Sneezing and Coughing Keeps Me from Traffic and Weather

This week might already be too much to handle. First, baseball season started yesterday. And today, the new Fountains of Wayne album, Traffic and Weather, was released.

Apparently, this (along with tour dates being announced – Detroit in June!) was all too much for my system to handle, as I appear to have finally come down with the sick that’s been afflicting many of my fellow citizens (and which I taunted with my good health mere weeks ago).

But was I truly ill, or did I feel worse because I knew that constantly blowing my nose and trying to sleep off whatever is currently plaguing me wouldn’t allow me to get my hands on a copy of Traffic and Weather?

Why the hell didn’t I just pre-order the damn thing from Amazon or the band’s website? No, I have to go out and buy it – because it reminds me of how I used to get my music – even though whatever big box store is more convenient for me to shop at probably won’t have it in stock. That’ll be my next blog: How many stores did I have to go to? Dammit.

Someone, bring it to me. And can you also get me some more orange juice? Maybe throw in a box of tissue paper, too. Or a bottle of whiskey, if that’s easier to find.

Finally! The Fountains Return!

22 days in, 2007 is looking like a good year already. No, I haven’t achieved anything special. And I wasn’t really planning to. In my world, that’s the true key to happiness. Don’t aspire to big things. Keep it small. You’ll be rewarded more often and won’t set yourself up for a big fall once disappointment inevitably sets in.

So I stay focused on the little victories. And I already have one circled on the calendar. April 3. That’s when the greatest rock band on the planet Earth – Fountains of Wayne – will release their new album, “Traffic and Weather.”

I will knock over children that day at Best Buy to get my hands on that CD. Or I might just order it from Amazon. Less confrontational.

Has it really been four years since their last album, “Welcome Interstate Managers“? I still play it like I bought it yesterday. (“Out-of-State Plates” doesn’t count. It was all B-sides. Still cool, of course. And I felt triumphant when I found a copy in Charleston, SC. But ultimately, it was like eating a handful of popcorn when you crave a steak dinner. Doesn’t do the trick.)

Another little victory will come in late February when the album’s first single, “Someone to Love,” hits the airwaves. Of course, I’ll probably download it instead.

Okay, carry on. Just had to jump up and down for a bit. Today, the sun is shining.