In the last season of Alias, the writers decided to bring in what I termed new-Vaughn and new-Sydney, two younger characters who'd take the action of the "dead" Vaughn and the pregnant Sydney. I think I was one of the few people who actually liked the two, but new-Vaughn was just the coolest. Played by the ever-cool Balthazar Getty, he would have been unbelievably cool had the writers given him anything to do. A few months later, I was watching Survivor when I heard a song on a Pontiac commercial that just blew me away. It had a blithe, laid-back dance sound that I thought my sister, my dad and I thought was excellent. After some web searching, we found that the band was Ringside, and one of the two guys in it was Balthazar Getty. Now we were fascinated. My sister bought the CD a few weeks later, and I've been hooked ever since. I can't say Ringside plays the cleanest music, but they do play some of the coolest. They're a light-rock band based on keyboard and drums with an interesting dance twist. But then other times, they switch to a completely different mode and play songs with emotional clout. Struggle, the song I first heard of theirs, is a fabulous song but not necessarily the best example of their work. To me, Trixie or Dreamboat 730 would be the best (although both have objectionable content). I'd actually heard Dreamboat 730 before and simply not recognized it - it's cryptic, but extraordinarily catchy. I'll leave you to interpret it yourself: "Thank you for the life you gave me/Cut me with your knife and save me/Up for much better waves/All good children come and play . . . Sinners, stay at home/Think about the evil done/In bed so early/Dreamboat 730." Trixie, on the other hand, is fairly clear in its meaning. In it, the singer bemoans the fact that he wants a woman that he knows he can't have. He knows she's simply playing him, but he can't help himself. "I feel I know you/But you're someone else . . . Oh you're so cruel/To do what you do to me/Your kind of woman no man should need/You infect me." That's intense. And the way he practically moans the last part (You infect me) is agonizing, in all the best ways. Realistically, what sets Ringside apart is the songwriting. I like the guy's voice - he's gravelly and unpolished, and manages to switch between Trixie's burning mood and Struggle's energetic attitude - but there are other bands with singers much like him. The instruments aren't killer, and a lot of the instruments you'll hear are effects-ridden. But Scott Thomas, "the other guy," has a way with words that fits his style perfectly. Check them out, definitely. Their sound is engaging.

I'll be switching back and forth between anst and music, just so y'all know. So if you're in it for the music thoughts and you're bored of angst, don't fret - I'll be back with more music quickish. This is a nice outlet for me, as no one knows me or the people with which the drama is. I wanted to describe the guy a bit, more for my own interest than anyone else's. For me, his most attractive feature is his incredible way with music. He plays the keyboard beyond what most people would ever dream of. He's better than the best jazz pianist you've ever heard, I'd be willing to bet. He's got an ear for music, though - he leads my youth group's band, and his arrangements are incredible, exploiting every ounce of talent our young band has got. What I've noticed a lot lately, especially in contrast to the other guys on our band, is that he's open to his horizons being broadened. I introduced him to The Shore, and he loved them immediately. We banter about music with the third hyper-musical person in the group, Wes, a lot. It's great. Beyond that, he's the kind of guy you bring home to your parents and are excited to let them meet. In fact, my mom told me once that if he ever asked me out, she'd get on her knees and thank God. He's that kind of guy. His sense of humor kills me. I sing harmony/back-up in the youth band (I have a suitable voice for lead, but he and I are the only ones who are physically able to sing harmony, and his voice is needed to strengthen the melody), but every so often, he'll switch to harmony. What he ought to do is find his own harmony, harmonize with me or something (or not sing harmony at all - it throws off the other lead singers terribly, it's hilarious). He normally tries to do that, but if he's not thinking about it, he'll accidentally start on my notes. Whenever he does that, he'll look over at me and give me his patented "haha, oops" look. He's got that mischievous spark that a girl has trouble ignoring. Anyway, after our youth band concert, the six remaining people (all good friends) asked for an encore of Yellow, by Coldplay. We obliged, but this time it was basically just for fun, not as serious as before. So about halfway through the song, he looks *directly* at me, gives me that mischievous grin, and starts stealing my notes. Deliberately. I'm on his right, with the other female singer between us, but he and I both leaned forward a bit so I could see what he was doing and he could make sure I knew what he was doing. So he kept stealing my harmony and grinning at me, and after a few minutes of that, we just broke down laughing. It was great. But the sad thing is that he's getting ever closer to his marriage. He's meeting his wedding photographer next week, which just pounds the point home for me. There's no way at this point that I could really have him - if he left his fiancee, I'd have to re-examine what I thought of him. If she left him, he'd be so heartbroken that nothing would really matter. The heart of that issue would be that I'm three or four years younger than he is. I've always wanted to date "up," but I can see him not being able to take me seriously as a girlfriend anyway. Castles in the air, but things I can use to convince myself anyway.

For the record, I liked Jem before Grey's Anatomy decided to steal her from me and make her vaguely famous. My sister (the source of all musical knowledge) introduced me to Jem about a year and a half ago, but the route to my interest was a bit slow. Either way, I've been listening to Jem for about a year now. Jem can be a bit on the raunchy side, especially in Come On Closer, a song prominently featured on the trailers for the movie Closer, which came out a few years ago. But her music is actually uplifting - Stay Now, Wish I, and Flying High all celebrate love, albeit in some of its slightly less complete and happy forms. Jem's got an amazing voice; the only word I can really use to describe it is smoky, in the way that Norah Jones's voice is smoky. Two or three of her songs are a bit rock-ier, but the rest are soothing and good for light listening. Overall, Jem is a great singer and songwriter - check her out if you're looking for a less mellow Norah Jones or any of the softer-spoken singers in the genre. One friend commented on Missing You, saying "this sounds like Cruel Intentions." That was completely accurate for that song, although her CD puts its mood through its paces.

I realized three weeks ago that I really like this one guy I know. He's the most musical guy I've ever met, he's got a sense of humor to beat all, and he's one of the few people that I respect over and above. But the kicker is that he's three years older than me and engaged, and currently helps out at my youth group. You're not to freak out here - he was in my youth group before he helped at my youth group, and I've known him for three years. I've always respected the guy more than just about anyone else I know, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that my like of him turned into a "like" of him. Before you start laughing at me and telling me it's just attraction and nothing to think about, what you have to understand is that I don't get this way. I've never let myself "like" a guy before, not like this. I'll think every now and then that I could possibly get to liking a guy a lot, but not like this. This is not a crush, nor is it just attraction. He's a special guy to begin with, and the girl who marries him is a lucky girl indeed. I don't think about him/it all the time, but it's a tough situation for me anyway. God'll take care of me, I know. If I'm meant to be with said guy, I'll end up with him. If not - which is the much more likely path - then I'll get over it and eventually (hopefully) find *the* guy. But heavens, I want this guy now. It's hard to wait on God.

The Shore is my new favorite band - they're rich, full, and well-structured. When you listen to The Shore, you're taken back to classic time in rock history when music was created with the bare essentials of vocal and instruments. Based largely around an excellent lead guitarist and an equally good keyboardist, The Shore has a fullness that I can't quite explain, but that I've found in few other bands. Each instrument is played as well as I've heard it elsewhere. The lyrics are also striking; the songwriting is quite compelling, most of it written about lost or gained love. In Hard Road, the chorus makes a fascinating progression: it begins with "I'll let you come down easy/I'll let you be reborn." The next chorus - "Oh let me come down easy/Let me be the one." And finally, "Let me come down easy/Let me be reborn." The way the music seems to accentuate the idea behind the song is amazing. Highest recommendations for The Shore. They're medium rock, nothing too hard, but are generally soothing to listen to. If you like Coldplay, Vertical Horizon, or any other bands on the easy rock circuit, check out The Shore - it's better.