Autumn Souvenir

The lyrics to The Minutemen's "History Lesson - Part II" represent some of my favorite lines in music. From San Pedro, D. and Watt playing guitars, and yes, that band that could be your life, I guess this isn't really a "punk rock" Minutemen song, but to me, it sure feels punk rock. And then D. Boon sings, "Mr. Narrator, this is Bob Dylan to me. My story could be his songs" and I think of the songs that have shaped my world. To my ears and core, many of my favorite songwriters are Bob Dylan to me, just as D. said. And every single time I hear that line I think of the enormous list of songwriters who may not hit the masses, but write songs that indeed have changed my life. Soon I will begin writing about these songwriters in a little feature I'll call "Bob Dylan To Me." our band could be your life real names'd be proof me and mike watt played for years punk rock changed our lives we learned punk rock in hollywood drove up from pedr...

Remember that scene in High Fidelity when Cusack tosses on "Dry the Rain" by the Beta Band and predicts the reaction throughout the store? If not, see below. Well, any record nerd knows that feeling. I had just that experience last week in Amoeba, an experience that happens about 1/2 the times I visit the store. As I was sifting through the $1 CD bins, suddenly a track came on. I thought I recognized the singer, but not the song. "Wait, this is Vic Chesnutt," I thought. I was distracted. In a good way. The song just got better and better. I looked around the store and saw a number of people bobbing their heads. I knew that I didn't own every Chesnutt record and had to immediately find out the record in question. As I do all the time, I casually walked by the "Information" desk to see the "Now Playing" CD. It was Vic Chesnutt's About to Chok e. I headed straight for the C's. Nothing. "Man, what a song," I kept thinking. I le...

"It is here in Big Sur that I first learned to say Amen." -Henry Miller

Townes Van Zandt was a Texas man. I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that he never made it to Big Sur. Nevertheless, every time I find myself down here, I can often listen to nothing but Townes. He always comes first, and at least tonight, it's been nothing but him. I've listened to the entire Anthology and I'm now midway through Delta Momma Blues . To me, Big Sur is Townes. And Townes is Big Sur. My last trip to Big Sur was in December of 2009. Since that trip, so much has changed in my life that I thought things down here might feel different. But they don't. Better, perhaps. I'm actually staying at the same bunch of cabins as I did in '09. I'm just across the road this time, next to Highway 1 instead of the river. Not as serene, but just as beautiful. On the drive down, it was The White Album and Matthew Ryan's May Day . I stopped at a Seven Eleven and bought my first pair of sunglasses since Austin in 2000. I can't find tha...

Until viewing the downright embarrassing The Kids Are All Righ t, I would have said that anything including Mark Ruffalo would be my favorite genre of movies. Although I could now possibly go with anything starring Ryan Gossling, I'm actually going to run with music documentaries. And although I love Gimme Shelter , The Last Waltz and other better-known "leaders" of the genre, I'd have to say that I've had a growing love for documentaries on the smaller acts. There's something about diving into life on the road that holds a charm and resilience that I truly admire. Recent favorites include documentaries on Roky Erickson, Low, Joe Strummer and Luna. Here's author Jonathan Franzen on the upcoming documentary on The Mekons: