Hopin' and Wishin' to Go With You on an Unofficial Mission

Had a wonderful weekend in Philly with Brian and Kayface.  Kay's performance in The Universal Language and 7 Menus was fantastic.  Before the show we went to get some really good sushi and the obligatory (when I visit Brian and Kay) gelato.  On my way up (a short two hour drive) I was lucky enough to be listening to a very long NPR interview with Stephen Colbert, who kept me wildly entertained the whole way.  The general purpose of the interview was to talk about his role in the new production of Company, which is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals, but the interview covered just about everything.  

If you're unfamiliar with Company, it's definitely worth checking out.  The new version which was filmed earlier this year stars Neil Patrick Harris and looks like a really good production.

On the way back I stumbled across Jon Stewart having a discussion with Chris Wallace on Fox News.  It was a really interesting interview and I think Jon makes a really good point about how the bias of mainstream media is different from the bias of Fox, as well as making other great observations about the nature of comedy.

Best line, in response to Chris Wallace suggesting that comparing a Sarah Palin commercial to a Valtrex commercial was politically motivated:  "You really think that's a political comment?  You're insane."  Worth watching.

Also, sometime this weekend my good friends Andrew Collie and Tom Baumgardner went into the recording studio in Williamsburg and recorded a song that I wrote a few weeks ago for the ending credits of Tom's movie: Desultory Research at the Oates Institute.  It's a movie about a scientist who is supposed to be doing cancer research but instead removes his own brain and maintains contact to it through some transmitters and a cell tower.  It's very funny, and as I was finishing up the main score Tom asked if I could write a super-serious love ballad for the end credits.  This is what we came up with:

I Don't Mind if You're Absent Minded

(For those who can't access the yahoo media player, here is a direct download link.)

Lyrics by Thomas Baumgardner
Additional Lyrics and Music by Mike Johnson
Performed by Andrew Collie
Produced by Thomas Baumgardner

I enjoy this song way more than I should.