I almost never hear anyone talk about this record, but it is absolutely my favorite Green Day record.
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You could blame my individualistic, anti-authoritarian worldview on being of Scottish via Appalachian descent. Or, you could say it is because I’m an only child who spent the first twelve years of his life living in the country with no kids around. However, even if those things are true, it was punk rock that solidified it. It was punk rock that gave me not only a reason to do what I dreamed of, but a way to do the things I dreamed of.
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It took me awhile to appreciate the Ataris. All these years later, I can admit it was a bit of jealousy. Kris and I were never friends, but I used to see him all the time at shows in Indianapolis, mostly at the Emerson Theater, and also at A-1 Records in Anderson.
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This record is not their masterpiece, but it certainly blew people minds and gave you glimpses into the music to come.
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If we all met other people’s expectations, we’d all have medical degrees, our parents would all still be married and John would have left Yoko and the Beatles would have been together until George Harrison died.
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I paid homage to Chris Bell on the cover of my 2021 single, “Overwhelming”. I shot it myself in the course of a few minutes, with help from my friend Dave to make sure my tripod didn’t blow over on a windy Colorado day. In recent years, Chris has started to catch up with his former bandmate Alex Chilton in posthumous “cool credibility”, but I have long been as connected to, if not more, Chris’s musical talents as I have Alex’s.
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1) When it comes to people, there are no equal transactions, there are no “I owe you ones”… there is only giving of yourself for the sole purpose of giving. That is not to say I don’t get things back in return, but only that it’s never equal. With some folks, I’ve received more than I’ve given to them and many others I’ve given to them more than I received and, almost never, has it been anywhere near to equal.
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As I still try and navigate my way out of this season of my life, the time to reflect has been helpful. It’s hard to tell sometimes when clarity is creeping in, but I can say I am working my way towards some peace.
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Ryan Adams has been so prolific dating back to his time in Whiskeytown in the 1990s that, possibly aside from Heartbreaker, his solo debut, you could say all of his records are under-appreciated.
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When you saw Natalie Imbruglia’s name, you immediately thought of “Torn” didn’t you?
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I grew up six miles down the road from the house John grew up in on Indiana Highway 11. Me, just north of Jonesville in Bartholomew County, and he just north of Rockford in Jackson County. Of course, he’s 28 ½ years older than me, but as I was becoming aware of music, his musical shadow was a long one in Southern Indiana. Some of my earliest memories are of driving around on the country roads and my folks having a collection of great cassettes in the car: Eliminator (ZZ Top), Learning to Crawl (The Pretenders) and Uh Huh and American Fool by John.
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