My heart hurts.

This is very tough for me to write. I try to keep my personal life separated from this blog. But sometimes, I have to express how I feel.

Bret just sent Beverly home from the Rock of Love Bus Tour. How could he do this???????

I...I'm going to go curl up with a glass of Night Train and try to muddle through, somehow.

Here. This will make us all feel better.

15 albums that changed my life

Cross-post from my Facebook page, because I am a junior high girl.

Cooped up inside all day, so Facebook meme ahoy. In 10 minutes, come up with 15 albums that changed your life. I went back and added some commentary to each when I was done.

1. R.E.M., Document. In 6^th grade, I had a dub of this on a tape with U2’s The Joshua Tree on the other side. I wore out the R.E.M. side, played the Joshua Tree maybe twice. I think it all goes back to this album for me. Still my favorite band. It was tough to say that for a few years.

2. Warren Zevon, Mutineer. Not the strongest album in his catalogue, but the first record of his I owned that wasn’t a greatest hits collection. I’d eventually get everything the man did. Still one of the best lyricists rock and roll has ever known.

3. The Dead Milkmen, Beelzebubba. A breath of fresh, profane air. The band that proved you could be funny, juvenile and smart all at once. I try to live by that code.

4. Guided by Voices mix—not an album, but a mix made for me by my friend Cary. I’d heard of them, but this was the first time I’d ever actually listened to them. After you hear Teenage FBI, there’s no going back.

5. Jack Logan, Bulk---“What do you mean, this guy just records on his boombox? His first record is a double album? Is it any good?” Uh, yeah, it was. Still is.

6. Drive-By Truckers, Gangstabilly—Saw these guys for the first time at a Merle Haggard tribute show at the 40 Watt. I picked up their first album not long after, and that was where it all started. I’ve seen them play dozens of times in the last 12(!) years, and they helped influence the way I think about being from the south and all that brings with it.

7. The Smithereens, Blown to Smithereens. Including a greatest hits record is kind of a cheat, but this is the album that got me into power pop. From there, I went to Cheap Trick. Cheap Trick to Big Star. Big Star to Marshall Crenshaw. Crenshaw to Sugar…

8. Body Count, self-titled—This album really wasn’t all that good. But it was the one that got secretly passed around once “Cop Killer” was banned, so that got to be my little teenage rebellion. This was also the bridge that led me to listen to more rap and hip-hop, so it’s got that going for it, too.

9. Wilco, Being There—I heard about a band called Uncle Tupelo when I was in high school. Never listened to them. Didn’t pick up Wilco’s first record, either. Finally got hit over the head with a bunch of reviews for Being There. Bought it on a lark and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Smart, literate rock and roll that didn’t sound like anything else I knew then. Immense.

10. Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind—A latter day Dylan record, but it hit at just the right time for me. He was back in full force just as I was developing my musical sensibilities. I got to see him play not long after that, a show that holds a lot of meaning for me. The lyrics from this one hit me harder and harder as I get older.

11. Nirvana, Nevermind—I was actually a little late to the party on this one. It passed me by in high school because I felt like I was getting the band crammed down my throat. Once I finally just listened to the damn thing, I realized it deserved every bit of the praise it got. Plus, it gave us Dave Groh’s career.

12. Tom Waits, Rain Dogs—The first Tom Waits record I ever bought. That summer, I was working as a dispatcher for the college police in my hometown and I had to work some insane shifts. When I was working nights and sleeping during the day, I would put this album on to listen to as I drifted off. I dreamt a lot about pirates that summer.

13. Alejandro Escovedo, More Miles than Money—The album that got me into alt-country, a genre that I ended up spending several thousands of dollars on.

14. The Ramones, self-titled—Their first album was the shotgun blast of a revolution. It still sounds fresh and new, and they rightfully influenced countless bands that I love. I can listen to the Ramones every day of my life and never get bored with them.

15. Johnny Cash, Unchained—The second of his American comeback records and the first one I bought. It’s the sound of a man reclaiming his crown and it opened my eyes not only to his back albums, but Willie, Merle, Waylon, etc.

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.

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.

Hear a great song and help some animals

Hey folks,

The incredible Neko Case has a new album coming out, and you can download the new song "People Got a Lotta Nerve" here:

http://www.anti.com/media/download/708

For every blog that re-posts the song, she and Anti- are donating $5 to a the Best Friends animal rescue group. If you do the iLike thing, they'll donate $1 for everyone who iLikes it. If you're the blogging type, please re-post. More info on the group is below, and you can read more about the whole effort here.



See? I'm not always a ranting prick.

Two facts

1. If you're looking forward to a show by The Dead, you deserve pretty much whatever happens to you.

2. This is awesome. If you're at work, you'll probably want to throw some headphones on.

Philo Farnsworth and me

I don't watch a lot of TV. I'm not making any kind of big stand here, there are a few shows I try to catch, but I just don't make the time commitment for most television. As a result, I become a bit of a social pariah whenever any of the following come up:

Lost
Heroes
24
ER (This is still on, yes?)
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
House (Actually, just saw my first episode of this. They showed a little kid bleeding rectally in the first five minutes. Pass.)
Battlestar Galactica
Law & Order in any iteration
CSI
How I Met Your Mother
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars

And so on. But, I've spent this evening catching up on Elvis Costello's Spectacle on the Sundance Channel. Holy lord, this is a fine example of the medium. Each episode is Elvis sitting down with a guest to discuss their mutual love and experiences with music, with performances scattered throughout. So far I've seen the Elton John and Lou Reed episodes, and both were electric. It's easy to forget just what a great musician Elton John is with all of the grand showman aura about him. His episode dispels a lot of that, and Reed's episode breaks through the coldness that has been attributed to him over the years, rightfully or not. This is informative, enjoyable and warm television, something all too rare.

If you're not a music nerd and are starting to doze off after my little spiel above*, you should still give the show a chance. The performances alone are worth the price of admission, as seen below. The ones I've included here are Elvis performing covers of his guests' songs, but there are some incredible duets featured, too.





*Yeah, I realize that could have less to do with whether or you're not a music nerd and more to do with me being a shitty writer, wiseass.

Best shows, plus bonus

Best shows I saw in 2008:

1. The Dirtbombs at the Earl, April 2nd— The best show I saw this year, hands down. Two hours of insane Detroit garage soul rock. They loved the crowd, the crowd loved them and nobody stopped moving the whole night. Their We Have You Surrounded album is essential. See them whenever, wherever.

2. R.E.M. at Lakewood Amphitheater, June 21st – The third time I’ve seen them, and the best. Touring behind their best album in 10 years, they sounded like a band re-energized. The mighty Justin Waddell and I went to this show together and I think both of us nearly cried when they fired up “Harborcoat.” Well, Justin cried. I stood there being all stoic and awesome.

3. Tom Waits at the Fox Theater, July 5th—I never thought I’d get the chance to see Waits play. But he came here a couple of years ago, the show was great, and I figured that was it. Then he comes back two years later with the Glitter and Doom tour and completely blows the previous show out of the water. “Innocent When You Dream” with the audience singing along—chills.

4. The Drive-By Truckers/The Hold Steady/Bobby Bare Jr. at the Ryman Auditorium, October 31st—Every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I’ve become a big fan of the Hold Steady over the last couple of years, and their live show lived up to their reputation. I can’t remember that last time I saw a band that so completely captured the emotion of what rock and roll can come to mean. The Truckers were on fire, and the whole night was pure joy. Couple that with the surprise of finding out that a good friend of mine from high school was Bobby Bare Jr.’s drummer and you’ve got a perfect show.

Now if somebody could hook a brother up with AC/DC tickets…

And now...

Thanksgiving Weekend Dance Party

Oldies edition:

1. Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown." Been on a Gordon Lightfoot kick lately for some reason*:



2. The Hollies, "Bus Stop." Best song ever? Maybe.



3. Sigh. The fact that I can kind of count this as an oldie makes me sadder than you can imagine, but it's 15 years old, so...Also, this may well be my favorite song of all time.

Soul Asylum, "Without a Trace."



By the by, I had completely forgotten that Clare Danes was in the video for "Just Like Anyone." You can watch it over at Youtube, but I can't embed it here because SonyBMG are a bunch of Nazis.

Actual content on the way soon.


*The reason is most likely that I am 65 years old on the inside.

Public Service Announcement

Until October 31, you can get Todd Snider's new EP, Peace Queer, as free download through his site. Just go to the store and you'll see the download there. I'm listening now, and it sounds so, so good. Todd's been one of my favorite songwriters since I heard his first record, Songs for the Daily Planet, waaaaay back in '94. I'd go as far as calling East Nashville Skyline and The Devil You Know essential for your record collection. I'm not going to go into a big dissection of the man's music here. Dig around the intertubes for a while, see if you like it. And if you don't...there's no accounting for taste.

Jukebox

So, what's on the music menu tonight...

I play this song a lot.




Everybody should own a copy of Love's "Forever Changes." Here's Calexico covering Alone Again Or.



Listening to Sugar's "Copper Blue" in the car leads to genuinely unsafe speeds of driving while simultaneously making one unspeakably sad.

I did an interesting (to me, at least) writing exercise this afternoon. It was a conversation between me and depression. In my head, depression’s voice sounded a lot like Orson Welles. I liked the way it turned out, and it helped me work on my dialogue skills a little bit. I’m not putting the whole thing here, because…well, most of it is really personal and a little emo-y. I did like this little exchange though:

“How do you pop up so easily? Last weekend, I had a great time, spent the afternoon having fun with my friends, then almost jerked the car into the median on purpose on the way home. What was that about?”

“I’m sneaky. And I’m always there.”

”Like the Venom symbiote.”

“Jokes like that aren’t helping the situation.”

So, the writer nerd part of my life is progressing nicely. As for the music nerd stuff, please note that Ella Guru, the best record store in the world, has moved into the 280 Elizabeth St. complex, where Dad’s Garage is. So, go buy some records and see some fun theater. I bought the I Believe to My Soul compilation from Don this weekend and it sounds so, so fine.

Hope in the darkness

These are certainly troubled times. An economy failing. A U.S. that finds itself with few allies. Turbulent world relations. It's times like that make us look both within ourselves and to our surroundings for hope. For direction. For a sense that maybe we're going to be okay.

The leader we need is here.

AC/DC has returned, just when we needed so very badly. Go here and you can hear their new single, "Rock N' Roll Train." The new album, "Black Ice," is due in October and features four different songs with "rock n' roll" in the title. Goddamn, we need these guys like we never needed them before. Welcome back, my Australian brethren.

I'm not a particularly religious person, but when I hear a really, really wonderful rock song, I feel a little more connected to the universe. There's a feeling in a song like the Stones' "Moonlight Mile," Prince's "The Pope," or Black Flag's "Rise Above" that lets you know that you're a part of something bigger. For those three minutes, you believe in something more than yourself. Like maybe, hippie-ish as it may sound, that maybe there is something in common between all of us. Maybe St. Joe Strummer was onto something.

There's something so incredibly reassuring about AC/DC's return, offering a song we've never heard before even as we've heard it a thousand times before. I can't stop playing it.

Let there be rock.