DOYLE'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY >>>

 As our super fantastic Saturday night of running into assholes had ended, my group and I mutually agreed that the comfort of Doyle's Public House was in order.

It was like a sigh of relief as we entered. People bustled about, the smell of warm food wafted through the air, and friendly familiar faces acknowledged us immediately. Without any hesitation, Brian and Mike greeted us by name, made some smart-ass remarks, and served up our beer requests - all within minutes. I stalked a couple about to leave, and with my slick-like ways I snagged their table.

It was BanditoBetty, The KAke, Jenny Fab, Mr.DeRosa and I. We all ordered our dinners without even glancing at a menu. It was at that point we sat and looked at each other, realizing the ease and comfort that is Doyle's. It was like walking into an old friend's house. After the night we had just had (Dinner with DeRosa last week), Doyle's let us relax and just enjoy ourselves. Without the bullshit. And for this, I thank you, Doyle's Public House. Happy second birthday!

I made my way back to the girls' potty, smiling at many faces on my way. It was nice taking a break from the social scene for a simple, brief moment. I was the only one in the room and although it was silent around me, I could still hear the distant sound of music and voices.

I heard House of Pain begin with "Jump Around." Hmmmm, I thought, How random is that song in an Irish bar? Although Doyle's has an Irish feel about it, the music played for the beer masses doesn't necessarily reflect that of an Irish tone. But you know what? That's OK.

What the music at Doyle's does is make you feel good and help you have a good time. I'm not sure my friends and I could sit and talk for hours on end if all we were listening to was some Irish shit. (Calling all Irish music lovers: flame away in the comment section.)

This made me reflect on a pseudo-conversation "el" and I had via our blog's comment section consisting of our liking and disliking of Death Cab for Cutie. I think they're as boring as all hell, and "el" loves them. Why do people have different tastes in music? Is it upbringing? Is it environment? Is it Superman? And most importantly, why is there so much shitty music still surviving out there?

In order to answer these questions, I polled a highly intelligent and world- renowned group of music enthusiasts known as "My Friends."

What I gathered from my test survey is that music is a symbol of your soul. And every soul is dissimilar.

But from all of "My Friends" I heard the same answer across the board, put in different ways. Music is about how it makes your spirit sway, what chords it hits in your heart, what memories it can bring back, and how it makes you feel deep in your core as you close your eyes and just listen. Music is going to affect everyone differently, thus creating diversity in musical tastes.

I also learned from this survey that one of "My Friends" actually has no soul and another wants to have Ben Gibbard's babies.

A quote from one of "My Friends" Tuan, who has recently served this country overseas:

"Music makes me escape - it can be my escape for any situation, and I can honestly say that it's saved my life on more than one occasion! I've been in places where all I've had was my music, a pen and a pad and a couple photos to help get me by, and believe me when those batteries run out you do all you can to find more or make your own music."