Songs That Aaron Cometbus Taught Me

Yesterday over at The Rumpus, Aaron Lake Smith shared what I think might be the best essay on one of my favorite writers, Aaron Cometbus. I’ve been reading the self-published zines of Mr. Cometbus for about fifteen years now, and my reaction to seeing a new issue in an indie bookstore will always be one of excitement, as will any writings on him.

While Cometbus is one of the best and most underrated writers of the last 30 years, his contribution to music is usually overshadowed by his writing or his more famous bandmates. Would anybody have even heard of his fantastic songwriting for Pinhead Gunpowder if Billie Joe Armstrong’s band Green Day had not become one of the biggest bands in the world? Would people have made such a buzz over the short lived project, The Thorns of Life, had Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil) not been involved?

Honestly, I don’t think so, which is a shame. Of all the great albums to come out of the Bay Area punk renaissance of the early 1990′s, I’d say Jump Salty by Pinhead Gunpowder is one of the best — only eclipsed by sentimental favorites like Dookie and stuff by J Church.

I’ll let you make your own decision. Here are a few samples of videos from the musical world that Aaron Cometbus has been known to occupy. From Crimpshrine to his last (known) band with Schwarzenbach.

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