My influence wasnÁ¢€â„¢t present, just you in sync with the music. When I stole that glance driving down the street, you were in your own world, rocking out. However, itÁ¢€â„¢s sometimes hard to tell if your child actually likes the songs youÁ¢€â„¢re playing for them or if theyÁ¢€â„¢re just trying to make dad happy. I had played the song for you a couple of times and you had smiled. As the band ripped into itÁ¢€â„¢s raucous rocker, I looked into the rearview mirror and caught you staring out the window, nodding your head to the rhythm and the beat of this great song. The two of us were on our way to McDonaldÁ¢€â„¢s and I dialed my iPod to the title track from the Gaslight AnthemÁ¢€â„¢s album, The Á¢€â„¢59 Sound. Yes, I could have easily chosen a Ramones song or one of SpringsteenÁ¢€â„¢s masterpieces to dedicate to you on your 7 th birthday had it not been for what happened last Saturday night. YouÁ¢€â„¢re strong, independent, fierce, empathetic and forgiving despite everything you go through, and you are a true individual. It shouldnÁ¢€â„¢t surprise me that you enjoy punk stylings because you, my son, are punk. Punk is finding beauty in the crap the world throws at you. Punk is standing up to the system (Á¢€Å“sticking it to the manÁ¢€ as Jack Black would say). Punk isnÁ¢€â„¢t necessarily a music form as much as itÁ¢€â„¢s an attitude.

But it shouldnÁ¢€â„¢t come as a surprise that you would take a liking to the one-two punch of the Ramones. It began with Á¢€Å“Now I Wanna Be a Good BoyÁ¢€ featured on WhatÁ¢€â„¢s New Scooby Doo, then Á¢€Å“My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)Á¢€ in School of Rock, and finally Á¢€Å“Rockaway BeachÁ¢€ showing up in Rock Band. You quickly connected with The Ramones, too, which is a funny group for a little boy to latch on to. Because you were mirroring SpringsteenÁ¢€â„¢s image on the television, you now only feel comfortable carrying an axe in the lefty mode. Who knows how many hours you spent watching the E Street Band Á¢€Å“Live in BarcelonaÁ¢€ concert prancing around the living room strumming your ukulele and singing the lyrics to Á¢€Å“The Rising.Á¢€ It was so many that it influenced the way you hold the guitar. The two of us have a shared affinity for the same type of driving rock and roll that gets your feet pounding and your head bobbing up and down. Knowing that you appreciate and love the same cultural things I have treasured my entire life is thrilling. From trips to the comic store to watching cartoons, from Star Wars to Spider-man, IÁ¢€â„¢ve witnessed a kindred spirit come to life inside you. In the past year or so, the two of us have begun to develop our own special relationship, one different from the one your sister and I share. No, today I just want to say how blessed I am that youÁ¢€â„¢re my son. I donÁ¢€â„¢t want to dwell on the heartache or the pain I donÁ¢€â„¢t want to dwell on cystic fibrosis, or breathing treatments or the number of pills you have to take each day. The more I think about it, though, the more I think this is a good thing. I spent so much time driving in my car going to and from home to the hospital to your aunt and uncleÁ¢€â„¢s that youÁ¢€â„¢d think I could recall some melody from that period in late 2001. The days you spent in the neonatal intensive care unit, the concern that you needed surgery, the sudden helicopter ride that flew you from peaceful Burbank to the noisy and crowded UCLA hospital, and finally bringing you home with us just in time for Thanksgiving, yes, a lot happened during the week you were born, so much that much of it is a blur to your father. When thinking of what to write today I contemplated reflecting on your rugged journey into this world. When it came time to choose a song to focus on, I couldn’t help but return to a number that he and I bonded over recently.Á‚ Some of you loyal readers to Popdose may cry foul over using this Gaslight Anthem song twice in less than a month.Á‚ See, I reviewed their album in October and actually featured today’s song.Á‚ However, it was through my repeated listens to The ’59 Sound, and the title track of the album, that Jacob became familiar with the song.Á‚ When I was contemplating what to say to Jacob for his birthday, this song’s melody kept coming back to me.Á‚ I took that as a sign to forgo the tearjerker I was going to write about and keep this post in the rocking spirit of my son.Á‚ Thanks for reading. Back in January, I wrote a special Basement Song column dedicated to my daughter, Sophie, on her birthday.Á‚ Tomorrow, November 14, is my son Jacob’s birthday, and I now I want to dedicate something to him.

The gaslight anthem the 59 sound