2.75 Miles On A Tuesday.

I trudge out, the sun hitting me just enough to remind me I'm alive.  I'm still a little sore from my short run that I did the other day, but I feel good and energetic as the solar warmth touches my face.

The music is pumping through my Bluetooth headphones thanks to the incredible technological advancement of modern society.

In my hand I carry a device capable of streaming music over vast spaces without any physical cord connecting it.

I am feeling lucky, and I'm feeling good.

Still the first few steps around the block are among the hardest, going immediately uphill.  My body not yet completely warmed up save for some minimal stretching, each stride feels like a slow, methodical ache.

When I reach the top of the first hill, I feel better; balanced and ready to really face the rest of the run, knowing full well the most difficult part is yet to come.

Soon I have a gradual and easy descent that helps to widen my stride further, and with the wind at my back, makes me feel a bit more confident as I close in on the upcoming climb.

As I tap the STOP sign at the bottom of the hill and change direction to climb, my mind wanders to the Penn State basketball team.

Here I am, just your average guy trying to get in shape and attain a healthy lifestyle, my lungs and legs beginning to feel the fire and fatigue associated with failure, and I think of what is thought of as the lowest performing athletic team at my Alma Mater.

I use them for motivation.

I think about how they've been beat up by their fans, by their coaches and by each other, yet they keep fighting.

They keep pushing in hopes that if they push hard enough, they push long enough, then they will succeed.

It's not easy to do it in the face of failure, to admit that you haven't been at your best, but sometimes it's those trials that give rise to a new sense of strength and determination.

I near the top knowing that I will reach the summit, not simply because of ability, but also self determination and motivation.

I'm headed back down now, and I have a sense of calm, but I realize that the climb has definitely taken a toll on my legs and the run isn't quite over yet.

I have made it to the local park that sports a track that I like to briefly run on.  It's flooded and still has remnants of ice and snow that demands my attention.  The song "Apollo" by St. Paul and the Broken Bones plays loudly in my ears.

My feet are cold and mud trudges on to my sweat pants, and I'm thinking about what to write about these days and what matters to me.

And I think about the hills.

These hills will always be there in life.  Some will be steep and some will be shallow, but there will always be an up and down nature to our experiences on this earth.

I'm almost back to my house now, fatigued and soaked with sweat, but I feel good too.  As though I'm ready to keep climbing and finish the journey that was started.

Take Good Care by The Revivalists. An album for people who want to feel good.

I've been listening to The Revivalists for about the past two years with a good amount of regularity.  Their breakthrough single of Wish I Knew You put them onto the pop culture map and was featured in national Blue Moon commercials.  As it turns out we've all been late to the party, and in many ways still are.

While released in early November, I'm just now getting around to listening their latest full album Take Good Care. 

What I found was an album that's positive and full of confidence without being braggadocios.  To me the Revivalists are hitting a the right notes and hitting them hard.  The feelings of soul music, southern swamp rock, and new age Americana all come home in a gorgeously produced soundscape.

While the album opens with a softer intro pack, it quickly opens up into a quick pacing sing-along rock song that encapsulates the whole album. 

"All My Friends" is about being rebellious and confidant, while at the same time knowing that the relationships that have been forged that truly keeps them afloat and positive.  While the voice and lyrics shape a lot of the sound, you can't but also hear all of the surrounding band pieces working together to push the song along.  

Quickly following that is a delightfully sultry number in "Change" that is starts slow and quiet but after about a minute breaks down into a solid rock song with images of alcohol and drugs balanced with ego and money.

After this I found myself a bit bored by the next three tracks.  They aren't bad songs, perfectly fine little numbers that slow down the energy of the album and tried to add some musical variety and depth while remaining true to their roots.  They still "fit" in the album but aren't as memorable as some others.  Where as "All My Friends" and "Change" might be played at a party or a workout, you might play these songs during an afternoon lunch for background music but they lack the energy that I think the band really excels with.

The pace gets picked back up with songs like "Oh No" and "You and I" and while there are a few more slower paced songs they still unpack nicely. 

Then, at nearly the end of the album the band unloads "Celebration".  If there is a song that will undoubtedly fall into the category of "songs to be played by every wedding band capable going forward", pay attention to "Celebration" a song that sounds so quintessential to weddings that you swore you've heard it before.  There is nothing new in the song, nothing particularly incredible musically other than the fact that it just seems so perfect in terms of how a wedding celebration should sound. 

All in all, if you want to listen to a band that is producing great independent and soulful rock, you really need to Take Good Care.