As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors.
Nothing if not a model of consistency, Buffalo Tom has been making the same decent-to-great music since 1992’s Let Me Come Over. Actually the Massachusetts trio’s third album, Let Me Come Over feels more like a debut, as it zeroed in brilliantly on the group’s strengths, namely the earnest, imagery-laden, acoustic-gone-electric songwriting of guitarist Bill Janovitz and bassist Chris Colbourn and the propulsive punk undercurrents supplied by drummer Tom Maginnis. Judging by the band’s latest, Skins (Scrawny), it’s a formula that still has legs. Skins is the group’s eighth album and second since reuniting after a 10-year (sort-of) break, and its world-weary lilt and been-there/done-that themes make it the perfect grown-up companion piece to Let Me Come Over’s reluctant coming-of-age angst. It may be the best thing the band has done since that LP. Buffalo Tom will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with Janovitz and Colbourn.
Janovitz: We go pretty far back with Jon Stewart. having played on his MTV show, then having the honor of being invited to play his final syndicated show. When we wrapped up that final episode, he invited us into his office with his manager. It was a very somber moment, but of course, he met it with black humor. As is well-known, Jon went on to write books and have success with stand-up. We would hang out with him when he came through Boston. We were happy to have this comedian of our generation having success. He was “one of us,” which was a phenomenon in a larger sense in the early-/mid-’90s, as all these folks we met as college DJs or fanzine editors were now climbing the ladders and in charge of content in the mainstream. So, it was no surprise to see Jon take over The Daily Show and build it into something more successful. But I don’t know who would have predicted that he would become such a voice and influence in American politics. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to put him up there will Will Rogers and Lenny Bruce, if not Mark Twain. His satire is unsparing and has been necessary to keep so many of us sane for the past eight-plus years. But the recent episode with the September 11 first responders, and the edgy and angry satire leading up to it, demonstrates his service to the country. I can’t imagine this past decade without his voice, not to mention the sharp writing and acting from others on the show. So it was again an honor when, seemingly off the cuff, he mentioned us as one of his top three artists, along with Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen. I am not exaggerating when I say that was one of the highlights of my career. It’s that sort of stuff that makes it all worthwhile.
