*i won, i won*

I distinctly remember sitting on my grandfather's lap as a 7-year-old, explaining that i was the 2nd smartest kid in my 2nd grade class. I often see myself as a strong contender, but never the front runner. Which is why, at this particular moment, i am jumping up & down, yelling *i won, i won!*

Every december, i read rock writer Tom Semioli's Best of list. This year, to my surprise, i was on it.

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM FROM AN ARTIST BORN IN PHILADELPHIA

JESSIE TORRISI – BRÛLER BRÛLER (Wild Curls Music)

Ryan Adams, I think you married the wrong girl. You knew her as the ace glam-rock drummer in Unisex Salon, Les Fleurs Tragiques, and Laptop. On her debut solo outing (which translates as “burn burn” in French) Ms. Torrisi reemerges as a roots rock goddess. Loaded with hooks and a hazy behind-the-beat croon, cuts including “Hungry Like Me,” “X in Texas” and “Storm Clouds” ache in all the right places. Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne and Patty Griffin eat your heart out.

for your further entertainment:

Tom's Annual Best Of: Volume 13:

Friends, Roman Polanski, and Countrymen: loan me your ears! As a “distinguished music journalist,” (as per Grammy Award winning recording artist Jon Secada), voracious record collector, and semi-retired musician (with notable exceptions), I humbly share my abstract ruminations on the year in music as I heard it. As my new wife tolerates my numerous inadequacies (sexual, intellectual, emotional et al.) please beg my indulgence. Very few are chosen, and fewer still are called… have a great 2010, and remember to support live (and recorded) music!

--Tom Semioli

thank you, Tom Semioli.
thank you, New York City.
thank you, Rock 'n Roll!