Generation i - surprise CD of 2013

I must admit that I had never entertained the thought that there could be a new album by 1927 given it has been 21 years since the last one.

But a few days ago I bought Generation i and I've hardly been able to put it down.

For those overseas who may not know what I'm talking about, 1927 is an Australian band that were massive in the late 1980s largely due to the debut album called ...ish.

They released three albums  - ...ish in 1988, The Other Side a couple of years later and a self-titled album in 1992.

I was 13 when ...ish came out and it was one of those albums you could listen to the whole way through and not skip any songs. 'That's When I Think Of You', 'If I Could', 'Compulsory Hero' and 'You'll Never Know' were the hits and they are still great songs today IMO.

The second album is pretty good as well, the title track 'The Other Side' remains my favourite 1927 song and it also has some special meaning attached to it. I remember a mate of mine in high school telling me a story about how that song reminds him of a girlfriend he had who passed away a few years later.

The third release wasn't as remarkable and only has a couple of memorable songs and that's probably a good part of the reason why the band essentially parted ways.

I recall seeing 1927 in a pub in Sydney in about 1999 or so and they kind of disappeared after that until about 2008 when a 20th anniversary tour of the ...ish album happened. Then they supported Roxette in concert and formed part of what was my ultimate high school concert given they were my two favourite bands during school.

Back to Generation i.

As a fan I was always going to buy it but I didn't really have high expectations given I hadn't really heard anything new for 20 years.

On first listen it was strange but a good experience and I had the feeling it would be a 'grower' It certainly is. I haven't stopped listening to it either in the car on the ipod/ipad.

A sign of a quality album is the number of songs you transfer onto other devices and I moved eight of the 11 songs straight over, with another to come when I get around to removing it from the CD player in the car.

The stand out is definitely 'The Story Never Ends' but I'm very much liking 'City Talks', 'Nobody Knows', 'Fright Of Your Life' and 'Where You Are'.

The shame of this album is that it is likely to be largely ignored because of the amount of crap music out there that seems to be popular and clogging the airways. Hopefully some radio picks it up.

If you aren't familiar with 1927 then YouTube is your friend. If you look up any of the songs I mentioned earlier then you won't be disappointed.

Given the surprise nature of Generation i I wouldn't mind if they don't record another album, it is almost as good as ...ish I reckon.

Mariah Carey concert

It's been a long wait, almost 15 years, but Mariah Carey finally performed shows in Australia this week and I was fortunate enough to get in early to get a ticket.
I was never going to miss the opportunity to see my favourite singer in concert again.
I can't fault the performance, she absolutely nailed every one of the songs in the show, but it has to be said that a lot has changed in 15 years.
It seems that the shows are more about her than about those who paid to see her. There's a fair bit of fussing and vanity going on on-stage - there was quite a long segment with her meeting a six year old girl called Mariah plus three dress changes and an embarrassing bit where she was going to eat Vegemite on stage as well - and all that vanity certainly wasn't apparent last time she played in Australia.
I don't care what her demands or requirements are backstage, but when she's on the stage it's all about the people who have shelled out (and tickets weren't cheap) to see her and, if I wasn't such a huge fan, I'd almost say it wasn't value for money.
Having said that her performance of Hero was absolutely stunning and almost worth the price for that alone. (I'm aware of the contradiction there by the way).
When I went to the Roxette show last year they played for two solid hours with one small break before the encore where they belted out another three or four songs.
Mariah's show went for about 90 minutes and she would have been off stage for at least 15 of those, her encore consisted of one song. (In 1998 her encore was three songs).
The set list, from memory, went something like this - Can't Take That Away, Touch My Body, Shake It Off, My All, Emotions, Always Be My Baby, Can't Let Go/Love Takes Time (medley), I'll Be There, Obsessed, Don't Forget About Us, It's Like That, Close My Eyes, Hero, We Belong Together.
I would have thought she could have included songs like Anytime You Need A Friend, Vision Of Love, Through The Rain and even her version of I Want To Know What Love Is. But that's me being picky.
So what I'd say to Mariah Carey would be - have a little more humility.
Other than that, it was great to see her live again. There are few around with a voice like hers (she even hit the high notes in Emotions) and she should use it more instead of wasting time judging singers whose careers, if they have any, will peter out after a year when they aren't flavour of the month any more.

Rock Of Ages

I know nothing about the stage show and how it translates to the screen but what I can say about Rock Of Ages  is that it is damn good fun!
As far as plot goes it is your standard 'country girl comes to the big city looking for fame and falls for the first hot young guy she meets' story. Only it is set in 1987 and told through the words of classic 80s rock songs.
Sherrie (Julianne Hough) and Drew (Diego Bonita) are the young couple in question and their romance hits a rough patch when the legendary Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) plays at the Bourbon Bar where they work.
The bar is run by an odd couple Dennis (Alec Baldwin) and Lonny (Russell Brand) while other notable actors include Bryan Cranston and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the mayor and his wife Patricia who are trying to rid LA of the 'strip' that the bar is on, and Paul Giammati as Jaxx's manager.
While the lead couple are competent it is the seasoned performers that shine through.
If you are a fan of 80s rock then you won't notice the plot, or lack thereof, and you'll be too busy singing along to the soundtrack of your youth. I know I was.
Here are some of the classics covered (and not badly in some cases) - Waiting For A Girl Like You (Foreigner), Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi), Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard), Paradise City (Guns 'N' Roses), Nothing But A Good Time (Poison), Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar), I Love Rock 'N' Roll (Joan Jett), I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner), Can't Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon), Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison) and Don't Stop Believing (Journey). To name some.
I don't think I've had as much fun in a movie since I saw Hairspray, which was also made by Adam Shankman. There were a number of laugh out loud moments, one particular one featuring Baldwin and Brand, and the whole feel of the film was fun and frivolous.
There was one goof that slipped through - in an early scene in a Tower Records store Skid Row's 'I Remember You' is playing in the background....Skid Row's album wasn't released until 1989, two years after the scene was set. Having said that I love that song too so I didn't mind it being there.
So, great fun and 2 hours you will really enjoy. A 7.5 out of 10.

Secret Codes and Battleships

Let me start by saying that this is, without any doubt at all, THE album of 2011.
Being a long time Darren Hayes/Savage Garden fan I was always going to get his new album Secret Codes and Battleships but, to my surprise, it blew me away. Easily the best thing he's done since Savage Garden (though he has made some very good music) and every bit as good as SG's debut album (but just below Affirmation).
Somehow Hayes has managed to find the balance between the slightly electric pop he has been dabbling in and classic SG-style pop - and it works to an extent that all 12 songs on the album proper are brilliant.
It's a rare thing that you can get a CD and not need to skip tracks, happily listening to it from track one to the end. I've done that a lot in the couple of weeks since I bought it.
Standouts? Well, I keep coming back to the opening track Taken By The Sea, closely followed by Hurt, Roses (where he seems to make reference to his 'previous' life and divorce) and Stupid Mistake.
The two songs most talked about are Black Out The Sun, which he originally wrote for Leona Lewis but thankfully kept for himself, and Bloodstained Heart. The latter is quite a stunning song.
I'd say the lead single Talk Talk Talk is probably the weakest of the 12 but I still listen to it without any problem.
Unfortunately, this album is likely to be largely ignored by the music buying public who are more interested in inane, trashy pop by the likes of Lady Gaga and her contemporaries but, take it from me, this is a cut or two or three above that. This is first class, intelligent, modern pop with a hint of a throwback to the Savage Garden days.
As I noted as the start - best album of the year, easily. Well done Darren.

Ultimate Roxette set list

Been listening to a lot of Roxette lately, since I bought tickets to their Sydney concert coming up in February.
It got me thinking about what songs I'd like to see them play, bearing in mind they will play a number of tracks from their latest album.
I know there are a few that they are very unlikely to play but this is my ultimate set list....

Joyride
Dressed For Success
Way Out
She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)
It Must Have Been Love
Dangerous
Speak To Me
Fading Like A Flower
Listen To Your Heart
Almost Unreal
Sleeping In My Car
(Do You Get) Excited?
Dream On
Spending My Time
Crash! Boom! Bang!
How Do You Do
Only When I Dream
Milk And Toast And Honey
Come Back (Before You Leave)
After All
Love Is All (Shine Your Light On Me)

Encore
The Look
Salvation
The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
Sitting On Top Of The World

Charm School

Reviewing a new Roxette CD isn't something I expected to be doing again but here we go.
Charm School is Roxette's first new album since Room Service in 2001 (an album that had some awesome songs but was overall disappointing) and as a long time fan approached it more hopeful than anything else.
It does take a few listens, and is very much stuck in the early 90s, but I have to say I like it - so much so that I can happily listen to the entire CD straight through (though there is one track I don't particularly care for and occasionally skip it).
The catch with Charm School is I think you need to be a fan. I don't see any 18 year olds picking this up and loving it.
Unlike most Roxette albums this one seems to be fairly evenly split between Per and Marie for lead vocals.
The opening song Way Out got stuck in my head there for a while and that's a great sign. The album is also a fairly even mix of up tempo and slow songs with Per specialising on the up tempo and Marie the ballads. And that's the way it has always been, pretty much.
Top five songs on the album are as follows: Only When I Dream (a sort of Coldplay-esqe feel), Speak To Me (a rare slowish song led by Per), Way Out, Dream On (whimsical sound) and Sitting On Top Of The World (a bittersweet closer sung by Marie).
It's great to have a new bunch of Roxette songs, particularly since it looked like there would only ever be repackaged hits albums for a while. They aren't as great as the classics but, in a way, Charm School is a throw back to the late 80s-early 90s when you could have a bit of fun.

If you liked them don't be afraid to try this one out.

Signals

I've had Signals, the debut solo album by Travis Caudle for a while and it continues to grow on me.
On first listen a few tracks stood out but having now had it on good rotation in my car this weekend I've started to get right into it.
Travis is the lead singer of WA band The Woodenelves, a band I discovered by chance a few years ago and that produced a stunning album called Trips Between Worlds.
Signals isn't quite as instantly listenable but it's a bit like hearing familiar songs and having pleasant memories of them. One thing that stands out is his voice. It stood out on the Woodenelves' album as well but Travis has stripped things back a little on most of the songs on Signals and his voice resonates.

Unlike a lot of throwaway pop that is around these days, Signals is a positive yet reflective journey about life.

Take the title track for example. The following is a quote from his website regarding the song and some lyrics.

''The title track, Signals, is all about getting to a point where you get rid of all the things which don’t work in your life, understanding that by giving away some of your security you actually gain freedom.''

''It’s just something you feel, A point you reach somehow
You’ve gotta take the life you have now and throw it all away
To reinvent the wheel, send a signal somehow.
You gotta take the life you have now and throw it all away.''

The first time I listened to Signals, the overall album, I put eight of the 12 songs straight onto my ipod. That's a pretty good indication of that familiarity the album has. And they have continued to grow on me. Away from the title track I very much like Out Of Your Depth and the last song, Rise.
Travis Caudle is an artist that there's a fair chance you haven't heard of before. It's a shame if that's the case. From the Woodenelves songs, which still get a lot of airplay at my place, to this lyrically fantastic and musically subtle solo effort, Travis has given me plenty of hours of entertainment. Well worth it, too.

Why

Simply an awesome song, this is Why by Rascal Flatts from the album Unstoppable.
Have a listen and try not to tear up, it's a pretty tough job to keep it in.


It must've been in a place so dark you couldn't feel the light
Reachin' for you through that stormy cloud
Now here we are gathered in our little hometown
This can't be the way you meant to draw a crowd

Oh, why? That's what I keep askin'
Was there anything I could have said or done?
Oh, I had no clue you were masking
A troubled soul, God only knows what went wrong
And why you'd leave the stage in the middle of a song

Now in my mind I keep you frozen as a seventeen year old
Roundin' third to score the winning run
You always played with passion no matter what the game
When you took the stage, you shined just like the sun

Oh, why? That's what I keep askin'
And was there anything I could have said or done?
Oh, I had no clue you were masking
A troubled soul, oh, God only knows what went wrong
And why you'd leave the stage in the middle of a song

Now the oak trees are swayin' in the early autumn breeze
The golden sun is shining on my face
The tangled thoughts I hear a mockingbird sing
This old world really ain't that bad a place

Oh, why? There's no comprehending
And who am I to try to judge or explain?
Oh, but I do have one burning question
Who told you life wasn't worth the fight?
They were wrong, they lied, and now you're gone, and we cried
'Cause it's not like you to walk away in the middle of a song
Your beautiful song, your absolutely beautiful song

Angels Cry

Mariah Carey cops a bit of flak sometimes but she can produce a corker of a song.
One such song is the ballad (she just doesn't get the ballads wrong) Angels Cry from the Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel album.
That album was a bit patchy but there are four or five excellent songs there. She's not as consistent as she used to be. I really think she needs to go back and listen to her Music Box, Daydream and Butterfly albums and go back to the future a bit.
This version of Angels Cry features Ne-Yo but it doesn't detract from the awesomeness of the song and perhaps adds a bit.

More than just songlines

While a lot of today's popular music is vacuous and forgettable there are songs that really get under your skin if you listen to the words.
One such song, for me anyway, is the Lifehouse song Simon, from their No Name Face album of 2000. I've always loved it and been haunted by it.
The verse in italics is particularly poignant but the whole song gives me shivers.
I also changed the lyrics in my header for a while, ironically away from a Lifehouse song. The line is from the Savage Garden song 'I Don't Know You Anymore'.

Simon Lyrics

Catch your breath
Hit the wall
Scream out loud as you start to crawl
Back in your cage
The only place where they will leave you alone
'Cause the weak will seek the weaker
Until they've broken them
Could you get it back again
Would it be the same
Fulfillment to their lack of strength
At your expense
Left you with no defense
They tore it down

(Chorus) And i have felt the same as you
I've felt the same as you
I've felt the same

Locked inside
The only place
Where you feel sheltered
Where you feel safe
You lost yourself
In your search to find
Something else to hide behind

The fearful always preyed upon your confidence
Did they see the consequence
When they pushed you around
The arrogant build kingdoms made of the different ones
Breaking them 'til they've become
Just another crown

Refuse to feel
Anything at all
Refuse to slip
Refuse to fall
Can't be weak
Can't stand still
You watch your back
'Cause no one will

You don't know why they had to go This far
Traded your worth for these scars
For your only Company
Don't believe the lies that they told to you
Not one word was true
You're alright
You're alright
You're alright

We Belong

Yesterday when I woke up I had this song in my head and it stuck with me most of the day. I'm not complaining, though.
A classic from the 80s, it's Pat Benatar's We Belong .
Always liked the song.
It popped up in a recent episode of One Tree Hill where the character Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) performs it as part of her concert, intertwined as the show does with other scenes. See that one here .
Funnily enough I didn't recognise it until it hit the chorus. She can sing and I thought it was a pretty good version.

It Is What It Is

I made reference to the fact in my previous post that I felt the new Lifehouse CD was a grower.
Well, I totally missed what is now clearly the best song on Smoke & Mirrors.
It Is What It Is contains all the emotional aspects, regarding sound and voice and lyrics, that set Lifehouse apart from most bands I've been a fan of.
Worth checking out, if you like your songs with lyrics you can understand and relate to and music that is played on real instruments.
Clearly this is a song about relationships hitting a hurdle and not knowing where to go.

I was only looking for a shortcut home
But it's complicated, so complicated
Somewhere in this city is a road I know
Where we could make it
But maybe there's no making it now

Too long we've been denying
Now we're both tired of trying
We've hit a wall and we can't get over it
Nothing to relive
It's water under the bridge
You said it. I get it.
I guess it is what it is

I was only trying to bury the pain
But I made you cry and now I can't stop the crying
Was only trying to save me but I lost you again
Now there's only lying
Wish I could say it's only me

Chorus

Here it comes ready or not
We both found out it's not how we thought
That it would be, how it would be
If the time could turn us around
What once was lost may be found
For you and me, for you and me

Chorus

I was only looking for a shortcut home
But it's complicated, so complicated

As I said I reckon Jason Wade is an awesome songwriter and he always seems to strike a chord with me, whether he is writing about love, loss or life.
I just keep coming back to it when I listen to Smoke & Mirrors, despite how much I love the album as a whole. From past experience this means it has really resonated.
Thanks for another classic, Jason!

Smoke & Mirrors

It's been a long time coming but the new Lifehouse CD Smoke & Mirrors was worth the wait.

The fifth album by the under-rated Americans, best known for their debut hit Hanging By A Moment, is another testament to Jason Wade's ability as a songwriter.

(As most people will be aware, I recently wrote about how crap music is these days so this is a welcome change from the trend).

Just like the previous album Who We Are this one takes a couple of songs to really hit its straps with Had Enough, the Chris Daughtry collaboration the first highlight.

The single release Halfway Gone isn't the greatest Lifehouse song out there but it has had this knack of sticking in my head lately.

The supreme moment on the album comes in the special song From Where You Are, released in the US as part of a safe driving campaign. It's a touching song about the time 'erased' when you lose someone through a road accident.

It deserved to be a massive hit.

The title track Smoke & Mirrors is a real grower. I like the analogy about a relationship once all the illusions are gone (the 'smoke and mirrors').

There's one song that is on the deluxe version of the album but because that wasn't available I downloaded it. The song is called Crash And Burn and it shouldn't be confused with the Savage Garden classic.

The Savage Garden song was an ode to friendship, Wade's song covers the topic from a different perspective. He sings about the comfort of knowing he has support.

Lifehouse don't disappoint despite the fact they rarely trouble the charts. And this is the fifth time they have released a listenable album and importantly one that grows with you.

It's at least as good as their fourth and better than their second album and the fact I added 10 songs from this one onto my ipod shows how much it appealed on first listen.

I Could Kick Your Ass

I'm not really into country music, or so I thought, but check out this cheeky song by US singer Justin Moore - called I Could Kick Your Ass .
Something about it strikes a chord.

Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel

It's taken me a while to buy the latest Mariah Carey album, largely because I really dislike the packaging.
Sure, it's a trivial reason not to buy something but I am a stickler for continuity when it comes to additions to a series.
That out of the way, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel is far from a classic Mariah Carey album - but having said that it isn't bad either.
While with previous releases there are a bunch of tracks I quickly ignore this one is nice enough to listen to most of the way through. However, there aren't many highlights.
I read somewhere that when they were making this album the idea was to make a greatest hits album without having any greatest hits, if that makes sense. Unfortunately Mariah has fired her two best shots with the first two singles, Obsessed and I Want To Know What Loves Is (the only song on here that qualifies as a greatest hit being a cover of an 80s classic and one of my top 10 of all time).
In my opinion there are four songs on here that are memorable. They are HATEU, The Impossible, Angels Cry and I Want To Know What Love Is. (Just on that song, I wonder why she ditched a verse and changed the first one to be a conglomeration of the first two - the first verse ends with 'in case I need it when I'm older' then goes into a second, not 'in case I need it when I'm colder').
The rest vary from nice to bearable.
Come on, Mariah. I know you're trying really hard not to be the wholesome girl from the 90s but that's who you profess to be much of the time.
I don't think we're going to get another Mariah album where you can sit back and listen to 90 per cent of the songs and want to listen over again (like Music Box, Daydream and even Charmbracelet). It's a shame, because she's an absolute master at the power ballad and the light pop tune but still rank amateur at the R&B crap she's dishing out.

CD's revisited: 1927's ...ish

I can't believe it has been 20 years since the release of ...ish, the debut album by Aussie band 1927.
It ranks very highly among the best debut albums in modern times and I remember when I bought it (on cassette!). I was in year eight in high school and I thought it was just about the best tape I owned.
1927, sadly, didn't have as long a run as they should have. Lineup changes after this album came out pretty much killed off any chance they had, despite the fact the next two albums were fairly good (particularly The Other Side).
That's When I Think Of You is the song that thrust 1927 into the limelight but it was the delicate ballad If I Could that everyone will still remember. The video clip with the small white chapel in lush surrounds, a young couple looking on as the band plays and an old woman dancing.
There are only 10 songs on ...ish but at least eight are first class and it was one of the rare albums that warranted five singles.
The opening track To Love Me is still a good song as is the third single You'll Never Know. Then there is the haunting Compulsory Hero, which is about conscription and is still my favourite song on the album.
When I was younger I loved the song Nothing In The Universe, I'm not sure that it has the same effect now.
I do this edition of Revisited (haven't done one in a while) as ...ish has just been re-released in a 20th anniversary edition and 1927 is playing a show in Sydney in November.
It would be cool to go along and see them again.

Mariah covers a classic

Cover versions tends to be a pet hate of mine so when my favourite artist covers one of my very favourite song what am I to think?
It can only be a good thing but you always hate a classic being butchered.
Happily, Mariah Carey's version of the legendary Foreigner song I Want To Know What Love Is is a worthy cover, though I have to have the original on top as the superior version (which is almost always the case).
The song has been stripped back a bit to a piano based track and that really works for a Mariah ballad. The emotion is there, it still sends chills up my spine, and it has been very much done in her classic ballad style, building to the high pitched whistle-style at the end.
Being a Mariah Carey song it is going to go on high rotation not to mention it being one of my top 10 all time songs.
I'm looking forward to the new Mariah album, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, and hoping there are more songs on there that I like than can easily skip like a couple of her recent releases.

Cradlesong

A few years ago Rob Thomas released a cracking solo album called Something To Be that was so good many thought it spelled the end for Matchbox 20.
Great pop/rock songs like Lonely No More, This Is How A Heart Breaks, Ever The Same and the title track suggested Rob Thomas was about to become the next George Michael or Jimmy Barnes and break away from the group that made them famous.

With the release of Cradlesong it seems the future of Matchbox 20 is secure because Rob Thomas has produced a handy, passable follow up that will knock nobody off their feet. I'm a fairly decent fan of Matchbox 20 and Rob Thomas and I liked Cradlesong but I could quite easily put it away and go back to Something To Be.

One problem for me is that the lead single and first song Her Diamonds is pretty annoying. It is a bit catchy but I simply don't like it. Fortunately the third track Give Me The Meltdown is much more like it and leads to a few decent songs. Still Ain't Over You is in contention for best song on the album and the title track and finale Getting Late are excellent and wind up the record well.

If you're a fan you will like it but wonder why he didn't do better. It's almost like he tried to be too laid back and introspective (on some songs) whereas Something To Be had a bit more guts.

I hope it is an album that grows on me, as some do, but even if it does it is still a poor cousin to his debut solo record.

So Rob it's either back to Matchbox 20 or to the drawing board for the solo stuff mate. Cradlesong is nice and has its highlights but you can to a whole lot better than this.

My top 5 Michael Jackson songs

Like most people around the world I reacted to the news of Michael Jackson's passing with a fair amount of shock.
But, and I wonder if this is a different thought to others, it's because he was one of those personalities you thought would be around forever. Some people, above the rank of celebrity, seem immortal. Princess Diana was one of those.
So in honour of the King of Pop, these are my favourite Michael Jackson songs. They may not be his biggest sellers or signature tunes but I reckon they were supreme anthems.

5. Man In The Mirror
A haunting memory from my high school days, this song is actually quite inspiring. If you want to change things start with yourself, a great message.
4. Smooth Criminal
I'm not exactly sure to this day what the song is actually about but it is so infectious.
3. You Are Not Alone
This song is a perfect example of what he was capable of, a perfect ballad. It's heartfelt and moving and I never tire of hearing it.
2. Come Together
While the Beatles version is excellent I think this is one of the few covers that surpasses the original. What he did to this song was give it the guts it needed, the heavier sound. It's also the only song I have sung karaoke more than once.
1. Give In To Me
Dangerous was the first CD I ever owned and this song was always the standout. With Slash on the guitar, this song also has guts and a sound that makes me want to scream out the words. The video clip is awesomely cool as well.

Things that matter, things that don't

This week promises to be a strange one, possibly an emotional one, but hopefully a good one.
In a couple of days I have to go out of town for a funeral and I can't say I am looking forward to it (you never look forward to these things but I think you know what I mean).
It's going to be one of those occasions where a lot of family will gather and most of whom I haven't seen in years for various reasons. It has been a bit of a bad run with losing people lately and that is weighing on the mind a little.
Someone said to me the other day that when this happens it is a `reality check' and that is true. But it is a pretty dramatic way to shake you up and make you remember how valuable life is.
I honestly don't know how I feel about the coming trip. It isn't like I'm going to a town I've never been to before (though it has been a while) and I reckon if I can handle going to Melbourne where I don't know anybody I can handle this. Maybe I am just over thinking things.
There is a song I have been listening to called Things That Matter, by Rascal Flatts, and it has really struck a chord with me in the light of what has been happening.
We spend so much time and energy worrying about trivial things like work politics, traffic, delays and the like when what really matters is people and relationships. I'm more guilty than most of worrying about things that are out of my control and I know that I should expend more energy living rather than being afraid of life.