According to my calendar, today is my car’s second birthday. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I drove down to Nashville to pick it up, yet it feels like forever since I was having all kinds of issues with my pimpin’ ponty.
For the occasion, my car will receive a full tank of gas. And maybe a parking ticket since I’m worried I parked in a questionable space this morning. 
The return of Matchbox! It’s been five years since More Than You Think You Are, and after solo cds, a member leaving, and the drum player becoming a guitar player, they are finally back together. I was disappointed at first when I heard it would be a greatest hits cd, but they made up for it by including 6 new songs (plus 2 covers if you buy it at Best Buy) on a separate cd.
One difference in these new songs is that they were written by the band. Generally all of their other songs were written by lead singer Rob Thomas. I’ve read some reviews that people can tell a difference but to me it just sounds like the same mb20. And that’s a good thing – great music, awesome lyrics, and the fact that each album is a little better than the one before it.
How Far We’ve Come, I’ll Believe You When, All Your Reasons, If I Fall are pop-y, uptempo songs that are great for turning up loud while driving with your windows down or dancing around your bedroom (not that I do either of those). I know these will be great in concert. These Hard Times and Can’t Let You Go are ballads. These Hard Times is the best track on the cd, or at least the one I keep playing over and over.
The greatest hits cd contains all of their singles from Long Day to Bright Lights. Nothing new for me here except that it’s a good way to see how their sound has changed over the years.
The good: All Your Reasons is so fun to sing along with. I love the lyric “Turn my cartwheels into headstands.” Rob’s voice sounds amazing on These Hard Times. Again, great lyrics with “Keeping me hypnotized, the power behind your eyes.”
The bad: If I have to pick something, it would be the 2 cd package. I would rather have it all on one cd. But that’s more annoying to me than anything bad.
The Anna Nalick Scale of Longevity: 5 for the new disc, 3 for the greatest hits one. I would be more likely to get out the older cds to listen to the non-released songs as well.
Today is Kristi’s birthday. Somehow, she’s the same age as she was last year. I’m not sure how that works. 
Sadly, it hasn’t been “all about her” as much this year as in the past, but she’s still been able to celebrate for the last week or so.
Happy B-day! Can I borrow this awesome jacket shown above?
I’ve been thinking about getting a new theme for the site for awhile and today I’ve spent some time looking. I really like the look of this one on the creator’s site, but I need to make a few changes/additions so stay tuned. Any thoughts so far?
I’ve also been thinking about writing some cd reviews since I seem to be buying a new cd every week recently. Would you be interested in those or would I just be talking to myself?
Click on the comments link and let me know.
