not only tragic, it became frustrating in retrospect. What could Orbison have done had he been able to ride this new wave?

More breathtaking performances.

But who cares about that. He was 52, to young to die. As for fans, he gave us years of recordings that still hold up, no matter how much time passes.

Song quote of the day
I'm an innocent bystander
and somehow I got stuck
between a rock and a hardplace
and I'm down on my luck-- Warren Zevon

30 years, 30 bands
Here are my favorite 30 bands/performers, in preparation for my 30th birthday. I figure if ESPN can do it, I can too.

1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Van Morrison
4. The Rolling Stones
5. The Band
7. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
8. The Beach Boys
9. Led Zepplin
10. Patsy Cline
11. Eric Clapton
12. Bruce Springsteen
13. Marvin Gaye
14. David Bowie
15. Elvis
16. Prince
17. The Who
18. Peter Gabriel
19. The Four Tops
20. Jim Croce
21. Warren Zevon
22. John Denver
23. The Temptations
24. Bee Gees
25. Steve Winwood
26. Grateful Dead
27. Stevie Ray Vaughan
28. Garth Brooks
29. Clint Black
30. Grass Roots

10 things I think
1. The Colts will beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Pointless to give a score since I have only seen one person guess correctly in the history of my watching football. That was back in 1994, when Joe Gibbs picked the Browns to beat the Colts 21-14 on and NBC pregame show, and then the Browns did. I know the idea of the Browns beating the Colts sounds more shocking than anything.

2. Best Super Bowl? Giants-Patriots, 2007 season.

3. Worst Super Bowl ever? Tie between the last two Steelers' wins and the Ravens winning for 2000.

4. Art Modell didn't make the Hall again. I've forgiven Art for the move, since it isn't healthy to hold grudges in general, let alone sports. But I will always ask this question to those who want him in: If he wasn't good enough before the move, why would he be after?

5. Two of the four members of The Who does not constitute a Who halftime performance.

6. Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Prince were the best halftime performances.

7. Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice might be my favorite recording of his.

8. Not really believing that Global Warming thing anymore. I never really did, actually.

9. Burn Notice is a great show I only recently discovered.

10. Everyone needs to watch Chuck.

Song Quote of the Day
You went your way and I stayed behind
we both knew it was just a matter of time--Stevie Ray Vaughan

Randy Lerner's 12 days of Christmas
Sing along. It's more fun.

On the first day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: an inept coach Mangini.

On the second day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the third day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 3 fired directors 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the fourth day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the fifth day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 5 talking heads! 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the sixth day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 6 division losses, 5 talking heads! 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the seventh day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads, 4 fired coaches 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the eighth day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 8 Belichick clones, 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads. 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the ninth day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 9 Ex-Jets,8 Belichick clones, 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads! 4 fired coaches 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the 10th day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 10 clueless players *, 9 ex-Jets, 8 Belichick clones, 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads! 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the 11th day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 11 straight losses to the Steelers, 10 clueless players, 9 ex-Jets, 8 Belichick clones, 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads! 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

On the 12th day of Christmas Randy Lerner gave to me: 12 men on the field, 11 straight losses to the Steelers, 10 clueless players, 9 ex-Jets, 8 Belichick clones, 7 years of waiting, 6 division losses, 5 talking heads!, 4 fired coaches, 3 fired directors, 2 winning seasons and an inept coach Mangini.

That was WAY too easy to write.

* except for Josh Cribbs.

Shuffling the Ipod
1. Can't Stop- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Why it's there: I just dig the bass line and the intensity of the track. It's a great workout song, though I must admit I've drawn curious looks while lip syncing it on the treadmill. It's my favorite RHCP song, I think because the idea of "can't stop" sums up how I feel about my work ethic. I didn't work hard enough ever in school, so I tell myself I can't afford to stop or slow down, because people are less forgiving when you're an adult than when you're a child. It's a reminder that it's part of who I am. It's not I shouldn't stop, or won't. I can't.

2. Addicted to Love- Robert Palmer
Why it's there: When did I realize I liked girls? The first time I saw a Robert Palmer video. I didn't care if it was satire; I didn't care what he was really saying. As a young, young kid, all I knew what that it was something hot. Even then, I knew the women in the videos weren't really playing the instruments. But I've always thought the song was great. A somewhat sad postscript came in 2003, when my AIM status read "I wish my life were a Robert Palmer video," I thought people would think it was funny. The next day I read on CNN.com that he had died.

3. Heat of the Moment- Asia
Why it's there: Kind of a forgettable song for me, until 2005, when it was used in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Not sure why, but the song has stuck with me since, a reminder of why I do certain things that don't make sense.

4. Magic- The Cars
Why it's there: Not even my favorite Cars song (That's Just What I Needed), but it's catchy, and like most Cars songs, never untinteresting. Usually with songs like this, there's a phrase in the lyric that draws me in. Here, I just like the "Got a hold on you..." part, which brings a certain intensity that isn't there in the other parts of the song. Plus, this song isn't played on the radio all the time, so it's never a song I skip because I've heard it too much.

5. Blue Jean- David Bowie
Why it's there: One of my favorite Bowie songs, and one of my favorite songs, period. It's bouncy with a great vocal track, and the lyrics are some of the best I think Bowie has written for this type of song. "One day, I'm gonna write a poem in a letter/one day, I'm gonna get the faculty together." Plus, two interesting videos (one where a costumed Bowie is singing on stage while a business-man Bowie is in the audience trying to seduce a girl).

Shuffling the (newer) Ipod
Five songs at random. And .... go.

Walking on Broken Glass (Annie Lennox)
Why I downloaded it: It's bouncy and catchy, if a little inconsequential.
What I like about it: The video with a somewhat giddy Hugh Laurie, before he was House. A takeoff of Dangerous Liasons, the video also features John Malkovich. The funniest part of the video is Laurie trying to convince party guests than Lennox is plastered. But I still watch Chuck instead of House on Mondays.

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Elton John)
Why I downloaded it: To me, it's simply the best song Sir Elton has ever done.
What I like about it: It's a deeply personal song for me, a song that seems to strike at loneliness, which was a theme of mine when I bought the Honky Chateau CD in 2004. I was driving through unfamiliar towns and meeting unfamiliar people, and missing Bowling Green. The song has plenty of urban references within its beautiful melody, but it still connected with a 23-year old college kid trying to make it in rural America.

Summer in the City (The Lovin' Spoonful)
Why I downloaded it: It's a classic recording, a rare case where odd sound effects enhance the track.
Why I like it: Add the crucial piano track and the intensity brought out in the recording, and it's a must-have. In my mind, best used in Ken Burns' Baseball, used as the backing music for a section on Carl Yastrzemski and the 1967 Red Sox. That was before I hated the Red Sox.

Africa (Toto)
Why I downloaded it: When I was five, when I was 15, when I was 28, still one of my favorite tracks.
Why I like it: The drum beats were great, but I think this is a song I can't compare to anything else on the radio at the time. I never knew much outside radio as a young kid, but this song always made me stop and listen. Don't care one way or the other about other Toto tracks, but this is one I needed.

Classical Gas (Mason Williams)
Why I downloaded it: Almost any task can seem doable with this in the background.
Why I like it: Who doesn't like this? It's too catchy to hate.

Song quote of the day
Out of this world
out of this mind
out of this love for you-- The Band

Desert Island mix CD
If I could pick 17 songs, here would be the choices.

1. Caravan-Van Morrison
Why: Everything in this works for me. A positive song about listening to music, performed by one of the best songwriters ever. This would be a good pick-me-up as I wondered if I'd return to civilization.

2. Whiter Shade of Pale-Procol Harum
Why: One of the most interesting pieces of music I've ever heard. I listen to it, and am almost drawn in, as if I'm watching a mystery. The song's organ just breaks open a gate to possibilities like few songs can.

3. A Day in the Life-The Beatles
Why: The best song from the best rock album ever. Lennon's vocal is haunting, beautiful, and honest. This is, at this moment, my favorite Beatles song.

4. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down-The Band
Why: This might be the most American song ever written, and it was composed by a Canadian. It hits on the pride and pain of the most stunning conflict in our nation's history, and does so with a killer vocal by Levon Helm.

5. The Way You Look Tonight -Frank Sinatra
Why: Just listen to it and you'll know why.

6. I Fall to Pieces -Patsy Cline
Why: Perhaps the best country recording ever. Cline has been dead for more than half a century, and I still don't think she has ever been touched by any female recording artist since. Maybe Aretha.

7. Satisfaction-Rolling Stones
Why: What a rock record is supposed to be.

8. Brown Sugar-Rolling Stones
Why: Favorite Stones song.

9. When a Man Loves a Woman- Percy Sledge
Why: Few singers have been able to achieve this much passion in a career. Sledge does it in three minutes. How many people were conceived to this song? God only knows. Speaking of which ...

10. God Only Knows- Beach Boys
Why: Carl Wilson's vocal is outstanding, the music is beautiful, and America's greatest rock songwriter hits his peak. Plus, it was my brother and sister-in-law's first dance, so I'm partial.

11. Sail Away- Randy Newman
Why: The first track from one of the greatest albums of the 1970s, this song is another history lesson of sorts, presented in a jingle. It actually is a beautiful song with a somewhat depressing subject matter, which in some ways is Newman's trademark.

12. Like a Rolling Stone-Bob Dylan
Why: This one shouldn't need explanation.

13. Tangled up in Blue-Bob Dylan
Why: There's just something about the song -- its performance, its lyric, its story-- that I would want to have.

14. Imagine-John Lennon
Why: Never a socialist, and this is socialism in a Trojan Horse. But it's still beautiful.

15. Hungry Heart-Bruce Springsteen
Why: It's just too good to pass up.

16. Walls- Tom Petty
Why: A special song for me for a number of reasons.

17. Lover's Cross- Jim Croce
Why: You need Jim Croce at least once a day.

10 more things
- I hope to one day try to spend so much money so irresponsibly that I can refer to it as a "stimulus."

- I'm taking the Steelers by about 10 points in the Super Bowl.

- Al Gore sure has some odd timing.

- I guarantee you my friend Vince will comment on this post.

- If Bob Dylan had the ability to sing the way he did during his Nashville years, why didn't he sing that way all the time?

- LeBron James in the MVP of the NBA, but Mo Williams is the MVP of the Cavaliers.

- Tony Kornheiser asking Warren Sapp about fans that are grandmothers is an effective way to waste time on PTI.

- World Wrestling Entertainment will not be around in 10 years. At least not as an American-based company.

- The Indians have the best public relations people in baseball. If you wonder why, you haven't read the blog much.

-Pizza Hut ESPN commercials? Dear God.

Ten things
1. LeBron James' first buzzer-beating shot tonight at Golden State? He's just ridiculous. This is the year.

2. Why haven't the Browns hired a GM yet?

3. Jon Gruden. Herm Edwards. Both were not unemployed when owner Randy Lerner pulled the trigger on Eric Mangini. Both would have been better choices, in my estimation.

4. Barack Obama is president. I won't get on him too much for a while. He needs time to formulate his ideas. Jumping on every one less than a week in strikes me as counterproductive.

5. I hope the Indians at least call Manny Ramirez.

6. Haven't seen The Wrestler yet, but I want to.

7. I never got Joni Mitchell music.

8. John Anderson's Semonole Wind is still one of my favorite songs.

9. Why do people always forget the first 150 years of this nation when discussing the worst president ever?

10. Favorite TV show right now? Chuck.

My Top 10 Albums (As of this moment)
1. The Beatles -- Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Favorite Song: A Day in the Life
Favorite Line: "I read the news today ... oh, boy"

2. Bob Dylan -- Blood on the Tracks
Favorite Song: Tangled Up in Blue
Favorite Line: "There was music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air."

3. Imagine -- John Lennon
Favorite Song: Oh My Love
Favorite Line: "Oh my love, for the first time in my life, my eyes are wide open"

4. Moondance -- Van Morrison
Favorite Song: Caravan
Favorite Line: "Turn up the radio, let me hear the song."

5. The Band -- The Band
Favorite Song: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Favorite line: "Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me, 'Virgil, quick come see, there goes Robert E. Lee.' Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good. You take what you need and you leave the rest, but they should never have taken the very best."

6. Randy Newman -- Sail Away
Favorite Song: Sail Away
Favorite line: "Sail away, sail away, we will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay"

7. Abbey Road -- The Beatles
Favorite Song: Something
Favorite Line: "You're asking me will my love grow. I don't know. I don't know."

8. David Bowie -- Hunky Dory
Favorite Song: Oh! You Pretty Things
Favorite Line: "Oh you pretty things. Don't you know you're drivin' your mamas and papas insane."

9. John Denver -- Rocky Mountain High
Favorite Song: Prisoners
Favorite Line: "Sometimes it's the TV. She'll try to write a letter, oh, they don't come too often anymore."

10.Flying Burrito Brothers -- The Gilded Palace of Sin
Favorite Song: The Dark End of the Street
Favorite Line: "I know that time's gonna take its toll. We'll have to pay for the love that we stole."

Song quote of the day
When it gets too much for me
when it gets much too much for me
I do the same thing that you do
I'll put the weight on you -- Van Morrison

Song quote of the day
Trust nobody, don't be no fool
whatever happened to the golden rule -- Stevie Ray Vaughan

Song quote of the day
Let it roll across the floor
through the hall and out the door -- George Harrison

Shuffling the Ipod
Five Songs at Random

1. Michelle -- The Beatles
This song has double meaning for me. One is a private memory, about a girl I once knew who inevitably returns to mind when the song plays. The other memory is from my time in a jazz choir some nine years ago. I loved to sing, and still do. But I was singing vocal jazz, which I think I can admit now I never liked much. The premise to me seemed to be to take great rock songs and strip them of authenticity. The music I have always responded to was the kind that was written and sang with genuine emotion. But in vocal jazz, we were singing this great somber track from Rubber Soul with painted on grins. I hated that.

2. Captain Soul -- The Byrds
This is the instrumental track, a glorified jam session that the Byrds released as a single. There's little doubt the Byrds were strong musicians, so the track isn't a throwaway. Still, the Byrds strongest attribute (to me, at least) was the vocal work they did. The harmonies on a Pete Seeger or Bob Dylan song added dimension and helped spur on a movement. There's none of that here.

3. Indiana Wants Me --R. Dean Taylor
Ah, a track from the Time Life collection I bought almost entirely because it had Dobie Gray's Drift Away on it. This is a pretty good track, though I could do without the overdubbed siren and commotion. But it's catchy and not unlike some of the four-chord songs I'd put together some 30 years later. This is only the second song I can think of with Indiana in the title. The other is a song I heard at a concert by a band I have since forgotten. But the song remains.

4. Drift Away --Dobie Gray
Speak of the devil. I'd put this song up there with Charlie Rich's Behind Closed Doors as one of the best recordings of the 1970s. Gray's voice was perfect for the song, which stretches into country and pop. The soulful sound of the voice, meshed with some fine orchestra mixing, make the simple song epic, but unforced. The closing, with Gray singing to only percussion and bass, make the song work on yet another level. Basically, I could listen to this song all day. It's a brilliant performance.

5. Here, There and Everywhere -- The Beatles
Revolver is considered by many to be the best Beatles album. I think there are superior albums by the group. But this may be the best song Paul McCartney ever wrote, and that covers a ton of ground. But it's simple and beautiful, with wonderful vocal harmonies. The song wouldn't work today, because they would try to overdo it. But that was the genius of George Martin -- knowing when to get elaborate, and when to stay simple. Just fantastic.

The Traveling Wilburies
It's been 20 years since the super group that wanted to be anything but was created.

The group consisted of five members: George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison.

They produced two albums, but only the first is worth getting. The second (called Volume 3) was produced after the death of Orbison. Maybe that's the reason it wasn't any good.

Either way, listening to the album over and over again over the last 20 years has allowed me to recite all the lyrics from memory and wonder what it all meant.

But listening to the first album is sadder now. Harrison is dead. There has been talk that this year's summer tour will be Petty's last.

And then there is Orbison, who was on his way to a career revival before his death. What's remarkable about Orbison is that, even at 50, he had the range of a man 30 years younger. His final album -- Mystery Girl -- was a triumph I couldn't appreciate until I was older. In much the same way, I'm more and more convinced now that the best song on the first Wilburies' album is Not Alone Anymore, the only song in which Orbison had lead vocal to himself.

The song displayed Orbison's passion and range, and again, makes me wonder what he would have done had he lived longer.

Just something to think about as the Wilburies play in the background.

Song quote of the day
Go away from my window
leave at your own chosen speed
I'm not the one you want babe
I'm not the one you need -- Bob Dylan

Song quote of the day
I seek to cure what's deep inside
frightened of this thing that I've become -- Toto