Whiskeytown - Pneumonia (Lost Highway, 2001)

Again, I have to wait until I get to Stranger's Almanac to tell my favorite/only Whiskeytown story (some of you already know it, or are tired of it). From reading this 2001 Magnet article about Ryan Adams, you probably don't want to hear this record at all... or maybe you do and can't stand not to. To know the drama that was swirling while they were making this record and then subsequently trying to release it for years later piled on top of the fact that it was an almost different crew than before, after Ryan fired everyone but a few, gives it something unique to me. Still one of the most rotated records in my collection. I remember my brother initially describing Don't be Sad as "nondescript" to which I agreed, but still liked it alongside most of the rest of the tracks. These are still some of the most well-crafted songs to me. The way Bar Lights seemingly falls apart at the end of the song (also signifying the end of the record and the end of Whiskeytown...other than the last steel drum track which is technically the last on the record, I guess) sums it all up pretty well when, at the end, Ryan forgets the words, then laughs, then breaks a string, then screams and then says "alright, im going to the bar, fuck this" after it just sort of... ends...I imagine Caitlin Cary and the rest looking around like "uh, what's he going to do now?"

Interesting liner note - James Iha plays guitar and backing vocals... never would have guessed it or heard it. Still dont know where or what he plays on this.

The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts (Hush/Kill Rock Stars, 2002)

Not my first Decemberists record, but one that struck me along with all the others. A little more acoustic in parts than the others, but the stories are all there told by one of the best storytellers, Colin Meloy and the gang. You will definitely hear more from me on this band. Thanks to my friend Jonathon for turning me on to them. Still one of the reasons we want to move to Portland someday.

Christie Front Drive - Anthology (Caulfield, 1995)

"All of these songs have been previously released on vinyl" is the top line on the back of Anthology, although nowhere on the album does it say Anthology. It was the self-titled Christie Front Drive record to me, but Anthology makes sense too, and at some point every song made it on either my radio show in college or a mix tape for someone. One reason this release was cool to me was since I wasn't hip enough to have all their 7"s or splits, having them all reissued here saved a lot of hunting (although I still like looking in the 7" rack just in case one of them is there). I found out about CFD after hearing the previously mentioned Crank! records mix Don't Forget to Breathe (to be covered in gross detail soon, hopefully). They were among the most credible emo bands and, to me, seemed more of a myth than reality. They toured with many of my favorite bands, but I never got to see them, sadly. I had looked forward to possibly seeing them in Denver, where they hail, when I left for school in Colorado, but they had already ceased touring and were breaking up - par for the course with bands in this era.

There was a lot to love about this band. The landscape they built had a certain hum to it that didn't sound like anyone else to me. I have heard absurd arguments that all emo bands sound alike, indie gets the same ignorant wrap, but no one else had the CFD sound. Each band in this genre, realm, style of music (whatever you wanna call it) was unique to me despite some common threads. I loved how they used their singing as another instrument. I could never actually understand most of what Eric Ricther was singing, which allowed me a little ownership of what I thought the words might be or could be when I would sing along, mostly with unintelligible murmurs to be honest. To this day, I know very few actual CFD lyrics, yet there are clear stories in my head about what all the songs mean... funny how that works. They were the kings of short song titles, like Turn, Dirt, Slide, and an obligatory song title of a number, 4010 (an emo standard). Now I Do was, and still is, one of my favorites and got the most rotation of all the tracks on this record. Below is the "action shot" of the boys in the moment. What I would give to have been in that crowd.