Autumn Souvenir

Is there any way that we can take a societal step back and forget that this became acceptable? It seemed like a slow progression but it's now gone way too far. I'm now having trouble spending time in my beloved local coffee shop because there are 3-4 schlongs who show up every day and babble endlessly and loudly. I do not like this much at all. The guy to the left of me right now is making me want to Miyagi him.

In my effort to complete my coast-to-coast mix CD box set exchange of the ages, having found out that my buddy-in-tunes made so many mixes that I'd have to buy a local Office Max to match her, I figured I'd add to my smaller collection by putting together a mix of my favorite songs. Now, I know this is impossible, and such an exercise is almost silly; however, these songs are so damn f'n great. I basically just went from memory and listens and crap like that. And I'm sure I've skipped many-a-favorite. All that said, I present: *Thunder Road : Bruce Springsteen 4am : Richard Buckner Colorado Girl : Townes Van Zandt Front Porch : Slobberbone Jesus Christ (demo) : Big Star Formula, Cola, Dollar Draft : Marah Gun : Uncle Tupelo Bring It On Home To Me : Sam Cooke Random Rules : Silver Jews Clay Pigeons : Blaze Foley Catch You Alive : Damnations TX Hundred Dollar Pocket : Chappaquiddick Skyline Question : Son Volt One of These Things First : Nick Drake Range Life : Paveme...

"Democrats in America were put on earth to do one thing: drag the ignorant hillbilly half of this country into the next century, which in their case is the 19th -- and by passing health care, the Democrats saved their brand. A few months ago, Sarah Palin mockingly asked them, "How's that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?" Great, actually. Thanks for asking. And how's that whole Hooked on Phonics thing working out for you?"

"Democrats in America were put on earth to do one thing: drag the ignorant hillbilly half of this country into the next century, which in their case is the 19th -- and by passing health care, the Democrats saved their brand. A few months ago, Sarah Palin mockingly asked them, "How's that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?" Great, actually. Thanks for asking. And how's that whole Hooked on Phonics thing working out for you?"

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What a day for covers.

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Yup, another one of those moments. Well, not one of the big ones, but smaller scale. This afternoon I was driving around San Francisco on a stunning day listening to Springsteen's The River . When the song "The Price You Pay" came on, I was pulling into Safeway to pick up a parm and had one of those experiences. The wind was perfect, the sun was strong and the music filled me with spirit. As I was sitting in my car singing along, I peered across the way and directly in front of me was a beautiful church. Meaning? Who knows. But there was certainly meaning in my clunker.

I think I met Jason Lewis just being around town in New York. That thing called alt.country was exploding in the late 90s (for us) and many, many of the same people landed at the same shows. I met one of my best friends at a bar before seeing Whiskeytown at Tramps. A conversation started over The Replacements' "Here Comes a Regular," which I played on the jukebox, and now 12+ years later, we talk regularly. Another one of my closest friends and I met at the Fleadh Festival on Randall's Island. I think it was during Billy Bragg's set. Similar faces almost weekly. The Mercury Lounge, Irving Plaza, The Bowery Ballroom, The Lakeside Lounge, North Six, The Rodeo Bar, and the list goes on forever. Turns out Jason was in a band called Star City, named after a town in West Virginia, where he grew up. I then checked out his band, and thus it began. Suddenly, my friends and I were going to every Star City show. And we'd hang around the bars with Jason and some band mem...

I've recently re-connected with someone from high school via, where else, Facebook. And unlike most of those tedious re-connections where it turns out that we still have nothing in common, this new pal and I bond over, what else, tunes! (Can someone please edit that sentence for me?) Turns out we know a lot of the same folks, love a lot of the same bands and hang at the same places (well, the places I hung out at when I lived in New York). And we've now decided to make each other some mixes. Physical mixes. Like the kind you have to mail. SK: Here are yours: 1 "Salvese quien pueda" Juana Molina "Spinnin on the Rock" Ramsay Midwood "Reaction" The Figgs "Broke My Heart" Tim Easton "Lucky Shoe" September 67 "Magic In Here" The Go-Betweens "Powderfinger" Neil Young "Safe and Sorry" Nathan Moore "You Try Sober" Absentee "Trigger and Trash Heaps" Centro-matic "Orangeworker" F...

I was so exhausted by the republican reps. yesterday that they almost deflated the glory of the day. I finally just stopped watching and awaited texts from friends. Of all the policy issues that matter to me, health care may sit atop the list. Today is enormous. I am extremely proud of President Obama and Representative Pelosi. Without Pelosi's experience, leadership and negotiation skills, I don't think we'd be here today. My hope is that this bill only grows stronger. But this is a fantastic start. The United States government has actually enacted legislation that will help its own immensely. Thank you.

Now that I've listened to almost nothing other than three Big Star releases for the past few days, plus the box set, I can honestly say that Big Star's three releases are all five-star records (I don't count 2005's In Space ). Until recently, I spent most of my time on the first two records, but 3rd could very well be the best of the trio. However, since they're all damn perfect, there's really no way to say. I mean this sincerely: If you don't own all three of these records, you are an asshole.

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When Crash won Best Picture honors in 2005, the Oscars took a slow step towards the Grammys. There are few movies I've seen in my lifetime as bad as Crash . Given that it was up against some very solid films, including Good Night, and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain and Capote , only made it that much more hilarious. Million Dollar Baby in 2004 was another head-scratcher, but the competition was almost as weak as the winner, and Million Dollar Baby looks like Citizen Kane next to the clunkjob that is Crash . All that said, the Oscars are still much more on the mark than the Grammys. I mean, to win a top category Grammy is actually like winning a Razzie; it essentially means that your record is terrible. Forget essentially; it does mean that your record is terrible. A few recent winners include Taylor Swift, U2, Herbie Hancock, Santana and Steely Dan. I'll concede that the Plant/Krauss record is quite good, but still not record of the year material. I still trust the Academy ...

I was awash in insomnia last night. I won't claim that it was due to Chilton's passing, although I'm sure that had something to do with it. Rather, I had a pretty crappy dream about a girl that I liked years ago (who didn't reciprocate), which had me out of bed by 4am. But maybe that's exactly what I was thinking about: Alex Chilton. Because Chilton's music always helped me to relate to relationships, spirituality, pop bliss and life. My love for Big Star was a fairly slow progression. Sometimes those are the best. I remember finding separate copies of #1 Record and Radio City at a record store in central Jersey in 1995 or so. I was with my brother and he looked mildly jealous at my finds. No, they weren't original pressings, but I never really cared about that. They were Big Star records and they were headed for the turntable. I was always floored by "Feel," the first song on any Big Star record. Girlfriend, what what are you doing? You're d...

My god. I've always wondered how I'd react when one of my real heroes were to pass away. I can't even begin to think about those closest to me in real life. This one breaks my heart. It truly, truly breaks my heart. I can't possibly express how much the music of Big Star has meant to me. It's had an enormous impact on my life. I think about his former co-writer and bandmate Chris Bell often. Bell left us far too early. And now Chilton. As I said to a friend recently, Chris Bell and Alex Chilton are my Lennon and McCartney. The words and music of Big Star have helped pull me through some of the roughest spots while also adding immense joy to some of the best times. They are, were and will always be, one of the greatest bands to ever make music. I am at a loss. Rest in peace, Alex.

Before getting all introspective and misty-eyed, let's get the bad out of the way first. There are still things that drive me insane about this city. Here are a few: The Road: The drivers here may be worse than those in Boston. I mean, do you really not pull out into the center when turning left at a light? Seriously? You're just gonna sit still and hold up everyone else? Yes, oh yes, you are. And there are far too many BMWs in this city, and 83% of the occupants of said cars are shitheads. (I have a number of friends who drive BMWs...you guys are in the 17%.) Lack of Diversity: For all its "liberalism" and such, San Francisco is very clique-y. Neighborhoods are almost sectioned off for a particular subset of people. This does not rule. Where I live is one of the very few parts of the city where it feels like a mixed bag. And no, I won't create a separate bullet-point for hipsters. You already know the tight-jean wearing, big sunglass suckbags drive me insane. I t...

At least according to James Murphy's interview with the BBC. I would argue that 2007's Sound of Silver is even better than their debut, and one of the best records of the 2000s, hands down. From the BBC : Zane Lowe: Can we clear something up James, There’s been all this talk of late that this might be the last LCD Soundsystem album, what’s the story about this? James Murphy: I think it is, and l I feel good about it and really positive about it, it’s not like a negative thing. I think that its nice to feel like it’s the last one and we’ll tour really hard and then go do something else. ZL: Did you have that in mind when you were making this record? Did it make the process more bittersweet of did it change your attitude towards recording knowing you might not follow it up? JM: Yeah very much so but only in the second half, in LA I wasn’t really thinking about that at all. I was just like you know – make a record – kind of like ‘trying to make a record mode’. And then when I get...

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The Adderral Diaries by Stephen Elliott, Memoir, 2009 : 7.2

March 23 Bonnie "Prince" Billy & The Cairo Gang The Wonder Show of the World April 17 (in independent record stores, May 4 if you're too lazy) Josh Ritter So Runs the World Away May 25 Damien Jurado Saint Bartlett

Yesterday was one of those days when numerous simple things add up to a truly memorable day. In almost daily fashion, I was in my local coffee shop by around 7am. Just a few minutes later, in walked my new pal Chuck and his dog Bella. Bella's eyes usually light up when she sees me. Or at least that's how I see it. Chuck's probably 75-years-old or so and we've become good pals as we've gotten to know each other. One of his daughters went to the same college as me. By 10am I was on the local basketball court shooting jumpers. Any SF resident knows that yesterday was a spectacular day weather-wise. Unlike even the nicest days, there was very little wind; just sun and a near-perfect temperature. It's felt great getting back into playing basketball. And much to my surprise, I can still drain threes pretty consistently. (Yes, I just said that.) When I was a kid, basketball was my escape. Almost every single day, after school, I'd head across the street to the corn...

This eight-part docudrama is one of the better documentaries I've seen in years. I watched the final four episodes (half of the series) last night. I wanted to watch one or two and then finish it off today. I couldn't do it. I was so gripped by the story that I had to finish. Highly, highly recommended. From the New York Times , April 4, 2005: Intellectual contortions -- namely the way lawyers, while devising a criminal defense, sidestep the subject of a client's actual guilt or innocence -- supply the drama in the astonishing documentary that begins tonight on the Sundance Channel with the first two of eight parts. It may seem ludicrous to say that a movie running more than six hours is well edited, but ''The Staircase,'' by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, is. And not only is the editing prize-worthy, but the whole film is also so brilliantly conceived, reported, filmed and paced that you may come to wish it were twice as long. That would be a perverse wish, but i...

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For a few new friends: Be Here To Love Me / Townes Van Zandt Spirit / The Go-Betweens In an Operetta / The Magnetic Fields Fifteen Keys / Uncle Tupelo Hoquiam / Damien Jurado Ballad of the Broken Seas / Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan Bells of Harlem / Dave Rawlings Machine The Ruling Class / Loose Fur Hi How Are You / Brakes John Allyn Smith Sails / Okkervil River Tiger Lily / Luna Oklahoma, USA / The Kinks A Postcard To Nina / Jens Lekman Little Sparrows / The Handsome Family 4am / Richard Buckner Random Rules / Silver Jews New Partner / Palace

1994 is probably the year that music kinda became my life. It was the spring of '94 when I first heard Uncle Tupelo in a dumpy apartment on South Street in Boston. It was only a few days later or maybe earlier, that I arrived home from class for our almost daily smoking and drinking sessions, and learned that Kurt Cobain had died. I was never a big fan of Nirvana, but it was still pretty crappy news. In the summer of '94, I bought all four Uncle Tupelo records and subsequently dove into The Jayhawks, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, The Replacments, Husker Du and any band or artist that was even mentioned in an article about Uncle Tupelo. All that said, the record I listened to most in 1994 had to be Beck's Mellow Gold . Yeah, "Loser" was the big hit, and I liked that track, but it was the rest of the record that served as a soundtrack to my first of three years living in Boston. "Nitemare Hippy Girl" was my favorite track. I couldn't count the number of ...

Today is the closest this country has ever been to major health care reform. Are there flaws in the House, and especially Senate, bills? Yes. Major ones. At times, I have trouble supporting either bill, especially the Senate bill, which lacks a public option. But ya know what, as hard as this is to type, we have to start somewhere. And here's where those behind health care reform, which should include every American outside of those making money off the backs of the sick, need to step up. Two pretty simple things you can do today, which should only take a few minutes. First off, call your local representative. The following is the congressional switchboard number. Call this number, tell them your rep., wait to be transferred, and then leave a message voicing your support for health care reform, (and the public option, if you support it): 202.559.4225. Secondly, we now stand at approximately 41 senators who support the public option. Those who have yet to commit are in bold below . ...

Yesterday marked the release of former-Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky's first solo record The Desert of Shallow Effects . It's been seven years since the last and final Beulah record, so this is a huge welcome. I still maintain that The Coast Is Never Clear (2001) is one of the best records the Beach Boys never recorded. (And I actually like Beulah more than the Beach Boys.) 1999's When Your Heartstrings Break isn't far behind. I also have quite a fondness for the Beulah documentary A Good Band Is Easy To Kill . Kurosky's led a very interesting path, having been an indie-rock darling of sorts, while also working in the digital-music world. I have friends who used to work with him at one (or maybe two?) digital start-ups here in San Francisco. I believe he's now relocated to Portland. It was last year that I discovered that The Coast Is Never Clear had a limited vinyl release. Where did I send a check? Right to Miles. I'm only on song three right now, but t...

Easton If you are going to SXSW, you should see Tim Easton/Freeland Barons. Here's their schedule: Thursday 3.18 12noon Jovita's Thursday 3.18 6pm St. Vincent Thrift Store Thursday 3.18 10pm St. Davids Bethell Hall (solo acoustic) Friday 3.19 5pm Hole In The Wall Saturday 3.20 1:30 Yard Dog Gallery Saturday 3:20 6pm Hole In The Wall If Zeno's heading to Austin, I expect a multitude of texts, followed by random band posters arriving in the mail. Zeno, who has no connection to Easton or his band, at least not that I'm aware of

You just keep going back. Those are the records that prove to be the greatest pieces of art, as pretentious as that sounds. I can't count the number of records I raved about at the outset, but just didn't stand the test of time (Flaming Lips? The National?). Bobby Bare Jr.'s brilliant Young Criminals Starvation League may not have made my year-end best-of in 2002, but it's a record that I listen to regularly, and it's slowly becoming one of my favorite records of the past decade. More than any record I can think of right now, it's unbelievably unique. The stories can be touching at one moment, hilarious the next, and maybe even bizarre. But it works. In "Flat Chested Girl From Maynardville," the girl laments, "No one pays attention to me, so no one knows nothing about me" and later "Does anyone wanna get high with me? Cause no one is watching so no one is worrying about me." It's a sad song, but delivered with some sort of abun...

"I have these abilities. I don't know what they are. But I know that they're there. And I don't know where they're going to lead me. But wherever that is, I have to go. Even if it's down a bunch of blind alleys, til I find the one that I do want to go down." -Bruce Springsteen, "Wings for Wheels" DVD This morning, I hopped out of bed and worked on completing a project I've been working on for some time. I was then about to turn to writing when I suddenly felt inspired to put on the Springsteen Born To Run making-of DVD Wings for Wheels . While watching Bruce, the band, Landau, Appel and Iovine reflect on the making of this masterpiece, I was caught by the above quote by Springsteen, who was reflecting on what led to the recording and ultimate completion of this rock masterpiece. It's how I feel, I thought. In some sense. Ever since my dream job came to a close in the spring of 2008 I've sort of been on a search; one that was, and is...

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Last time I saw Joe Henry was June of 1999 at Maxwell's in Hoboken. I remember the night almost perfectly. I drove from my mom's home to the show, stayed for a fantastic set, spoke to Henry briefly, had him sign a napkin and I was off. One of the those very few nights back then when there were no endless pints of beer and booze. Just music. Henry's music has taken numerous shifts over the years. Originally teaming up with The Jayhawks and other singer-songwriter Americana types, Henry has moved pretty swiftly towards jazz. Where 1992's Short Man's Room is a straightforward songwriter record, 2001's Scar and last year's Blood From Stars sound absolutely nothing like the artist of the early to mid-90s. Literally unrecognizable, except the vocals. In addition to his own records, he's proven to be one of the world's best producers, working with such legends as Solomon Burke, Betty Lavette, John Doe and Allen Toussaint. Last night was about Blood ...

Cello = chills.

I'm always in search of good stuff to download via eMusic. This coming November will mark my five-year anniversary on the site. I have come oh-so-close to canceling on a number of occasions, but something keeps me around. Here are my last 20 downloads: The Standard August The Magnetic Fields Holiday The Magnetic Fields Lost Sam Phillips Fan Dance Jackie Wilson The Ultimate Jackie Wilson Solomon Burke Live at the House of Blues Hurray for the Riff Raff Young Blood Blues Fela Kuti Best of the Black President Kronos Quartet Released 1985-1995 - Unreleased Freedy Johnston Rain on the City Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians The Sir Douglas Band Texas Tornado John Coltrane Heavyweight Champion The Complete Atlantic Recordings Richard Stoltzman Messian Quartet for the End of Time Vic Chesnutt West of Rome Califone All My Friends are Funeral Singers Dolly Parton Ultimate Dolly Parton David Dondero The Transient Marah Angels of Destruction Reigning Sound Love & Curses Yesterday I found ...

More Skip Spence featuring Beck, Jeff & Spencer Tweedy, Lidell and others. Record Club: Skip Spence "Dixie Peach Promenade" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo .

Every so often I post my favorite records ever. I think it was two years ago or so that I listed my Top 50 of All Time on this blog. If memory serves, Highway 61 Revisited took the top slot. Well, it's now 2010 and it's a Wednesday, which means that I have a new list. I wouldn't say that my top list changes every day; however, it certainly jumps around from month to month or year to year. Today, for some odd reason, I felt compelled to list out a new Best of. As I'm typing this right now, I still have no clue what will land on that list. Yes, it's that kind of day. Neil Young Tonight's the Night (1975) Until recently, this record wasn't even among my top five Neil Young albums. Repeat listens over the past year or so have revealed the absolute brilliance of this record. Lacking any inkling of over-production or tinkering, this is a fucking rock n' roll record to the core. If you listen to this record top-to-bottom, and don't feel something, you hav...

and this song:

There are songs that always remind you of that place, person, event, headlock, etc. This is a new series that may consist of one post or many. This tune came on my iPod a few weeks ago while standing at a little pond in Golden Gate Park. I was kinda just hanging around, watching the ducks and it started to drizzle. The trees were absolutely beautiful and a little less than half the sky remained blue. A few of the ducks were just floating and looking up at me. It was peace. I then walked to Amoeba and bought about 90 records.

In the mid-to-late 90s, two of the best bands in the world were Philadelphia's Marah and Oxford, Mississippi's Blue Mountain. Toss in a member of Wilco and born was Camp Black Dog. At the time, I'd argue that Marah were the best band in the world, having just released one of the finest debut records ever with Let's Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later on Tonight . I can count on less than one finger the number of bands 2000-present who are as good as Marah were in the late 90s. Seeing them live was like seeing the Rolling Stones during their heyday or Springsteen at Main Point. I believe the idea for Rock and Roll Summer Camp '98 was brought to life by Blue Mountain's Cary Hudson and his brother Chris. A bunch of bands would head down to Oxford, Mississippi for a few days, bring a ton of booze and instruments and just play whatever the hell came to mind. It was a mess. But a damn good mess. There were about 40 people, possibly as many dogs and certainly about 8x as ...

In between Noise Pop gigs in Oakland and San Francisco, Stephin Merrit and Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields, joined co-directors of the documentary Strange Powers , for the film's world debut, followed by a Q&A. I should preface everything that follows by stating that I am biased when it comes to documentaries on bands that I love. More often than not, I'm giddy throughout. There are few exceptions, namely the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart , which never sat well due to its portrayal of Jay Bennett. That said, documentaries on bands ranging from Beulah and Luna to Daniel Johnston and Townes Van Zandt, are very, very dear to me. And I really don't care how corny that sounds. God, Townes rules. Strange Powers is no exception. Along with a packed house at Mezzanine, I grabbed first row, front and center. When concert footage would conclude, I'd forget that I was at a movie and not a show. On two occasions, I lifted my chicken-bone arms and near...