Poet, Canadian, folk hero – call him what you want – this record is still gold.

Neil Young makes me think of a kid I went to high school with. Ray Fallon wore pajamas almost every day, or sweat pants. He was a champ in our AP English class and ended up acting through college. Now I think he still lives in my hometown and has plans to buy land and start a farm. I guess some things never change.

This is his third record, out in 1970. I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it again. Either that or realize that Southern Man is more than just an overplayed song on all radio stations. The guitar solo on that track is a reminder, or education of, the fact that Young is a forgotten guitar hero. You’ll dig it once you forget you’re listening to Southern Man. Don’t forget what your good book says.

wednesday

thursday

saturday

I got to see three incredible shows this week. Two of which were desert island top five favorites. Angeline had sent me a dcist link about upcoming shows of the week, which included Aimee Mann at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. Which I might have originally overlooked due to price and due to the fact that its OUT IN Virginia. But here’s a lesson, if you learn about a show two days before hand, you’ll have a different instinct. Which is to drop everything you’re doing at work to go see Aimee Mann, in the flesh. She is a bad ass, beautiful musician dressed like a rock star. Black leather riding boots and jacket with long blond hair and black horn-rimmed glasses (that looked thick even from where I was sitting.) She played a lot of new stuff, including songs written to compliment the maybe upcoming musical adaptation to her very under-played record The Forgotten Arm - a concept album about a boxer, John, his addictions and his lover, Caroline. She played my favorite, Guys Like Me and the songs you want to hear live like Save Me. Mann was chatty and funny and had the support of her bassist and key player – fender rhodes and baby grand. And, like she always does, she played her own high hat. Overall I was ecstatic to see a hero in person. And even more excited to hear that when she returned to LA she will be recording more. As much as @#%&*! Smilers was weak, I have enough hope that she’ll go back to her poetic storytelling ways, leave behind the repetitive choruses and bring back the verses full of intelligentsia.

I desperately want to embed this video, the greatest nostalgia video EVER. 1979, Smashing Pumpkins. But I can’t.

Revisiting KID A (and the new Radiohead, which I definitely do like, which is surprising me. But I love In Rainbows. And The King’s Limbs totally has it goin’ on.)

Then I see this story. About 8 tracks. (CHECK out this dude!!) And I’m reminded that I saw an eight track player at a record store (that kinda blows) on 18th street in Adam’s Morgan. Maybe I’ll go back there and get it? Hell, I should be punished if I don’t.

If you don’t listen to Podcasts, you should start. My coworker didn’t know the name FRESH AIR, probably the greatest interview show ever. My favorites were the Jay-Z and the one with the Black Keys where they describe how they get their name. Podcasts and episodes, like This American Life, are good for long car rides (usually when you’re alone you can zone out and forget you’re driving. You all know what I mean.), bus trips, and they’re basically just a good way to pass time. The way they talk about the music just enthralls me. All Songs Considered, a show I need to listen to more and worship more, with Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton talk about the music like I know them and they know me. “Sit down and listen to it start to finish, before anything else. When it’s over, we look at each other. And we know everything’s changed.” Where are those friends of mine? Where did those conversations go? That’s what these shows make me think of. Yes, I will work for NPR music so I can be a part of the conversation. I just hope I’m not too late.

So I’m totally gonna copy them here. Leave note or comment, or somehow, tell me/us what you love from the 90s. Little known fact about me that I’m a passionate Nirvana fan. But early this winter, Pinkerton stole my heart. And since they formed in the 90s, the White Stripes and Wilco can just win any contests right now. I could go on forEVER. Let me know what you like!

There is one record this year that will also transport me, although I don’t think it’s my favorite of the year, its a close second dare I say tied for first. LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening will always make me think of that last month of college. Wherever I am, who I’m with, it always reminds me of that place on Spencer Street and April and May in Ithaca. LCD was completely new to me, I hadn’t heard it previous which shocked people (mostly Aaron) and now I can’t imagine not knowing their sounds. Different from said previous record and, famously, maybe the last one they’ll do for a while…, the new sounds of This Is Happening remain unlike anything else this year. I like his crooked ways and what I know will be a famous crooked photo.

But down to the first, how can it not be Brothers? The Black Keys, ALSO new to me this year (sorry Aaron). I always had them around and knew 10 AM Automatic, but I never knew them like this. Brothers is rock and roll at it’s best. Fast, slow, loud, romantic, sexual and smart. I’ve heard countless interviews with both of them on radio since the album came out in May. On the World Cafe with David Dye, Auerbach and Carney explained how they felt different with this record. It was from their hip hop collaboration, Blackroc, that really taught them to revisit their instruments and keep it simple and soulful. Because of Brothers I listened to all their previous albums falling in love: Rubber Factory and their amazing debut The Big Come Up (with my favorite Beatles cover, She Said She Said.)

Now something I’ve just realized, both of these bands were new to me this year. If only ya’ll knew me in high school you would know what a big deal this is. In the past I used to be so closed off and far far away from new music, hiding it from myself as useless and messy, made without care and just for show. ‘These new bands don’t really know what music is,’ 16 year old me would say, ‘This isn’t really rock and roll.’ Thank god that’s over.

Just found this, Pitchfork’s list of upcoming releases. It’s like being handed a syllabus on the first day of classes, an overwhelming load. Only this time I’m looking forward to the homework. This is definitely the first full year I’ve had with new music, following it, being genuinely interested and closely following along. First year I’ve read Pitchfork regularly. I even took their reader’s poll.

Angeline asked me about liking certain things and whether or not I form my opinion before or after all of the press that I read. She asked why I read it. Well, I love the press. I like to read all the lists and reviews because I want to see what different publications have to say about the same records. Rolling Stone will write something differently about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy than what the New York Times will say. Pitchfork’s review was much different than what SPIN had to say. The comparative list goes on. But for me in reading the press (the same way I followed Jonathan Franzen’s press, went to hear him speak, and tonight I finally bought FREEDOM and I’m 40 pages in…) the lists have all become redundant. Stereogum is the only list that included Tame Impala, a December release that got lost in the already completed best of the year reviews because they came out so late. But they have a loss with me because they did not include Brothers in their list. It came out in May, hardly late or early enough to overlook. I’m not sure what peoples‘ problems are.

I want to make a list, without rankings just so we’re clear, of my favorite records. Now if only there was a way I could directly get them to you.

Beach Fossils, Beach Fossils (tied for first with favorite live show with EELS. The 12 hours surrounding the time I saw this band were some of the strangest 12 that May day. I always remember it so vividly. Having not heard the band before, I fell in love with them. And I continue to do so every time I revisit this record. New release expected this month!)

lennon-a-like, trippy guitar, ever changing, never bored

the 1980s called, they like your band

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Before Today (Aaron, I should have listened to you sooner.) Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest. EELS, End Times (Saw them live at the 930 club in dc. This show was a game changer. Forever I love bearded men. I love EELS unlike a love for any other band. They rock loud and tight and remain calm while singing me to sleep.) Sleigh Bells, Treats (A band I overlooked for the first few months I knew them, maybe longer, just like Deerhunter. Recently I fell in love with them. A grittier Go! Team and thrashing sound, how can you not love this record?) Tame Impala, Innerspeaker (Thanks Sokol. Best find/mention you’ve had since I can’t remember when.) Annnnnd how can we forget, Yeasayer, Odd Blood (saw them perform live, for free at end of school year show. Did CTW during this, was sober with Aaron and we were two of few who kinda, mostly, hated their live performance.) Vampire Weekend Contra (A band I just within the last few days started listening to. Angeline’s frequent obsession always lead me to leave them out because I knew their hits from her and WICB. Contra is a great record full of forgettable sad lyrics and similes that are Ivy League.) Surfer Blood’s Astro Cast (I do love this. Saw them live at the 930 club, not great. They played in Ithaca many many moons ago and sadly I did not take Reece’s advice to go see them. Now they’re signed to Warner Brothers, I’m excited to see what sounds comes next.) How can I forget Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I am only putting this record on this list because I’ve been in too long a relationship with it to leave it out. Including the story here would only get violently wordy.

polaroid, controversy, blank indie stares. what more do you want in an album cover?

Honorable mentions includes my personal discoveries this year. Weezer’s Pinkerton (also was re-released this year, I promise, no coincidence.) PAVEMENT (Malkmus..Lou Reed….it’s a match made in uneasy heaven. Also this year I rediscovered a comp. book of 90s alternative rock journalism/coverage. Including revisits to Smashing Pumpkins and above mentioned bands, I learned about Courtney Love and why I don’t understand the underbelly of Seattle Grunge.) The Go (Jack White plays lead guitar and sings back up on Whatcha Doin’. You will surly dance to this Detroit sound.) The biggest let down with largest questionable expectations, Best Coast. (In fact tonight at dinner the big mouthed, long winded girl at the table behind us was the in-the-flesh version of the Best Coast girl. Or what I imagine her to be like if she was yelling conversation to people who can’t get a word in. Obnoxious and animated, this girl did had her life together, where she rambled about graduate school programs and not the munchies. She also talked about her cats a lot.)

I just realized how long this has gotten. At first meant to be a list of my favorites, I’m sure I have left some out, it has turned into a parenthetical rant. Also note that these are MY favorites and not the best. Left out: Titus Andronicus, Janelle Monae, Erykah Badu, countless other great records. We must remember to differentiate our favorite from the best.

There has been a lot of talk lately about dessert island records. Records always seemed so definitive. Is it too easy to do desert island bands? Ones you simply cannot live without. Also there was a lot of talk about a band’s sound and how we can compare them to their own discography and those of their peers. (Example, rock and roll from the Who, Zeppelin and Floyd all had their own sounds. Meanwhile Small Black, Beach Fossils, Surfer Blood and Vampire Weekend are all in the same family of sounds, and sometimes you can’t tell them apart. Except VW, they’re the best at what they do. Smartest, most fun to listen to. They win.)

More to come? Maybe. Glad we are keeping this blogging up? Yes. I hope all five of you are enjoying it. You know what, I’m not sorry about the length. It’s good to get it out. Thoughts?

Not only is Jon Stewart on the cover of New York Magazine, he has a new book coming out.

I love the New Yorker. I love it even more when my roommate steals them from her office (they were gonna be thrown away anyways…) and brings them home for me. This edition has a great profile of Mark Zuckerberg. After reading it, and seeing the full commercial for the new movie coming out on October 1, the Social Network, I’m into the story. It’s fascinating and probably one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) stories of our generation.

Also, I love Woody Allen. I know one person who doesn’t. My sister Kyle. She’s crazy for it. I didn’t know he has a new movie coming out. Did you? The photo there makes him look old. I didn’t realize how old he is. I guess the reality is he looks older than he is. That doesn’t make me love him less. What does is the fact that he’s married to his adopted daughter.

Life without music. It’s disgusting. Well, I’m assuming it would be. Last Monday I challenged myself to one week sans music just on my commute to and from work. Glad to be re-reading The Bonfire Of The Vanities, I’ve been too deep into Tom Wolfe to miss polyphonic beauty. It has led to incredible strangeness in my life. I do not recommend this but I do recommend lending yourself to a personal challenge. What else are you doing?

What’s with this? Living in a major city and using public transportation every day (and as a commuter) has made me an angry person. It makes me hate people. Which I know is rancid. But I sleep at night. Very well.

Music note: new favorite. Check out The Morning Benders.

OK. I’ve been getting much more into solo Lou Reed. I recent won 100 bucks off my dad on a bet. We were talking about Lou Reed, for reasons I’m not sure why. My father has never expressed any interest let alone knowledge about the man. Which is why I won. He proceeded to promise me that Lou Reed played on a studio record with the Eagles. I’m pretty sure, if memory serves me right, that I laughed in his face. We called our phone-a-friend, my dad’s former colleague, life long friend and known-to-be genius, also my god father (not sure why I have one, also he’s the most Jewish man I will ever meet): Danny Gold. He works for the New York Times and used to edit Frank Rich. Enough said. In a nut, I was right. I am a Coney Island Baby.

Preferably tied for first with Wilco, but that remains to be seen, the Velvet Underground is IT. The beginning of punk, housing four original geniuses, the biggest asshole in music history (we love you Lou) and the greatest (chick) drummer EVER. period.

Check out All Songs Considered. As from the first link above, they have interns review classic records said interns have never heard before. (Can you even imagine never hearing your personal favorite and getting to hear it for the first time over again? It must be like magic.) As you’ll guess, it was the first, The Velvet Underground & Nico, the most OVERRATED of all VU records but still you cannot ignore it. Either way, keep up with All Songs Considered. They are no underground like Pitchfork (they’re hiring!) and they aren’t the new rave of national breaking news (ahem rollingstone.com, that shit is real, at least for now.) I’d call it a middle ground. After their ‘Best Opening Tracks’ show, they asked for listeners’ favorite closing tracks. I was too late to join to mention that my favorite is Oh! Sweet Nuthin on Loaded, but at least I’m getting it out here.

All I’m saying here is– it’s never too late to get into the Velvets. And, if you’re ready for some real emotional discourse and disturbance, Lou Reed himself. Warning, it gets strange.

I’ve been reading. Now, as I plan not to go on to graduate school (anytime soon) I can read whatever I want. Since we graduated I’ve read three books, one of which was To Kill A Mockingbird. Something I was supposed to read in 9th grade for Mrs. Stass, but never finished. Its the first novel I’ve read in over a year and I thought I would read Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye too, but got through ten pages of Holden’s whining and couldn’t take it any more, just like the times before. Since my birthday passed and usually all I receive is books, that’s all I’m doing now. THANKFULLY (and finally) I’ve discovered David Foster Wallace and I am taking my time with one of his collections of essays, Consider the Lobster. (Riley- check it out.) I’m also blown away by this book Angeline gave me called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. He’s the guy who wrote Everything is Illuminated- which I’ve never read. Foer’s writing is excellent and the subject matter discusses food and the idea of eating animals- I just read the section where he makes a perfectly normal case of why eating dogs should be accepted in America and would fix some serious problems- is interesting to everyone. Because everyone loves food and everyone eats food. So this concerns you. I’m also part way through a book called Closing Time, about a guy who grew up in the Philadelphia housing projects in the early 60s. I’ve never seen a vocabulary like this, it made me feel bad about myself and I had to put it down for a while. His writing structure is also overwhelming. Not to mention the subject matter is heavy.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well let me just way one more thing. I am interested in Infinite Jest the 900+ page novel by David Foster Wallace. I’m going to go hand out in Borders today and read it, see if I can do it. (If anyone wants to book-club it with me, lets talk.) I think I can do it, but then again, its also a novel. And we all know how I feel about fiction. I can handle To Kill A Mockingbird because it’s excellent. And probably one of the only classics I’ll ever truly love. In fact, he’s a story about how wonderful it is and why maybe you should get a 50th anniversary copy of it yourself and read a good story, again, or maybe for the first time. It’s just a suggestion.

This past Wednesday a few of us traveled to the beautiful city of Scranton, PA to see WILCO. You’re probably thinking that nothing as magical as WILCO could ever exist in a city such as Scranton….but it did! It was a place much smaller than the State Theater! Their first time playing IN Scranton, it was a sold out show in a ballroom, specifically a Masonic Temple. Never before have I gone to see live music and stood still and just watched musicians play. They are completely mesmerizing. With no opener, they played extra long and Tweedy was extra chatty. At one point he even asked us to shut up and pointed out some kid’s “douchey-ness” because he was on the phone. It truly was phenomenal.

I figured out the WILCO formula. We all love their records in full, but live they play them usually out of order. One of my personal favorites, Forget the Flowers, was included along with other lesser-knowns like She’s A Jar.  They did play stuff from their latest- which isn’t the best (actually it’s probably the worst of their records.) But by the end of the evening, everyone was incredibly happy and satisfied. I would never change my first WILCO experience for anything in the world: perfect venue, perfect people, perfect band, perfect night.

Never before have I loved a band like I love WILCO. And I always said I don’t love anything enough to have it permanently tattooed on my body, but I’m reconsidering….just kidding mom.

My brain is still in WILCO LAND and probably will be forever now that I’ve breathed the same air as Jeff Tweedy. Now I have unfortunate duties of finishing and starting projects so I can graduate. So we all can graduate. Holy crap, it’s April 5th.

This is really damn cool. Simple, beautiful photographs of performers and stars we’ve loved over and over this year. The Oscars are coming up, with co-hosts (an unusual idea and I think one of the first, or only time they’re doing this) Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin…how can you lose?! Sunday March 7th –next Sunday!!

Check out today’s New York Times Magazine, its the feature.