Gang – A combination of big events and no web access at home has kept me from posting much, but MFR should be back to business as usual by late next week.  In the last month CA and I have gotten married, moved, Mars Lights has recorded drum tracks for a 10-song LP, I’ve been mastering Strawberry Burns and mixing The Sleepover…  ‘lotta stuff.  Dark Satellites has been practicing and will be playing a couple shows in Sept/Oct, so we’ll see you soon with new noise. -h

My list of top albums since the Pitchfork site’s debut is up at http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/57dee1f7/

You can make your own list here.

I was surprised at some of the records I had to enter – Pavement’s Brighten the Corners, Neutral Milk Hotel’s On Avery Island, The Afghan Whigs’ Black Love – which got Cory wondering about the demographics of current Pitchfork readers.  I started reading Pitchfork in college, and just never stopped, so I had assumed that the main audience is my peers (the kids would have their own sites, or just use the FaceTweet(tm) ), but now I wonder if it’s actually younger.

The list is a weird mix of records I love and that have been widely influential or culturally significant, and records I just plain love.  That’s how Hang-Ups got ahead of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.  I also didn’t stress the actual rankings much, after the top 10; they’re rough, so don’t flip if it looks like I put something timeless (Stankonia?) below something I just like a lot (Perfecting Lonliness).  I might agree with you!

Finally, I had a tough time with bands that have made several great records, but didn’t have an easy choice for Their Best Ever.  The Arcade Fire was the hardest one of these.  All three of their albums are really good, and they definitely deserve a high spot on my list, but I wasn’t going to put them all up high, so I put Funeral up there and tacked on the others toward the end.  Jimmy Eat World was a pickle, too.  I wanted them on the list, but couldn’t choose between Bleed American and Clarity, which I love and think are important for different reasons, so I included both, which gives them more weight than they should have, but seemed like the best compromise.

Anyway, it was fun, and I’m looking forward to the results.  If you do your own list, comment here & include the link!  -h

Earlier this spring, I got to master the new Shipbuilding Co. record (out Aug. 21), and one of the songs, “St. Elizabeth,” is streaming over at Greyday Records.  Shipbuilding Co. is masterminded by Mike from Head of Femur, and shares some DNA with that band, but the players he recruited for this album add great twists to his 60s-influenced pop sound.  Enjoy, and if you like “St. Elizabeth,” I can promise that the album holds many more nuggets of catchy goodness for you!

Scientist, professor, and first American woman in space Sally Ride died on July 23.  If you haven’t reminded yourself of her place in our history since then, her Wikipedia page and the Sally Ride Science site are good starts.

I remember learning about Ride in early elementary school, and getting a strong sense that what she was doing was significant; something we would look back on for its own sake, and also as a symbol of women’s empowerment.  Her example stuck with me.

There are several reasons I named my solo band after her, but the important thing now is to share, explicitly, that I think I have done it in good faith, to draw attention to her life and work.  Too many of my peers, on first hearing the name, confuse her with Christa McAuliffe, and while McAuliffe deserves the recognition, I would not use her name for a band.  My point is that Sally Ride’s story still needs to be told, and my aim is to be one who tells it.

If anyone from Ride’s family or the Sally Ride Science organization want to discuss the use of her name, I invite them to contact me via the comments on this post or privately through this website’s profile and messaging functions.  If I’m hindering them in any way, I want to know, and change.

Before every SR album I’ve released, I’ve thought about what Ride might think of the music if she heard it.  I haven’t changed anything because of that, but I’ve made sure it’s all stuff I think she could respect.  Not knowing about her partner at the time, now I’m even happier with my decision about the Teacher and Barman’s relationship in Boots.

I lose probably a couple hundred dollars per year on the band, between website hosting, maintaining my gear, and setting no price on our albums.  If that ever changes, I will certainly arrange for a percentage to go to Sally Ride Science.

Her life, work, and story are the important things.  Learn something new about her today, and speak for her when you have the opportunity.

EDIT TO ADD, MAY 27 2025: I stopped using “Sally Ride” as an artist name after 2015’s Valiance in favor of “M/S Ride,” and have been working behind the scenes for a couple of years to change all the old stuff over to “M/S Ride.” The public change-over was already next on my MFR to-do list, but the release of the trailer for the upcoming documentary “Sally” has been an additional prompt to make the moves now.

sallyride.bandcamp.com is now msride.bandcamp.com, and the album artwork reflects the change as well. I’m in the process of updating every post on the site; direct references and links to albums will simply change, and post body text will have a strikethrough on Sally followed by “M/S.”

Dr. Sally Ride remains a hero of mine. I look forward to seeing the documentary, and I hope it does well.

I’ve been upgrading my gear a bit lately.  It started with the idea of converting my rack tom into a snare (which ended up not happening), and has gone from there:

• My drum kit, a ’60s vintage Slingerland, gold sparkle wrap, didn’t come with a matching snare when I got it.  The first idea for how to gin one up was to convert the 13″ rack tom to a snare, and use the floor tom (mounted up in the rack space!).  Before actually doing that, I started watching eBay for gold sparkle snares and marching snares, and found out that marching snare shells and whole drums can sometimes be picked up for a reasonable price.  I picked up a good matching shell (14″), and then a regular snare to strip the hardware from, and then, won an auction on a whole drum (15″, from 1958, to boot)!  So I’ve been playing with the 15″, and am still putting together the 14″; just waiting for the tension rods to come in.  Not sure which one I’ll use, or if I’ll send one on its merry way via Matt or craigslist once I’ve compared them.
• I’ve needed a little powered PA for solo gigs for a while, and with the wedding coming up, it’s probably time to do it.  The KC area craigslist hasn’t yielded any results yet, and in case I need to go new, I think the Alto TS series (10″, 12″, and 15″ – 12″ linked here) looks good.  If you have any experience with these, please leave a comment!
• In the course of searching for PAs, I happened on a Sunn Concert Bass amp for sale, cheap.  It matches my 2×15″ Sunn cabinet, looks cool, sounds great, and I got a deal due to a broken distortion channel (I hope it’s just a matter of a quick solder or new pot).  I will definitely be unloading my Peavey bass amp – tube pre, lots of power – so if you’re interested, get in touch, before it goes on craigslist.
• I picked up an EV RE320 mic in preparation for the Ventura drum sessions.  Similar to a Shure SM-7, it’s a broadcast vocal mic that also works well for kick drum and acoustic instruments, and with a slightly better frequency response, reputation for point-and-shoot application (vs. the SM-7’s fussiness re; positioning), and lower price tag, I’m pretty excited about it as a workhorse mic.  It’s still in the box, though; I’m hoping to set up drums this coming weekend for recording.
• CA’s buying me a guitar for an engagement present – I’ve still never had a new electric, almost 10 years after plugging howie&scott in! – and Saturday I spent a long time with an Epiphone Sheraton, the closest thing the store had to what I think I want, an Epi ES 345.  It felt great; I’m about two inches from ordering one.

Re-posted on behalf of Casey

As some of you may already know, I am a record collector. I am currently seeking out other record collectors to participate in a research study concerning the reasons why they choose to collect vinyl records. The study will consist of 15 to 20 interview questions regarding your personal experience with record collecting. Dependent upon your responses, the interviews may last at least an hour. This is a voluntary opportunity and I cannot provide you any compensation for your participation. Because record collecting is a domestic activity, I intend to conduct these interviews in either my home or the homes of those that are interested. Essentially, I would like to talk about records while listening to records. None of your personal information will be shared publicly. For your participation, this study requires you to be a Nebraska resident who is between the ages of 19 and 70 years old. This study also requires that you identify yourself as someone who collects records. However, this study does not require that you own a certain amount of records. If you agree to the criteria and meet the qualifications or if you have any questions related to this study please contact me via email at clcrawford -at- unomaha.edu.
Thanks for reading,
Casey Crawford
Graduate Student
UNO Department of Communication

That’s Loretta Lynn, speaking with Tavis Smiley last fall.  It’s a brilliant, clear insight, and true to my experience.

I’m afraid to diminish the impact of the quote with too much commentary, but briefly, I think the process unfolds as follows.  As we create – write, sing, record, film, whatever – we naturally discover our limitations; some may be easily overcome with practice or learning new techniques, others are more deep-seated.  We strive to realize our vision in the face of these limitations, and in working creatively with them, maybe by learning something that lets us dissolve them, or avoiding them, or approaching them from a fresh angle, style (or what I sometimes have called “aesthetic voice”) emerges.

I like limitations.  They don’t need to be simply accepted; I like them because, in discovering and working creatively with them, they provide direction, which is simultaneously productive and a buffer against the paralysis and terror of aesthetic freedom.