Looking back now, I'm not sure how we made it through - not all of us, but most.

Sometimes I look back on what bands have gotten me where I am today musically. Usually, those thoughts bring me back to my pre-driver's license years of 1995-1996. At the time I was in to straight-up-Lookout! Records-era pop punk. I was spinning Screeching Weasel and The Queers and The Mr. T Experience and The Hi-Fives and dutch rolling my jeans over my Chucks or combat boots and wearing a choke collar around my neck held in place with a diaper-sized safety pin. Then I found the Bosstones.

The first song I can remember hearing was "Where'd You Go?" on WBRU. The next day, I asked one of the guys I worked with if he had ever heard of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He looked at me like I was a retard, pulled out his CD book, (remember carrying those bad boys around? Wait, I still do...) and popped in Devil's Night Out for me. I loved it. I never listened to bands with horns before (save for my parents spinning Chicago records during their infrequent housecleaning sessions). I loved it. I went out and bought Ska-Core, The Devil, And More, which was the EP with "Someday I Suppose" and a couple covers and live tracks. (Incidentally, I would later work with one of the guys who engineered this record. I learned later that this gentleman destroyed Donny Wahlberg's record on the Pac-Man machine at Normandy Studios during the recording of Hangin' Tough. Apparently, Donny was not pleased.) I was hooked.

I stayed with them for the rest of their tenure - through the highest high with Let's Face It (which received an honorable mention in my All Time Desert Island Top 5 Flawless Records post a few months ago) to the utter disappointment and critical failure that was Pay Attention (Incidentally, I'm one of the seven people on the planet that celebrated this record) and their swan song, aptly named A Jacknife To A Swan.

And then they announced they were breaking up. Joe Gittleman was busy with the ill-fated Avoid One Thing. Sirois joined up with Nate Albert's new project, The Street Dogs. Ben Carr (who worked with my mom at Starbucks, incidentally) wanted to spend more time with his family, and Dicky, obviously, moved to L.A. to announce for Jimmy Kimmel. I went to their last Providence show, which was also the last show I ever attended at old Lupo's, and remember just going absolutely ape-shit. I knew that it was the last I would ever see of them, and a coversation a few weeks later with Joe The Kid validated this. One thing was for certain - a big part of my formative musical identity was gone.

Years later (or 4 months ago) I would name the Bosstones as one of the 5 bands from 1990 on that I would love to see re-united.

And then today, I received a bulletin from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones official MySpace page:

ATTENTION!!!
AT 12:00PM EST THERE WILL BE A MAJOR BOSSTONES ANNOUNCEMENT MADE ON WBCN IN BOSTON. YOU CAN ALSO LISTEN LIVE @ WBCN.COM

"No way." I thought. "NO WAY." In lolcat. "NOWAI!!" And then an hour later:

WWW.BOSSTONESMUSIC.COM

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. It's been over four years since I have seen these guys on stage. And apparently that was long enough. The Bosstones are back, if only for a few select dates. For me, it's like being a kid again - it just brings me back to a simpler time in my life when I had to worry about curfews and being caught smoking and praying to god that my dad's old VW was going to make it up the icy hill to school. And I can't fucking wait.

EDIT: From my "reunited" journal: "Those were the sweatiest, smokiest, drunkest shows I've ever been to, and what I wouldn't give to see them play just one more time..." Still true.

My mom's dog just had puppies! I can haz?
--johnberard

These are the words I wish I wrote down.

I don't know what it is, but I've been connecting with so much music as of late that it's a little scary. I mean, I am listening to music constantly, but I've always done that. Within the last few months, though, I've really been connecting with a lot of it. Maybe it's because I've found a strong core of 5 to 6 records that have really made a lyrical impact on me. As I wrote that sentence, it just occurred to me that I'm soundtracking my life again. I'm not sure what causes me to do this, but I think it's a subconscious security blanket.

Just remember always counting down to a new start
You always knew the truth
And the world would spin around you
Are you dizzy yet?

I went to make a mix on Monday. (I am currently sans iPod, so my mixes are all limited to whatever a single CDR can hold.) For some reason, I've done this for the past few useless holidays - seriously, I have a mix labeled "Victory Day." Not that the songs have anything to do with Victory Day, it's just the random holiday I made it on. Regardless, I started off by putting some songs I haven't listened to in a while on it: Soul Asylum's "Somebody To Shove," Oasis' "Slide Away," Foo Fighters' "Baker Street," etc. At some point, though, I just started unthinkingly picking songs, and when I went back to listen, I was kind of taken aback at what had found it's way on the playlist.

We all bloom faster in an oncoming disaster.

Wilco's "When You Wake Up Feeling Old," Norah Jones' "Be My Somebody," Lucinda Williams' "Still I Long For Your Kiss," Midtown's "Waiting For The News," The Specials' "You're Wondering Now," Spill Canvas' "Sunsets And Car Crashes," and so on. I mean COME ON? Seriously? I can not haz teh emo? I can not haz sad bastard music?

Who knows anything
I don't know
There are so many things
I must leave alone
Some strange person is calling you their home
Can you be where you want to be?

I suppose I was just in a mood that day. And then I got a copy of the new Jimmy Eat World. OBSESSED. I've probably listened to it a dozen times already. And I've been looking up the lyrics online as I go. GET OUT OF MAH HEAD PLZ.

I sure want to get back on track
And I'’ll do whatever it takes
Even if it kills me.

Oh, and DO WANT:

I could worry myself to death about you - I hope you get there safely.

So yesterday was really bittersweet. It most definitely had its ups and downs, and I've decided to list them in a pro/con format.

PRO. It was Columbus Day, so I had the day off from work and got to sleep in.

CON. I didn't sleep in. I was awoken at 9:30 by a fucking marching band cruising down my street. Oh hai parade.

PRO. They were playing "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor.

CON. Hangoverz.

PRO. Poorman finished the mixes for the record, so Jeff, Tim, and I went to the studio to get our first listens. OMG. SO. FUCKING. EXCITED.

CON. While at the studio, we got the news that Hot Rod Circuit was calling it quits.

PRO. The mixes sound fan-fucking tastic. They go off to be mastered at the end of the month.

CON. ALL ABOARD THE FAILBOAT.

PRO. I was shown my (and now your) new favorite website: LOLSecretz. It's a combination of lolcats and Post/LJ Secrets. Prepare to LOL for days.

OK, This is day one of my upcoming 11 straight days of work. Good times!

You CAN go back.

I touched on this subject briefly the other day, but I cannot explain how much I am looking forward to my pending change of address.

This morning, I did some work downtown. It was a cool, overcast morning, and for the first time all month, it actually felt like October. The breeze was blowing the crisp autumn air right up Smith Hill, whipping the flags flying in front of the state house so that they were almost perpetually straight. After a bit of work, I headed over to Thayer Street for a little breakfast. There wasn't much time to eat, so The Creperie was out (as were the four places on Wickenden that I passed on my way, which were so busy that the waiting crowd was spilling out on to the street). I opted for Au Bon Pain, which I'm normally not a fan of, but for some reason, I sat there eating my egg and cheese sandwich (on ciabatta, by the way, which I've never had, but I might be slightly enamored with) and drinking my tea (which it is finally cold enough for), I just felt - I dunno - home.

It really made me miss all the little things that I used to do. And it made me look forward to doing them again. 7am runs down Blackstone Boulevard. Fresh asparagus ravioli from Venda. Sunday brunches on Hope Street. Post-Sunday-brunch sangria sessions at the Flats. Time-wasting at the Brown Bookstore. Frisbee at India Point. Caserta pizza runs. Hangs on the Hot Club deck. And so on.

I guess all this was triggered by the issue of Rhode Island Monthly I read this afternoon. There were two features that really struck me and kind of instilled all this renewed nostalgia. First was an article about the best features of Federal Hill. Which, incidentally, was mostly about food that I can't eat. But still, I spent the first two-and-a-half years of my tenure in Providence living on the hill, and it brought those many nights of Sicialia's stuffed pizzas back from the recesses of my memory. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it... The second story was a reflection written by Buddy Cianci. In it, he talked about his time in prison, the things that he'd learned and thought about while there, and the changes he's made in his life. While unrelated to my current infatuation with Providence, he said something that really struck a chord with me. Cianci said "Success is measured by reaching into your soul and saying 'What [would] make me happy, and how do I achieve those goals?'" and it really justified the self-reflection that I've been dabbling in as of late.

It's going to be nice to be home. Even though I wasn't ever far away, it still felt like I was. See you in a couple weeks, my dear city.

And, now for no particular reason, here is a lolruth.