I know, I am awful about updating this. The below information is about my wedding cd, which I had intended to have online before I got married. Well, I am slow, but here it is!

1. Craig Armstrong- 'Portuguese Love Theme'
From the 2003 'Love Actually' movie soundtrack
The first of two songs on this cd arranged by my brother Keith for the recessional at our wedding. Jessie & I first saw this movie in the theater at Zambia and loved it. Probably my favorite romantic comedy of all time.

2. Death Cab for Cutie- 'Transatlanticism'
From the 2003 album 'Transatlanticism' on Barsuk Records
Death Cab was one of the first of 'my bands' that I introduced to Jessie. She fell in love with them and we listened to them together often. When Jessie left for the States in May and I was still in Zambia for two months without her, this song became our theme song as we were seperated by the Atlantic Ocean. This song was also used in our wedding during the prelude as Kimberly sang accompanied by Keith on piano and a flute/violin/cello trio. "I need you so much closer..."

2. Death Cab for Cutie- 'Passenger Seat'
From the 2003 album 'Transatlanticism' on Barsuk Records
The song following 'Transatlanticism' on the cd of the same title. Jessie made a comment about this song to the effect of, "the way a love song should be written." When she said that, just a couple of weeks into our dating relationship, I knew there was something different and special about her.

4. Over the Rhine- 'Fool'
From the 2003 double cd 'Ohio' on Back Porch Records
When Jessie and I are together there is no band we would rather listen to than Over the Rhine. The week of our first date Jessie commented on an Over the Rhine poster I had on my wall so I let her borrow 'Ohio.' The 2 cd is set is now an all time favorite for both of us. We decided to use this song as for our first dance at our wedding reception. While we both like Over the Rhine, her and my favorite songs by them are much different; this falls right in the middle and is perfect for the occasion.

5. Patsy Cline- 'Walkin' After Midnight'
From the 1963 album 'The Patsy Cline Story' on MCA Nashville
Jessie loves to sing karaoke, and this is 'her' song. One time when we were driving around in downtown Lusaka she started singing it out of the blue and I was supposed to guess what it was. I didn't get it right then, but I always recognize the song now!

6. Sixpence None the Richer- 'Dizzy'
From the 2002 cd 'Divine Discontent' on Reprise Records
Similarly to Over the Rhine, Jessie and I both love Sixpence, but our favorite songs by the band are much different. 'Dizzy' would fall in the middle. This is another song we considered for our first dance, but "Fool" has much more meaning to us. Sixpence None the Richer's 1995 album "This Beautiful Mess" is my favorite album of all time.

7. Tess Wiley- 'My Fortress and My Shield'
From the 2004 album 'Not Quite Me' on Tapete Records
I received this album in the mail, Tess sent it to me in Zambia from Germany. I got it while Jessie and I were dating and we listened to it constantly in the car. This song's lyrics are taken directly from Psalm 42.

8. Brandtson- 'Escapist'
From the 2004 album 'Send Us a Signal' on the Militia Group
This album was waiting for me in the mail when I returned from Zambia in July. Jessie and I spent most of this month on the road and this is the cd we listened to more than any other. I have loved Brandtson for years, but this was Jessie's first time to hear them. She didn't like them at first, but now she often asks if we can listen to them. This is her favorite song from the album. Brandtson was the last concert I saw before I moved to Zambia and I also saw them in concert on vacation in Germany.

9. Fountains of Wayne- 'Hey Julie'
From the 2003 album 'Welcome Interstate Managers' on Atlantic Records
I put this song on Jessie's Valentine's Day cd and she loved it. A hilarious song, just substitute 'Jessie' for 'Julie.'

10. Color Me Badd- 'All 4 Love'
From the 1991 album 'C.M.B.' on Warner Brothers Records
I was sitting in Jessie's kitchen once in Zambia and we were listening to 'cheesy' music. This was the only song I liked that I heard that day because it brought back memories from hearing it on Casey's Top 40. Great lyrics for a love song.

11. For those of you who have heard the cd, you either recognized this immediately, or don't have a clue what it is. It is the theme from the movies 'Kill Bill' Volumes 1 and 2. Soundtrack can be found on a 2003 Maverick Records release.

12. Fleming & John- 'Shhh!'
From the 1999 album 'The Way We Are' on Universal Records

13. Matthew Ngosa- 'Ukolela'
I actually know nothing about this song except that it is in a Zambian language, probably Bemba.

14. GRITS- Be Mine
From the 2002 album 'The Art of Translation' on Gotee Records

15. The Postal Service- 'Such Great Heights'
From the 2003 album 'Give Up' on Sub Pop Records

16. Jimmy Eat World- '23'
From the 2004 album 'Futures' on Dreamworks Records

17. Luxury- 'Solid Gold'
From the 1995 album 'Amazing and Thank You' on Tooth and Nail Records

18. Craig Armstrong- 'Prime Minister's Love Theme'
From the 2003 'Love Actually' movie soundtrack

over the rhine is playing in pittsburgh tonight, i am excited about that, i haven't seen them in over two years. it will be my 4th concert since returning to the states. lovedrug was so far my favorite, and 'pretend you're alive' is easily my choice for album of the year. luxury is releasing a new album this fall i am of course very excited about.

if you are in the nashville area watch out for shows from the astronaut pushers, that is matt slocum's (sixpence) new band.

(listening to: old canes- early morning hymns)

ok, i have no excuse for not updating this more often, just laziness. especially now that i have access to high speed internet daily.

i am in pittsburgh getting ready for my wedding! it is beautiful up here, the rolling hills and trees remind me of the beautiful state of tennessee. the weather is great, high often in the 70s, in july! and no humidity. i definitely don't miss that about the south.

i saw two concerts last weekend, fountains of wayne and the juliana theory. both were great shows but entirely different. the juliana theory was in a club in downtown, a very high energy environment for an extremely tight band. fortunately they aren't as goofy as they used to be on stage; but their sound is great as always. and it is so fun when the entire crowd sings along to all the songs. fountains of wayne was a free outdoor show and their were thousands of people there. most were not fans, just throwing the frisbee or having a picnic in the grass. but, there were at least a few hundred people into it, and of course all the kids went crazy when they played 'stacy's mom.' being a huge fountains of wayne fan, i was happy with every song they played. they did a great acoustic segment of songs off the new album. overall i would say they played about 20 songs, and close to an equal number off each album.

i have heard lots of new music lately, the best being the new brandtson cd. 'send us a signal' is the best album i have heard this year.

i get to see lovedrug this weekend! that is saturday night, then on sunday i am flying to nashville to spend time with my family. if i haven't seen you yet and you are in the TN area email me so we can get together.

(listening to: rose blossom punch- ephemere)

detroit pistons, 2004 NBA champions!!!

i got up at 3 to watch the game and saw all of it live, pretty great. this championship is so sweet because the pistons were such huge underdogs. everyone- my friends, the media, random basketball fans all said the lakers would kill the pistons. but, the pistons killed the lakers! it could have easily been a sweep, but i'll take 5 games. and the pistons wins weren't even close, they dominated LA by winning by an average of more than 10 points a game.

another great thing about all this is that the pistons beat the lakers, by far my least favorite NBA team. it would be like the redskins beating the cowboys in the super bowl (even though that is impossible). also, the pistons will be great for years to come. the starters are set, and they can only get better as far as their bench goes.

(listening to: pedro the lion- 'control')

for all you kerith ravine fans out there (all 17 of you), michael shepard, lead singer and songwriter has a "new" band called lovedrug. the sound is fairly similar to kerith ravine, not as hard, this time with piano. their debut album comes out in july on the militia group. brandtson also has a new album coming out on the same label in june.

a week has passed, and i am still sick. i could be flying down to south africa as early as today to see a doctor there. zambia just doesn't have the proper equipment and technology here to properly diagnose me.

the second week of the bowling league was last night, i did much better. i rolled a 159, 175, and 115. i am still too inconsistent. my average in the league though after two weeks though is 140, i am happy with that. our team did a lot better as well, possibly winning our match (results aren't in because handicaps haven't been calculated).

the pistons won game 2 of their series against the pacers, so it is tied 1-1 going to detroit. tayshawn prince had the most amazing block i have ever seen to end the game. he swatted away reggie miller's breakaway layup attempt that would have tied the game with 15 seconds. i was able to watch the replay of the game last night. go pistons!

(listening to: kerith ravine- 'the drafting sessions')

i got the new tess wiley album, 'not quite me,' in the mail on friday, i was extremely excited to say the least. most highly anticipated album for me in a long time. i have been listening to it non-stop ever since, and will continue to do so for awhile.

the pistons are finally playing well again, the rasheed wallace trade is paying off. they have held their last three opponents under 70 points, an NBA record. when they beat the nuggets a couple of nights ago by 30 no one on denver's team scored in double figures! that is the first time that has EVER happened since the NBA got a shot clock in the 1950's.

(listening to: tess wiley- 'not quite me')

i am taking care of someone's hamster right now, i had no idea a little cute furry thing could make so much noise!

the pistons have now lost 6 games in a row. wasn't that long ago that they had won 13 games in a row. a little consistency would be nice. all that matters is the playoffs though, and hopefully detroit will have the honor of losing to the western conference champion in the NBA finals.

chris simpson, lead singer/songwriter of mineral and the gloria record, has always been one of my favorite writers. his lyrics for this song, appearing on mineral's 1996 release 'the power of failing,' have been really meaningful to me lately:

'if i could'
"she stepped outside into the morning air to watch the cars go by and let the sun dry her hair i wanted to tell her how beautiful she was but i just stared i sat behind the wheel and watched the raindrops as they gathered on the windshield and raced down into the humming motor and she folded up her fears like paper airplanes and lost them in the trees and i know i don't deserve this: the capacity to feel (to laugh and to cry and to praise) for that i live and breathe and wake each day clean is nothing less than your grace (in awkward and glorious movement)."

(listening to: city on a hill- 'the gathering')

Best of 2003

the turn off the radio top 12 albums of 2003:

1. fountains of wayne- welcome interstate managers
www.fountainsofwayne.com

2. thrice- the artist in the ambulance
www.thrice.net

3. death cab for cutie- transatlanticism
www.deathcabforcutie.com

4. over the rhine- ohio
www.overtherhine.com

5. nada surf- let go
www.nadasurf.com

6. the appleseed cast- two conversations
www.theappleseedcast.com

7. sleeping at last- ghosts
www.sleepingatlast.com

8. elliott- song in the air
www.elliottintransit.com

9. zwan- mary star of the sea
www.zwan.com

10. mates of state- team boo
www.matesofstate.com

11. brown feather sparrow- wide awakens everything
www.brownfeathersparrow.com

12. the jealous sound- kill them with kindness
www.jealoussound.com