An intro to your humble blogger

"What do you love about music?" "To begin with ... everything." It might be cliche to romanticize the "Almost Famous" decrees about music, but there's an inherent truth to that film. William Miller and the Band-Aids got it. I might be a entertainment journalist, but sometimes my own words fail me when showing my appreciation for the medium. My name is Melissa Bobbitt, and I've been a music addict from day one. And there's no cure. Except more cowbell. I was from a young age the kid that for Show and Tell would sing "Yellow Submarine" or brandish my Smashing Pumpkins b-sides box when the other tykes were bringing merit badges or their pets. From the beginning, music was my redemption badge, my pet project. It was an escape, but it was also the most real, tangible truth in my life. The truth -- sermonized by Billy Corgan, Fiona Apple, Ben Gibbard, Kathleen Hanna, Conor Oberst, Billie Joe Armstrong and of course Lennon/McCartney -- set me free, and set me on a rewarding and unparalleled career path. I've written for some of my all-time favorite magazines, including Alternative Press and Venus Zine, and spent a year contributing to the Smashing Pumpkins' website. I'm now the proprietor at BandCrab and regularly contribute to PopMatters. I've talked Basquiat with Lars Ulrich, had Evan Dando serenade me with Bob Dylan impressions and had Shirley Manson tell me I was her kind of woman. What a dream come true for this music nerd. And what an honor it is to be blogging for PhantEye. I hope to share with you all here fresh, exciting sounds and re-familiarize you with old favorites. To music: the universal truth.

- Melissa