2005

Journal Entry: September 9, 1985
Diane arrived tonight. She was glad to get out of College Station for the weekend to get away from her housemates whom she does not particularly like. Anyhow, she arrived, and then a veritable flock of Dentonites (Russell, Susan , Scott, Paula, and Greg) descended upon our apartment. After an hour or so of listening to records, Scott and Paula went spinning off in some other direction while Mark, Diane, and the remainder of the Denton flock went to The Beach to hear and dance to a band called “Zeitgeist”. I stayed home and made vanilla pudding. (2005 comment: What a mistake!)
-Clark Thompson (Sept. 16, 2005)

I would like to thank any and all of the Reivers, should they read this forum.

My Reivers story is this: My high school-to-college boyfriend gave me a cassette of Pop Beloved in 1993, and it shook my world. I was born in Texas but raised in Portland, Oregon, so I’ve always had a soft spot for alternative rock with a country feel. But that oversimplifies the Reivers. They did at that time what they have always managed to do: to speak to me in such an intimate and personal way, to fit into my life, whether I’m 19 or 31. That’s what great music is all about.

I used to sing “Chinatown” over and over, alone at night in my apartment. Now, I sing it to my 9 1/2 month-old son Sebastian when I put him to bed. The discussion about depression in “You Can Do What You Want to Do,” (I may be off on the title, as they have worn off of my much-used tape), a song which I understood to be about depression, got me through lots of, well, depression. My husband has picked up the chords to “Katie” (“Katie’s workin’ harder than me, makin’ her way eventually…” God, I love those lyrics!), and we sing it quite often. I could go on; they’re all great songs.

I’ve still got that old run-down tape of Pop Beloved, and like many others on this forum, it’s one of my top 10 of all time (along with “Surfer Rosa” by the Pixies, “Woodface” by Crowded House, and “Gentlemen” by the Afghan Whigs). In fact, I just pulled Pop Beloved out again for a road trip last weekend and realized that I never, ever get tired of it. That is one bloody brilliant album.

So I hope you guys know that I keep playing you for people, always getting someone new into the Reivers. You made such a difference in many of our lives, and you obviously continue to do so. I seriously hope to see your music show up on iTunes one day soon so that the rest of the world can finally figure out what we Reivers fans have known for so long.

Thanks, guys.
-Jennifer Calvin (Aug. 6, 2005)