Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Too busy. Way too busy. That's how life has been recently.

Wait a second, let's move back in time twenty years or so for a bit. You know, back when music videos ruled the earth. I used to have this idea for a video where the whole band, minus one player, is filmed doing the song live. Then the tune is done again with that film being projected on a scrim hanging down behind the missing player. Hey, who knows? Given the thousands of videos made since the birth of MTV, that idea's probably been tried several times.

Well, the video's golden age has long since passed, but that idea of "band minus one" has stayed with me. For some reason, it surfaces in particularly stressful passages of time. How I see it is me in front of the dropped screen, on which the rest of my surroundings is projected. Things are moving fast — some in the right direction, some not. Because I can't really interact, or in any way influence what's going on on the display, the sense of disorientation is quite intense... almost Twilight Zone-ish.

Ah, but there's a short-term solution in the works. By the time most of you read this, I'll be zipping my way through the mountains of Vermont as I head toward upstate New York. My old pal Gene has the house to himself because his wife is taking the kids for a trip back to Maine. So of course a guy's weekend is in order. It seems so rare. We all get older, take on a bunch of responsibilities, and then only allow ourselves two or three weeks a year for true relaxation.

(Why is that anyway? It's killing us!)

So after an extremely early (6:15AM) breakfast at our local diner, I'll be on the road. First CD in the slot will be the new Tori Amos release American Doll Posse. This isn't the first time that Tori has used a cast of characters to investigate goings on. This album is very reminiscent (in concept anyway) of Scarlet's Walk. Here, the five personalities (each based characters from Greek mythology) deal with all manner of bad craziness from sexuality to human relationships to both sides of war. Musically, this is the most varied collection Tori has put out in quite a while. Her power lies in her ability to emote from both the quiet and brash ends of the sound spectrum — often with equal levels of intensity.

American Doll Posse's combination or words and sound is highly textured, full of many angles and reflections. Much like this life that has me in its grip.