Autumn Souvenir

I've never quite bought into the Radiohead hype. I think they've put out a few really good records (alright, "Ok Computer" is VERY good) and a few average ones. I do hear that they're amazing live, and I hope to see them one day. If you haven't heard the news, the next Radiohead record will be released digitally on October 10th. And they'll be releasing it on their OWN. Yes, you are reading correctly. The wheels are in motion for major change. www.radiohead.com

Where's today's Bob Dylan? Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn a...

So a friend of mine told me that he's a bit tired of Dylan because his roommate repeatedly plays "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", which has to be Dylan's worst song on a great Dylan record. No, I don't mean that it's his worst song overall; it's not even close, but it's likely one of the worst songs on one of his near perfect records. In other words, remove this from "Blonde and Blonde" and you have a perfect record. Ok, now that I've taken way too many key stokes to explain that, let's get the point: When I heard this, I told him that I had to make him a Dylan mix. Similar to the Springsteen mix that I made for N, this was nearly impossible. I wanted to limit this to 21 songs. Here it is: She Belongs To Me It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Shelter From the Storm Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Don't Think Twice, It's Alright Not Dark Yet Masters of War My Back Pages Vi...

I've never really wanted to know all that much about Nick Drake's personal life, as I've always found that it's best to let his music speak for itself. Nevertheless, whenever I'm afforded the opportunity to learn something, I can't help but take a look. A beautiful interview with Nick's sister Gabrielle can be found here: http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/music/2007/09/gabrielle_drake.html

About two months ago N helped me put a map I'd just bought onto my bedroom wall. Once it was up, we both looked around at different places in the world. For some reason I'm always fascinated by what could be going on, if anything, in the seemingly quiet parts of the world. I find myself transfixed on the Northern parts of Russia or Canada. After a minute, Noreen's eyes landed on a country that was unfamiliar to me. She quietly uttered, "I can't believe it says Myanmar". I had little clue what she was talking about, so I inquired. See, I knew that N was born in Burma, but what was Myanmar? She went on to tell me that the present "government" or juntas changed the name to Myanmar once they took control. N only knew this country as Burma. It's where she was born. She was not born in Myanmar. Amazingly, in the last week or so the Burmese people have joined in the tens of thousands to march for democracy and freedom. Evidently nine protesters were kil...

I could make this entry long-winded and full of disappointment, but ya know what, it's just not worth it. Tonight's two-hour debate was just terrible. Aside from John Edwards, and perhaps Joe Biden, the candidates completely phoned it in. Barack Obama looked TERRIBLE. He was listless, predictable and all over the place. Hillary Clinton, whom I was starting to like a bit, threw me back to my original opinions on Hillary: stiff, too conservative and too aligned with the elites (and wait, she voted FOR the Iran resolution today. Is she kidding?). People argue that she can play the game and that'll help her get into office. Is that what this country really wants and needs? Just another caricature who can play the game? Maybe some do, but not me. We're in pretty desperate and critical times right now and we need something NEW. We need someone with heart, vision and curiosity. We do NOT need the same old. And what about Tim Russert? What is your favorite passage in the bible?...

I am too tired to get out everything, and boy is there a lot to recap, but I want to get out what's fresh, so here it goes.... Our four day jaunt up to Oregon was likely one of the greatest vacations of my life. Not only did I experience some things that I never have before, but I shared it with a wonderful person who added to the experience ten times over. In addition, my ongoing self-discovery seemed to have opened up even more. In the past three months, I've learned more about myself that I have in the previous ten years or so, and this trip only opened up more. Instead of recapping each day and what we did, let's just go with some of the memories that seem to bubble to the top: Lithia Park, Ashland, OR: What a beautiful little nugget in a small town. The duck pond is literally FILLED with ducks. They're all over the pond, crowded on the banks, walking all over the grass, hanging across the street. They are EVERYWHERE. Once they seem to gain your trust (e.g., see you...

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for a four-day trip to Oregon. First stop is a roadside motel on the way to Ashland. We will then be spending a night in Ashland, a night at Crater Lake and a night in Jacksonville. I'm sure that the trip will provide many stories and photos that I shall share on this here blog. Until next week, enjoy yourselves.

This morning I sat in a meeting staring at the clock on my laptop. Around 958am or so I began refreshing the Ticketmaster page. At about 1001am the "Find Tickets" link popped up for the Springsteen show at Oracle Arena in Oakland. I first tried for two tickets and clicked "Best Available". No seats available. I then went for just one ticket. Denied. And again. And again. Then it went through. I was offered a ticket in the upper tier, behind the stage for $93.50. No way. I refreshed again. And again. All I could find were single tickets behind the stage. When I realized that Ticketmaster would probably add about $20 in fees, and I'd be sitting behind the stage, without my girlfriend or a friend, I passed. If you've read my blog even once, there was probably a mention of Springsteen. His music is what broke through me and began my lifelong love for rock n' roll. When I first heard "Born To Run" at the age of about five, I somehow felt something. ...

I normally do not like festivals, at all. I've actually only attended a few in the past. I went to the Fleadh Festival on Randall's Island about eight years ago and it was decent. I went to the Pitchfork Festival last year and it was TERRIBLE (awful sound, poorly laid out, disgusting grounds, weak bands). What Kevin Arnold and Jordan Kurland did this weekend with The Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco was absolutely astounding. This is the first year of this festival and expectations were very unclear. The setting was on Treasure Island, an old Naval Base that separates San Francisco from the East Bay. It's basically a ghost town that almost no one ever visits. However, it has an amazing view of the city and it's almost shocking that nothing of this sort has taken place there in the past. In addition to booking a solid list of acts, the real treat was how well the festival was organized and carried out. The scenery was beautiful. It was not over-crowded. Th...

Ever feel like there are hundreds of things you want to listen to, read or watch at the same time? This seems to be happening to me all the time lately. Right this very second I want to listen to the new Georgie James, the new Springsteen, some Gram Parsons, but I also want to watch the Yankees/Red Sox, the History Channel and my latest Netflix. I also want to finish this damn book on Rwanda that I've been slacking on. And I want to dive into my next read. And what about the Hillary Clinton piece in the recent New Yorker. Oh, and the records that I've yet to even unwrap. And YouTube's just endless. And what am I doing? This.

"Please forgive me, if I can't learn to live in Generic America, where the wedding fields got paved, the kids are out looking for a rave, and the rest of us sat on a big fat ass, watching the Rose Bowl parade" --Blue Mountain ("Generic America" from the album "Homegrown", 1997) This is a rant, I think. I mean, when I think of generic America, I used to think of the Midwest, the South and other more rural and suburban parts of the country. New York and San Francisco? These places were/are supposed to represent diversity, not just in race, class, sexual orientation, but in the individuality of people, outside of just these simple ways of identifying folks. But I'm seeing less and less of it. When I left New York City on January 1, 2005, a good part of my reasoning for trying San Francisco was that NYC had begun to lose its edge. I had written off Manhattan in around 2002 or so when the city's small districts became unbelievably predictable. Upper...

Aside from "The Office", this is the best show on television. Then again, I don't really watch any other television, aside from some history stuff, political crap that drives me insane, animal stuff and Yanks games.

One of the greatest aspects of the digital age is the ability to scroll through your library and quickly find a record that you'd forgotten about. Tonight I was searching for something new. Not new as in recently released, but something that I hadn't listened to in ages. After about five minutes of shuffling around, I landed on Chris Isaak's "Forever Blue". I haven't listened to this record in probably five years, but tonight it sounds absolutely fantastic and almost brand new. Hopefully tomorrow, or the next day, I'll find another diamond in the rough. In the meantime, if you don't own this record, pick it up; it was one of the best records of 1995.

The Clean "Anthology" Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan "Ballad of the Broken Seas" Robert Becker "Lot #99-0038" Josh Ritter "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" Bruce Springsteen "Magic" Absentee "Schmotime" Joe Henry "Civilians" Okkervil River "The Stage Names" Spoon "Kill the Moonlight" Josh Rouse "Nashville" Neil Young "Harvest" Mark Olson "The Salvation Blues" Bruce Springsteen "The Ghost of Tom Joad" Yo La Tengo "Summer Sun" Palace "Viva Last Blues" Maps "We Can Create" Pavement "Wowee Zowee" The Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" The Modern Lovers "The Modern Lovers" M.I.A. "Kala"

From his days as a co-founder of The Jayhawks in Minneapolis, to the five-or-so year period with the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers in Joshua Tree, CA, and onto his present solo career, I've been a fan of Mark Olson's music for well over 15 years. If you haven't heard it, his new record, "The Salvation Blues", is one of his best works to date (and that includes his brilliant work with Gary Louris and company). The following video is one of the highlights from the new record. Many of the shots in the video take place in my hometown (circa 1998-2005) of Brooklyn, NY. The imagery, combined with Olson's vocals, creates an odd sense of being home for me. I feel like I've sat in that exact subway seat over a thousand times.

It's late, I'm exhausted and I'm in need of a bed. But I did say that I'd post something about the Wilco show and I haven't. Simply put, this band may be at its peak. I've seen Wilco going on 40 (maybe 50?) times, and although they don't have the all-out abandon that they did in 1997 or so, they are extremely tight and the cohesive sound is unreal. Their new take on "Via Chicago" is one of the best live version of any Wilco songs I've ever seen. The tracks off of "Sky Blue Sky" are fueled with emotion and energy live. And Nels Cline is finally living up to his reputation as one of the best guitarists traversing the Earth today (god, that sounded awful, but you get the point). Tonight was Okkervil River at the Independent. This was another fantastic show in a string of great shows. "John Allyn Smith Sails" is the best song released so far this year, and it was chilling live. I can't recall a song that so beautifully encap...

In preparation for Springsteen's jaunt out to the West Coast, my girlfriend asked me to make her a Springsteen mix. My initial thought was, "Wait, just one cd? You mean, like under 75 songs?" I chose to take on the challenge. Thunder Road The Price You Pay No Surrender (Live '75-'85) Devils & Dust The River Backstreets Racing In the Street The Ties That Bind Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street This Hard Land 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) Born To Run (Live '75-'85) Darkness on the Edge of Town Jungleland

photo by Chris Campbell, SF, CA