Reflection

I used to hate Dave Matthews. I still hate the idea of Dave Matthews... but I gotta admit, when it reaches that certain point in the year, and the weather starts changing.... I become very amenable to a little vintage 'Dave'. Maybe it's the recording quality of those early albums (which is flawless, of course), maybe it's the Not Rock N' Roll concept of musicianship, which turns fairly complicated music into the most ordinary-sounding shit you've ever heard, I don't know. But sometimes, when the weather's just right, I find myself 'lost in the jam'. One of my biggest regrets from highest school is turning my back on the $35/ticket Dave Matthews Summer Amphitheatre Experience, when he was so obviously at his peak (even I knew it at the time). Would it have spawned an unforgettable teen romance with a girl who played field hockey? Or would it have been a 'gateway' experience that led to episodes of hard drug use, following 'Widespread' around on tour, and eventually dropping out of school? Guess I'll never know... What I would give, though, to turn back the clock to 1997/8 and sit on the lawn at Walnut Creek at sunset, with a d00b, some beer in a red cup, just vibin' to this song.

Sometimes it pays to not be such a bloggin' snob, so critical of everything. As REM once said, 'these things they go away' [via Nightswimming]. So True. Have a chill Cinco de Mayo ya'll... and don't be afraid to listen to some jam bands.