Autumn Souvenir

I first saw Joe Pernice in 1995, when his first outfit, Scud Mountain Boys, were the first of three bands, followed by Blue Mountain and Wilco, to take the stage at New York City's Tramps. Pernice and his band sat around candle-lit tables strumming beautiful tracks from the first few Scuds records. I was hooked. Massachusetts still stands as one of the best records in my collection. When he wrapped the Scuds (for then), and started the Pernice Brothers, expectations were high. The first Pernice record, Overcome by Happiness , released in 1998 on Seattle's Sub Pop, remains their best. Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman cites Happiness as the one record in the Sub Pop catalog that never really got its due. When I think of this record, I think of West Virginia. One of those records that remains stapled to a moment in time. I was driving from New Jersey to Cincinnati in 1999 or so to visit my brother, and I clearly recall pulling off an exit in W. Virginia and hearing my car

Over the next month or two, I'm going to count down my favorite 40 acts of all-time. I'm doing this, well, because I love lists, and because I want to pay heed to some artists that may not have hit the masses, but have had a huge and lasting impact on my life.  Before starting the countdown, here are 20 that just missed the cut: Fleetwood Mac Luna Beck Whiskeytown Johnny Cash Bap Kennedy Jackson Browne The Velvet Underground Tim Easton The Kinks Freedy Johnston Marah Tom Waits T. Rex The Byrds Public Enemy Yo La Tengo The Clash Richard and Linda Thompson Elton John Low

This is truly a thing of beauty:

Looking back on 2017.... I've finally started to travel a bit (Colombia, Japan): I got to see my nephew grow up: Endless hours with: The Equality March in DC: My third Solid Sound in Massachusetts: Many great shows (Luna, Springsteen on Broadway): But nothing this year, or any year in memory, can top what I experienced on January 29th. I was in LA and, intentionally, left for the airport early. And below is what I saw. The moment I stepped off the elevator, into the sea of people, I lost it. I instinctively called my mother and told her that I was, "experiencing everything I've ever believed in, in a single moment. This is one of the most important moments of my life." I will never, ever forget it.