Something that was said at the Tuesday meeting last week about the concept that maybe we're supposed be here just to be here & now. For the next man. Which I'm totally in agreement with, because essentially that is what the ultimate fulfillment of the twelve steps seem to be if we are indeed able to create a relationship with a Higher Power & do his will, then it seems that in order to continue to foster that connection, we must work with those about us to maintain a connection to the spiritual. So, the thought was this though, that so long as we assume that our job is to be here for the next man, that we remain "around" because of the fact that we should be here for others, and that in our current state we are in an utmost condition to be of helpfulness to others, we forget that our individual primary purpose is because we have the condition we have. That will not leave us if we are to believe anything that medical science proves about the disease itself. We still have the cautionary states of mind that keep us indisposed from experiencing life on an even plane. And why is this, except that we have previous histories which have dictated this to us, that our experiences with abnormality have changed us from the luxury which came before we ever knew we had a flaw in our condition. There are certain things we have experienced which leave us in a state of unknowing about our future so long as we choose to ingest alcohol or drugs.

Let us not be so drained by the gravity of our personal experiences that we forget the fundamental effects of love on the nuturing of our souls. We are not to be attempting to possess anything that is merely an emotion filtered through our minds, but continuously perpetuating it by the acting with the gift of our spirit.

My Son Volt Greatest Hits Album So Far: 1995-2009

The best band in the world for road trips, hands down. So I got stuck on 1-29 with snow falling down, glaring at the taillights in front of me. I got tired of hard-driving rock n roll, properly stated, and remembered that I had all my Son Volt albums still with me and thought I needed to get back into the Jay Farrar mind set since I had some time on my hands, and the road was still ahead of me. And I have to tell you, they took me home. So this list was my effort at narrowing it down to the best 15. (which I ended up unable to do) And this was not easy because I pulled out my absolute favorite. Then, I turned my focus into ranking so I whiddled it down to the barest essentials. This is even more difficult, you have your truly great timeless songs and mere pearls of musical excellence that Mr. Farrar is perfectly capable of crafting out of sheer effort-driven genius. Thank God for real you don't have to do this, you can take it all just as it comes.

With that I created this list,

Tear Stained Eye (trace)
Methamphetamine (search)
Left a Slide (Straight)
Down to the Wire (acd)
Live Free (trace)
Jet Pilot (okemah)
Afterglow 61 (okemah)
Action (search)
10 Second News (trace)
Cocaine & Ashes (acd)
No More Parades (straight)
6 String Belief (okemah)
Dead Man's Clothes (tremolo)
Wheels Don't Move (acd)
Creosote (straight)
Bandages & Scars (okemah)
Strands (tremolo)
Highways & Cigarettes (search)


Honorable mention: The Search, Out of the Picture (Trace), Been Set Free (Straightways), Mystifies Me (Trace), Flow (Wide Swing) , Ipecac (Okemah), Circadian Rhythm (Search)