track 24: the wheel

In the late summer of 1991 after my graduation and having healed enough to get off the crutches, I went on vacation with my brother, Dave and our dad. We drove up to Georgia where we visited my Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Bill as well as spending sometime at the home of our friends the Forbes on beautiful Lake Burton. We went whitewater rafting, which was insanely fun. While driving through the Blue Ridge and the Smoky Mountains, we'd take turns playing music. I always had to choose music that I thought my dad wouldn't mind (clearly Madonna was out) that wasn't "too weird" for him. I figured one good choice would be Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. I had their cassette, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, which I had gotten because of their single "What I am." I really loved their music, especially "Circle" which is an all-time favorite song. (Blog drinking game, every time you read that something is an "all-time favorite song" take a shot!) It's lyrics are still really personal to me today:

being alone is the best way to be
when i'm by myself it's the best way to be
when i'm all alone it's the best way to be
when i'm by myself nobody else can say
Me, i'm a part of your circle of friends
and we notice you don't come around...

However, the song that reminds me of this trip is actually "The wheel" with it's chorus that went:
the wheel keeps on turning and turning and turning and
nothing's disturbing the way it goes around
the wheel keeps on turning and turning and turning and
nothing's disturbing the way it goes around...
It made us all laugh as we rode through the winding and curvy, twisting and turning road through the mountains.



The band's second album, Ghost of a Dog was one of the first albums I bought for myself on CD. I hadn't heard one song from it, but loved their debut so much that I knew I couldn't go wrong. It's true. I enjoyed that album as much as the first, especially the amazing "He said" and "Woyaho," which I remember singing along to as I played the song on my Discman in the back of my stepfather's truck as we were on a trip somewhere with poor Dave forced to listen to me sing along.



Edie's first solo album, Picture Perfect Morning was beautiful and laid back and the title track? Another all-time favorite.

and when my plane flew through the rain
it shook the wings and people screamed
but i was so sure that i'd see you again
i was not afraid of anything

I didn't get into her Volcano album much and still haven't heard her reunion with New Bohemians from a few years back, Stranger Things but the first two discs are always going to be in heavy rotation.