People. I like some of them. It’s nice.

Vitamins are really good for you. Know what’s even better? Friends. I’m not even kidding. Keep in mind that I’m not a licensed doctor. I’m also not an unlicensed doctor. I am no kind of doctor. If anyone calls me Dr. Brandy, you know they don’t actually know me, and that’s a risky way to suck up.

I met James for a few beers today, which in itself is a treat. I haven’t seen him in yonks, and when I have it’s been in situations that weren’t well suited to the level of conversations required when a friendship spans multiple cities of residence and versions of selves. That echelon of catching up really begs for an evening, a few hours, and imported beer, and that’s what we finally got tonight. The bonus is that someone I haven’t seen for almost 10 years was also there. And although it was clear that time has passed since the three of us have been in a room together, it felt entirely normal to just pick up the friendship where we’d left it and laugh at ridiculous things together again.

I only laugh at ridiculous things with myself or select trusted friends.

For a lost little goofball being clumsy all over a lifetime, I’ve managed to pick up some amazing cohorts.

And speaking of amazing cohorts, The Orchid Highway is blessing us with another show this Friday. They’re sharing a bill with The Parlour Steps & Adrienne Pierce, so it’s a fantastic lineup through and through. In a word? BeattheMediaClubthisFriday. I had to make up a word by taking all the spaces out of a sentence, that’s how big this show is going to be.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a bit like a reunion for me, but on a different scale than tonight was. I’m thinking more people, shorter time span. Aside from the one dude I see all the time, I haven’t seen the guys in a while. And, like the rest of the world, I haven’t seen them play in metric yonks. I think the last time I saw them play was on my birthday, and that was years ago! There are also a lot of people I know in some sort of relation to the band who, if Facebook event confirmations are anything to go by (they aren’t, but let’s keep going for the sake of example), an unspecified number of them will be there.

All this going out and having a good time. I remember doing this often and being happy with it. I must come back to this.

PS: If you were expecting a song to be posted here, I’ll have you know that I don’t even have that song and was inadvertently lying when I said I did. Oopsies.

Photographic evidence.

I’m addicted to Hipstamatic, and I have proof.

I’ve been taking pictures of everything. I took a picture of my umbrella in the rain. I took a picture of a weird ceramic bunny thing I found in the break room at work. I took a picture of the cat’s face. I already have plenty pictures of the cat’s face.

I even took a picture of a keyhole. And the picture looks infinitely cooler than the actual keyhole. Isn’t it amazing how an ancient-looking color cast and border can make a photo feel warm? I feel all cozy looking back on these memories of the good old days, aka Wednesday.

Friday is becoming my day to share a little song, and what better to accompany scratchy (-looking) old (-looking) photos than with classic ’70s CanCon? The Poppy Family is that much closer to me, geographically and emotionally. They’re not just CanCon, they’re VanCon.

I grew up listening to AM Radio, and a lot of the songs that comprised the soundtrack to my childhood were of mysterious origin. Vague memories of snippets of possibly misheard lyrics were my only evidence to identify the artists behind these songs, which was an impossible task before the internet hatched from its glorious egg. I don’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon the Poppy Family, but the moment I heard their most successful hit, “Which Way You Goin’, Billy?”, I recognized it as my absolute favorite of those lost songs. Images of elementary school and my mom’s old car and red Twizzlers and long road trips flooded my mind, and it was one of the happiest moments I’ve ever experienced sitting in front of my computer.

A few years ago, I met Terry Jacks at a birthday party. He thought he recognized my boyfriend from somewhere, and my boyfriend thought the same. After a bit of back-and-forthing, they introduced each other, and the realization dawned on me. I don’t remember how I fumbled my way into the conversation at that point, but I remember him joking that I’m too young to know about his music. Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Jacks. I’m way older than I look. If I have the good fortune to run into him again, I’ll try to keep my composure. Maybe I should think of something clever to say now, while I have at least some of my wits about me.

The Poppy Family’s original albums are out of print, but A Good Thing Lost, a fine compilation released in 1996, is available at your favorite digital music emporium, and you can probably pick it up at an actual record store too.

Please note: MP3 files are posted for listening purposes only, and will be removed 7 days after the original post date. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting the artist. If you are the artist or you represent the artist and you’d like the file removed, please contact me and I will do so immediately.

It would, wouldn’t it?

It’s not uncommon that something on TV will make me want to cleanse some sort of palette, but TLC is really putting the blink tags around that particular concept. Every time their Premiere Week commercial pops up, I want to reformat my brain to get their customized bastardization of one of my favorite songs ever flushed from my memory.

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is the opening track from The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, an upbeat gem of a song with wide-eyed lyrics that could harken anybody back to their own personal good ol’ days. It’s one of the more universally known and loved songs out there, which is why it’s an especially dastardly choice to promote new episodes of Cake Boss.

It hits me right in the Pavlov. It makes me hungry, but not for cake. Just for that song. The real song. And it fails to deliver. It leads me to a pool of fond reminiscing and then jerks me back to my present-day couch. It’s calculated and mean, is what I’m trying to say.

A few years ago, my landlady decided not to renew the lease on my adorable Commercial Drive studio apartment. I no idea what I’d do, except that I really did have one idea. My boyfriend had the same idea, but we didn’t bring it up until one gin-soaked singalong night. Between songs (this is where the commercials go when singalongs are actually television shows) he turned to me, nodded slightly, and said, “I could live with you”.

A few months after that, we were looking around his – I mean, our – living room, which just that day had been freed of anyone else’s belongings, and all of mine had been completely moved in. It was the beginning of our home. I remember it in motion blurs between laughing and crying and cartwheels in the living room – such childlike happiness for a very grown-up situation. And this is the song that played.

If “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is a question, the answer to this day is an all-caps HELL YES.

No stupid cable channel can ruin that.

Please note: MP3 files are posted for listening purposes only, and will be removed 7 days after the original post date. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting the artist. If you are the artist or you represent the artist and you’d like the file removed, please contact me and I will do so immediately.

Trackoneitis.

I refuse to be one of those thirtysomething self-described fogeys, regaling the whippersnappers with shocking takes of the savage wasteland that was the pre-internet world. I was, without a doubt, there. And since I was raised in the woods, I literally walked a mile in the snow to get to school. It alarms me that such recent years qualify for nostalgia. →

Pining for Austin, part 1

This time last year, I was a mess. I couldn’t concentrate at work. I couldn’t concentrate anywhere. All I wanted was to be on the plane with my friends. I had no idea what it would be like, no clue how much the experience would leave me wanting to do it all over again. The Orchid Highway were invited to showcase at South By Southwest, and I was going with them. →