Mac Review Cast

There are few things I can say I am genuinely ashamed of but my memory, or lack there of is something that borders on embarrassing. If it is a Kodak moment you can be certain that the memory filter in my brain has somehow let the moment go – forever. I feel nauseated when people find out I saw some amazing show or spent time with a legendary musician because when they inevitably ask for the details I can only offer a mumbled “I’m sorry, I don’t really remember.”

Here are some things from my past that I know I have experienced but can barely recall.

1. I saw My Bloody Valentine in NYC on the Loveless tour. I think Babes in Toyland and The Screaming Trees opened? I remember MBV having the greasiest hair I have ever seen and that is about it.

2. The only thing I remember about having a meet and greet promotional dinner with Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs is someone at dinner kept harping on serial killers to the point where the conversation turned into totally inappropriate dinner conversation. Needless to say Mr. Butler excused himself from dinner in record time.

3. I saw New Order, PIL, and The Sugarcubes in the late 80’s and the only thing I can be certain of is it was the same week I got my driver’s license and it was at a NJ stadium.

4. I spent a full day being an unpaid extra in the Sonic Youth video for “Dirty Boots” and here is what I do remember:

I was picked the night before because I was at a secret Dinosaur Jr show at Maxwells In NJ and had a grunge band shirt on.

The director and her staff made the many of extras change clothes so they could sport grunge band shirts. (Yeah, those Das Damen shirts really lasted the test of time.)

At the end of the day I ended up with a hand drawn band tee-shirt prop from the shoot but have no clue how I got it.

I took the Path train back home to Hoboken with Steve Shelley post shoot.

There is a finished video where I appear for a split second.

5. The only thing that sticks with me in regards to yet another meet and greet promotional dinner was being in awe of the lovely and demure singer of the Sundays and that she could in fact out drink the entire table of us and talked like a truck driver after numerous pints.

6. I have seen the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Hole, Jesus Lizard, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Soul Asylum, Built To Spill, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse, Drive like Jehu, Failure, The Flaming Lips, Fugazi, Jawbreaker, Heavenly, The Lemonheads, All, Pavement…insert late 80s or 90s alterna rock band here…in places that held less than 300 hundred people and all I can tell you for the most part is yup, I was there.

7. There was a stadium bill with The Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Shellyan Orphan and sadly I can’t even recall in what city this took place. I just know I was there.

8. I can’t remember if it was The Smiths or Morrissey I saw at Madison Square Garden in the mid to late 80’s. Pathetic, I know.

9. I have spent a half week on tour with the White Stripes (my ex husband was in a band that opened for them years ago) and my singular memory of that week is giving Jack and Meg a box of Powerpuff Girl cereal that popped in your mouth like pop rocks.

10. I spent three days on tour with Voivod, Faith No More, and Soundgarden (one of the few perks of being a record store employee in the late 80’s - early 90s was getting hooked up with cool stuff like meet and greets and free tickets/tour passes) and all I remember is thinking WOAH! Mike Patton is pint sized and it sure snows a lot in Boston.

There are probably hundreds if not thousands of segments of memories like these so I will try to post about them when they pop into my head, mostly because God knows if I will remember any of this in 10 years at all. And no, I don’t do drugs, I am not a massive drinker, and I have never suffered from a massive head injury. I can’t even remember if I have always been like this. Sigh.