Vic Chesnutt 1964-2009

Fifteen years after the completion of college I often get nostalgic for the times my high school friends and I would get together during the winter holidays. Often my friend Dave, a student at the University of Georgia, would mention some new band he'd seen or met in Athens. Now Dave knew of what he spoke - he roomed with Elf Power's Anderw Reiger his freshman year and ended up as a close friend and collaborator with many of the Elephant 6 crew. Dave also introduced me to the music of fellow Athens resident, Vic Chesnutt.

In October of 1993, I got my first chance to see Vic as he opened for Bob Mould in Amherst, MA. What I remember most about that night was Vic's dark sense of humor, the earnestness of his singing and the gratitude he expressed to a fan who ran on stage to give him a grape soda. I followed Vic's career on and off over the years, always impressed with the number of artists I greatly respect with which he has worked (Kristin Hersh, Michael Stipe, the aforementioned Elf Power) . I've enjoyed the last two records immensely that feature his collaborations with Guy Picciotto from Fugazi and Thee Silver Mt. Zion. I got the chance to see him perform one last time on 10/29/09 in Baltimore.

A few weeks ago I was visiting my parents and my mother was listening to an interview with Vic on Fresh Air on NPR as she sewed. One focus of the interview was Vic's previous suicide attempts, which really struck a chord with my mother. Sadly, yet another attempt by Vic to take his life was successful and he died on Christmas Day.

Warm (mp3)
Rustic City Feathers (mp3)
You Are Never Alone (mp3)
Flirted With You All My Life (mp3)
Philip Guston (mp3)
Chain (mp3)

Top Tracks of the Decade

Spoon

100. Cursive “The Radiator Hums” (2000)
99. Gallows “In The Belly Of A Shark” (2006)
98. The (International) Noise Conspiracy “The Reproduction of Death” (2000)
97. Interpol “Obstacle 1” (2002)
96. Antony and the Johnsons “Hope There’s Someone” (2005)
95. Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” (2005)
94. Channels “Chivaree” (2006)
93. Rise Against “Give It All” (2004)
92. The Mendoza Line “Catch A Collapsing Star” (2005)
91. Outkast “B.O.B.” (2000)
90. The Hold Steady “Stay Positive” (2008)
89. Belle & Sebastian “Funny Little Frog” (2006)
88. The Von Bondies “C’mon C’mon” (2004)
87. Koufax “Why Bother At All” (2005)
86. Band of Horses “The Funeral” (2006)
85. The Thermals “A Pillar Of Salt” (2006)
84. Erin McKeown “Rhode Island Is Famous For You” (2007)
83. Gnarls Barkley “Just A Thought” (2006)
82. Bad Religion “Heroes & Martyrs” (2007)
81. Johnny Foreigner “Our Bi-Polar Friends” (2007)
80. The Clientele “My Own Face Inside The Trees” (2005)
79. Radiohead “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)
78. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (2007)
77. Okkervil River “The Latest Toughs” (2005)
76. Palomar “Our Haunt” (2007)
75. Feist “1 2 3 4” (2007)
74. Ted Leo/Pharmacists “The Toro And The Toreador” (2007)
73. Jennifer O’Connor “The Color And The Light” (2005)
72. Cat Power “Lived In Bars” (2006)
71. Interpol “The Heinrich Maneuver” (2007)
70. The Hold Steady “The Swish” (2004)
69. The Murder City Devils “Idle Hands” (2000)
68. Peter Bjorn and John “Young Folks” (2007)
67. Okkervil River “Our Life Is A Movie Or Maybe” (2007)
66. The Mountain Goats “Sax Rohmer #1” (2008)
65. The White Stripes “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” (2001)
64. Sufjan Stevens “Casimir Pulaski Day” (2005)
63. Stars “Bitches In Tokyo” (2007)
62. Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone” (2004)
61. The New Pornographers “My Rights Versus Yours” (2007)
60. Tortoise & Bonnie “Prince” Billy “It’s Expected I’m Gone” (2006)
59. The Shins “Kissing The Lipless” (2003)
58. Gnarls Barkley “Run” (2008)
57. The Murder City Devils “Bear Away” (2001)
56. Crooked Fingers “Your Control” (2008)
55. Thao with The Get Down Stay “Swimming Pools” (2008)
54. Neko Case “This Tornado Loves You” (2009)
53. Parts & Labor “Nowheres Nigh” (2008)
52. The National “Mr. November” (2005)
51. Feist “I Feel It All” (2007)
50. Plus/Minus “Leap Year” (2006)
49. Ted Leo/Pharmacists “Timorous Me” (2001)
48. The Thermals “A Stare Like Yours” (2004)
47. The Mountain Goats “No Children” (2002)
46. Bon Iver “Blood Bank” (2009)
45. Ted Leo/Pharmacists “Parallel Or Together” (2001)
44. Andrew Bird “Plasticities” (2007)
43. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros “Coma Girl” (2003)
42. Trail of Dead “Another Morning Stoner” (2002)
41. The Twilight Singers “Teenage Wristband” (2003)
40. Rainer Maria “Ears Ring” (2003)
39. Bloc Party “Helicopter” (2005)
38. Pretty Girls Make Graves “Speakers Push The Air” (2002)
37. The National “Mistaken For Strangers” (2007)
36. Eric Bachmann “Lonesome Warrior” (2006)
35. TV on the Radio “Staring At The Sun” (2004)
34. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” (2003)
33. Polvo “Beggar’s Bowl” (2009)
32. Sleater-Kinney “Entertain” (2005)
31. Pretty Girls Make Graves “All Medicated Geniuses” (2003)
30. William Elliott Whitmore “Dry” (2006)
29. Neko Case “That Teenage Feeling” (2006)
28. The White Stripes “Seven Nations Army” (2003)
27. The Walkmen “The Rat” (2004)
26. Spoon “The Underdog” (2007)
25. Anders Parker “Innocents” (2004)
24. Cat Power “He War” (2002)
23. Iron & Wine “Such Great Heights” (2004)
22. The Hold Steady “Constructive Summer” (2008)
21. Les Savy Fav “The Equestrian” (2007)
20. Eric Bachmann “Little Bird” (2006)
19. Ted Leo/Pharmacists “Me And Mia” (2004)
18. PJ Harvey “One Line” (2000)
17. The National “All The Wine” (2005)
16. Sufjan Stevens “Chicago” (2005)
15. The Gang “Sea So” (2008)
14. The Hold Steady “Stuck Between Stations” (2006)
13. Canyon “Blankets And Shields” (2002)
12. Rachel’s “Last Things Last” (2003)
11. Crooked Fingers “Under Pressure” (2002)
10. Ted Leo/Pharmacists “Biomusicology” (2001)
9. Bon Iver “Skinny Love” (2008)
8. The New Pornographers “The Bleeding Heart Show” (2005)
7. Arcade Fire “Intervention” (2007)
6. At The Drive In “One Armed Scissor” (2000)
5. The Wrens “Hopeless” (2003)
4. Pretty Girls Make Graves “By The Throat” (2002)
3. The Wrens “Everyone Choose Sides” (2003)
2. Arcade Fire “Rebellion (Lies)” (2004)
1. Spoon “The Way We Get By” (2002)

Top Tracks of 2009

Polvo

Alright, here's my annual attempt at ranking my favorite tracks of the year. I'm sure the list will be completely different in a month after I've had a chance to read all the different lists the interweb provides. Enjoy.

Honorable Mention: Screaming Females – “Bell”; Flight Of The Conchords – “Sugalumps”; Morrissey – “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”; Phoenix – “1901”; Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”; Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Shine”

20. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions – “Blanchard” – The Mazzy Star front woman returns from the dead 15 years later. Fade into you, indeed.

19. Tortoise – “Prepare Your Coffin” – The COOLEST band in the world.

18. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band – “Anchors Dropped” – I was sad that The Oxford Collapse broke up, luckily these guys sound very similar.

17. The Submarines – “Waiting For A War” – My buddy Mike used to live in the residence above the male half of The Submarines, John Dragonetti (aka Jack Drag) in Somerville, MA so I owe him a big thanks for introducing me to this band.

16. Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – “When We Swam” – I saw Thao last month at the Black Cat. She can’t be but five feet tall but holy crap, once she gets going she’s a one woman wrecking crew.

15. Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move” – OK NPR, I’ll give you credit for convincing me to listen to this one.

14. Andrew Bird – “Fitz and Dizzy Spells” – The highlight of a really great album, Noble Beast.

13. Spoon – “Got Nuffin” – Like I’ve stated before, Britt Daniel is this decade’s Paul Westerberg.

12. Polvo – “Lucia” – This is my Stairway to Heaven of 2009.

11. Superchunk – “Learned To Surf” – The best thing they’ve done since 1995’s Here Where The Strings Come In.

10. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes – “Home” – The crew on NPR’s All Songs Considered wouldn’t stop talking about this band after SXSW, but surprisingly (or not, depending on your NPR proclivities) this song is great.

9. The Mountain Goats – “Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Grace” – This Darnielle cat can write some seriously good songs even when he’s copping from the Bible.

8. Telekinesis – “Coast of Carolina” – For what it’s worth, this was Carrie Brownstein’s song of the year.

7. The Very Most – “Today It Is Even Better” – The second best pop song of the year next to #5.

6. The Thermals – “Now We Can See” – The best sing-along chorus of the year.

5. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Young Adult Friction” – see #7.

4. Animal Collective – “My Girls” - It has taken years for me to give these guys a chance. This song was the breakthrough.

3. Neko Case – “This Tornado Loves You” – Best live show of the year (4/8/09 at the 9:30 Club, WDC). Amazing song about a tornado falling in love with a child.

2. Bon Iver – “Blood Bank" – Recorded during the For Emma, Forever Ago session it would have battled for best song on that album. How’d it get left off?

1. Polvo – “Beggar’s Bowl” – I was eagerly awaiting the return of Polvo after their 12-year layoff and those of us who were patient were rewarded with an amazing collection of songs on In Prism highlighted by “Beggar’s Bow”. If “Lucia” was my “Stairway to Heaven” for 2009 then “Beggar’s Bowl” is my “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. Driving bass, odd time signatures, four musicians who can play the shit out of their instruments ~ Viva la rock mathematique!