mpolak21

Yeah, there's really nothing else that needs to be said about this, this is spot on. --Mike

Kind of surprised Sky Blue Sky made their cut, I seem to remember they were a little down on the album when they actually reviewed it. I have no problem with Ghost at four, but I'd probably have Yankee at one. --Mike

P4K gives it a... 8.1. Should be higher, but it's a pretty spot on review. --Mike

A pretty good book exists in there, but his focus is a little off. The stuff about his childhood is great, the stuff about his stint on the AMC show and his attempts to settle some scores really isn't that interesting. And his writing style can be a little distracting, still it is a pretty enjoyable read, and I've always liked his stuff on the AV club. --Mike

. My neighbors are becoming intimately familiar with the phrase "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I am on my way." --Mike

I have finally gotten around to seriously listening to Gabriel era Genesis after I read the thread in JAF that compared Muzzle of Bees to Stagnation. I am vaguely familiar with the Collins era radio hits, and "You Have Your Own Special Way" was on a lot of my Dad's mix tapes, but other than that I really didn't know a lot about their music. So I picked up Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, Trespass, and well it's all I've listened to in the last week. I've always dug Gabriel's solo stuff, and these albums are really incredible. I like just about everything about them, and I've been kick

If Boise keeps winning though, I am not sure they'll drop in the polls. The computer polls will be a little down on them, but if they finish the season in the Top Two (which would be unlikely, but possible) I don't know if the computer polls have enough weight to sink them out of it. I am just kind of foreseeing another 2007, where all of the big teams are going to lose at least once or twice and if that happens, and Boise runs the table, I'd certainly think an undefeated Boise should get a look over a two-loss SEC champion or a two-loss Big 12 champ. But all of this will be moot if Florida an

Boise State is ranked fifth already, the way this season is going, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if they end up playing for the national championship. Which would continue to support my theory that the Mountaineers should have poached their coach, Chris Petersen, after Rodriguez done left us. --Mike

I know they haven't beaten anybody yet, but if they knock off the Cowboys next week, they'll be 4-0, with a game against the Raiders and two games against the Chiefs on their schedule. They always play the Steelers and the Pats well, and I could see them beating the Redskins and maybe even pulling off an upset over the Eagles. They could easily be this year's Dolphins, sort of decent team that takes advantage of an easy schedule and pulls out some lucky wins. They could also easily finish 3-13, you never know. I am almost ready to give up trying to predict what's going to happen in the NFL.

Yeah, Pat can be really fun to watch on the more rocking numbers-- Hoodoo Voodoo, I'm a Wheel, Walken, the Being There "rockers", but there are times when he tries a little too hard to be a goof ball and kind of kills the mood for me. I don't really need him smashing the maracas into the organ on I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Still, he's really used well on the quieter tracks, his acoustic guitar on Muzzle of Bees is fantastic, and his switching from guitar to organ on You Are My Face is pretty solid as well. I am always going to wish Leroy Bach had hung around, but Sansone is all right,

Sigh... Times like these I wish I had more than CBS/ABC and occasionally the public television channels at my apartment. --Mike

I don't know about that. The Browns really look like the worst team in football, there just nothing that team does well. Cribbs is the only player that scares me on either side of the ball. It's so bad right now, when I got a taunting e-mail after the Steelers/Bengals game from my Uncle, who is a Browns fan, I didn't even fire back something about the Ravens game. At this point, he's suffering enough. The Rams, Buccaneers, Chiefs and Redskins look equally putrid, it's going to be a banner year for really bad teams, I think. --Mike Edit: And now the Dolphins look boned as well: ESPN: So

Holy smokes what a play by Farve. I still think the combination of an aging quarterback plus a barely competent coach is going to equal disaster for the Vikes down the stretch, but they finally beat a team with a pulse. Congrats, btw, to the Lions. --Mike

Pernice wrote a novel!? I loved his 33 1/3 Meat is Murder book, what's this one like? --Mike

Yeah, same here. There's just no real way for me to fathom what going through something like this would be like, and I don't really think there's any "right" way to handle it, you know. As long she isn't hurting anyone and it's true (which given everything I know about John Philips, this certainly isn't exactly a stretch of the imagination), I am not particularly interested in judging her. --Mike

Found this on DVD for like six bucks at Half Price Books, usually any Altman is worth at least a peak. --Mike

Slightly obscure Illinois author from the 70's, who sadly isn't even the most famous author named Mark Costello. His stuff is a pretty amazing mix of Kerouac, early Denis Johnson and Raymond Carver. It's probably the most exciting thing I've found this year. And cuing up... --Mike

That's probably my favorite show of theirs. By this time, Mike had actually joined the Bach/Tweedy/Stirratt/Kotche four piece. He was usually stage right (where Pat is now) sometimes up near Glenn's kit. For awhile he only had a laptop and like one synth (in his famous "laptop boy" stage), but I think by this time, he had his own keyboard rig. Most of the synths and all of the noise samples from this recording where handled by the Jorgenstorm. --Mike

Dear Ralph Malph, With the current climate of the Just a Fan thread seeming as unsure as it's ever been on how to enjoy Wilco, what are your thoughts on how to enjoy Wilco this fall? Should we drink until we think Summerteeth is their newest album? Should we call Bob Egan pretending to be Jeff Tweedy and invite him back into the band? What are your thoughts? Thanks as always, --Mike.

Oh, I wish I had seen this before I reported him too. Oh well, guess the mods will have some reading to do tonight. But anyway, yeah the post was completely unacceptable. --Mike

The "you don't get Nels Cline in your band and then make an America record" one was brilliant. --Mike

If you like the longer, jammier versions of the song, the two Loose Fur versions from 12/6 and 12/7 are nice and each run in the 15 minute range. The 8/31/2002 Wilco Vancover version is Soundboard quality, and is a really great performance. My favorite show with How To Fight Loneliness leading into NTFS is the 11/2/2002 Tampa show (it's worth grabbing this entire gig, if you have the space, by the way, it's great). And the last full band performance is from the 9/4/2003 Eugeno, OR show, which is also SBD, and a great pick up. All of these and many more can be downloaded in lossless quality

Vibes, dude. Hope everything works out for the better. I'd echo Maddie's comments, twelve is a pretty weird age emotionally anyway, I wouldn't take any of this too hard. --Mike

Fascinating listen, great find Spark. --Mike