Otto has always been #1 in my book

Check that out, right there. For the time being, my alma mater Syracuse is #1 in both college basketball polls. They've been surging all season (27-2! insane), and even in the past few weeks, with their best player banged up, they managed to beat Georgetown (ranked like #10 at the time) and Villanova (#7). Oh, and Providence, which was especially awesome, because a few of us took the 3:30pm Amtrak Miller Lite Express down to Rhode Island to catch the game.

(Wait, it's not called the Miller Lite Express? It should be. You really have to pound them, it's only a half-hour ride!)

I'd been loosely following the 'Cuse on their season-long ascent, catching a half here and a highlight there. But seeing them play live made it clear: this team is really, really good. I'll be picking them to win the tourney — wait, I mean I would pick them, if I participated in such mischief — and not just out of wistful nostalgia for my college years. I attended two basketball games last week: SU at Providence and the Celtics vs. the woeful NJ Nets, at home. This Syracuse team could have wiped the floor with the Celts that day.

I will now knock on various wooden objects.

Other lessons learned from last Tuesday's adventure:

1. The train is the way to go. I love trains anyway — I mean, I really miss taking the subway to work, and that's just a standing-room-only cattle car hurtling through blackness underground. When you add comfortable seats, scenic vistas, the gentle rocking, and booze car? There's really no comparison... driving is for chumps. Also, we got there in record time, and the kindly MBTA commuter rail (a longer but cheaper trip than Amtrak) got us all home safely after the game.

2. Behaving like you're 23 years old will not actually make you 23 again. In fact, the next day you will feel like you're 83.

3. College basketball road trips are the best (if you didn't go to a big sports school, well, sorry I guess. You're welcome to root for SU). This was on par with our early 2000's trip to New York for the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. That year, we still had our college IDs and managed to score $9 student tickets — on the floor! — to the sold out night games. Three of us crammed into a 100-square-foot hotel room but we spent most of the night at a diner anyway. (At one point, I believe I leapt into a pile of curbside Manhattan garbage for $5... learning from bad decisions is essential to personal growth, right?) Awesome times, just a few hours away. We should have taken the train!

Fight or flight

Gina and I have a theory about surviving winter: at some point, you either have to get the hell away to someplace warm, where you can charge your solar battery, or you have to go all in and embrace the season — skiing, sledding, hot cocoa, roaring fires, snowmen, whatever. It doesn't matter which method you choose, but doing one or the other is essential to dodging the doldrums of midwinter; waiting it out is not an option.

This year we decided to welcome winter's icy clutches, and went even colder with a short trip up to Montreal for the long weekend. We love that city, and it's the kind of place that loves you back.

We stayed at a super charming B&B (read my TripAdvisor review if you like) and ate like crazy: mussels steamed in savory broth, fries with homemade spicy garlic mayo, baked onion soup, maple syrup glazed salmon, crepes with nutella and banana, crepes with apples, brie, and maple syrup... you name it, we ate it, and it was all fantastique.

The weather was cold but the city was alive. I was thinking back on our trip to Stockholm in January 2005, and how the city was a bit quiet and melancholy — waiting it out. Montreal, on the other hand, felt ready to burst at times, like a party might break out in the street despite the cold.

Throw in hot mulled wine, the Winter Olympics, a working fireplace in our room, and an ambient Valentine's Day snowfall, and we enjoyed the perfect winter weekend. We came home relaxed and recharged, ready for the home stretch of winter.

After all, we're almost there. Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training.

Tablature Tuesday: Song I Wrote for You

With some distance now separating myself from many of the songs I've written — let's call that distance "perspective" rather than "age," shall we? — certain songs outlast others, enduring beyond their original context to resonate just as strongly in new chapters of my life. The one that really might be my favorite of all, that still just breaks my heart for some reason, is "Song I Wrote for You." I don't know what it is about this very simple song, but it's never stopped evoking the same profound emotions it did when I first wrote it.

It's partly about a girl, of course (isn't it always?). But that's a very small part of it, and certainly not the reason it continues to have such a powerful impact on me.

I was supposed to go down to New York that day. There had been some kind of minor bomb scare in the city, and I grew paralyzed with fear about the trip; I couldn't go. I couldn't even leave the apartment. I'm realizing now that it might have been the first time I really confronted the emotions that 9/11 had provoked in me: the deep-seated fright and overwhelming sadness I had mostly managed to quell for over a year.

Intentionally or not, the lyrics obscure some of that. But the melody triggers all of those emotions in me, all over again, every time.

It's a powerful thing, music.

Song I Wrote for You (Download MP3)
©2003 Jon Gorey



Intro: A / A / Bm / D / E / A

[A] What's the matter with the world
What did I forget to [Bm] do
Was it something that I [D] said
Can I [E] make it up to [A] you

When did everything go wrong
Did they ever think that [Bm] through
I think I heard this in a [D] song
It was [E] one I wrote for [D] you

And I'm [E] hoping that the [A] world don't [Bm] fall
And I'm [D] holding out for [D] something but
[A] Not at [Bm] all and I'm [D] more or less [E] hopeful
But I [A] can't see the [Bm] starry sky
[D] Too many [E] sorrys I [A] don't know what to [G] do
But it [D] sure ain't [Bm] nothing like [A] this
I [A] don't know what to [G] do
But it [D] sure ain't [Bm] nothing like [A] this

[A] What's the matter with my [A] life
What did I forget to [Bm] bring
Can you tell me what to [D] do
God I [E] hear so many [A] things
I don't want to end this [A] way
I just want to make it [Bm] right
I'm afraid to live the [D] day
And I'm [E] scared to sleep the [D] night

And I'm [E] hoping that the [A] world don't [Bm] fall
And I'm [D] holding out for [E] someone but
[A] Oh not at [Bm] all and I'm [D] more or less [E] hopeful
But I [A] can't see the [Bm] starry sky
[D] Too many [E] sorrys I [A] don't know what to [G] do
But it [D] sure ain't [Bm] nothing like [A] this
I [A] don't know what to [G] do
But it [D] sure ain't [Bm] nothing like [A] this

Top Fives of the Decade: TV Shows

My #4 most successful friend — Hollywood hotshot Sarah Kucserka — recently posted a "Top 10 TV Shows of the '00s" missive on Facebook that I won't even try to compete with. Shamefully, I've probably only seen two of the shows on her list anyway. (Less shameful is that the list was littered with teen dramas, so I don't feel that bad.)

I can't compete with Sarah for many reasons, not least because I've never been a paid writer on a hit network TV show. Also bear in mind: we have basic cable; we don't have Tivo or a DVR; hell, I've never even paid for a television. Our current model — the biggest we've ever owned, at 27 decidedly non-flat, non-HD inches — is a hand-me-down from someone who moved to New York two years ago.

Still, I’ve watched the magic movie box enough in the past ten years to have formed a useless opinion on the subject, which I'm happy to share with you!

Top Five TV Shows 2000-2009

5. The O.C. - I know, I know... believe me, I know. It doesn't change the fact that we kind of loved this show and its dramatic but comically self-aware approach to a ridiculous genre. It didn't take itself too seriously (unlike, say, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, etc.), and it was one of the first teen soaps to successfully focus on the adult story lines as well — which were kind of awesome. Plus, Seth Cohen.

4. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - From thought-provoking, even confrontational conversations, to sharp, witty editorials, to joyfully silly humor, this nightly display of genius is pretty much the only reason I pay for cable. Ok, and Red Sox baseball. You can have everything else.

3. 24 - There was a time when Jack Bauer ruled our lives. Everything stopped for 24; it was so intense, we couldn't get through an episode without drinking a couple of glasses of wine to calm our nerves. By Season 5, though, it began to feel just a little forced; Season 6 was a total letdown. And while I never even made it through Season 7, I'd still be willing to give it another try... for Jack.

2. 30 Rock - Nothing makes me laugh like this show. Like the Simpsons at its best, the jokes are so layered, and so fast — and sometimes so outrageous — that you can't even appreciate them entirely in one sitting.

1. LOST - There isn't much I can say about this show that hasn't been said on 3,000 other sites already. If they can pull off the ending (and I love that they came right out and declared an end to the series — the X-Files would have benefited from that approach back in the day — it may go down as one of, if not the, best television series ever made.

Top Fives of the Decade: Gigs

It's extremely hard for me to fathom that the 2000's are coming to a close. I mean, I've barely accepted that the nineties are over, much less this decade. Plus, it was unquestionably one of the most action-packed ten years I'll ever experience, both universally and personally. A helluva ride! (I just wanted to use "helluva.")

I find lists and statistics to be a helpful coping mechanism in times like this. So, as the decade winds down, let's tally it up, top five style. Since I'm playing a show this Saturday (hey, you should come!) we'll begin with...

Top Five Gigs 2000-2009

5. McGovern’s - Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland (7/29/05)
Playing in my namesake town in Ireland was even more of a treat than I thought it would be. The other musicians were terrific — is there anyone in Ireland who can’t sing? — and the fans who frequented the place were real music lovers.

4. Wirstrom's Pub - Stockholm, Sweden (1/3/05)
I never knew I had such a following* in Sweden until I played in the cavernous stone bowels of this very old (1500s) medieval-feeling pub. If they had paid me in grog, I wouldn’t have been that surprised.

3. The Burren - Somerville, MA (9/25/05)
This was my first show after a glorious summer in Ireland, and I’m pretty sure I was still beaming. It felt good to be home in front of a huge crowd of friends and family, and after a summer spent busking in the streets of Galway virtually every day, I don’t think I’ve ever been a more comfortable or polished performer.

2. Club Rare - New York, NY (9/17/04)
A pretty amazing night: while we made our full-band debut in New York City, the Red Sox were also in town, playing the Yankees — and foreshadowing good things to come with a stolen 9th-inning victory against Mariano Rivera. Tons of friends made the trip down with us, and watching an absolute throng of people sing along with “The Scarlet Letter” — in New York City! — was one of the highlights of my musical career.

1. Lizard Lounge (Indeed! CD Release) - Cambridge, MA (7/22/04)
My favorite gig of all time was actually at the same venue as this weekend’s show. For someone who doesn’t create much in the way of tangible objects, there’s something very cool about seeing, holding, and sharing a real CD that you made, with your name and your music on it; it’s corporeal, permanent proof of your efforts. Plus, it was packed, with all the people I care about in attendance**, and the vibe was so intimate I could hear every voice singing along (and even harmonizing) with the “Streetcorner Song.” And that’s the single most incredible thing to me about being a musician: hearing other people sing a song you wrote. It never, ever gets old, or any less special.

* Ok, it’s not really a following; in truth, I just have lots of friends who married Swedish girls.
** This is not to say that if you weren’t there, I don’t care about you. I do, really. Just not as much as if you had turned up for the show. :)  I keeed, I keeeed!

Going places

I really loved the commercials for Bing, Microsoft's newish search engine, when they came out. Except... it's hardly a "decision engine," as advertised. It's just another search engine — and not even a particularly good one, based on my limited experience with it — only with pictures.

Somewhere along the way I signed up for their travel deal alerts — actually, I think it's because they bought out Farecast.com, the site that tracked airfare prices to let you know if they were rising or falling — and now they send me Bing Travel Deals from Boston.

And every week, it's a different version of the same three stupid deals, to the same three stupid places: Orlando, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Bing: it's not a deal when these destinations are always cheap. Moreover, if I don't absolutely have to, I really don't want to go to LA, or Las Vegas, or Orlando, pretty much ever. I don't care if it's a last minute deal, or a weekend deal, or a desert doorbuster deal or what.

Bing did finally help me to make one decision though: unsubscribe!

In other news, the rumors are true: I'm coming out of retirement, although I'm pretty sure I wasn't retired, to play at the always awesome Lizard Lounge in Cambridge a week from Saturday, with the Rationales, the Future Everybody, and Scarce. I'll be playing some of the songs to your left, and debuting a brand new one to boot. Things start at 8:30pm, and tickets are 8 bucks — it'd be great to see you there!