Autumn Souvenir

Norman Greenbaum  "Spirit in the Sky"  The first song that I truly fell in love with. I must've been five or six. My mom bought me the 7" the day after I told her about my newfound love. Roy Orbison  "Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" My mom absolutely loved Orbison. This is the song that educated me on the expansiveness of music. It could touch emotions: sadness, despair, isolation -- the things we didn't talk about. Elvis Presley  "Suspicious Minds" Man, playing this right now transported me right back to 1979 or so. My mom and stepdad would play CBS 101.5 over dinner, every night. When Elvis came on, my mom would light up. Especially during this song. The Everly Brothers  "Cathy's Clown" Her favorite band, by a landslide. Whenever this came on, she'd turn to me, "'Cathy's Clown', named after me, but with a C." She really thought this was hilarious. Bruce Springsteen  "Junglel...

10 I'll Fight 9 Poor Places 8 Sunken Treasure 7 Handshake Drugs 6 Via Chicago 5 Gun 4 Laminated Cat 3 One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) 2 Ashes of American Flags 1 Misunderstood Crank it here.

Man, I was at just the right age. I was around 21 or 22 when Jeter came up. We're actually less than a year apart in age. When the Yankees lost to Griffey's Mariners in the 1995 playoffs, and Don Mattingly stepped off the field for the last time, I was completely deflated. This was their chance. I couldn't have possible dreamed of what was about to come. Playoffs after playoffs. Five championships. I was seated right next to the left field foul pole, along with my brother and closest friend from college, when the Yankees won the 1996 World Series, their first in 18 years. It was that same year, or maybe the year prior, that my brother, father and a few others, watched a number of Yanks playoff games up in Boston. Man was that exciting. My father and I have had a difficult run throughout my life, but the New York Yankees, whether we're on speaking terms or not, binds us. My dad talks about  Mantle. I tell my nephew about Jeter and Tino. And Mo. Bernie. Paul. El Duque...

A reminder that we will get back to the nation we're supposed to be. In time.

I think it was the day after The Women's March. My closest friend Dave and I were chatting casually over text, when the topic of the LGBTQ community came up. Dave wanted to do something and tossed a flare onto Facebook to see if there was interest. I suggested he start a Facebook event page. A week or two later the interest level was in the thousands. Today it's at about 150,000. A simple idea tossed around over text, has now evolved into The Equality March , which will take place June 11th in Washington, D.C. Dave and I have traveled through life together since about the age of seven or eight. We grew up basketball buddies, then basketball rivals, and always best friends. Though we've always had, and still have, a competitive edge. Not sure why, and we never acknowledge it, but it's there. But the backbone of the relationship is a relentless allegiance to one another. When we moved on to college, Dave headed up to Maine while I traveled a bit shorter up north to Bo...

I would argue that LCD Soundsystem are the best rock band to hit the scene since 2000. After a short hiatus, they're back and sounding as good as ever.

When I was around 9-10 years old, I recall asking my mother, "What is the difference between a republican and a democrat?" After a few seconds of thought, she replied, "With republicans, it's about me, with democrats, it's about us." "I'm a democrat," I shot back. A good three decades later, those simple descriptions remain pretty spot on. Reagan scaled back regulations to pat the back of the rich and ignored the AIDS epidemic for years. W cut taxes for his pals and thwarted thousands of the most vulnerable into a war based on lies. Obama gave us health care and saved millions from the brink of financial ruin. Sure, politics as a whole can be taxing and unsettling, but the lazy way we can sometimes throw republicans and democrats into the same pot as "politicians" is shortsighted and dangerous. Take today. Outside of cold-blooded, greedy, soulless suits, who would be in favor of today's "health care bill?" This is righ...

Almost three years to the day, I am again firing off a post, basically of self-encoragement. Over the past few months, I've had many of those moments: pulling over on the side of the road to write down some thoughts, excusing myself from a dinner to head outside and scribble some thoughts into my iPhone, being moved beyond words by music or a moment. It's that feeling that's driven me to write, regardless of the output or reach. There's just that need. And it's been back with the same fire and onslaught as I experienced in my twenties, when I was constantly jotting down words on the subway or in the park or on a bar stool. I'll write here. I'll share some short stories I've written over the years, I'll start to share a few chapters from my memoir and I'll start writing about music and the arts again. I'll give a sliver of exposure to the artists I love. I hope this sticks. For a while at least, I'm pretty sure it will.