I knew his voice sounded familiar.

I've heard Daniel Handler on KFOG many, many times speaking "on behalf of Lemony Snicket." I've never read the books, I didn't see the movie, and I really have no interest in ever doing either, but I always found his radio appearances rather amusing.

Tonight I got to watch Daniel Handler interview Ben Gibbard at the Palace of Fine Arts. Except I didn't know I was watching him until now, when I clicked this link. I just thought he was the funny guy who was a friend of Gibbard's who was interviewing Gibbard. (Clearly, I bypassed the program stack on the way in.) I also didn't know that he has played with the Magnetic Fields, Stars and The Mountain Goats (who I learned about in Seattle earlier this year). From his radio appearances I would've guessed that he was older.

On the other hand, I did know I was watching Ben Gibbard. That's kinda who I paid $21 to see. For a few minutes during the interview I was amazed at the fact that I'm a year older than him, yet he is so much more articulate and talented than I could ever hope to be. And I marveled at all the failed relationships that he's written songs about, and I wished for a moment that I'd had dozens of failed relationships that I could write songs about. He's lived more than I have. He's seen more than I have. And he's younger than me.

Then I realized that I had plenty of failed relationships I could write songs about, but instead I've chosen to move on (for the most part). Pictures, emails, mix tapes, letters have all long since been thrown away and forgotten (for the most part). But he's got to sing those songs about those failed relationships often and with energy.

So actually, I don't envy him one bit.