Dizzy Up the Girl. Gutter Flower. It was 2004ish, considered by many to be the height of the Goo Goo Dolls’ power. There has never been a better love song than Iris. It propelled the dolls into the mainstream, selling more than three million copies. You know the tune:

And I’d give up forever to touch you

‘Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be

And I don’t wanna go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

When sooner or later it’s over

I just don’t wanna miss you tonight

And I don’t want the world to see me

‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand

When everything’s made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

I’d go back and watch Meg Ryan and Nick Cage, but I’d probably cry. City of Angels always punches me in the gut. Tissues required to hold back the tears.

The band’s lead singer, John Rzeznik, has talked openly about writer’s block. “I mean, writer’s block is just fear.” Some artists come out with a book or album each year. The Goo Goo Dolls average an album every three or so. I wonder if writing remains a struggle? Who can blame him? Writing is hard. Editing harder. Perfection always unattainable. And it’s even harder to publish or put it out there. The hardest part of creativity is knowing when a work is truly done.

The Goo Goo Dolls pushed through the creativity void and put out an album last week. Always a treasure to see an artist push out content. Give it a listen. These guys don’t do it that often.

---

If you’ve never listened to the Goo Goo Dolls, Live at Buffalo remains one of my favorite live albums. And it hits all the highlights from the height of their powers. Big Machine. Iris. Black Balloon. Slide. And Iris. I still pop it on before starting a long run.

A question on writer’s block and creativity.