They say you never forget your first kiss, and they say you never forget your first crush. I can't remember either of those things, but I will never forget my first New York crush: at eighteen, he had pink hair and a huge smile and a David Byrne obsession. He was a punk kid, and I was painfully Midwestern, and sooner or later I realized that he wasn't at all into me and then we became the best friends we were meant to be.
Before that, though, he gave me a copy of The Weakerthans' first album, and it reeks so strongly of crushes to me that I still blush and feel gooey a little every time I listen to it. This is the feeling I associate with this band, who are smart and literate and endearing in all of the right ways. They have a new live album, Live At Burton Cummings Theater, out today, and it perfectly captures the band's essence and naturally contains all of their best songs. Here's a newer one that manages to get me singing along without the embarrassing blush factor.
