2 (or 3) albums.

Well, it's 2008. And musically, it;s looking to be a pretty good year. If you haven't been given a shave by the all-encompassing buzz about Vampire Weekend, then I am a little surprised. But don't worry, it's not too late to join in. Pick up their self-titled debut album as soon as you find a record store -- it is worth every penny, and is so far the best album of the year (and it's hard to image anything topping it!).

Similarly, the new MGMT album, "Oracular Spectacular", had been strongly recommended to me by both my musical-guru friend Thad, and lovely girlfriend Jaffrey. I just listened to it all the way through for the first time, on headphones, and am now on my second listen. This, so far, is #2 of the year.

And although I seem to rarely find anyone to match my love for their Elvis Costello-inspired California Pop Rock, I personally have been waiting 4 years, and now the time has come (on April 15th)... for a new PHANTOM PLANET album! This will almost definitely make my top list this year. I can't imagine them doing wrong; not to mention, about a year or two ago I heard them play some new songs live, and loved them. So did Joe, so it's not just a fluke.

Incidentally, 2008 looks to be a good, fun year for me/Sherwood. We are halfway through a surprisingly successful headlining tour, after which I get two weeks in Seattle with Jaffrey and friends, then a trip to Japan, and most likely some time in the UK and Australia later this year. Then a lot of writing, hopefully followed by the best Sherwood record anyone ever thought we could churn out. =) So, glasses up to 2008!

-D.

Time to Write.

Jaffrey: “You’re about due for a blog entry.”

Me: “Yeah, but what would I write about?”

Classic excuse, friends. Classic. There is always something to write about, and although I don’t have a specific topic in mind as I sit down right now, I agree with my responsible, perceptive girlfriend that it is time for me to write something.

Here are my current surroundings: we are driving from Albuquerque to Amarillo, and I am on the couch in the “living area” of our RV. Joe is driving, listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Great Hits loud enough for the rest of us to hear; this, of course, is a good thing. Right now, “The River” is playing – I almost start to cry every time I hear this song. So real, such good imagery, good word choice, such an emotional vocal performance, such a good story. I am hoping that I don’t get carsick, which often (always) happens when I try to type while moving.

Nate has his cell phone plugged in above my head as he sits next to me, and as the RV takes turns, the cord swings back and forth and slaps the back of my head. If it’s not swinging, it is resting on my hair like a housefly. I am focused enough, however, to not be too irritated by it. Also above my head hangs the World’s Absolute Best Hanging Tree Air Freshener, not named as such by its manufacturer, but so named by myself because it just IS: the name of the scent is Freedom, and in the middle of the tree is the head and beak of a bald eagle. I challenge anyone to find a better air freshener than this; I think it is probably impossible. Oh, and did I mention the tree is REVERSIBLE? Red on one side, blue on the other, with white ink. Seriously.

If I ever write a song as good as “Thunder Road,” I will either buy myself a car or a $5,000 guitar.

I am in good spirits tonight because I revisited a bunch of super-rough early acoustic demos of new song ideas after leaving them fallow for a few weeks. I expected to return to them and feel disappointment, but rather was pretty excited about a lot of them, in particular a song called “Something In Common,” which I remember was written on an airplane from Minneapolis to Long Beach back in August. That one is going to turn out good. =)

This has been fun, so perhaps (hopefully) I will begin to do it more often again.