Autumn Souvenir

On the eve of another decade, I find myself, surprisingly, more hopeful than I've been in a long time: maybe all the way back to Obama's victory in 2009. Despite the horrific things happening in our country, almost all with the support and urging of Trump and the Republican Party, when I sit back and take stock, and review history, I'm almost certain that not only will we get through this, but we will come out and enter a new golden age for the United States. It's not over. We're not doomed. We haven't lost. Greed, white supremacy, lies and hatred will not prevail. Will it be easy? No, and it never has been. Will Trump go quietly and gracefully, whether in 2020 or 2024 (or whenever)? No. He will likely fuel hatred and violence as he's done throughout his term, and really, his life. But ultimately, he will lose. As will McConnell, Graham, McCarthy and those hanging onto a past that really only exists in their venom. Sure, they've taped up and clung to an ...

Similar to the New York Yankees, I didn't have much of a choice here. In my pre-teen years, I'd spend every-other-weekend, or sometimes, every-so-often, at my father's house a few towns over in Jersey. In the late 70s/early 80s, my father was obsessed with Springsteen. Sure, he mixed it up with some Bob Seger, Dylan, Jackson Browne and other songwriters of the day, but his love for Bruce was on a different plane. I remember our living room walls being blanketed with framed Springsteen memorabilia. And he was always, always playing throughout the house. All those early records. My dad had a lot of parties during this period, and I recall The River being on until all hours of the night. Then Born to Run would find its way, and of course, when Bruce became the biggest act in the world, with the summer 1984 release of Born in the USA, that record was played over and over and over. When that tour kicked in, and Bruce loaded up on Jersey dates, I begged to go. I'd only be...

I probably don't need to say much here. If we've met for even ten seconds, I probably talked about this band. I mean, I named my dog after former Wilco lead guitarist, Jay Bennett. If I ever have a kid, he or she will likely be Jeff or John or Coomer or Pot Kettle Black. 70-80 shows. Every record purchased on every format imaginable. Three Solid Sound Festivals. Couple pics with JT, one taken by John Stirratt. Jeff Tweedy's songwriting, along with the band's evolving sound, seemed to perfectly complement what I was experiencing in my 20s, through to my 30s, and even today, in my 70s. AM were the leftovers. Being There was them breaking beyond alt.country. Summerteeth was their breezy, pop gem. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot remains their masterpiece. A Ghost is Born was an extension of YHF . Sky Blue Sky was back to Americana. And The Whole Love was their last great record. As I sit here listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , for what must be the first time in a few yea...

Discovering Uncle Tupelo felt like a moment in time. Or rather, moments in time. It all started in the spring of 1994, just outside of Boston. I was a sophomore in college, hanging out with my housemates, recounting the events of the night before. Some party, another party, bar, bar, etc. We’d all trudged around the night prior, with the exception of our friend Flanders, who was visiting from Maine. Flanders broke from the pack and saw a show downtown. I asked about the band. “They're called Uncle Tupelo. Want to hear them?” was all he could muster. He stepped out and grabbed a CD from his car. A few minutes later, he hit play on track six from one of their records. The song was “New Madrid” from Uncle Tupelo’s final, and perfect, swan song, Anodyne . It took but a few seconds and I was floored. It was Neil Young, Johnny Cash, The Clash, all in one. I’d never heard anything like it. By the end of the day, I'd made my way to Tower Records on Boylston and had my own copy . An...

If Memphis' Big Star weren't plagued by one terrible set of label/management/etc. circumstances after another, which basically buried each of their three records from the public, I truly believe that they could've been the greatest rock n' roll band to ever come out of the US. I mean, even given the awful circumstances that they faced, at least to my ears, they're right up there. And had they been delivered a few breaks, Alex and Chris would be regularly thrown around alongside John and Paul, Mick and Keith, and hell, for purposes of this list, Jay and Jeff. But that's not at all what happened. Even with the current always flowing the wrong way, thanks to a cult following that seems to balloon each year, and countless musicians who point to Big Star as not just an influence, but possibly their greatest influence, the band has only grown in popularity over the decades. Three records from 1972-1975 and that's it. The last of the trio, Third , which is easil...

Neil is one of the few mainstays in my musical life. I found my way to him early in my teen years and he set the stage for a lot of the music I'd explore in the decades that followed. I started with the basics, mostly listening to Decade (basically, greatest hits) throughout high school, and then I hit his "grunge" phase in college, playing Freedom , Ragged Glory , and then the slow-down gem, Harvest Moon . But it was post-college that I really dug into the archives and found Neil's best work. On the Beach , Comes a Time , Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere , Zuma , and ultimately my favorite Neil record, the dirtiest of all Neil records, Tonight's the Night . When considering the history of rock n' roll, Neil Young sits atop the heap with the likes of Chuck Berry, Mick/Keith, Paul/John, Bruce, and a select few others. In addition to his staggering solo work, which spands six decades, his contributions to Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and many others put him i...

This story's been told a million times over, but when Jay Farrar opted to bail on alt.country pioneers, Uncle Tupelo, fans of the genre and beyond, were left with two new options: Son Volt and Wilco. For years, the debate of Jay vs. Jeff raged. Purists tended to side with Farrar, while those open to Tweedy's more experimental side, landed with Wilco. At least out of the gates, there was wide consensus that Farrar's Son Volt held an edge with 1995's absolutely brilliant, Trace . Wilco's first effort, A.M. , had its moments, but altogether sounded like a collection of UT b-sides. Son Volt followed with 1997's underrated Straightaways , and closed out their first run as a band with 1999's fantastic, Wide Swing Tremolo . Farrar's backing band of original Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, and brothers Dave and Jim Boquist, likely represented the best alt.country band of that decade. And then, following this trio of classics, Farrar once again departed a band at...

Speaking of great songwriters.... Favorite record: Devotion & Doubt (1997) Where are they now? Though not nearly as prolific as he was in the 90s, Buckner continues to make records and tour.

Steve Earle once said, " Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." I'm not sure Townes is better than Dylan, but he's certainly in the conversation. He really only had one "hit": "Pancho and Lefty", which was made famous by Willie and Merle. But Townes has hundreds of fantastic songs. Like Chris Bell and Alex Chilton, Nick Drake and countless others who flew under the radar in the 90s, Townes never got his due. Not even close. I discovered Townes late. My closest buddy in college, who turned me onto countless artists that I'd embrace post-college (Smog, Oldham, Drake) was a fan early, but I still had much digging to do before I'd make my way to Townes. Must've been a few years after his death in 1997, that Townes started to hit. I remember buying the collection, High Low and In Between , at Sounds on St. Marks and immediately putting it...

With the shocking passing of two cultural icons  in one week , we're seeing a similar collective reaction to what we see when faced with such difficult realities. Basically, on this front, there's a deluge of posts sharing suicide hotlines. Of course, I'm in favor of making these numbers widespread. A good friend of mine volunteered at a suicide hotline in New York City for many years, and I'm certain his work, and the work of his colleagues, saved countless lives. But there's something about these soft, predictable posts that gets under my skin. It's somewhat similar to the gun reaction. Post something, move on. Did your deed. I guess it irks me for two reasons. First, depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder, and countless other mental health maladies, are issues that can't be solved with a phone number. There are many massive challenges facing mental illness in this country. Health care is an abomination. Only the wealthy can afford regular mental-hea...

The Gourds may be the best pure "alt.country" band to come out of that movement. In addition to a recorded output that matches anyone from that period, The Gourds' live shows were explosive, jubilant and incredibly communal. They were events. The songwriting/singing pairing of Jimmy Smith and Kev Russell, to my ears, should be mentioned in the same breath as, yes, Paul and John and Mick and Keith. From 1997-2002 their records as well as their celebrated live shows may have places them as the band of that period. Favorite record: Stadium Blitzer (1998) Where are they now? The Gourds broke up in 2013. Kev Russell has embarked on a successful career under the moniker Shinyribs. Jimmy Smith has relocated to Montana and plays shows in around the around the area.

Let's move this along... #18 Josh Ritter #17 Pavement #16 The Beatles #15 Elliott Smith #14 Bonnie "Prince" Billy #13 Nick Drake #12 REM #11 Rolling Stones

After departing the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell held onto the bottle and recorded a few solid, but inconsistent, records, along with his band The 400 Unit. Then, sometime around 2011 or 2012, Isbell got sober, and similar to Steve Earle with I Feel Alright in the 90s, released his best record, 2013's Southeastern . Not just his best record, but via my ears, the best record so far in the 2010's. Though different in subject, Southeastern is as personal as Dylan's Blood on the Tracks or Springsteen's Tunnel of Love . An artist at his best, laying it bare for all to see.  A heart on the run Keeps a hand on the gun  You can't trust anyone I was so sure what I needed was more Tried to shoot out the sun Days when we raged, we flew off the page Such damage was done But I made it through, 'cause somebody knew I was meant for someone At what seemed like a bit of a  cooling off period in the singer-songwriter world, Isbell released an all-...

Like no other band on this list, Denton, Texas' Slobberbone hold a piece of me that I'll cherish until my last day. I've told this story before, but I'm so appreciative of what Brent Best, Brian Lane, Jess Barr and Tony Harper (unknowingly) did for me, that I keep repeating it. 1999 was my first SXSW. I made my way down to Austin, 25 years old, with what felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders. Decades-long family issues were finally being brought to the surface, and I was having trouble processing all of the rapidly moving stories, once hidden/now exposed secrets, and what all this news and emotion would do to my often-confused family situation. And it literally all dropped as I was heading to Texas. As the drama piled on, I was a few thousand miles from home, attempting to usher it aside and enjoy myself. But I couldn't. Was just too much, at the time. I had glimpses of fun the first few days, but my mind was back in New Jersey/New York. I considered l...

One of the greatest living songwriters. Favorite record? Civilians (2007) Where are they now? Still making incredible records, blending jazz, Americana and rock n' roll. Also one of the greatest living producers.

One of the bands most responsible for my explosive and never-ending interest in music that hit in the mid-90s. Right around the time I discovered Uncle Tupelo, there was Minneapolis' The Jayhawks. The perfect sound for what I was seeking out at the time. As much as folks have credited Uncle Tupelo with being the fathers of the alt.country movement, The Jayhawks released Bunkhouse in 1986, and the more widely-adored Blue Earth in 1989. Gary Louris and Mark Olson were the Everly Brothers of that time: gorgeous melodies, beautiful songwriting, and to this day, they remain one of the most unfairly under-appreciated bands ever. If the Avett Brothers could reach the masses, The Jayhawks should've been stars. Think the Avetts or any other "Americana" band of the day, but with depth and longevity. Best record? Hollywood Town Hall (1992) Where are they now? There have many, many incarnations of The Jayhawks, but the real nucleus broke up in 1995, later to re-form a fe...

When I reflect on the years that I lived in Brookyn, I'm not sure there's a band that brought more joy to my group of friends and I than Dallas' Old 97's. Shows at Irving Plaza and Rhett Miller solo sets at Fez and around Manhattan, represent some of the most joyful nights of my life. As Rhett sings, "I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down." There was also a lot of drinking. A lot. Late nights, edging into the morning. Bar 119 adjacent to Irving Plaza. Mayhem. The backdrop of it all was often those early 97's records. Favorite record : Too Far To Care (1997) Where are they now? I sort of stopped following the new rel3eases after 2008's Blame It On Gravity (which is fantastic), but they're still putting out records and touring the country.

When the alt.country scene was slowing in the early 00s, no band filled that void more than Okkervil River. 2005's Black Sheep Boy came at the perfect time, and I ran with the band for a good decade. Favorite record : The Stage Names (2007) Where are they now?  About to start touring behind their upcoming release, In the Rainbow Rain

Word of Russ Solomon's passing has left me thinking about Tower Records throughout the day. As a kid, when a career in hoops or baseball finally sailed away, music quickly became my biggest passion. I mean, I'd had some solid introductions as a child. My dad used to throw raucous parties in the 70s and 80s, and the sounds I heard careening off the walls of his Jersey home: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Stones, Seger; they all not just peaked an early interest, but became the foundation for a musical exploration that's now hit four decades. First few years of high school, many weekends (and weeknights) were spent about ten miles down the road at Tower Records in Paramus, New Jersey. Before we had driver's licenses, our parents would drop us off, and return hours later. We'd walk into a mecca of music: CDs, vinyl, music magazines, books, singles, EPs, rarities. Every genre under the sun. But we were mostly rock kids. Raised on classic rock, but starti...