💔
I well and truly loved Dave.
Interviewed him on several occasions and just hung out with him in PDX on many others.
It is so rare to meet someone in life who is so open to new ideas, new concepts, new music, new humans.
He will be sorely missed. An incredible musician (with an absolutely GOLDEN indie CV) but also one of the most original minds I ever encountered.
Apr 7, 2025
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Charles R. Cross was my first music editor ever in his role at the late, great Rocket Magazine, where he shepherded the paper's coverage of the "grunge" movement and defined an era of Seattle music. He was the author of some of the rock genre’s finest writing - bestselling biographies of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and others that essentially defined what ‘great music writing’ looked like. Charlie was warm, gracious, passionate and had a wickedly droll sense of humor; when he gathered us for a Rocket reunion in Seattle years after its demise, we all remembered just how scathingly funny he could be (it should also be noted that the Rocket diaspora included writers who went on to found No Depression and wrote for some of the biggest and best publications out there including Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Mojo, the NY Times and LA Times, etc -- so clearly the standards were HIGH). Charlie turned my fanboy scribblings and rants into actual writing and criticism and I'll remain forever grateful to one of the best music journalists ever. Condolences to his son Ashland and his many friends and fans. R.I.P. 😇
Aug 12, 2024
If you love Silver Jews, Purple Mountains, his books "Actual Air" and "The Portable February"
Then you miss Berman as much as I do.
I only caught him live once, in Portland, OR back in 2006 with his friend/fellow Silver Jew/PDX resident Stephen Malkmus accompanying him. It was an amazing evening. I had been a fan a long time by that point and the setlist literally covered the waterfront.
“It was the light in things that made them last,” Berman wrote in his poem “Governors on Sominex.” I'm grateful that David lasted as long as he did. His perfect, specific work will stand the test of time for a long time to come.
You can read Pitchfork's beautifully written tribute here.
Jan 4, 2025
Aka Buster Poindexter.
The Dolls were godhead in the day and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler owes his whole PERSONA to him.
RIP king 👑
Mar 2, 2025
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
The man responsible for dozens of Teenage Symphonies to God
"Sad songs about happy things" (the first time, as a kid, I can recall the sweet/sour combo of melodies that could make you cry attached to songs about endless, bottomless love)
I've long since lost track of how many weddings and funerals I've attended that have featured this song; suffice it to say, "a lot."
God only knows what we'd been without him 🙏🏻
Jun 11, 2025
May 22, 2025
Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024