Imagine how maddening it must be to find out that, for the past 20 years, you’ve been ignoring a major voice in the indie universe. And he was right under your nose in ‘96 when that second Sweet Relief compilation, Gravity of the Situation – The Songs of Vic Chesnutt, hit the shelves. Sure, you can be forgiven for allowing the bigger names on the first Sweet Relief (like Pearl Jam and Soul Asylum) cause you to forget that the second one even came out.

But when you keep hearing the name “Vic Chesnutt” pop up in conversation and appear in print pretty regularly over the years, and still you can’t remember whether you’ve even heard the guy before… what kind of insanity is that?

Forget the fact that he’s from Athens, GA. Or that he’s been bound to a wheelchair since an accident he suffered at the age of 18. Or that it was the girl with the guano-covered back who turned you on to this dude’s quietly biting, ironic lyrical sensibility that expresses pain without any need or desire for pity. Or that he’s probably more vital than you are at this very moment. (If you think I’m talking to myself right now, you might be right. But I’ll never tell you one way or the other. Admit it, you love a mystery.) (more…)