Autumn Souvenir

Bruce Springsteen Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey September 19, 1978

This is something I've needed to get out for some time, but I find it nearly impossible to find a hint of eloquence in my attempt to do so. You'll just have to accept a little stream of consciousness. A few times a year us cultural fiends are hit with a new film, band or book that is touted as the greatest thing since The Godfather, Nirvana or On the Road . When it's a book, you notice that half the readers on your bus have this book in hand. When it's a film, every ass in your office "saw it over the weekend and was floored". And when it's band, well, they'll be coming to the Fillmore soon! And when it's a technological advance like the universally-adored iPhone, they're visible on every Starbucks coffee table from coast-to-coast. I almost never buy into the hype of these things. And it's not because I'm a hipster or a snob (ok, I'm sort of both). When such a massive collection of people are swept up by something, I automatically

This is one of the most heartbreaking short documentaries I've ever seen. The desolation and isolation made me nauseous.

The second half lacked much drama. Hillary mellowed out a bit and we heard the same discussions that we've heard in the previous 19 debates. I honestly think that Hillary has a wider and deeper knowledge of the issues. That said, I do buy into the argument that she's too much of a Washington insider. She diverts anything that could potentially hurt her, while Obama seems much more candid and up front. I think Hillary Clinton is extremely qualified to be our next president, even moreso than Barack Obama. However, Obama nails the intangibles, and I can't remember a time in my life when those intangibles have mattered more. This country, and the world, desperately need a US leader who restores our hope and faith in the future of our country and the future of the world. And that is why I'm supporting the Senator from Illinois.

Health Insurance -Clinton's coming out swinging on this one, however, her punches seems to be missing. Obama's had solid responses, some nuanced enough to probably cause confusion amongst viewers. This is probably a good thing for him -Clinton will not let this issue go. She clearly thinks that it's her bread and butter. This is starting to get heated. NAFTA -Wow, Hillary's really looking erratic. She finds it suspicious that she's always asked the first question? Isn't this something that can be discussed with the moderators beforehand? She looks desperate and anxious. And she's talking forever. -Obama is much more calm and collected. He takes minor swipes at Clinton, but it doesn't come off as vicious. -Tim Russert points out that Clinton has indeed contradicted herself. -Clinton says that she'll "renegotiate" NAFTA, not pull out. And she turns to attack Obama. This is the nastiest I've ever seen her. She's firm but shaky. -Obama

Although they made the Finals in 1999, the New York Knicks franchise died the day that James L. Dolan became CEO of CSC Holdings. Since his arrival, the Knicks have gone from one of the most revered organizations in all of sports to the laughing stock of all of professional sports. In order to remind me of the glory days, I just received this 5 DVD Set chronicling the history of the Knicks. They were a great organization. Too bad Mr. Megalomaniac stole that away from the fans.

Freedy Johnston : Can You Fly Bar None, 1992

I just completed 12 song mixes for two of my favorite bands of all-time. Both of these bands played a large part in shaping my love for music. If you'd like a copy, send me a note or something. The Essential Uncle Tupelo Gun Steal the Crumbs Flatness Looking For a Way Out Black Eye Chickamauga Cold Shoulder We've Been Had Life Worth Livin' The Long Cut Atomic Power New Madrid The Essential Old 97s Timebomb Big Brown Eyes Jagged Mama Tried Streets of Where I'm From Designs on You Niteclub Oppenheimer Broadway Rollerskate Skinny Lonely Holiday Barrief Reef

Turn off your ipod, press the off button on your flat-screen TV, hit sleep on your computer and watch this: We Love Stuff

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men Best Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee, American Gangster Best Director: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men Best Documentary: No End In Sight Best Original Screenplay: Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

It all started back in December of 1994. I'd recently discovered the band Uncle Tupelo and my love for music inflated ten-fold. I'd heard that after the split, UT co-founder Jeff Tweedy had quickly gathered up most of Tupelo and formed the band Wilco. I was a junior in college at the time and the Boston Phoenix reveled that Wilco were playing at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA. Although it was during finals, I had to go. I hopped into the Mazda on a freezing-cold Boston night and drove about 40 minutes to Somerville. This is where it really all began. Music became my life. When Jeff Tweedy walked onstage for the encore and slowly strummed into "Gun", I literally felt like my life was changing before my eyes. Forget changing, it felt as if my life was *starting*. There was something about this music that hit me right at the core. It felt like home. It felt like life. It felt like poetry. It felt like everything I'd ever wanted out of life. It's now almost 14 y

Hipsters!

The loudest I've ever screamed in my life. I was at the Allendale Bar & Grill in New Jersey and tossed my beer about 40 feet when LJ landed that bomb. Man do I miss the Knicks.

As of today, this is how much we've spent on the Iraq War. And for what? Just imagine what we could've done with respect to health care, education, poverty, New Orleans, HIV/AIDS and so on. George W. Bush is a complete moron.

These are the acts that excite me the most right now (number of times seen live in paren): Josh Ritter (1) Wilco (38) The Arcade Fire (1) Josh Rouse (8) Bonnie "Prince" Billy/Will Oldham (0) The National (0) Okkervil River (2) Centro-matic (5) Bruce Springsteen (41) Apollo Sunshine (5) Times seen for some acts are clearly estimates

Richard Buckner : Bloomed Dejadisc, 1994

Does it come as any surprise that members of Congress are split across party lines on Clemens vs. McNamee. The republicans, of course, support Clemens. He fits their mold to a tee. He's the big money guy. He's been one of the most powerful people in sports over the last two-plus decades. He uses intimidation and threats to get his way. And, well, he's just not very smart. His babbling testimony was downright sad for a man of forty-one years old. The democrats side with the little guy in McNamee. I mean, what incentive would McNamee have to make this up? Clemens was a close friend and his main source of income for years. Add to this the fact that Andy Pettitte, Roger's closest friend, backed McNamee's claims. This is two guys against one, and neither one of the side of truth has anything to gain by making false claims about Roger's steroid use. I find this one-day waste of taxpayers money (ummmm, why the hell did we have this hearing in the first place?) to be t

It has been years since I've seen a film this good. Best Picture nods such as "Juno" and "There Will Be Blood" do not hold a candle to this fantastic documentary from 2006. This thrilling film about Donald Crowhurst's 1969 attempt to sail around the world and save his family by claiming a 5,000 pound prize, may be the best documentary I have ever seen. No, this isn't your story about a thrill-seeking sailor. This film is about the human condition. We see Crowhurst faced with decisions that are all or nothing in almost every respect. Whether it be the livelihood of his family or his reputation throughout society, Crowhurst is repeatedly put to the test. With Britain and the rest of the world watching, Crowhurst has to make a final decision, one that will leave his country, family and his legacy hanging in the balance. This movie checks in at 92 minutes and nearly every second of the film is captivating.

Record collector enthusiasts usually have a few records that take years to find, if they're ever found. I've had a few that have now been running on about five years. The longest search has been for The Jayhawks' "Bunkhouse". This is The Jayhawks' first record, a record that probably didn't surpass 1,000 in the number of copies pressed. In the past 15 or so years, I've heard of ONE person finding this record. I'm still searching. The second record that I've been seeking out is the Scud Mountain Boys' "Massachusetts". There's just something about this record that has vinyl written all over it. I know *two* people who cite this as their favorite record of all-time. It's a record that needs to be played on a turntable. I've now come up empty probably about 200 times. I recently saw the record on Ebay but couldn't allow myself to throw down $80 or so. I guess I wanted to continue on the search. I couldn't add this

Rock On by Dan Kennedy, 2007, Non-Fiction: 6.7 Hunger by Knut Hamsun, 1890, Fiction: 8.6

Good boy.

Since coming to the realization that aside from family and loved ones, music was the most important part of my life, if I think of the five artists most responsible for fueling this passion, Richard Buckner would certainly make that group. I remember hearing his first record, "Bloomed", for the first time and thinking that I'd stumbled upon one of the greatest and purest songwriters of all-time. When people drew comparisons to Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle, I'd argue that Buckner was better. He followed up "Bloomed" by creating one of the greatest trifectas ever, with the release of "Devotion & Doubt" and "Since". If the American public was *truly* interested in good music, these three records alone would have landed Buckner in the same camp as Elliott Smith, despite having more songwriting ability. After these three records, you could sense that Buckner was losing a little inspiration. "The Hill" was strong, but based on

Richard & Linda Thompson : Shoot Out the Lights Hannibal, 1982 Perhaps the best record of the 80s

How can anyone with a lick of taste find any value in this garbage? I've been watching for eight minutes and I've seen Alicia Keys butcher a Sinatra tune and now Carrie Underwood is about to crack my windows with her dreadful wailing. Remember when NARAS and the majors used to be able to strut out artists like REM, Springsteen, Stevie Wonder (before he was terrible) and Johnny Cash? The state of commercial music has likely never been worse. I mean, do people really think Alicia Keys has talent? This was Clive's last *huge* find? Yikes. Thank god for the thousands of artists sitting under the radar still making great music. Now I need to turn the channel before I punt my TV to Daly City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/world/asia/05gitmo.html?_r=1&ex=1359867600&en=19293fb0d1319c73&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

One of the greatest songwriters of the past 20 years performing at Sessions at West 54th Street. Sessions had to be one of the best music shows ever to hit TV. While living in NYC, I saw (in person) both Lucinda Williams and Wilco at Sessions. I was even in the VIP section at the Wilco show - I think I snaked a few Amstels.

I'm always listing my favorite albums, but rarely to I pair down my favorite songs. Let's give it a shot at twenty. MISUNDERSTOOD : Wilco DEATHLY : Aimee Mann IT TAKES A LOT TO LAUGH, IT TAKES A TRAIN TO CRY : Bob Dylan ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST : Nick Drake THE WAY : Bonnie "Prince" Billy 4AM : Richard Buckner BEFORE THE DELUGE : Jackson Browne NEW BROOKLAND : South San Gabriel RISE : Josh Rouse JUST LIKE TOM THUMB'S BLUES : Bob Dylan THUNDER ROAD : Bruce Springsteen BRING IT ON HOME TO ME : Sam Cooke DEATH OR GLORY : The Clash VIA CHICAGO : Wilco PILGRIM : Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band POWDERFINGER : Neil Young OUT OF TIME : The Rolling Stones LAMINATED CAT : Loose Fur SHE BELONGS TO ME : Bob Dylan WALL OF DEATH : R.E.M. (cover of Richard & Linda Thompson)

Although I was a strong supporter of John Edwards, I must say that today's vote sent a chill down my spine. I did not vote on race or gender or anything other than the candidate that I believe will best lead and inspire this country. And that person is Barack Obama. In 1994 while studying at Boston College, I took a class called "Eyes on the Prize". The class chronicled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Throughout 15 years of education, this class impacted me the most. Selma. SNCC. Birmingham. MLK. Stokely Carmichael. These events and people mattered to me. I couldn't believe that United States citizens were treated this way. I didn't understand it. But it put a fuel inside of me. Civil right and human rights were strangely ingrained in me. I joined Amnesty International. I took countless Black Studies classes. I had found something that mattered. And no, this wasn't a phase. Fourteen years later my passions have only grown deeper. Whenever I step into a

My Morning Jacket : Z Badman, 2005

Compared to most people I know, I was very late to the digital age. I probably buy about 50 albums per year, on average. 2007 was the first year that I purchased the majority of my music via online stores (mostly eMusic), rather than in physical format. No, I don't scour P2P networks to find new music. I realize that music (and media in general) is headed to an endless open and free aisle via file-sharing networks, but I'm not ready to go there yet. Something has been lost in this transition into digital music files. First off, as we all know, record stores are virtually gone. There are a few cool indies that remain, but most physical music is sold in shitholes like Best Buy and Wal-Mart. These places are not havens for music fans. They don't have listening booths. They don't have separate sections for singles, vinyl, new releases, music magazines and so forth. See, these are the things that I miss. I grew up with places like Compact Disc World, Ramsey Books & Recor

This performance capped off one of the greatest live performances I've ever seen on screen. Unreal venue, pristine sound and a warmth that's rarely felt in music today.

Golden Smog to rally for Barack on Sat. Friday, February 1st, 2008 by Chris Riemenschneider Golden-Smog-Dan Murphy, Gary Louris, Kraig Johnson, Marc Perlman and even their old pal Jeff Tweedy are getting back together as Golden Smog to perform at the rally for Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday at the Target Center (1:30 p.m.). It’s not like the (mostly) local all-star band was needed to help fill the arena or bring attention to the candidate: The free tickets to the event were gobbled up days ago. Geez, who’s the real rock star? You can get on a waiting list here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/minneapolis Word is the band will play for 45 minutes prior to when Barack goes on. They only got the invite to join the rally on Wednesday and jumped at the chance. “They’re definitely all supporters,” manager Jake Walesch said. Tweedy has already played several other events for his fellow Chicagoan. The timing here was key: Tweedy’s going back out with Wilco in two weeks (nearest stop is Des Moi