Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64, Eyes of the Storm – a beautifully curated and deftly installed exhibit with about 250 photographs by Sir Beatle. The exhibit is as much about photography as it is about a young man making documentary souvenirs of a trip to America where he coincidentally is the center of attention. Even if one wasn’t a Beatles fan, this is worth seeing. There’s also a book of these photos, entitled Eyes of the Storm as well, which was published in 2023, and one I bought at that time. It was a delight to see the photos enlarged, sometimes to the size of an entire wall! A large part of why I enjoyed this so much is that the photos are from 1963 and 1964… the cars, the clothes, the buildings – all with such individuality and character.
Here are 10 records from 2025 that I listened to A LOT and enjoyed for various reasons. Heavy on the “friends” aspect as it is mostly people I know or have worked with, and artists I have loved my entire life, so their records are like old friends.
- Life Death and Dennis Hopper – The Waterboys
- The Melancholy Season – Benmont Tench
- Horror – Mekons
- Dear Life – David Gray
- Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On
- Neil Young – Oceanside Countryside
- Patterson Hood – Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams
- Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
- Taj Mahal and Keb Mo’ – Room on the Porch
- Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman
Here’s some writing that I read and enjoyed
- 33 1/3 John Cale Paris 1919 – Mark Doyle
- Heartbreaker – Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
- Girl to Country, a Memoir – Amy Rigby
- We Never Took a Bad Picture – Ashley Roth
- Separation of Church and Hate – John Fugelsang
- Newsletter – www.radio-nowhere.com/ – Caryn Rose
Best things of the Year were:
seeing Amy Rigby in a dive bar in the afternoon, playing acoustic and reading from her book. It was like a high school reunion, and her first book was about her journey from her PA home to NYC, and this one is about her journey from NYC to Nashville, where I live, and where I saw her perform. It is a delight to see a woman of my own generation (she and I are a year apart, age-wise) still doing it DIY and making a real good go at it – AND marrying her punk rock dreamboat to boot.
seeing Billy Idol and Joan Jett on tour together. They have been pals since my punk rock best friend and I introduced them in 1978 and them touring together is the Best Thing of the Year because I feel like my misspent youth has made a material impact on the world. Billy did all sorts of promo celebrating the wild party we threw for them! He is still in good voice. Joan Jett is still a badass, and I enjoyed her ranting from the stage about how we have a hateful White House. When she sings “Everyday People,” I know she means it. She too is in good voice.
getting a last minute invite to see Booker T. Jones play in a church converted into a performance space. Another old familiar fave but, as he said, he’s 81 years old. He’s got a lot of stories. He played “Green Onions” about the 4th song in. He didn’t jerk us around. He delivered in church, playing organ, piano, AND guitar and singing.
And that’s all I can remember without looking things up, so it’s the memorable best of my year!
Read our interview with Theresa Kereakes and her interview with Melanie Nissen for chickfactor.