Autumn Souvenir

I've been listening to music almost solely (exception: vinyl (mostly on Sunday's)) via my iMac and iPod for going on two years. Over that time, here are the song I've listened to most: 1 Blinking Lights (For Me) :: Eels 61 2 Bobby Rodan :: Kenny Roby 49 3 Triggers and Trash Heaps :: Centro-matic 47 4 Little Bombs :: Aimee Mann 45 5 Papercuts :: The Havenots 43 6 I See Through You :: Centro-matic 40 7 Just Like Anyone :: Aimee Mann 39 7 Sometimes Always :: Brakes 39 9 Underwater/Overland :: The Havenots 38 10 Before the Deluge :: Jackson Browne 37 11 Today Is the Day :: Apollo Sunshine 36 11 Rise Up With Fists!!! :: Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins 36 13 NY Pie :: Brakes 35 13 Devils & Dust :: Bruce Springsteen 35 13 Saint Augustine :: South San Gabriel 35 16 The Way :: Bonnie "Prince" Billy 34 17 History of Lovers :: Iron/Wine & Calexico 34 17 Calling Thermatico :: Centro-matic 34 17 El Otro Lado :: Josh Rouse 34 17 Our Way To Fall :: Yo La Tengo 34 21 M...

If you don't own T. Rex's "The Slider" and "Electric Warrior" then you are an asshole.

Tower Records opened up the world, but Springsteen's "Born To Run" is where it all began. I think it was the summer of 1980 when I first heard this record. I was seven years old at the time. Every other weekend my mother would drop me off at my dad's house a few towns away. I'd usually spend the weekends trying to occupy myself in front of a television, behind the screen of a video game or shooting hoops in the driveway. Every night I'd stroll up to bed around 10pm, but this is usually when the night began. As I'd crawl into bed the party downstairs would just be getting started. In the early 80s my dad and his group of friends drank a lot. And I mean a lot. Each night the only warmth and comfort I'd find would be the guitars, words and spirit of Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run". My dad loved Springsteen. If it wasn't "Born To Run" then it was "The River". But most nights it was "Born To Run". I followed...

If there was ever a place that shaped my listening habits and ultimately my career course, Tower Records was it. During my teen years, the Tower Records on Route 17 in Paramus, New Jersey provided respite from the conservative crap that inhabited suburban New Jersey. I would spend entire Saturdays listening to new releases at the listening stations. I'd scour the singles. I'd sit and read Rolling Stone or Spin. I was in heaven. Every time I walked out the doors I'd be anticipating my next return. Throughout college, the Tower on Newbury Street in Boston was my second home. It was massive. When you scurried through the revolving doors you found yourself in a mecca of music. There were FLOORS of cds. Rock was on floor 2, while Folk was floor 4. The t-shirts were on floor 3. I bought hundreds and hundreds of cds there. I spent many Monday nights waiting for the clock to turn to midnight. When it did, the Tower doors would open and the new releases would sit crisply right befor...

Since the age of 17 or so, Tuesday's have been somewhat special. And that's because Tuesday's are the day that new releases hit the shelves in the music industry. While in college, a number of friends and I would often go to "midnight madness" on Tuesday's. As the clock turned from 1159 to 1200, the Tower Records on Boylston Street would open its doors and a few music freaks would rush in to get the new release or releases that they just couldn't wait another few hours to hear. I bought Wilco's first record "A.M." at midnight madness, and there were countless others. With the onset of the digital age and the closing of record stores from coast-to-coast, the lure of Tuesday has lost a lot of its appeal. With a few clicks of the mouse we now have instant access to basically everything that we want. Although I'm a tradionalist at heart, like many, I have fallen into the digital space. It's just too easy. Today felt like a Tuesday in the ...