Autumn Souvenir

It's astounding the mistakes that the majors continue to make. This bulletin was sent out by artist signed to Universal. Hey everyone...bad news. Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to swap the songs out on my page for 90 second versions instead of full length versions. In fact some of the songs have already been swapped as I write this. Every artist signed to a Universal label has to comply immediately. You can listen to full versions of some of my songs on my personal webpage www.ifidontsellamillionrecordsiwillbedropped.com (that site is obviously made up). I will make sure that the songs that were available here are available there as soon as possible. I apologize to everyone for the inconvenience especially those that use my songs for personal profiles. Hopefully the politics involved here gets worked out soon and we can return to full length songs as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for your continued support!!

I turned this on for one minute and the following is what I heard: Fred Thompson: "I think our #1 priority should be overturning Roe v. Wade". This should be the country's #1 PRIORITY?!?!? Who listens to this garbage and does not find such a statement completely absurd? I am turning this crap off right now.

and will be playing for the rest of the week: The Clash and everything related to Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. I just watched "The Future is Unwritten" and I plan on dedicating the next few days to Strummer's music. There's nothing I can say about Strummer that hasn't already been said, but man could this country/world use his presence right now. Where are the artists/writers who need to speak out about what's going on this world? I know of very few out there. Joe spoke loudly. And people gave a shit.

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Story.aspx?StoryID=11918 For those too lazy to copy a link: JOSH RITTER'S CONQUESTS When I first heard Josh Ritter's new record The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (released August 21 by Sony) I was left nearly speechless. It was the first record in probably a decade that nailed me at the core. It was part Bob Dylan circa Highway 61 Revisited, part Brian Wilson and part Nick Drake, yet it was completely fresh and original - sprawling, loud, angry, despondent, depressing, uplifting, heartfelt and just about every other emotion. I had the same feeling in my gut the first time I heard Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run and Richard Buckner's Devotion & Doubt. After a few months of absorbing this masterpiece, nothing has changed. Every time I listen, I find something new - an outstanding line, a startling musical progression. One song proves impossible not to sing while walking down the street, while another causes me to pause and ponder

Dear Governor Dean, I have been a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party (although only 34 years old), and despite my objections with the lackluster efforts since we took back Congress in 2006, I remain aligned with the Democrats. I quit my job in late 2003 to volunteer for the Kerry campaign (well before any of the primaries) and worked for his campaign (gratis) for about eight months. When my money ran out, I had to return to work. However, this election was too important for me to sit on the sidelines. Although I'm making this very simplistic, I firmly believe that if Senator Kerry took on the Swift Boaters he'd be in the White House right now. I digress. My reason for writing revolves around my grave concern about the upcoming presidential election. As I'm sure you're keenly aware, this is an absolutely critical election. Both 2000 and 2004 were extremely important to the future of this great nation, and we've all witnessed the horrific results of losing th

I knew I jumped the gun when I posted my Top Ten of '07 before Thanksgiving. Over the past few days, I have absolutely fallen in love with Nathan Moore's "In His Own Worlds". Until last week, I had never heard a note by Moore. A good friend of mine had been pushing his music on me for weeks, but I was too caught up in Dylan, Joe Henry and, of course, Ritter. I finally got around to buying Moore's new record a few days ago. Floored. I'm still listening, but I would gather that this would probably be my #2 for the year, behind Ritter. It's that good. "So Close To Dreams" would also easily have made my 2007 Mix. Buy this record. It's available at CD Baby or eMusic. I went ahead and also bought "Sad Songs Make Me Happy". I will report on that one later. Thanks, Fred.

If I'm not bookmarked, you can now access my crap blog by simply typing in www.ccsbandwagon.com. I'm also going to spend some time making it look nicer or not nicer, depending on your taste. In the meantime, listen to Nathan Moore's new record.

Todd Haynes doing a Dylan biopic did not sound like a great idea to me. For one, I'm not a big fan of Haynes at all. Although critically adored, I thought "Far From Heaven" was absolutely dreadful. "Safe" was pretty good, but to my eyes, that was about all that he'd done worth anything. I suppose there are many angles and approaches to Dylan, but two of the greatest rock n' roll movies ever done were about him ("Don't Look Back" and "No Direction Home"). This only added to my feelings that this was likely going to be a bomb. Nope. This movie moved me on so many levels. First off, the music is fantastic, mixing Bob's recordings with new takes by many of today's most important artists. And then there were the stories. The Woody Guthrie/Dylan character was wonderful. The porch scene with little Bob, Richie Havens and another fella doing "Tombstone Blues" sent shivers up and down my spine. The scene with Bob doing &q

I'm doing this solely based on the data in iTunes. 07 - JOSH RITTER / THE HISTORICAL CONQUESTS OF JOSH RITTER 06 - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN / WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS 05 - AIMEE MANN / THE FORGOTTEN ARM 04 - ARCADE FIRE / FUNERAL 03 - THE WRENS / THE MEADOWLANDS 02 - WILCO / YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT 01 - BOB DYLAN / LOVE & THEFT 00 - ELLIOTT SMITH / FIGURE 8 99 - WILCO / SUMMERTEETH 98 - SON VOLT / WIDE SWING TREMOLO 97 - RICHARD BUCKNER / DEVOTION & DOUBT 96 - WILCO / BEING THERE 95 - SON VOLT / TRACE 94 - JOHNNY CASH / AMERICAN RECORDINGS 93 - UNCLE TUPELO / ANODYNE 92 - JOE HENRY / SHORT MAN'S ROOM 91 - UNCLE TUPELO / STILL FEEL GONE 90 - YO LA TENGO / FAKEBOOK

It's early, but I'm ready to get this one out of the way. I've already shared my 2007 Mix and later I'll post a miscellaneous best of list, but let's get the best records out of the way. As always with my Best of Albums, this is subject to change the second that I publish it. 1 JOSH RITTER - THE HISTORICAL CONQUESTS OF JOSH RITTER 2 OKKERVIL RIVER - THE STAGE NAMES 3 JOE HENRY - CIVILIANS 4 WILCO - SKY BLUE SKY 5 THE ARCADE FIRE - NEON BIBLE 6 LIZ PAPPADEMAS - 11 SONGS 7 SOLAL - THE MOONSHINE SESSIONS 8 SCOTT MILLER & THE COMMONWEALTH - RECONSTRUCTION 9 MARK OLSON - THE SALVATION BLUES 10 JOSH ROUSE - COUNTRY MOUSE, CITY HOUSE Almost: The National/Boxer, Band of Horses/Cease To Begin, Explosions In the Sky/All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, Nathan Moore/In His Own Words, John Doe/A Year In the Wilderness, The Gourds/Noble Creatures, Flight of the Conchords/The Distant Future (EP), Elliott Smith/New Moon, Deerhoof/Friend Opportunity

Just as I say that I'm turning a corner, I stumble upon this: http://www.alternet.org/rights/68399/

I have recently made a pledge to myself to do my best to steer clear of all of things that bring me down. For example, watching ANY network news, getting frustrated over the corruption that is my insurance carrier (Blue Shield), the growing crime in my home city and countless other things. Tomorrow I will spend Thanksgiving here in SF with my girlfriend and a few close friends, and three cats. This may be corny, but I need to write down some of the things that I feel grateful for this past year. -Phone calls from my mother -Every time N laughs -My amazing friendships all over, but in the past year, the number of great friendships that have developed here in SF -Josh Ritter -My trip to Oregon a few months ago -Witnessing my sister and Thurm getting married (not to each other) -Boppa -Live music -My music collection -The New Yorker -The cows that I saw in some field in Oregon -All the times that N makes me smile -Thurm's trip out here -Causes -Slint & Daniel Johnston @ Bimbo'

It's just endless. www.percyboyd.com

As always, my Best of 2007 mix contains 17 songs. This is the first installment of what will be many Best of lists for this year, including Top Ten Records, Best Shows and some other shit. "The Academy of Trust" / Solal "Freedom's a Stranger" / Scott Miller & The Commonwealth "John Allyn Smith Sails" / Okkervil River "Nice To Fit In" / Josh Rouse "Start a War" / The National "Window Blues" / Band of Horses "Mind's Eye" / Josh Ritter "Intervention" / The Arcade Fire "The Golden State" / John Doe "Our Song" / Joe Henry "Side With the Seeds" / Wilco "Loma Prieta" / Liz Pappademas "The Temptation of Adam" / Josh Ritter "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" / Spoon "Simple Twist of Fate" / Jeff Tweedy "More Lights" / Georgie James "Great Atomic Power" / Charlie Louvin

I often mull where I'll move to next, if/when I decide to leave San Francisco. I don't see this happening any time soon as I've grown to like this city quite a bit, but I'm guessing that I'll feel the urge at some point. Maybe. Lately I've thought about some possibilities: Portland/OR, Spain, Iceland, New Zealand, Stockholm, Melbourne, Croatia, Vancouver. Tonight I stumbled upon Mercer Human Resource Consulting's list of the Top 100 Most Livable Cities "based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. They include political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing, the environment and public safety." Here's the Top 20: 1 Zurich, Switzerland 2 Geneva, Switzerland 3 Vancouver, Canada 4 Vienna, Austria 5 Auckland, New Zealand 6 Dusseldorf, Germany 7 Frankfurt, Germany 8 Munich, Germany 9 Bern, Switzerland 9 Sydney, Australia 11 Copenhagen, Denmark 12 Wellington, New Zealand 13 Amsterdam, The Netherla

God is a Concept by which we measure our pain I'll say it again God is a Concept by which we measure our pain I don't believe in magic I don't believe in I-ching I don't believe in Bible I don't believe in Tarot I don't believe in Hitler I don't believe in Jesus I don't believe in Kennedy I don't believe in Buddha I don't believe in Mantra I don't believe in Gita I don't believe in Yoga I don't believe in Kings I don't believe in Elvis I don't believe in Zimmerman I don't believe in Beatles I just believe in me Yoko and me That's reality The dream is over What can I say? the Dream is Over Yesterday I was the Dreamweaver But now I'm reborn I was the Walrus But now I'm John and so dear friends you'll just have to carry on The Dream is over

My company just launched this new mix tape thing. See if you like the product, and more importantly, listen to my tunes.

The one area of Pitchfork that I still read is the Guest List section. Although I find some of their questions to be budget, I still like to read what some of my favorite artists are listening to, etc. I've invited myself to their Guest List. >>Favorite New Songs From the Past Year Josh Ritter "The Temptation of Adam". This songs sums up a lot of the emotions I've been feeling given the current administration. I mean, there's this message that love seems to override anything, even the eventual apocalypse. There's this notion that connecting with people is quite possibly the most important human activity that exists. Liz Pappademas "Loma Prieta". Absolutely stunning. The fear that takes hold of a child during a time of chaos, and that child's need for parental love and calming. Just beautiful. >>Favorite Older Songs at the Moment It's not that old, but Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Hard Life" has been a favorite

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/music/11leed.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=music I don't know enough about these deals to really comment, but I do have an immediate reaction (which could shift as I learn more about them). After years of feeling that the major labels have taken SERIOUS advantage of artists and their fans, I'm extremely skeptical of this new model. To combat my disdain for the majors, instead of focusing on buying my favorite bands' new recordings, I've tried to get my money direct to the artists. I have done this by going to shows, picking up a t-shirt at almost every show and trying to get my expendable "music cash" direct to the artists. With majors now looking to take increase artists' share of cd/digital sales (something they should have done decades ago), I find it somewhat deplorable that they're looking to milk the artists of their true direct revenue sources: live shows and merchandise. If this takes hold, and the ba

This is what I want:

As any reader of my blog knows, I am extremely passionate about politics. I long to find leaders to believe in. I see faults in our presidential candidates and our current members of Congress, but I somehow stay engaged and try to believe. But lately I've come to realize that I'm running out of steam. Perhaps it's just a phase. I mean, it's somehow ingrained in me to fight for truth, justice, equality and understanding. I write government officials when I disagree with them. I've fought insurance companies but have almost always come out on the losing end. Corporate greed makes me ill, and I often write e-mails to the most corrupt corporations out there. But again, I feel like I'm running out of gas. Plain and simple, I'm becoming exhausted by the fight. No matter how hard I try, nothing seems to change. Sure, there are tiny wins, like when the dems took over the Congress in '06, but their pathetic tenure just furthers my desire to move towards apathy. I

I can't say that I know their music that well, but this is pretty classic. In Jello Biafra we trust Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra has spent his career railing against the religious right and the idle rich. In the run up to the US election Tony Naylor hears his manifesto for change Saturday November 3, 2007 The Guardian Scan the potential US presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, and what do you see? Idiots, automatons, religious nutters, corporate lackeys, war mongers and, worst of all, career politicians. But there is an alternative: Jello Biafra, lead ranter of hardcore punks, the Dead Kennedys. The 49-year-old Biafra once stood for election as mayor of San Francisco - he came fourth out of 10 candidates, winning 3.5% of the vote, with a platform including a proposal to force all businessmen to wear clown suits to the office. Then, in 2000, he briefly ran for the US Green Party's presidential nomination. Article continues Since Dead Kennedys split in 1986,

Those are the current numbers if these two win their respective nominations. A friend also told me that evidently 55% of married men in the US will not vote for Clinton under any conditions. Given the Bush presidency, how can the democrats have a 1% lead right now? The answer is simple: Hillary Clinton. Too many people in this country detest her and I don't see that changing. That said, Howard Dean needs to round up the troops and walk away from Clinton. Now! They can't afford to wait longer, continue to pour money into her campaign, and then let the floodgates open for the attacks. Remember her immigration waffling in last week's debate? The republicans are going to play that OVER AND OVER and we're going to see another John Kerry. Nearly all polls suggest that this country wants major change. Hillary Clinton is not the answer to that desire. I see two people that will handily take back the White House for the democrats: Al Gore or John Edwards. Since Gore has yet to e

Once again, the democrats kick and scream and then cave. If you haven't heard, Chuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein voted Yes in the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of Michael Mukasey as the next Attorney General. Yup, this is a guy who isn't sure if waterboarding is torture. With their votes, Mukasey is almost certain to become our next Attorney General, following the glowing legacies of Alberto Gonzales and John Ashcroft. I ask once again: Where is my party? Oh right, they've been gone for years. The excitement we felt when they took over the House and Senate in '06 has resulting in one disappointment after another. They should just come out and admit that they fear Bush. They're terrified of *really* taking him to task and this is downright laughable. I have a hard time calling myself a democrat anymore. And that's because the leaders of my "party" are not democrats.

I promised my buddy Bryan three mix cds for finishing up a big project at work. I finished up the first set tonight. Civil War - Joe Henry PCH One - Pernice Brothers Blame It On the Tetons - Josh Ritter Go Walking Down There - Chris Isaak No Regrets - The V-Roys More Troubles - Absentee The Golden State - John Doe There She Goes - The La's One of These Things First - Nick Drake We Dance - Pavement Oklahoma, USA - Yo La Tengo Start a War - The National Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan Feel Free - Jay Farrar Grievances - Daniel Johnston Michigan - Josh Rouse Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

Bob Dylan appearing in a Cadillac Escalade ad? This can't be Dylan. It just can't be. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/automobiles/04DYLAN.html/partner/rssnyt?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin