Sigh.

Randy Bewley, guitarist for Pylon, died this afternoon. Pylon was a fantastic band, and without them and their influence, the Athens music scene would have been much less rich. If Athens hadn't become Athens, chances are my experiences from ages 18-22 would have been every different, and I probably wouldn't have become the guy I am now. Raise a toast to Randy and blast "Crazy" fuckin' loud.

Hey, Atlanta music nerds

Tomorrow, February 24th, you have two really excellent shows to choose from, because whoever's in charge of the universe always likes to put me in Sophie's Choice position when it comes to shows I want to see:

1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead at The Earl. You know these guys, you love them. But did you know that Aaron Ford, my good friend from high school, is now their drummer? No, didn't think you did. Aaron was sitting next to me in our group photo senior year. When they printed it in the yearbook, they had to block Aaron out because he was flipping the bird. Dude's a great drummer and an even better human, great to see him getting some recognition. They're doing an in-store at Criminal at 7 pm, too.

2. Marah is playing at Smiths. I've been a fan of these guys for years, but this is the first chance I've had to see them play live. Folky, punky rock and roll, done the way it should be. Really psyched about this.

I've given you the tools. Go forth and do what you will.

Ode to My Headache

Oh, headache
You arrive every afternoon, usually around three
My temples ache, my eyes go blurry
I looketh out the window, needing a respite from the computer
Lo! I see the Arbys

I went to the doctor
Expecting to be told there was a tumor in the brain
"Stress and dehydration" she said
Later she felt my beanbag
Awkward, for she is cute

Back to you, headache
Advil, I gobble by the handful
Like they were those popcorn flavored jelly beans
Which are awesome
Headache, I shall see you on the morrow
Dammit, I miss Chappelle

My current favorite joke

A juggler is on his way to a gig, speeding because he's running late. As luck would have it, he gets pulled over. The cop sees the juggler's gear in the back of the car, consisting of torches and lighter fluid. The cop starts to get mighty suspicious. The juggler explains what he does for a living and where he's going.

"Oh, yeah?" says the cop. "Prove it!"

So, the juggler gets his gear out, lights the torches and starts juggling them. Right about this time, a couple drives by.

"Goddamn!" the man says to his wife. "The drunk driving test is getting hard!"

Children's book idea

Riki-Tiki Fuck You.

I'll be honest, I got nothing for this. The title just popped into my head and made me laugh. So, how are you? Good?

Mary, mother of God!

Listen to this!

Turn it up! Turn it way, way the fuck up!

The day the music died indeed

50 years ago, a plane went down. There's nothing I can say about it that hasn't been said by a lot of people more educated than me, but I will add that I'm really glad Waylon didn't get on that plane.

That's not what this is about. My favorite record store on the planet, Ella Guru, is closing its doors at the end of the month. I've been shopping at Don's store for almost 10 years, at three different locations. The place was always packed with great music, and I usually left with whatever I came in for and a couple of things I didn't know existed until I went in.

What did this place mean to me? I'll put it this way: on 9/11, when my office closed down early, I didn't feel like going home to an empty apartment, so I went record shopping. I stopped by Ella Guru and picked up Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft" and John Hiatt's "The Tiki Bar is Open." I hung out for a bit, then went on my way and tried to make some sense of the day, while hearing "Mississippi" for the very first time. It gave me something real to hold on to for a while.

A friend of mine stopped by my place the other day, took a look around and told me "they have music online now, you know" after seeing the stacks and stacks and stacks of albums around here. I know, I know. But it's hard for me to let go of the experience of opening that record you've been waiting so long for. I can still clearly remember hauling ass across town that day in high school to go pick up R.E.M.'s "Monster." (Yeah, I know. Not their best album, but a huge event for my friends and me at the time.) I remember the smell of that cardboard sleeve when I got the case open. I miss that feeling.

If you're local, please stop by Ella Guru while you still can. I'm going to put on the Eccentric Soul compilation I picked up there a few weeks ago and take a look back. Tomorrow, we all look forward. Thanks, Don. I'll see you the next time Alejandro's in town.

Charles Bronson

Because sometimes, only Charles Bronson will do.



CHARLES BRONSON.