This was when Kathy and I saw Keane in 2012.

(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 38)

Back in 1993 I heard ‘River of Dreams’ on the radio for the first time.

The memories blur so I’m deliberately not looking up the details here…

But I remember in the summer of 1993 hearing it a lot in Montauk - it got heavy play there.

And then I remember in the 1994 NBA Playoffs (April/May/June of 1994) the Knicks played ‘All About Soul’ during their run to the Finals.

I hadn’t been into music much before, but that was at the time when I realized I enjoyed Billy Joel and should listen to all his music, bought every Billy Joel album, and then was pleased to discover it was at the time he released his newest album.

So it was the first time I experienced my favorite artist releasing new music.

It was also the last time I experienced my favorite artist releasing new music…as Billy Joel hasn’t put out an album of new music since.

So, as I think I’ve mentioned before, the experience of a band I really love releasing new music is a rare experience in my life.

But it’s one I got to experience again this week.

I’ve written a lot about how much I love Keane.

They put out a new album on Friday. It’s called ‘Cause and Effect’ and it’s good…but if you’re new to Keane I don’t know I would recommend it as a first listen to the band. (Start with ‘Hopes and Fears’, then ‘Under the Iron Sea’, then ‘Perfect Symmetry’ - all great albums - skip ‘Night Train’, which I’m sure I’ve written before, then listen to ‘Strangeland’ if you’re going to dive in the way I did in 1992 or 1993 with Billy Joel. The music on the new album is good, just not very up tempo. My favorite Keane is up tempo - I think you need to listen to the other stuff first if you’re making your way into the band.)

But there’s a couple of things I love about Keane. The first is the fact that I really enjoy the music. But there’s a lot more about the band and the circumstances through which I came to like them. I think, because I just thought of it, I’m going to list them:

1) Back when my brother was working in radio he met Keane when they came through New York City doing promotion. It must have been for their second album, because he gave me both CDs signed by the band. I guess this was 2004 or 2005. He told me to give them a listen because he thought I would like them because they were piano-heavy and that’s what I usually like. He was right. So that’s the first thing I always think of with Keane - they were recommended to me by my brother.

2) And a close second is the fact that Kathy likes them too. She likes Billy Joel well enough, but I always kind of had the impression that she was humoring me by coming along to Billy Joel concerts or listening to the music. But with Keane - we were both in on the ground floor and like the band equally.

3) The kids, not as much. They’ll tolerate the band, but it’s not their first choice to listen to. This, despite the fact that Keane was Kathy’s choice in music when our oldest daughter was born…though playing it was designed to bring Kathy comfort, we thought maybe it would lead to a life-long love of the band for our daughter. No such luck. (The ensuing two daughters did not get such careful planning in the delivery room.)

4) Keane is really good live…but they really only had one North American tour. We saw them in 2012, and I don’t know if they toured before that…but they certainly haven’t since. We were reminded of how good that concert was when a couple of years ago we saw Keane’s lead singer Tom Chaplin on a solo tour…and will now see them again in March as they tour for this album.

5) Keane just makes me happy. I remember how cool it was to hear ‘Everybody’s Changing’ on an episode of ‘Scrubs’ . This lyric video for the song ‘Love Too Much’ makes me emotional for some reason - maybe because it features the work of fans and it’s nice to see that others are passionate about something I’m so passionate about. (It’s one of the best songs on the album too.)

It’s always fun to enjoy new work from artists whose work I love. Especially when it sneaks up on me like this release did - I’ve been so busy that I kind of forgot this one was coming.

I hope there are similar good surprises you have a chance to enjoy. If not - I suggest you catch up on some Keane music.

Writing

*Nothing really new to update you on. I continue to have some ideas percolating and continue to wait for a piece to be published and continue to be busy with work.

Comedy

*Last night I was on the two Saturday night shows at The Comedy Studio. The shows were great - I switched up my sets a bit and felt good about how both went. And that was the capper to a crazy afternoon - I was really nervous about parking in Somerville because it was Fluff Fest and Somerville Avenue was closed right where The Comedy Studio is. But I decided I’d park in a different neighborhood and walk over and that worked out well.

I’ll be back at The Comedy Studio tonight. I’ll probably do something completely different just to switch things up. I’m looking forward to it.

Especially since parking on a Sunday evening will be very easy.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

*I don’t give a care about Fluff. No lie - I’m not sure I’ve ever had it. But the Fluff Festival - seeing tents set up and everyone out in the street having a good time - it was nice. I rather enjoyed my walk through on the way to The Comedy Studio. I had Indian food for dinner from one of the vendors. I did not have Fluff.

And I remembered hearing about the festival from students and co-workers back in my teaching days - I taught not far from Somerville. So I wondered if I’d run into anyone from my past as I walked through….and sure enough, I did.

(Note as I realize many of you have no idea what I’m talking about: I don’t know if I know what I’m talking about. But I think Fluff originated in Somerville, and they have a festival every year celebration the treat.) (Food? I don’t know.)

Notes On Dog Ownership

*Kathy convinced me this week that the dog isn’t depressed to spend her day with me…she’s just saving her energy for when the girls come home to play with them. I’ll buy it.

Notes

*One last thing about seeing Keane in March: we actually can’t make the Boston show - Keane is at the Orpheum Theater on a Wednesday in late March. (As you can tell by the picture above they were at House of Blues when Kathy and I saw them in 2012.) But we have a couple of conflicts (believe it or not, we know that already) for that Wednesday night…so we’re going to see Keane in New York on the Saturday night….in what looks to be the last show of the tour. So that’s kind of cool. Tickets were a little more expensive than I think we were expecting, but it’ll be worth it.

*Here’s how football season is going for this Jets fan - I was all ready to make every Jets game appointment viewing this year. And it’s been a rough start - 0-2, the star young quarterback is out with mono, and I flat-out forgot the Jets-Patriots game is today. I cleared my schedule for 1 o’clock to do my long run this week. So…I’d rather run 9 miles than watch the Jets. That’s…not good.

*Twitter continues to be going well - Follow me there @jsucich. Facebook continues to be underwhelming. Like my page there @JohnSucich.

*I’m not super proud of the title fo this post, by the way. But I don’t think there was any other way to title it.