8+

"Year to the Day" by Van Halen which clocks in at 8:35

One year ago, to the day, I took to the road with the band Goes Cube. 5 weeks, 14 state capitol buildings, 24 states visited, 22 shows played, over 8,000 plus miles. Their mission: to rock the planet, one US state at a time. My mission: to document said rocking with a bunch of cameras and steady hands. It was four guys in a Honda Odyssey versus the world. I barely knew David, Kenny, and Matt before we left for the trip, by the time we returned they were like family to me. We'd been to California (and by California I mean Bakersfield, and by Bakersfield I mean hell) and back, and we triumphed like kings.

One year later here we are again. The three kings of Cube departed just yesterday on another massive road trip. They're off to South by Southwest in Austin, planning to bloody ears all over the US on their way to and fro. This time they'll be doing it without me; however, I'm on a similar quest myself. An EAR FARM quest, and the entire EAR FARM staff is coming with me. Except, we won't be rocking socks off like Goes Cube, we'll be the ones on the receiving end of the aural hammering as we travel the southern part of the US seeing beaucoups live music and eating the best regional BBQ we can find. Hot shit innit?

You're damn right it is. What other music blogger has the courage to stand up in the face of a last minute Van Halen concert cancellation (Mike and I, and my friends John and Ben in Raleigh, are truly heartbroken over this by the way - I don't even want to speak about it, but dig this graphical representation of Mike's face as he's driving right now (we're just outside of D.C. in case you were wondering) - :( - see that sad face?! that's what his biggun frown looks like. just like that. is it permanent? I sure hope not, but he's so sad for no Van Halen, his face just might be stuck like that. thanks a lot Eddie Van Halen. anyway, you get it. the younger versions of us are crying on the inside. time to close this parenthetical detour) and shake his greasy laptop in the general direction of David Lee Roth and the tri-Vans? You cancel on us?? We are bloggers hear us roar! YOU CAN'T CANCEL YOUR SHOW IN RALEIGH MY HOMETOWN! You called down the thunder Van Halen? Well you got it! Hey internets, here's a SONG FOR FREE, SONG FOR FREE, everybody download now! It's 8 minutes and 35 seconds of... wait, what is this song again? Has anybody even heard it before? Seriously. Actually, I'm shocked that the band was able to create an album as transcendent as 1984 after getting lost in the black hole that is "Year to the Day". But hey, at least it's a relevant title for our purposes. And over eight minutes to boot. 8:35 in fact, perfect numbers. Yeah they are.

To recap: I'm on the road again, not with Goes Cube this time but with everyone else from the EAR FARM office. We're heading to Austin by way of Raleigh, Atlanta, Memphis, etc etc and we're going to eat some tasty food and hear great music. Mike's all "I want my Van Halen *sadfacesadface*" and counting cop cars (15 so far, only 4 hours into our trip) and I'm typing this in the passenger seat, excited to see my friends from home and to get some fried chicken and sweet tea and Char Grill and BBQ.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Check back here on EAR FARM for updates and pictures and all of our regularly scheduled content and then some. Talk soon okaybyebyebye!!

*picture above (taken by Matt from Goes Cube) is of me from, you guessed it, one year ago to the day. I'm shooting with a Super 8mm camera - you can view footage taken during that very moment captured above by clicking HERE.
**in another fun coinkydink, Mike and I will be staying with my friend Graham tonight. TWO years ago, to the day, Graham came to visit me in NY and we went to see Sisters of Mercy. thanks EAR FARM for archiving my memories!

Buy Van Halen III on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Kraftwerk - "The Telephone Call"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Oh Comely"
George Gershwin - “Rhaphsody in Blue"
Múm - "Smell Memory"
Tool - "Lateralus"
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - "Real Emotional Trash"
Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
Mandy Reid - "Tornado"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.