Above Image Via Facebook: Kacey Musgraves

By Josh McCann

I loved writing this column so much that I could hardly wait to do it again. Let’s play the next track. Here’s some of my experiences with songs this week, including concert announcements, a new book, American Idol, and the Boss!

Jimmy Eat World “The Middle”

I’m in my backyard with a blue sky and sunny afternoon. Is it Spring already?! It’s good to be out. My phone plays Jimmy Eat World “The Middle.” Takes me back to when it came out. I was barely out of high school. Going to college. Not sure what to major in. The lyric “Just be yourself,” makes me think of my students. The chorus hits. “Everything will be just fine.” The song hits different now that I’m a teacher. It’s easy to say everything will be just fine. But students go through a lot of stuff. Songs like this help. Makes it even more relevant now.

Bruce Springsteen ‘The Best Of’

I’m enjoying my Spring Break from teaching and working on some new original music, when I get word of a new Springsteen release. Yeah, that sentence says so much about me. I look it up on Bruce’s Instagram page. (We’ve come a long way since going to his website for tour dates in the earth aughts.) It’s a new ‘Best of Release.’ Out April 19. “How can they compile this?” my friend Dustin texted. I decided to jot down my predictions on a notepad before looking at the list. There are a few surprises that made it, like “Girls in their Summer Clothes” and “The Wrestler.” Very much looking forward to it.

American Idol’s Surprise Singer

I watch Idol every year. People can say what they want about the show, but I still thinks it’s inspiring to watch. The stories from each contestant can be so compelling. One audition features contestant Emmy Russell. The judges ask if she any music experience.

“My grandmother was a singer,” she says.

“Who?” Katy Perry asks.

“Loretta Lynn.”

I mean what?! I’m not the biggest country fan but I know that Loretta Lynn was country royalty. Emmy sings an original song on piano and it’s really good. She gets the golden ticket. We will see what happens as the season moves along.

Jenny Lewis performs on Kimmel. Kings of Leon play on Fallon.

I’ve always been a huge fan of late night shows. This past week featured two of my favs on the same night, but different shows. I watch Jenny Lewis perform “Psychos” on Kimmel. A good melodic tune. Can’t go wrong with Jenny’s voice. Then I watch Kings of Leon play “Mustang” on Fallon. Always good stuff from them. Back in the day this would have taken more work. Buying a blank tape, recording it. Thank you dvr! It’s so great to see both of these acts still going strong.

60 Songs That Explain The ‘90s

I’m reading 60 Songs That Explain The ‘90s by Rob Harvilla. It’s very fun and insightful. So many excellent songs and bands. Reading through the pages sends me back, when I was in middle school, playing those songs on repeat in my room among a stack of cds. The spirit of youth. I’ve learned through my 30s that some people don’t listen to music like they used to. Craziness!

Kacey Musgraves at PPG! Cage The Elephant at Starlake!

I’m scrolling on Facebook when I see a couple new concert announcements. Cage the Elephant at Starlake on August 29th. Kacey Musgraves at PPG on November 10th. A couple things to take away from this. First, it seems like concerts are announced earlier each year. What happened to living in the now?! Second, our culture is at a point in time where everyone gets their news off of social media. This is good for musicians because every fan gets updates immediately. If only the Ticketmaster situation could be addressed. But that’s something I’ll save for a future essay. Anyway, both of these shows look great. I’ve seen Cage a number of times. Good to see them headlining. Would love to see Kacey live! Her highly anticipated new album, Deeper Well is out March 15th. Both songs that I’ve heard from it are solid!

Some New Chords

I play my telecaster and turn up the distortion. I come up with a new chord progression. It rings out. Feels like something I’ll keep around. Build it from there. There’s something about it. Maybe it will be recorded one day and played live. It could just be for me. Either way it feels so good to play. Whenever I come up with a new chord progression I really like, it reminds me of the joy I had when I started playing back in middle school. It’s still there. Always will be.