Track 56: "The Collins Missile" by Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon

But the Collins Missile broke before I got to use it/I couldn't find the fuse and the dials wouldn't turn/it seemed to lack the features that made me want to choose it

When Phish began a 26-month hiatus in October 2000, there were a lot of disappointed heady phans. But the band's members still made a great deal of music during that time with a bevy of side projects. Guitarist Trey Anastasio got the most attention with his own side band and as part the trio OysterHead with Les Claypool and Stewart Copeland. Keyboardist Page McConnell formed Vida Blue with Oteil Burbridge and Russel Batiste. Drummer Jon Fishman played with Pork Tornado and toured with the Jazz Mandolin Project. But bassist Mike Gordon's solo output trumped them all.

In those 26 months Mike "Cactus" Gordon release his directorial-debut film "Outside Out" and a solo record "Inside In" that was the film's soundtrack (and is a really cool, funky and odd record). He also directed the movie "Rising Low" which documented the recording of the amazing Gov't Mule album "The Deep End" (Gordon also played on the record, along with about two-dozen of the greatest bass players ever in rock, stay tuned and you might hear some it down the road).

But the absolute best thing the Phish hiatus ever produced was Gordon's collaboration with acoustic guitar wizard Leo Kottke. I first heard some of Kottke's solo stuff in college, on a barely-remembered trip down to Statesboro, GA to see some friends. (Kottke's album "6 and 12 String Guitar" is phenomenal and the track "Vaseline Machine Gun" is just awesome in both name and content).

So when Kottke and Gordon released the album "Clone" in 2002, my Phish-geek friends and I were excited. And after digesting "Clone" it was apparent Kottke's masterful finger-picking and Gordon's bass just seem like they were made for one another. Any Phish fan can tell you that Gordon is a tad off-center, and though I don't know enough about Kottke's bio to comment on it, I will say the name "Vaseline Machine Gun" may be a nod to an off-center personality as well.

But I can't say enough good things about this collaboration (their 2nd album "Sixty Six Steps" is also fantastic). A really warm, melodic sound (almost a tropical vibe), some great instrumental playing and healthy doses of eccentric and eclectic charm just makes it an absolute pleasure to listen to. Cool music and quite quirky. It's a fitting description.

I'll be honest and say Kottke and Gordon have better songs than "The Collins Missile," but this one is my favorite. But don't worry about the previous sentence making sense. Just enjoy what is easily the most geeky and awkward love song of all time.
My lyrical interpretation goes as follows: weirdo has fight with his lady, so he sets up his build-your-own-rocket and aims it her house as a sign of his affection.The missile doesn't work but weirdo feels his effort was at least enough, and hopes the lady will help bridge their gap. Two days later the rocket shoots off, and now it's for sure in the hands of the lady.

Again that's my interpretation, call me a hopeless romantic. Either that or it's the best super-geeky awkward break-up revenge song of all time...