Ride across the dam. Listen to that piano as I drive.

A band I hadn't thought about in over ten years took me back tonight. With the iPod on shuffle and a 90s compilation CD in the iPod, I was treated on a peaceful and quiet drive home to Mother Love Bone's exquisitly sad and moving "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns." Mother Love Bone was right there at the beginning of that whole Seattle grunge thing. Just before their first big major label release, singer Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose. The band was right there, ready to be what everyone was about to be crazy for. But..."the needle and the damage done."

Wood's former roommate, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, asked the surviving members of Mother Love Bone to record a few songs on a project that would later become a full Temple of the Dog album. Members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament would join with Eddie Vedder and become a part of the hugely successful and artistically strong Pearl Jam.

I knew of Mother Love Bone way back when not from radio play or MTV, but by the three coolest music lovers I ever had the pleasure of working with. Tina, Elena and Melissa of the old Turtle's Records on Nolensville Road were always finding the greatest alternative music months before anyone else knew anything about them. They'd come to work talking about some new band and you just learned to make a mental note to order ten of fifteen of that band's newest release for the day that we'd start getting people coming in looking for it. I miss my record store friends.

Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, all connected to Mother Love Bone. Seattle.