Autumn Souvenir

This is one of the most refreshing political statements I've seen in ages. This is a man who not only stands for democratic ideals, but isn't afraid to state those ideals in a succinct, passionate and honest way and at the risk of not pleasing every damn "constituent." What logical and level-headed person could argue that Thomas, Scalia and Alito are not activist judges? These fools don't obey the law; they rule based on their personal convictions. That is activism. Barack Obama should watch this video. It just might serve as a reminder.

I was living in Sunnyvale, CA, otherwise known as a terrible place to live when you're 31 and new to the Bay Area, when a friend told me about the release of Bob Dylan Super Audio CDs. My reaction was, "Wait, so Dylan will actually sound better than maybe the greatest ever?" "Yes," he replied. The next day I hopped in the Jetta and hit Tower Records. Yes, remember when you could do that? Without hesitating, I picked up Highway 61 Revisited , John Wesley Harding , Bringing It All Back Home , Blood on the Tracks , Nashville Skyline , Oh Mercy , The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and Infidels . Alright, I probably didn't buy them all that afternoon, but I eventually picked up those mentioned. After a manic run through Tower, I drove down El Camino and, filled with excitement, nearly crashed into Best Buy. A friend had told me to pick up a reasonably priced Pioneer and within a minute or two I was at the register. As I wrapped up the installation I recalled him say

A few days ago, I vowed to leave the democratic party if they squandered this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pass health care reform. Ya know, with a few more days to mull this one, let's tighten that pledge up a bit. On the bus ride home tonight, while reading reports that the dems are coming to a "compromise," one that will not include a public option, I decided that it was time to turn to version two. This appeared to be the dream season for democrats. After eight years of utter hell, we thought that we'd finally reached our time. Oh, we recoiled as our democratic brethren sucked up to Bush over eight years, but we remained aligned. And now it's all ours for the taking, right? Oh no. Unlike the crooks who ran the ship for the past eight years, our party has absolutely no backbone. Congressional democrats are given a wide open field to move through policies that were the impetus for landing them in office, yet they're hesitant to move in any direction at

8/4 Alejandro Escovedo @ Bottom of the Hill 8/28 Joe Pernice @ Cafe du Nord (early show) 8/30 The Minus 5 / The Baseball Project @ Great American Music Hall 9/1 Tim Easton @ Cafe du Nord 10/23 Islands @ Bottom of the Hill

It really doesn't get much better.

I bought my first pair, in white, back in 1994. I think I saw a photo of Thurston Moore sportin' a pair, or maybe Steve Malkmus, and needed a pair asap. Today I picked up what must be my 15th pair or so. This is very interesting news. Other notes of the day: -I can never go to a mall ever again. Today was the last time. I really have nothing else. Off to see Trevor Childs.

...but have now entered auto-skip territory. Iron and Wine The Flaming Lips The National Modest Mouse

Start at 2:05. "The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism."

I guess this is the first covers installment. More info. at beck.com . Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo .

When two of your all-timers partner up for a covers record, well, that's pretty classic news .

As the days pass, it's becoming increasingly clear that health care reform is in jeopardy. The seams are weakening on Obama's number one policy initiative faster than they did under Bill & Hillary, and we all know the end result there. The night Barack Obama was elected president was one of the most joyous nights of my life. Add to that the near sweeps of the House and Senate, the late addition of Al Franken, the scandals that continue to pound the republican party at all levels, and I doubt I'll see a more opportune time in my life for the democratic party to actually promulgate the causes that they espouse. Yet six months in, what have we seen? I mean, Obama and Gates can't take a firm position on "don't ask, don't tell?" Seriously? Holder won't go after the Bush clan when there's overflowing evidence that egregious acts were committed, acts that counter everything this country "stands for." What's going on down at Guantanam

, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

On a beautiful, warm day here in the Bay Area, as I scoured the record collection, my eyes met Springsteen's pop masterpiece Born in the USA . Released in June of 1984, USA became a worldwide sensation. Springsteen purists rarely point to this monumental commercial success as one of his best records, but there's little doubt that even 25 years later, this record stands as one of the best pure pop records ever released. Although bouncy in sound and pace, USA remains one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented records ever to hit the masses. Songs such as "Downbound Train" and the title track are lyrically as eerie and recondite as USA 's dark predecessor Nebraska . Despite being completely opposite in production and texture, USA , at least on paper, is essentially a continuation of Nebraska , both exhibiting snippets of American lives during the era of Reagan, and these themes and stories hold true to this day. In the summer of 1985 I saw Springsteen for the

My Happy Life by Lydia Millet, Fiction, 2002: 8.3 Another Bullshit Night In Suck City by Nick Flynn, Memoir, 2004: 7.7

About 6-7 years ago, while the rain was pouring down at Giants Stadium, Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage and blasted into CCRs "Who'll Stop the Rain." I had chills the entire four minutes. Here's Bruce and Band doing it back in '81.

So much of this blog post on Aquarium Drunkard was/is me that it's almost frightening. In 1996, as my college days were coming to an end, I called Tony Margherita's office looking for a job. When I didn't hear back, I called again. I never heard back. A few years later, I tried again and was offered an entry-level role that I didn't accept. I was at both Irving Plaza shows. I've sat on a train from Hoboken singing "Forget the Flowers." Being There convinced me that I had to work in the music business, and for the past 14 years I have. I almost went to law school with the intention of becoming an entertainment lawyer. And through it all, Wilco have been my favorite band. I must have met this guy.

Watch

95,776 Pretty remarkable during these times. #7 overall.

Some of my favorite songs from the first half of the year...

CNN, MSNBC and the rest are going on and on about MJ, while eMusic has oh-so-quietly added the entire catalogs of Springsteen and Dylan. This is without question the lowest point in the history of American media.

Most would probably agree that certain artists sound better on the turntable. Bonnie "Prince" Billy, for one, has always sounded much purer when listened to on LP as opposed to CD. The same can probably be said for Neil Young, The Rolling Stones and many more (everyone?). I have always been a fan of Townes Van Zandt, though I admit that, until recently, I only had about 4-5 records (on CD) and really only listened to High, Low and In Between and Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, TX . I've actually never been able to track down his first few full releases, and word of mouth said that there was really no need; apparently High, Low... covered all the good stuff. While browsing the folk, country and soul sections at Amoeba a few weeks back, there sat Townes Van Zandt (1969), Our Mother the Mountain (1969) and Flyin' Shoes (1978), all freshly re-issued via Fat Possum. Despite hopping on the hipster bandwagon by signing vapid acts such as Wavves and King Khan and the P

july 09