Autumn Souvenir

Listening to this record for the first time in about a year, I'm left to wonder: Is this one of the greatest records ever made? I'm also left to wonder how a band THIS GOOD weren't huge! Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were a lesser Lennon/McCartney. Ok, maybe they weren't as influencial (thought there's an argument here) and their career as a band was clearly much shorter, but what an amazing collection of songs. Whenever I hear "My Life Is Right", I can't help but feel good about things, regardless of the state of things around me (or inside me). Similar to Gram Parsons and Nick Drake, Chris Bell's early passing was one of the biggest losses in singer/songwriter history. If you're familiar with Big Star or Bell, you're well aware of Bell's battles with depression. I can't remember where I read it, but one of the most heartwarming stories I've ever read was Bell's brother (David?) writing about the last days of Chris' life.

I made my first trip to Village Records today and man, what a place. I picked up (all on vinyl) David Bowie's "Low", George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man The Way I Loved You". This little shop has seen in-stores the likes of Elvis Costello, Carl Perkins, Doug Sahm and Nick Lowe. I walked around for about an hour and a half flipping through vinyl, admiring the vintage posters and just soaking in the place. Well, of little surprise, Village Records will be closing its doors for good in September. As we all know, record stores like this are a dying breed. If you're in the Bay Area between now and September, I strongly urge you to check out this treasure.

What an outstanding weekend of movies and music. And I still have tomorrow to fill it out. Movies 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE: One of the best rock n' roll films I've ever seen. I know little to nothing about the Manchester scene and the bands it spawned (Joy Division, Happy Mondays, New Order), but this movie was incredibly inspiring. I will own JD releases by noon tomorrow. RATCATCHER: Beautiful movie. I didn't find out until after that it was directed by the same woman who directed "Morvern Callar", another excellent flick. Music GRAM PARSONS-GP: The best country record ever? It just might be. Oh, I don't know, about 25 other records. Good weekend....

Here it is:

One of the most energetic, politically-driven shows you'll ever see. They're from the UK and manage to merge punk, country, rock and all sorts of other shit. Don't miss these guys: May 30 2007 8:00A Spaceland, LA Los Angeles, CA May 31 2007 8:00A Popscene, San Fransisco San Francisco, CA Jun 2 2007 8:00A Dantes, Portland Portland, OR Jun 3 2007 8:00A Media Club, Vancouver Vancouver, BC Jun 4 2007 8:00A Chop Suey, Seattle Seattle, WA Jun 6 2007 8:00A Kilby Court, Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, UT Jun 7 2007 8:00A Hi Dive, Denver Denver, CO Jun 8 2007 8:00A Waiting Room, Omaha Omaha, NE Jun 9 2007 8:00A 400 Bar Minneapolis, MN Jun 10 2007 8:00A Empty Bottle, Chicago Chicago, IL Jun 12 2007 8:00A Lee's Palace, Toronto Toronto, ON Jun 13 2007 8:00A Club Lambi, Montreal Montreal, QB Jun 14 2007 8:00A TT The Bears, Cambridge MA Cambridge, MA Jun 15 2007 8:00A Maxwells, Hoboken NJ Hoboken, NJ Jun 16 2007 8:00A Mercury Lounge, NY New York, NY Jun 17 2007 8:00A M

Did anyone see his teary-eyed take on the need to pass the funding bill? It was PURE comedy gold. Once it shows up on Youtube, I shall post.

His piece tonight almost inspired me to pack up the VW and go March on Washington. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18831132/

Did it come as any surprise that in the end, the Democrats caved and handed Bush a check with absolutely no benchmarks? For the past few months, we've heard Pelosi and Reid act tough. They pretended that they would fight to put an end to this blasphemous war. They gave us hope. But we all knew that they didn't have it in them. The Democrats control both houses of Congress yet they've done NOTHING to take on the worst president in the history of the United States. The Democrats continue to scream and swing like your average toddler, yet they do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've been a member of the democratic party since the day I could vote. And today I'm finally considering leaving the party. I'm tired of standing alongside a party that is doing NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, to retake the Constitution, to put faith back in the American people and to stand up for what should be the party of the common man. The Iraq War. Torture. Valerie Plame. Katrina. Corporate

LITTLE ROCK — Former President Jimmy Carter says President George W. Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy. The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me." Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed his co

If you've read my blog at all, you're well aware that I'm a HUGE fan of Al Gore. Ever since politics began to grip me in 1999 or so, Al Gore has grown to be my political hero. It wasn't necessarily the environment. Sure, like most intelligent Americans, I consider global warming to be a critical cause. However, it was something about his intellectual curiosity that grabbed me. This man MUST run for president. It's his time. The country and the world needs him. He is a man of vision, depth and humility. He needs to be in the White House. No one else currently in the race comes even close. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1622009,00.html

SLOBBERBONE, CLUB DE VILLE, AUSTIN, TX (SXSW), 1999: this still remains the greatest rock n' roll show i've ever seen. i've posted about this set a million times, but i will never, ever forget when jimmy smith of the gourds joined for "powderfinger". it was absolutely pouring rain, i was standing a mere foot from the stage and it was probably the greatest five minutes of rock n' roll abandon i've ever seen. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BRENDAN BYRNE ARENA, EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ 1992: we all thought the e street band was done. right when bruce busted into "tenth avenue freeze out" there was an absolute roar from the crowd. how could he play this song without clarence? well, he couldn't. right when "the big man" line began, clarence slowly walked onstage and busted out the sax. truly amazing. WILCO, JOHNNY D'S, SOMERVILLE, MA, 1994: my introduction to the band that would become my favorite band for over a decade. when tweedy played "gun&

Iraq. I won't claim for a mere second that I can conjure up any answers to the debacle that is our presence in our Iraq. However, there are a few things that I do know. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I left my apartment in Brooklyn and headed to work. After about 15 mins. on the train, a fellow passenger tugged on my shirt and motioned towards the World Trade Center. This was right after the first plane hit. I made it through Manhattan, stepped onto the city streets at Columbus Circle, and thus began perhaps the worst day in American history. I saw tears everywhere. I saw confusion. I saw absolutely empty streets. I saw firetrucks racing downtown. I saw thousands of people helplessly trying to reach loved ones on their cell phones. I saw the second tower collapse alongside about 500 people at the CBS building on 57th Street. When I finally walked into my apartment in Brooklyn at about 230am I found it impossible to sleep in my bedroom. I watched the news for about two hours,

Conservatives have to stop rolling their eyes every time they hear the word France. Like just calling something French is the ultimate argument winner. "Aw, you want a healthcare system that covers everybody and costs half as much? You mean like they have in France? What's there to say about a country that was too stupid to get on board with our wonderfully conceived and brilliantly executed war in Iraq?" Earlier this year, the Boston Globe got hold of an internal campaign document from GOP contender Mitt Romney, and a recurring strategy was to tie Democrats to the hated French. It said, in the Machiavellian code of the election huckster, "Hillary equals France," and it envisioned bumper stickers that read, "First, not France." Except for one thing: We're not first. America isn't ranked anywhere near first in anything except military might and snotty billionaires. The country that is ranked No. 1 in healthcare, for example, is France. The World

I've been on a long hiatus reading-wise. Ever since SXSW, I've been so wrapped up in listening to music constantly that I've found little time to dive back into reading. At the recommendation of a friend, I recently picked up "The Motel Life" by Willy Vlautin. I guess this somewhat ties into music as Vlautin is the lead singer/songwriter for the Portland band Richmond Fontaine. I own a number of RF records, including the fantastic "Miles From". It's clear from Vlautin's records that he has a keen sense of storytelling. However, I must say that my expectations weren't too high. I guess that's primarily based on prior novels penned by musicians ("Cash" being the exception). Boy was I wrong. Vlautin writes with pure simplicity and develops the two main characters beautifully. "The Motel Life" is the story of two brothers struggling to find understanding, a place in the world, and guilt brought on by their mistakes. It'

It's a strange feeling when a friend creates a work of art that moves you. I don't know, for some reason it sinks deeper. I met Liz about two years ago at a party during South By Southwest. We were both new to San Francisco and began hanging out a bit. We've got completely different schedules so we rarely see each other now. Once in a while we'll grab a drink, watch a movie or walk along Haight. A few weeks ago I made it out to her CD Release Party at Hotel Utah. Before a crowd mostly comprised of friends and family, Liz played piano and sang about ten beautiful new songs. I picked up her new record. I can't stop listening. The song "Loma Prieta" is one of the prettiest songs I've heard in a long time. It's not only a song but the lyrics seem to fall together like a perfect novel. Good work, Liz. www.myspace.com/lizpappademas