What song would you use to describe your current relationship?

Built to Spill is another band the Mrs and I love and mainly relate to our time in Seattle and since. We’ve see them probably close to ten times, between Seattle, Buffalo, and one time in Cleveland.

I picked this song because I am constantly astonished at how talented and smart she is… how much she has taught me over the years. Parenting, life, learning confidence in myself, and more.

Mainly she has taught me to exist outside of my comfort zone. Can’t thank her enough for that…

Every now's a big surprise Help me to get through this Stay with me until I die There's nothing else I want to try

Describe music that reminds you of a specific place you've traveled.

Modest Mouse always felt like driving music to me... maybe because it was always in the CD player on road trips in college.

When Melisa and I moved out west to Seattle after college it was part of the soundtrack of our trip and all of our wacky adventures, as we drove from Buffalo to Seattle on the I-90. The circus museum in Baraboo, WI... the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD ... Mount Rushmore and the Badlands in SD... Devil's Tower and Yellowstone in WY...

When we arrived in Seattle we had no place to live, Melisa had a job with the AmeriCorps on Whidbey Island... me, nothing. Just the few hundred dollars in our bank account and what we could fit in a van. It was all surreal, looking back. Pulling into the city we chose to live, but had never been to before... the mountains and the trees that just don't exist on the East Coast.

A friend of a friend lived in Seattle, so they let us sleep on the floor for a few nights while we looked for an apartment. That first night, appropriately enough, Modest Mouse was playing in the cafeteria on the UW campus. It felt meant to be... it was our first time seeing Modest Mouse (and many more to come... one of the great benefits of living out there at the time!)

It's the kind of experience you can only really have at that point in your life. I cherish those memories.

No prompt for me today, just another track from an album I've been enjoying. This time "Wings" off of 2 by Foxwarren.

(Yes, I'm trying to get through the backlog of albums for a Crucial Releases post!)

Not using a prompt today, but only because I’ve really been enjoying the new Ben Kweller album. And this song is stellar.

What's a song you initially disliked but now love?

I am ashamed to admit it, but I used to dislike The Tragically Hip. Gasp.

Well, maybe not gasp, unless you are from Canada or a border town I'm not entirely sure how popular The Hip are... they are legends around here, though. And deservedly so...

The reasons were shallow and dumb, in a teenage way. It's easy to dislike things that are popular when you are struggling to find your identity in middle school and high school. I gravitated to hardcore, punk, and hip hop. So the alternative band that is popular with all of the "cool" kids was not an option.

Funny enough, I honestly don't even know if I actually heard a song from them in those days. I just knew everyone talked about them, so it was a dealbreaker.

Some distance and maturity later, I gave Phantom Power a shot. I picked up the CD during our first trip to Vancouver when we lived in Seattle. It quickly became a favorite... which led to all of their back catalog. I was sold.

I got to see Gord Downie (solo), finally, in 2014 at the Field Trip festival in Toronto. Just an amazing artist, poet, and human being. He is missed dearly – especially now.

What song feels like a secret between you and the artist?

What a tough prompt. I felt like I had to pick a singer-songwriter for this one... I felt weird picking a hardcore song or something more aggressive. That kind of music certainly doesn't feel like a secret!

So, I went with one of my favorite songs from Indigo Sparke.

The lyrics speak to me... she touches on that feeling when things are kind of questionable/shaky and there's a lot of self talk... the anxiety of not knowing if things will work out... that feeling of being a little lost and unsure, but eventually making it through... and being able to breathe again.

I can certainly think of a few periods in my life where this feeling was prevalent, so hearing it in song form feels very validating.

When no one is around The conversation with myself The big old house is talking Smoke dancing in the wind

Time is a circle and time is a cage I got lost in the void, but now I burn I burn through

Wide mouth open Clouds fall, will you follow me? I've made it to the wasteland Of my forgotten screams And I'm alive and hungry I taste the salt of my fears All this holy silence in my bones I fall through

And there's a pressure in my chest A pressure in my chest Pressure in my chest, my breath

What song makes you think of your childhood home?

My parents had s small-ish, but high quality classic rock record collection and one of my favorites was Heart's Dreamboat Annie. I had to pick "Crazy On You" off this album – it's such a great rock song.

I can still picture my parents record player in our living room. Faux wood panel walls. Shaggy carpet. Lots of good memories.

What’s your favorite track one on a debut album?

Geez there are so many good ones to consider. Looking back at some of my favorite artists and albums, it's interesting how many debut albums have their "hit" at track 2. Could be happenstance or is it a strategy? I absolutely love finding a debut album that hits you the moment the first track kicks in, but I can also see the strategy of hitting listeners with a good, but not great, song #1 and then REALLY hit them with track #2.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite debuts:

• "Sailin' On" by Bad Brains
• "The Mother We Share" by Chvrches
• "The Magic Number" by De La Soul
• "Miracle" by Elliott
• "Cut Self Not" by Faraquet
• "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + the Machine
• "Ether" by Gang of Four
• "Untitled" by Interpol
• "catalogue" by julie
• "Gasoline" by Karate
• "Dramamine" by Modest Mouse
• "Fear Not of Man" by Mos Def
• "NY State of Mind" by Nas
• "Set Out Running" by Neko Case
• "Mass Romantic" by The New Pornographers
• "In Your Head" by Nilufer Yanya
• "Smoke Signals" by Phoebe Bridgers
• "Mysterons" by Portishead
• "Speakers Push the Air" by Pretty Girls Make Graves
• "Fazer" by Quicksand
• "Run the Jewels" by Run the Jewels
• "Blood Bath" by Saintseneca
• "Caring is Creepy" by The Shins
• "Underwhelmed" by Sloan
• "Seven" by Sunny Day Real Estate
• "Push it Along" by A Tribe Called Quest
• "Mansard Roof" by Vampire Weekend
• "My Name is Jonas" by Weezer
• "I Must by High" by Wilco
• "Rich" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I ended up picking "Speakers Push the Air" because the lyrics fit the prompt so well:

Life's complications and frustrations They disappear when the music starts playing I found a place where it feels alright I heard a record and it opened my eyes

Do you remember when we couldn't put it away? Do you remember what the music meant?

Turn it up loud.

What’s a hidden gem you wish more people knew about?

Could have used Saintseneca here as well, but will go with another underrated artist I wish more people knew about: Ella Williams aka Squirrel Flower.

She does the indie folk/indie rock thing better than most and is an excelling lyricist. I highly recommend her last three full lengths: I Was Born Swimming (2020), Planet (I) (2021), and Tomorrow's Fire (2023).

Got this album on vinyl for my birthday. Been listening to it a lot. So good.