Friend to the (indie rock) stars, the Backstage Rider set sail for Mexico aboard a big honking cruise ship with Weezer, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Yuck, Nervous Wreckords, and a ton more as part of the redonkulous Weezer Cruise. Here’s the start of my EPIC four-day diary series. Part 1, Thursday.

…in which our heroine finds herself travelling from Seattle to Vancouver on board the Dinosaur Jr tourbus and crying great tears of laughter as we cross the border. Also includes: Nardwuar, Devon from Beekeeper and ear plugs.

I spent two days on the road in Seattle and Vancouver with Dinosaur Jr as they toured and played their 1988 classic “Bug” in its entirety, and were interviewed on stage by former Black Flag icon Henry Rollins. It was, in a word, EPIC. Read/see now. Here’s Part 1: Seattle

What’s the point of looking back? Here’s the BackstageRider Top 11 Things to Look Forward to in 2012 (so far) with a bit of back-looking, I admit, in the form of musicks I did very much enjoy as well as some guesses about what might be awesome next year.