Here Comes Everybody

My wonderful roommate (psychologist extraordinaire) did a mock therapy session with me last night for a half hour that felt like a train-wreck that lasted 16 years. Besides both of us realizing that I am a control freak, addict driven, hopeless romantic, I found that most of the time I'm living in this completely different world from the rest of society. Before you get the straight jacket out (roommate considered it for a second), let me explain. I border on the fine line of overly ambitious and utterly scared. Many things excite me; I become overly excited to the point that I forget why I was excited in the first place. And when it comes to music, that's where all hell breaks loose.

While I was home over the weekend, I was driving with my brother and his new girlfriend to dinner. My brother was one of the first people that really introduced me to the whole underground music scene. He has always been big into the punk/emo scene and would play me Blink 182 before they ever made it onto MTV, and bands like NOFX, Big Wig, etc. He was always in some band growing up, and I always had high hopes that he would make it some day. But unfortunately he's become quite the sell-out lately, entering into Corporate America and putting his rock star dreams on hold. But needless to say, I respect his musical opinions.

For the past few weeks, I have been listening to the new The Upwelling songs non-stop (note, addict behavior, yes). When it comes to this band, I was almost too excited from the very beginning, and it hasn't really stopped since. And with these new songs, I seriously cannot go a day without listening to them. I can't imagine that's healthy...or normal. And I had been thinking of whether after all this time I have put this band on a higher pedestal than really deserved. I know they are good, but are they really as good as I make them out to be? The war in my head continued, and I figured there wasn't a better person to put to the test than my dear older brother.

Now because his girlfriend was in the car, I had the opportunity to throw out "Hey, can we listen to this one song?" I would usually be punched or laughed at if I ever tried to touch his stereo. But I saw my window of opportunity and went with it. I had told my brother about The Upwelling, but he had never actually heard any of their songs.

I watched carefully while singing along in my head, trying not to sway their decision or opinions. "Sam" came on and my brother started moving his head. "In Your Arms" continued without the break (thank god for that) and he really started to get into it. We listened to the whole EP. I swear on my life that I have never had that much control of my brother's car before. It was remarkable.

He was most concerned with their recording process, as I had told him earlier that it was all recorded in a basement in Brooklyn. "How many mics did they use? Where did they get them? What program did they use?" There were a lot of questions, some of which I didn't have the answer to. But I asked my own question as well.

"So Neil, what did you think?"

"Really good. Who are these guys again?"

I repeated their name.

"Burn me the CD."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Can I put on another CD? I have tons of stuff that you would love. I've been getting new stuff every day." I began flipping through my CD booklet, beaming, and yet realizing I had pressed my luck. He plugged in his iPod and began flipping around. Alas, some things never change.

"Some other time, Rach. Some other time."

You can't win every battle, and yet history had been made. I wasn't crazy, my excitement has justification, and I had impressed my musical guru. For that, I considered it quite the success.

[Ed Note: For all you New Yorkers, The Upwelling will make their first TV appearance on Manhattan's Fearless Music. The show airs at 8:30 PM on Time Warner Cable channel 35. Also performing on the show will be Elkland, Metric, Go To Town, The Shore, Benzos, Bamboo Kids, and Gogol Bordello.]