Top 5 Toad The Wet Sprocket Song Bridges

Top 5 Toad The Wet Sprocket song bridges

5. Stories I Tell

Off their breakout 1991 album, Fear, Stories I Tell was probably the most powerful and loud song Toad had released up to that point. It begins softly, and builds in volume as lead singer Glen Phillips belts out his emotional lyrics. The bridge is simple yet powerful. Glen is at full volume here.

4. Listen

Toad can be as sugary as any pop band, but they are also quite introspective and many times dramatic. Listen is one of their more serious tunes, slow and mournful, and even angry. It’s no wonder this bridge ranks among their best with fans. If you dig deep, you’ll be very well rewarded.

3. Rare Bird

**UPDATED** (I've had a change of opinion. After visiting this song many more times, I have concluded that this bridge must be moved up! It truly is an amazing song, and this bridge is one of Toad's finest moments.)

It's now 2013, and Toad is finally back in the studio since 1997 with a new album, New Constellation. And I’m happy to report their magic is in full force! Rare Bird is softly sung, until the bridge. They open up the vocals, bringing the volume to highs that mirror the soaring of the song’s protagonist. It’s beautiful and inspiring.

2. All Right

This quiet song makes perfect use of Toad’s excellent vocal harmony. Fronted by Todd Nichols, Toad’s lead guitarist, it stokes my memories. Makes me think of nighttime; also of great distances (in time and space), and rain. In the second section of the second verse - or pre-chorus, if you will - the drum beat gets things going into the bridge, helped along by Dean Dinning’s always driving bass rhythms. In fact, one of the key characteristics of Toad’s music for me is the “hummability”, and Dean solidifies that aspect.

1. Inside

In the top spot, Inside holds the distinction of being my favorite Toad song because after hearing the bridge, I knew they were my favorite band of all time. It is a tune sung by Todd Nichols. There’s plenty of feedback and reverb to keep my amplified side happy, and it brings to mind cloudy skies tinged orange by the evening sun. It also reminds me of expansive vistas, like the ones you get in Arizona or New Mexico. “To give me life”, the final lyrics, is very true indeed.

Wow! A new post!!

Can it be???

Is he finally posting again????

What a lazy son-of-a...



Thing is, I'm not sure what to post. The holidays are here, and I've got one more week to work, then I get a week off. Gonna go to OKC. I've driven there and back so many times it's second nature to me. Just last week, I was coming back from OKC. It was my Mother's 60th birthday. Good times. On the trip home, it was around 7:30 pm, nice and dark outside. I was jammin' to some sweet tunes, not payin' much attention to the landmarks passing me by, and lost track of my location. Before I knew it, I was twice as far as I thought. I'm like "Whoa! I've already gone this far?? Righteous!" Bet you're so elated to know that.

Well, I've got to get up bright and early tomorrow morning, so I best be gettin' to bed.

Talk to you next month.

Make With the Pretty Words

Now that the elections are over and the Democrats have seized power, I've been hearing a lot of niceties spoken on behalf of both sides of the political spectrum. Nancy Pelosi is the new Speaker of the House, and the first Woman in American history to become so. I'm happy for her. I'm happy that a woman can gain such a high seat in American politics. But what I'm not happy about is all the pretty stuff issuing from her mouth, and from the mouths of President Bush, and most other political officials in their press interviews. Nancy speaks of her desire to work with the President in a bi-partisan manner. She says this with a calm sincerity that says she's happy of her victory, but that she has America's future in her mind first and foremost. That's all well and good, but when you think about it, it doesn't bode well. Why?

How many times have you heard a political official say the word "bi-partisan"? They say it all the time, to provide the viewer with a "window" into their intentions. Or, to the more perceptive ear, to lead the public in the direction they want. Once the rush of victory fades away, how truly bi-partisan are the Democrats going to be?
Not very. It's their way or the highway. They tout their willingness to work together, yet they've been doing nothing but slandering the President and his Administration vehemently since he took office.

I don't see bi-partisanship coming. I see the same old thing. And don't think for a second that just because new leadership is taking hold, that things will magically go back to normal. Don't think for a second that just because Rumsfeld has stepped down and the former head of the C.I.A. taking his place is going to make things all better. And you can bet that the Democrats are beside themselves with Rumsfeld's removal. The Moveon.orgs and the Daily Kos's and the liberal elite are breaking open $100 bottles of champagne in wild celebration. I wouldn't be surprised if some wackos in America are actually feeling less fearful of their lives being taken away by the evil President Bush and his demonic henchmen.

Sure, there is change coming, and the Democrats are itching to enact their new plans for the country. In the midst of all this, remember: we are still hated by terrorists. Even if our new leadership manages to remove most of our troops from Iraq and change our foreign policy to the world's liking, it won't stop those who are against our way of life. They will always see us as the world's biggest evil.They will continue to attack us at home and abroad.

Spouting the rhetoric of cooperation and faux-togetherness will not change the fact that the Democrats are itching to reverse everything the President and his Administration has been working to accomplish. Sugar coating should be left to the candy industry.

What happened here?

I got lost in the desert and happened upon this town.

Where is this? I'm sure I've been here before...


There's an observatory on top of that distant hill over there, but it looks deserted. As a matter of fact, this whole town looks deserted. I can almost imagine a sprawling metropolis in this very spot. Cars whizzing by, people walking down the street, taking in the sights, checking out the shops. Commerce and Conversation, beating to the rhythm of a clockwork heart. But now, there's only dust. There's only desolation. What happened here?


I've walked down the main street, I've circled the buildings. I've looked for a sign, a hint of life, but have found none. It seems that the energy this town once had is still lingering quietly, awaiting its chance to be reborn. Could it be that the leaders of this once great town have given up on the city they know and love? Or was there some unforseen force that drove them away? So many questions I have but no one to answer them. Each step I take brings me closer to the edge of this town, and I don't have the desire to leave just yet.

So I turn myself 'round and start back again. Hoping that life will return. That feeling of deja vu is enticing me in, to the beating heart that still lingers within. As I walk toward the center of town, a light catches my eye. It's a reflection from the lens of the great observatory, as if a single solitary soul is still there. Is it true that someone still cares for this place? Still watches over it with great care? I turn to the west and begin the long walk, up the hill to the observatory there. Hoping to meet this lost soul left behind, still clinging to the town he holds dear.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am still here. Watching my town with a diligent eye. There's just so much to discover, such worlds to explore, with a powerful eye at my disposal. This town is not dead, just waiting to be... Built up again with the vision to see...

That the world is so vast, with infinite knowledge, and everyone has a space they can call their own. But mine is still sleeping, so don't run away. Morning comes soon, I invite you to stay.

I'll be back soon...

"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin: 1962-2006

This is horrible news.

"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was killed by a Stingray's barb on September 4, 2006. He was filming a special at the Great Barrier Reef when the incident occured. He was 44. He has become one of the most famous Australians since "Crocodile Dundee" Paul Hogan, and certainly the most famous nature show personality of all time. He was always full of vigor and had an unending love for crocodiles and all animals. He made it his mission in life not only to save crocodiles and preserve nature, but to teach everyone the truth about animal behavior in an effort to give the world the proper knowledge to help life continue peacefully.

He will be greatly missed.


Read more here

What's a Jacket?

Today Dallas got a heap of much needed rain. It helped to bring the temperature down a degree or two.

I hear from the news guy that more rain is coming, as the cold air finally moves in our direction. Oh what joy it brings!!!

It's been so hot in Texas this year I honestly can't remember the last time I wore a jacket. Imagine a climate so hot I get satisfaction from watching movies that feature cold locations. I was watching the Dan Aykroyd/Chevy Chase masterpiece Spies Like Us recently, and it begins in Washington D.C. in the late fall. There's a little snow on the ground, a steely gray tone all around, and rolling clouds in the sky. It's cold.

...

cold...

...

Gosh, that word almost vanished from my consciousness. COLD!!! Cold enough that the actors had to wear jackets and coats and scarfs to keep the cold at bay. And there was wind too. No doubt it was cold...

There's something about a cold, windy, overcast day that just sets my mind at ease. It's like that feeling you get when everything works. Everything is as it should be. Balance is achieved. And with that balance comes the knowledge that perfection can be attained. To me, one of the great joys of life is getting lost in the neverending view of a rolling forested hillside, a calming breeze, and countless, tumbling gray clouds that follow the horizon into forever.

Wow. I'm actually waxing poetic over this.

So hurry home, cold weather. We miss you very much.

Letterman's tribute to Bill Gates

Someone deserves an Emmy for this!

View Video


Just file this under the "It's funny 'cause it's true" category.

One more 'till the big 3-0

Well, I've gone and aged 29 years five days ago.

Truth be told, I do feel different. I don't necessarily feel old, but I feel more mature, although most of my friends might beg to differ.

I have not yet reached the part of my life in which I dread every birthday. I'm feeling fine, and am having fun with the career life. I might one day settle down and start a family. I should at least attempt to squall my debts first.

Police Squad! on DVD

Follow me to Enlightenment

Words alone cannot express the sheer comedic nirvana provided by this show. At only 5 eposides, it was so far ahead of its time that the executives chose to cancel it rather than having their heads explode.

Each episode had a well known guest star who would die during the opening credits. Tell me that is not pure genius!

This truly represents the ZAZ(Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) partnership's finest hour.

Coming to DVD November 7, 2006.