Here's a collection of great songs from TV shows. There are some notable omissions, including Lazy Sunday and Dick In A Box. Those choices were too obvious.

5. SNL - Astronaut Jones Theme Song


4. Ali G - Throw the Jew Down the Well


3. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - Day Man


2. South Park - J. Lo Taco songs


1. Flight of the Conchords - Leggy Blonde

You know those mellow songs by bands that are the exception to the rule? They're the solitary acoustic tracks or the lo-fi ones with minimal drums. Or, they're the songs that are just slower than the rest. On the album, they can stick out like a sore thumb. As individual songs, though, they really have a whopping impact. Here's my list of five.

5. Toadies - Tyler


4. Weezer - Butterfly


3. The Promise Ring - Picture Postcard


2. Alkaline Trio - Enjoy Your Day


1. The Hold Steady - Citrus

I think I'll occasionally do music posts with this blog. I'll post Youtube videos until I grow a sack and decide to post some mp3s. For now, here are some great live perfomances:

5. City on Film (Braid/Bob Nanna) - Never Will Come For Us


4. Q and Not U - Soft Pyramids


3. Make Believe - One Zero


2. Radiohead - Idioteque


1. Pavement - Grounded

I can't take this stretch of play from the Flyers anymore. They've been getting injured. They come out slow. The defense is weak. At the end of the game, they're down by two, pull the goalie, come to life and score. WIth 20 seconds left in the game, they're finally playing like they should have all game. Then, it ends. As of a minute ago, that's four straight losses.

What do the Flyers need to do to hit the ice in stride and play a full 60 minutes of hockey? Though I'm very happy with the team progress overall, I think it's starting to crumble under its own weight. Really, what I think I need is something else to help me relieve stress.

There are a few things in my life that serve as a release: playing in a band, playing guitar, playing hockey, watching the Flyers and Phillies. Carrie is wonderful. She understands that I need these things in my life and is willing to make sure that I have some time for such activities. I'm very thankful for this.

Still, I am limited in what I can do. A band is out of the question. I can't really play guitar with a baby around. I play hockey when I can but I'm dependent on about 11 other people for this to happen so I'm lucky if it occurs once a month. That leaves me with watching the Flyers and Phillies. Well, just the Flyers for now.

I get to watch about 60 games a year and I'm very appreciative of that. However, my mood is largely dependent on how the team plays. If they win, I can let anything slide off my back. When they lose, my stress level doubles. After losing four in a row, I'm ready to explode.

I guess I could go back to playing NHL on the Xbox. I don't know, though. That would probably be pushing it. I don't think I should be playing video games because it would require Carrie to focus on taking care of the baby. So, the only real solution I see is that the Flyers need to start winning again

69thstreet. It conjures up seedy images. Perhaps a dirty block where lewd acts occur. Maybe you think of two people ass-to-ankles. Yes, this name does have that unfortunate connotation. However, this is not the history of 69thstreet.org

In 1996, Richie Avicolli, Chris Abbonizio and I decided to start our own public broadcast show, Clockwork. It was a sketch comedy show that basically consisted of us making fun of the friend we called Monkey Boy. We decided to start a Web site for the show on Geocities. It was the first time any of us worked online and learned how to make a site.

Quickly, I found myself more interested in the site than the show. If I remember correctly, we decided to "form" a production company for the show. I suggested the name "69th Street Productions." I eventually made my own site out of it, asked Chris to make me an animated banner, and I was off.

Originally, my site was hosted off Geocities and then through the personal web space the University alloted me. It wasn't until the end of college that I actually registered the domain and rented my own hosting space (69thstreet.com and 69thstreet.net were both taken.)

But why 69thstreet.org? It represented a crossroads in my life. I found the transition from high school to college to be very difficult on numerous levels. I didn't know what to do with my life, what major to pursue, and, for the first time, I was faced with the question: Who am I?

For one, I was a commuter. I scheduled all of my classes late and, in the morning, I would leave my parents' house and drive through the city. I would get lost on purpose to see how long it would take me to find my way to familiarity. No matter what way I drove or where I got lost, I almost always found myself crossing under the 69th Street bridge with its obscenely large neon sign.

Many of my friends and girlfriends lived in the suburbs in high school and college. My college was on the other side of this bridge, as was my employer at the time, and my favorite hang out spots. This bridge was a very clear and symbolic divide.

This distinction of neighborhoods and the fact that I was constantly filtered under this bridge really seemed to be the threshold between the past/present and future for me. My education, my relationships, the process of being found all filtered through here and I saw no reason not to acknowledge its significance.

I guess it's about time that I explain a few things about this site that I've only previously answered in as vague a fashion as possible.

Today, I will explain the name of the site. The full site name has always been "The Distance Between Intervals." It probably seems a little redundant or maybe a little too existential as an interval is the distance between two points. Maybe it a little too self-important if anything.

I have long defined myself with the song lyrics of others as well as with my own words. "The Distance Between Intervals" is no different.

In my late teen years, I was completely obsessed with the band Jenhitt. I loved the lyrics that Tammy, the lead singer, wrote. As campy as it sounds, she often took the words right out of my mouth -- she once wrote a song about me too! -- and I was smitten. One such song was "Field Event." Here are some of the lyrics:

Can you cut me out of sequence
From margin to center
Dark and dripping with distance
Leaning into want dispensed at intervals
Intervals, it's integral that you understand this
From my point of view

Can you turn me out with feeling
From bottled to sweetness
Stark and steeped in innoccence
Worth the trust that you won't get
Except at intervals
It's intergal that you understand this
From my point of view

I have never been able to fully express myself verbally. I fail miserably at the task. So, I consider the written word to be my saving grace. It's the only way I feel like I can convey sentiment or relate to others. When I created this site, it was a place where I could post my poetry and short stories in hopes that someone, somehow would read these words only to say "I understand." That's where the lines "Dark and dripping with distance, leaning into want dispensed at intervals. Intervals, it's integral that you understand this
from my point of view" really struck me.

"The Intervals" are those moments when I am capable of expressing myself. The distance between those points is my life outside of these words. It's the frustration and impotence I feel on a daily basis. The intervals are the my release.