sweet is the sight ...

when i first heard "she says" almost four years ago (really, just under four years now), i was sure i'd heard the song before. on the radio or something, i wasn't sure where. when i asked howie if it had gotten airplay, he gave me a quizzical look and replied that he didn't believe it would have reached any radio airwaves near me.

i was sure it would be on the radio in no time - it was too good a song to stay underground.

tonight, i watched howie on letterman, performing "she says," the third single off the album and probably one of my favorite all-time songs. if i closed my eyes, i could have imagined myself back at the coffeehouse either time he performed there. or at either of the paradise shows i enjoyed - rocking out at the 12.28.00 show from the balcony, where i performed the now-infamous doubletake or looking up at him from the front row as he sang the song immediately in front of me at the 6.18.01 show - or at the ironhorse. or at the mhz studios, where i tried to focus on the music and not the blinking lights of the television cameras. or in fairfax as he opened for tori. or finally headlining again in boston, this time at avalon.

i've heard that song live so many times in so many different places - i haven't heard any song live as many times as i've heard "she says" and i love it every time.

the letterman performance was decent enough, i suppose ... pretty straightforward, lacking his typical energy, but hey ... it's a mainstream perforamance and considering all the jazz about last week's "i was supposed to be on but then i wasn't" i was happy to see he was on at all. not as good as the other performances i've seen/heard/experienced, but hey. it was "she says." on television. good god.

it's about time it reached the rest of the world, but i'm not quite sure if i'm ready to let the rest of the world share in it. they'd just better appreciate what they're hearing.

congratulations and happy birthday, howie.