I have a little known form of Attention Deficit Disorder that I refer to as my Short Obsession Span (SOS).  I discover something I love and I love it and love it until I smother the crap out of it and then I move on to the next thing.  Some of my fickle fascinations and fleeting preoccupations have included; certain boys (I was a stalker before stalking was cool… or a crime), Russian history (I convinced myself I was a lost Romanov),  crotcheting (there are seven unfinished afghans in my basement), entertaining, crafting, home repair, Scrabble and most recently poker but I lost $400,000 dollars in fake money so now I can’t even afford fake boobs and suddenly I don’t want to play anymore. 

 I have moved on to gardening now, cause that’s how I roll.

My husband is exempt from the SOS, I figure he has some kind of multiple personality disorder that continually evolves him into yet another insane guy I love.  For almost 21 years he’s kept me guessing and on my toes (and occasionally on my back) so we have a good balance and we gel so I don’t get bored with him.

Music is where the SOS (and not the ABBA song) really manifests itself.  I listen to something I like over and over again ad nauseum until I hate it because I have heard it too much.  The radio makes this process a little speedier but it never fails that if I love a song I will inevitably sicken myself on it like a kid on too much candy… except I don’t think any song has ever made me throw up though “Who Let The Dogs Out” might have come close.

I worked at a music store for many many years.  I had access to hundreds and hundreds of CDs and I listened to almost everything… for a little while.  In 1995 All of that changed.  That was the year that Collective Soul released their self titled disc and music would never be the same for me.  The world I know changed the day I slid that yellow disc (I have since gotten the blue variant as well) into the machine and pressed “Play”.  There was something about that first album that grabbed me by the ears and would not let me go.  I played that CD endlessly, at home, in my car and at work.  I knew it by heart and sang along with every lyric… when nobody else was around to hear me of course, I might know all of the words but Ed carries a way better tune.

My son, who was seven at the time was as much a fan as I was, he has always been a smashing young man with great taste in music… he gets that from me.  Some people however were less than thrilled with my perpetual Soul train.  My boss would roll his eyes at me when he’d walk in the door and customers would chide me, “Brenda, there are other CDs you know!”  

It was then that I backtracked through the catalogue and discovered Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid.  And so it went, Collective Soul had created a monster.

A couple years later I was working at Blockbuster Video and at that time the rental giant sold CDs.  I was ecstatic to discover that CS was releasing a new disc so I badgered and begged the manager to order a copy for me and to phone me immediately when the freight came in and I would pick it up.  I literally bounced into the store when the boss finally called me to tell me my disc had arrived.  He knew how anxious I was for the CD so he had it ready for me to pay quickly and get out so I could give it a listen.  He handed the disc to me and it took all I had to hold back the tears.  He had mistakenly ordered The Soul Collection… Motown hits.  I nearly had an undisciplined breakdown of my own.  I only had to wait a few more days for the correct CD but the funny thing is that I actually ended up buying The Soul Collection as well.

Collective Soul has been a constant in the soundtrack of my life over the past 14 years, I have every disc (and two of the self titled) and they are the predominant players in my car, on my computer and on my iPod.  In fact when I am having one of those days where nothing makes me happy musically and I am skipping from song to song trying to find something that doesn’t bore me, inevitably it is a CS song that makes me stop and listen and say “Oh I’m feeling better now.”

All that I know is that I am counting the days until their new disc comes out (August 25th)… yes I still buy CDs, I am a purist, my general attitude is that I am happy to pay for music and I like to have my own copy and the liner notes.  I am also totally excited that they will be playing in Calgary on July 1st (Canada Day) it’s a long drive but it is the closest show to us and I am trying to convince my husband that he couldn’t give me a better (21st) anniversary gift than to take me to see one of my favorite bands live (as opposed to all the bands I see dead?! ?) Where there’s a will there’s a way and it would be a dandy life if I could finally catch their show.  I promise I will breathe, I might scream and my panties won’t find their way onto the stage.

So here’s the simple run-down, If you have adored this band like I have or just want to know more about them, the tour is on now and the details are at http://www.collectivesoul.com/live/, I also highly recommend following them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/collective_soul (they actually follow back, interact with their fans and they even have contests!) and for all other news and band info check out this link http://www.collectivesoul.com/blog/ and this one http://www.collectivesoul.com/news/.

On that note (get it?) I take my leave with a favorite lyric that is appropriate to this post and my longest running obsessions, music, love, gardening and of course Collective Soul.

So plant a little seed
Soon it starts growing
Shed a little light
Soon we’ll be glowing
Hear a little tune 
Soon we’ll start singing
Give a little love 
Then love will start breathing