My iPod currently has 547 songs on it, but right now it only needs one.

I might have been a bit overly critical of Springsteen's latest the other day. It's not that I have changed my mind. "Radio Nowhere" really is a pretty basic tune as compared with his more far-reaching works. But here's the thing. It's the most catchy damned thing I've heard in a long while. If I had to pick an earlier album that it would most likely belong to, I'd say it most reminds me of what I heard on his Lucky Town / Human Touch releases from 1992.

The song is produced fast and gritty. There's no flash -- just dash. Sing that verse. Hurry up with that chorus. Sax, stat! Another verse. That's a wrap! It comes in at just 3:22, but feels like half of that duration. I've probably devoted over 90 minutes to listening to "Radio Nowhere" over the past few days. There's no such thing as silence for me right now. Even when the iPod is turned off, the song just plays over and over in my head. It's a good thing I like it as it doesn't seem to be leaving me anytime soon.

On September 4, Amazon.com will play the video for free. It's shot in NYC and features the E Street Band. Marking my calendar...

Here Comes Another Season Of My Wife Cussing At The TV

My wife is a Georgia Bulldog fan. She's a sweet and shy kindergarten teacher, but you wouldn't know it to watch her watch college football. Evidence of her passion for her Bulldogs can be found in posts and comments between she and local blogger, Big Orange Michael. I'm a fan of the game as well and loyally follow my Vanderbilt Commodores, but I'm pretty laid back about wins and losses. Regarding Paige, I've found it best to give her some space and keep my mouth shut when it comes to Georgia football games.

The good news is that we can all sit safely on the sidelines and watch she and Big Orange Michael talk their smack (for starters: here, and here) about their teams. This could make for some fun entertainment.

(My apologies to Big Orange Michael for the picture. But I do have to live with her.)

Tylenol PM commercial being shot at the Chelsea

There would be no reference to the Chelsea. Which is actually probably a good thing since what would a real Chelsea Tylenol PM commercial look like? Would they cast an actress and show her washing down the pills with whiskey? Tylenol PM: less painful than throwing yourself down the stairwell. -- Ed Hamilton

"I do it myself!"

As mentioned time and time again, my daughter is the most independent thing I've ever encountered. There is nothing you can do for her that she wouldn't rather do herself.

This morning when getting ready for school, her mom asked her to get her shoes on. Her normally thorn-in-her-side brother displayed a rare act of kindness and retrieved them from the other side of the room for her. Well, he may as well have poured her Cheerios on the floor from her reaction to this. "I get my shoes!," she said to him before letting the tears fall and the anger fly. Now I got to remind and reassure Joshua that what he did was nice and calm Ari down and get her to thank her brother all while watching the clock as their mom and I tried to keep the morning routine on schedule.

She's two-years-old and the apple of my eye, and I see turbulent times ahead. I also see a wonderfully self-reliant young woman in the making, but the road ahead looks to be terribly stubborn with very few caution signs along the way. This stubborn independence of hers (that I really do admire) is going to confuse a lot of well-meaning friends and samaritans.

Fast forward to an imagined wedding day: My wife and I are watching her on this most beautiful of days in our much loved daughter's life. She's standing tall and looking into the eyes of the luckiest of young men. She loves him with all of her heart and he's on top of the world as he's about to marry the girl of his dreams. But then he makes that mistake that I saw coming in a vision so many years before. He takes the ring and places it onto her finger. She draws back and gives him a look. "I do it myself!," she reprimands as she slides it off and then puts it right back on with a twist.

The ceremony continues as I nudge my wife gently. "I told you," I whisper.

He just wants to hear some rhythm.

I've got goosebumps. Springsteen's new song, "Radio Nowhere," is available as a free download today at iTunes. I've listened to it and it's pretty good. It's a bit of a rocker and its mid-tempo drive feels like it's fighting like hell to go even faster. It presses and presses as its singer seeks and wants for proof that he's not alone in his yearning.

One thing: Three seconds in and you wonder if he's about to cover Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny." Someone else heard Warren Zevon's "Splendid Isolation" in the melody. She's dead on. I hear it, too.

There is nothing really awesome about this song in and of itself; it's a very simple tune with lyrics that impress on first listen but aren't really especially profound. That said, it's a good song and it's always good to get a taste of new Springsteen material. The whole thing drops October 2.

Bruce Springsteen - Magic

1. Radio Nowhere
2. You'll Be Comin' Down
3. Livin' In The Future
4. Your Own Worst Enemy
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
7. I'll Work For Your Love
8. Magic
9. Last To Die
10. Long Walk Home
11. Devil's Arcade
    

I read blogs because sometimes people write beautiful things like this:

Jag writes:

Luckily for me, East Nashville is perfect for aimless driving, down one street and back up the next, a park on one end and civilization on the other. With the windows down and the volume up, I found a good playlist on the mp3 player, pulled off Ellington, made it over Gallatin Road without incident and turned onto Ordway. ...all of it >>

"The show is the least important part of the day," reassured the aritist's manager.

Shawn Colvin was at the end of her rope several years back while touring in promotion of a recent album. Concerts each night, radio interviews and other promotional activities each morning and afternoon, and a bit of sleep between tour stops, she called her manager desperately confiding to him that due to exhaustion, she didn't think she could play that night's show. That was his reply, and she couldn't disagree with him more.

In other news, hip-hop artists love the promotion they get by being on DJ's mixtapes. It's invaluable. Too bad.

You know I'm a Titans fan.

Seen today on NFL.com:

This Date in NFL History
August 26, 1999 — Adelphia Coliseum opened in
Nashville, Tennessee before a crowd of 65,729 with the Tennessee Titans
defeating the Atlanta Falcons 17-3 in a preseason game.

Eight years ago tonight, I was there. Given two tickets in the club seats by a local restauranteur, I saw that first Titans game at Adelphia Coliseum with my good friend, Vince. I'd seen this team before. Once in 1997, Paige and I drove to Memphis to see the then Tennessee Oilers beat the Buffalo Bills with ease and then in 1998, I saw them play four times at Vanderbilt.

This '99 season, however, would be my greatest as an NFL fan. Between bought tickets and gifted tickets, I was at every home game that year. For the last few games, I was lucky enough to be an assistant to the NFL Films cameramen. Not much more than a gopher, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to work the sidelines, running up and down the length of the field, not seeing much of the action --I dare you to say down in front when "in front" is Tony Boselli -- but still feeling like a contest winner knowing how enviable my job was.

For that famous Music City Miracle win over Buffalo, I was behind the Titans' bench when all seemed lost and then I was behind the Bills' bench when "Homerun Throwback" was executed so beautifully. Mind you, I didn't see the play; I was busy looking at an LED display on the camera ensuring its user didn't run out of film. Suddenly, the noise from the crowd overcame my concentration. I tried to get a glimpse at what was going on but darn if my 6'2" frame didn't do a thing to help me from behind a wall of NFL players. I figured it out soon enough as my boss for the last three hours turned to me, shouted "Stay with me," and bolted across the field to get film of the Tennessee ("No flags on the field!") Titans celebrating their almost certain historic first playoff win in Nashville's Adelphia Coliseum.

The '99 NFL Season will always be the best one ever for me. I've caught a game here and there since and I've politely declined other opportunities to help the NFL Films guys. I've had my moment of glory on the sidelines; now I'm happy to watch it on TV with the perfect views and replays and the beer in my fridge which is always bought at a very reasonable price. A lot has happened to our hometown team since that inaugural season. We've had some good years, some woeful years, and some that started out woeful and ended with a lot to be proud of. It's now LP Field, not Adelphia Coliseum. It's Young, not McNair. But it's still Coach Fisher and Craig Hentrich and his famed knuckleball punts.

Here's to August 26, 1999 and to another miraculous season before us. Go Titans!

More highlights from titansonline.com:

September 12 - Al Del Greco kicks a 33-yard field goal to lift the Titans to a 36-35 win over Cincinnati in the first regular season game and victory at Adelphia Coliseum. The win, in front of 65,272 fans, is the team's first as the Titans, and quarterback Steve McNair passes for a career-high 341 yards in the victory.

September 26 - The team wins its first road contest as the Titans, a 20-19 victory at Jacksonville sealed by a Samari Rolle interception in the end zone with under a minute remaining.

October 31 - Steve McNair returns after missing five games because of a back injury to lead the Titans to defeat the previously-unbeaten St. Louis Rams, 24-21 at Adelphia Coliseum. McNair is named Miller Lite NFL Player of the Week for his performance in the victory.

December 19 - Tennessee clinches the franchise's first playoff berth since 1993 with a 30-17 win over Atlanta at Adelphia Coliseum.

December 26 - Tennessee defeats Jacksonville for the fourth consecutive time, a 41-14 victory in which Steve McNair throws five touchdown passes. McNair earns his first AFC Offensive Player of the Week and his second Miller Lite NFL Player of the Week honor this season for his efforts. The win completes the first unbeaten home regular season in club history.

January 8 – In a play known as the "Music City Miracle," Kevin Dyson returns a Frank Wycheck lateral on a kickoff return 75 yards for a touchdown, lifting the Titans to a 22-16 victory in the AFC Wild Card playoff game over the Buffalo Bills. The improbable play, which occurred with just 16 seconds remaining in the game, gives the franchise its first playoff win in Tennessee in addition to its first since 1993.

January 16 – Eddie George rushes for 162 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown run, as the Titans defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 19-16, in an AFC Divisional Playoff game at the RCA Dome.

January 23 – The Titans beat Jacksonville for the third time of the season and fifth consecutive time, using 23 second-half points en route to a 33-14 win at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville. Steve McNair runs for two touchdowns and Derrick Mason returns a kickoff 80 yards in the win. The win sends Tennessee to its first Super Bowl in franchise history and its first AFC/AFL Championship since 1961.

January 30 – The Titans fall short in their quest to win Super Bowl XXXIV, as Kevin Dyson is stopped one yard short of the end zone on the final play of the game in a 23-16 St. Louis Rams victory.

Vagabond Heart of Saturday Night

In 1990, Rod Stewart covered Tom Waits' "Downtown Train." I didn't much care for his version, but it was quite popular and sold very well. I think it's time Tom Waits returned the favor and covered a Rod Stewart song. "Infatuation," maybe?

Keeping tabs.

Because I'm the kind of guy who will keep lists of all kinds of things about his life, I know that since 1990 I've had five jobs, six serious relationships and fourteen different places of residence. To jobs and girls, I can commit. Just don't go knocking on my door without calling first. I might not be there anymore.

Don't call them elderly.

Two Women Fight Off Would-Be Robber

The Kids Are Alright

Your Yellow Door Welcomes You

Be careful though. No one ever made it in who tried too hard.

Ghost Ballet

I didn't like it until I saw it like this.

What's a setback?

Back to it. The trip to Dallas was a bust after all. It was a great accomplishment to have been invited to training in the first place. Southwest Airlines receives on average 10,000 applications a month and I was one of seventy-three to have made it though the process of being picked for an initial Group Information Session, two one-on-one interviews, and finally, an invitation to training in Dallas. I put on my best suit, the smile and the positive attitude that have always been a part of my long career in customer service, but I was just too far behind the curve on several pages of information I was to have memorized on arrival. I studied, but I also worked, watched my kids, and slept. I should have studied more. I should have recruited my wife to help me study, but we hardly see each other as it is. It's a busy life and it was just too much. Overwhelmed. Daunted. In over my head. And so, I returned home.

Not quite feeling the failure considering how much I accomplished to have made it as far as I did, but I still fell short of the goal. Like an NFL team with a slow start to the season but a string of heart-stopping victories to make the playoffs, only to fall short one game shy of the Super Bowl, that's how I felt flying home Monday night. There's measurable pride in this setback. As Coach Fisher told his Titans after their Super Bowl loss to close out the '99 NFL season, "A setback is a setup for a comeback."

We'll see. Back to it.