Fantastic Voyage

2015 was such a fantastic voyage.  Love, travel, physical activity, music and deep connections with friends and family made the year special.  Carmen and I wed on June 6, 2015 on the Carolina Girl and it was an incredible wedding week, wedding day and honeymoon, exceeding my expectations on every level.  Also as expected, the wonderful evening on the Girl raced by far too quickly and before we knew it, the DJ was calling Carmen and I for our last dance, "All I Want Is You" by our beloved band, U2.  We were privileged, honored and so happy to enjoy the company of our family, friends, loved ones, hanging out together on the waterways near our Charleston home.  Bridget, Ailish and Owen shined brightly that night as they have from their first days on earth, filling me with joy and pride for who they are along with anticipation of who they would become.  The children's relationship with Carmen, beautiful and evolving, was yet another reason for me to look forward with expectation and joy.

On a bittersweet note, I can't describe  deeply enough how especially missed my mom Pat, my dad Bob and sister Dale were. They were always there for me and on this night of love and celebration, I felt the loss powerfully.  My mom, especially close and loving, would have appreciated Carmen and her effervescent and deep beauty. I know that.  She would also have loved to hang and talk and enjoy her mom Brenda's presence and clearly would have been on the dance floor with her.  My dad would appreciate Carmen and what she means to me but also would have relished meeting Carmen's dad George and his wonderfully Charlestonian family.  I long for a photo of Carmen and our complete families, including my beautiful sister Dale I but know that it will only happen in my dreams.

Music, as it typically does with Carmen and I, provided the tapestry and set the tone for the evening.  Our wedding on the Carolina Girl was nothing short of spectacular, everything Carmen and I could have hoped for, including perfectly warm and inviting weather.  With the sites, sounds and smells of the maritime world all about us and salt barely flaking on my lapels, we could not have had a better backdrop.  With that said, we spent lots of time and focus crafting the ultimate playlist and party mix that would accentuate the night with the sounds we had in our heads.  Alas, not all is perfect and we did not get the exact result we expected.  I mean, the music was good, great dancing and lots of fun, but our DJ missed the mark on what we were totally after.  It was partly my fault, partly his fault for hearing what I was saying but not really listening to what I was telling him.   Mostly smaller things we could discuss over a few local craft beers, which by the way I forgot to order and we did not have that night as I had planned, but still something that bothers me a bit. 

So in light of that, I compiled a number of the songs, 72 great ones as a matter of fact, that were on our list, many played, many were not.  These songs provide our backdrop to the laughter, love and celebration of our sacred wedding night.  On that wonderfully warm and beautiful June night in Charleston harbor, Carmen and I fell more deeply in love as we laughed and danced without self-consciousness as the night flew by way faster than one could imagine.  And these songs will forever mean more to us than simply the combination of their words, notes, choruses and refrains.
Enjoy,

Voyage 1: Preview

Tonight, Tonight                        Smashing Pumpkins      

Rise                                            Eddie Vedder   

Here Comes Your Man              Pixies   

Breezeblocks                             Alt-J      

Do You Realize??                      The Flaming Lips            

Everlong (Acoustic Version)     Foo Fighters      

Into Your Arms                          Lemonheads    

Wake Up                                    Arcade Fire       

Howling At the Moon               Phantogram     

Gooey                                        Glass Animals   

Your Love Is the Place              Teenage Fanclub            

Never Tear Us Apart                  INXS     

Three Little Birds                       Bob Marley and The Wailers         

Time of Your Life                      Green Day         

Never Going Home                    Phantogram     

Recover                                      CHVRCHES        

Islands                                        The XX 

One                                             U2        

Near Death Experience              Andrew Bird     

Voyage 2: Primary
Intro                                           The XX 

I Melt With You                         Nouvelle Vague

I Melt With You                         Modern English

When I Get My Hands On You  The New Basement Tapes          

Into The Mystic                          Van Morrison   

Blessed                                        Elton John         

Right Here, Right Now               Jesus Jones       

Policy Of Truth                           Depeche Mode

Bizarre Love Triangle                 New Order        

Howling At the Moon                 The Ramones           

Howlin' for You                           The Black Keys  

Give It Away                               The Red Hot Chili Peppers          

What You Need                           INXS     

Feel Good Inc.                             Gorillaz

Every Other Freckle                    alt-J      

Beautiful Day                              U2        

Voyage 3: Party
Fire It Up                                     Modest Mouse

The Seed (2.0)                             The Roots          

Revolution Rock                          The Clash          

It's Tricky                                     Run-DMC          

Fantastic Voyage                          Lakeside            

Where It's At                                Beck                   

Let's Groove                                 Earth, Wind & Fire         

World In My Eyes                        Depeche Mode

Groove Is In the Heart                 Deee-Lite           

Nothing to Worry About              Peter Bjorn and John     

Need You Tonight                        INXS     

Peace, Love and Understanding  Elvis Costello/The Attractions    

Once In a Lifetime                      Talking Heads   

Alive and Kicking                       Simple Minds   

Don't Know How to Party           The Mighty Mighty Bosstones   

I'm Shipping Up to Boston          Dropkick Murphys         

Voyage 4: Party II
Heroes                                          David Bowie 

Inside Out                                     Spoon  

Deeper Shade Of Soul                  Urban Dance Squad

We Exist                                       Arcade Fire       

R U Mine?                                    Arctic Monkeys

Walk This Way                             Run-DMC          

Uptown Funk                                Mark Ronson, featuring Bruno Mars    

One Nation Under a Groove         Funkadelic        

Let's Get It Started                        The Black Eyed Peas      

Mysterious Ways                           U2

Suck My Kiss                                Red Hot Chili Peppers   

Digital Witness                              St. Vincent

Romance                                       Wild Belle

Genius of Love                             Tom Tom Club  

Private Idaho                                 The B-52's         

Shining Star                                   Earth, Wind and Fire         

I Wish                                            Stevie Wonder 

Hey Ya!                                          Outkast

1999                                               Prince

Like a Prayer                                 Madonna
Hysteric                                         The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
All I Want Is You                           U2