Something to Write Home About

Earlier this evening, I was sitting at my desk desperately trying to find something to blog about. I was wracking my brain and coming up with very little. I started about three different ones before I finally gave in to surfing the internet. I was checking election results and playing on Facebook. Upon checking through my daily Facebook feed I stumbled upon a link my wife posted on my wall this morning about The Get Up Kids, formerly my favorite band ever, coming out with a new album in January. So, sure enough this led me to YouTube to reminisce and check out the videos I watched years ago.

I’ve seen The Get Up Kids (TGUK) in concert twice. Once in Atlanta, and once on July 2^nd, 2005. I know the date because one; I met my wife just two days prior, and two; it was the band’s last show ever. I drove to Kansas City to see them give their last hurrah. Up until I saw McCartney in July of this year, (in Kansas City again, oddly enough) it was the best show I had seen. This band really spoke to me from 2000 through 2005 and at least one of their CDs was in constant rotation in my CD player at work and in my car. Their MP3s were in every playlist on my computer. I wore the T-shirts nearly everyday and preached TGUK gospel to nonbelievers everywhere I went. I was a mega-fan. I know for a fact that everyone around stayed pretty highly annoyed with me, but for the first time in my life, these rock songs simply agreed with my soul. The lyrics. The music. The rhythm. To me, these things were infectious and everything I needed to get through whatever I was going through at the time. I knew if I was having a rough day I could play “Action & Action” or “10 Minutes” and I would pep up. I knew I could play “I’ll Catch You” or “Campfire Kansas” if I wanted to chill out. Every song this band wrote and recorded filled a hole in my life. Then they just quit. Rarely in my life have I been so emotionally torn as on the day I read that on their website. They gave it up. Done. (Though they ended up back together after three years.)

As I was listening to these songs again tonight, I realized how long it’s been since I really listened to any of them. Years. I associated some of them with bygone relationships. Some with friends who were no longer in the picture. Some with times I wanted to forget and others with times I wanted to cherish for the rest of my days. Tonight I had chills listening to the same old songs. (I still know the words.) The same feelings came back, though tonight, I had an unfamiliar butterfly feeling in my gut.

I miss the feeling of song really fitting in to who I am. I’m not sure these old songs will do it anymore. Things have obviously changed in my life since then. Maybe their new album will be full of songs that will reach a rapidly-approaching-30-father-and-husband. I truly hope so.

Thank you Stacey, for reminding me what made me tick in 2005.