Queen Amaranthine

Well said, Roadhse ma. Donna, congrats to your son! 9/11 touched and continues to touch our communities in many ways. Last week my workplace did a drive for thank-yous for our local fire dept. and police station for the 10 year mark, with beautiful signed banners, cards, etc., etc. It was featured in the local newspaper yesterday, a small but touching tribute. Personally: Since 9/11, I've had 2 kids, which has been a big, positive change in my life. In part it was the resulting anxiety from 9/11 and the realization that life is short and delicate that made my husband and I decide to have

It seems to be about the change of pace from previous albums. When it was first released, I had a really hard time getting into it, but for some reason I felt like trying it again a few months ago and it's been a frequent flyer in my car CD player ever since. Some songs' lyrics are more simple in some of the songs than in previous albums, so that might be a factor too. There isn't quite as much of the poetic essence. Initially maybe that was part of my inability to appreciate it at first--it's hard to say. Now I think it's lovely. I actually like the songs mentioned above. The idea in Leav

Purchase! I wish that had been around when my kids were babies, especially my son. If it weren't for Baby Einstein lullaby classics and a big rocker-recliner chair, no one in my house would ever have gotten any sleep. Through that classics selection I developed an appreciation for classical music, particularly the Romantic era. Jeff Tweedy solo show boots were great for soothing my son to sleep too, especially the song Remember the Mountain Bed.

Classics, mostly: any of the French Impressionists, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Dali, and some modernist stuff like Matisse. Those Betriz Milhazes paintings are beautiful! I don't follow many current/post-modern artists, although it's fun to go to modern art museums just to see something unique or off the wall and soak up the creative vibes.

"He takes all his words from the (poems) that you don't read anyway." Dickinson is fantastic...and that's a very cool lyric writing process.

Yes, Garamond! Classic, definitely. In some ways it looks like a dated/old font, but I too use it often because it is one of the most readable/easy readability fonts. That and Calibri, partly because it too is a simple font, partly because it's default in my Word and sometimes I'm too lazy to scroll for something else! Still, Candara wins my heart overall, even though it's not practical for everything. LOVE the font humor links above! It reminded me of this, which I'd forgotten about. Courier is one ugly font, but I'm sure it has its loveable points. http://www.cronknews...es-war-on-fon

I like this! In a roundabout way it makes me think about how over the summer I tried to clean out and downsize stuff in our house, but ironically it was a complicated mountain of time, energy, and organization just to try to simplify! Mixed success there. What, no random thoughts alllowed?! All the busy-ness and distractions in our society are leading to ADD in us all, I swear. Yes, it IS hard to keep up! It's overwhelming. For me, it's a blend of age, trying to keep up with technology, busy work, and busy family. Better busy than too much time on my hands, though.

Trebuchet is an excellent font. Clean and simple works, definitely. I totally agree with what that NPR features says about comic sans. It's a fun font, but soooo misused and overused.

I couldn't have said it better myself! I'm the same age as Jeff, and the whole life stages part could be some of my tendency to relate to the music. Still, though, I can listen to older albums and relate to some degree. I didn't know about Wilco until I was in my mid-30s and wonder how I'd have connected (or not) had I heard Being There or AM when they first came out. Many of the lyrics and the messages in the songs would have spoke to me even then, but the twang in most of those tunes might've scared me off! Too much banjo than I could have handled in my 20's/early 30's! The first tim

Do you have a favorite font? This font feature is on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2...ype?sc=fb&cc=fp I'm a Candara fan myself.

Des Moines! December 4! It's been a few years--I need to make it to this one!

That is what makes it so tough to rank. I'd be able to more easily rank songs than entire albums. While BT wouldn't make #1 on my list, Far Far Away is probably my very favorite Wilco song. At this very moment, anyway.

The lyrics alone are great! Wistful...

I agree that it depends on the kid. As much as I hope my kids will become Wilco/Tweedy fans someday, I wouldn't take them to see either yet, and probably won't for quite some time--and I must brace myself for the possibility that maybe they won't ever want to go. They're 4 and 6 now, and their young attention spans wander even from things they love (except Spongebob episodes--arrrrgg). We went to the zoo a couple a weeks ago and had fun, but they were ready to go long before my husband and I were. A few months ago I took them to a musical for children, and every few minutes my son asked me,

Very cool! And I love the "rock-star-next-door" phrase. The numerous fan tribute compilations we see here in VC are arguably more of a complement and honor than other bands covering Wilco songs.

SBS is beautiful, even though it took me a long time to get into it. Just the other day I was raving about it in a different topic here. I had wondered if SBS had hooked in many fans. It's great to hear that it has! For me it was YHF that drew me in. Wonder if the timing had been different, if a different Wilco album would have had the ability to pull me in instead?

Quote feature isn't working, so this is an old school copy-paste: "Surprised to see Sky Blue Sky getting so much more love than Wilco (The Album). Not that I don't agree, but the tides seem to be changing on SBS—deservedly." It took me a LONG time to warm up to SBS, and when I did, I was hooked as much as I've been to the previous albums. In fact, it wasn't until this spring that I got SBS out again. When it first came out I was just ready for a break from Wilco. Nothing in SBS spoke to me or sounded right at the time. I remember halfway listening to You Are My Face and thinking, I'm not sur

I honestly can't rank them! Once upon a time #1 would have been YHF easily, but as things in my life change, I find that different songs and albums mean different things to me and I appreciate each one in its own way. Right now I am heavily into SBS, but I can't say where I'd rank it.

I like the song and the magazine cover--the picture has a subtle energy of being on the verge of bursting into "I Might." And look at those shoes--does Jeff Tweedy not have the best shoes in rock & roll? There ought to be a Grammy category just for that.

The seeds have been planted for some time! It's a matter of working out the logistics someday for sure.

That is great that you guys are passing on the love to your kids! I'm working on mine. My husband recorded Wilco at Farm Aid from TV and it's still on the DVR. My husband's not much of a fan but is willing to humor my obsession now and then. Once in awhile we'll play it and the kids dance to Hoodoo Voodoo. The rest of that show they're not so enthused about, yet. We listen to Wiggleworm Dads on CD in the car sometimes, and they have requested it more than once. No wild Wilco or Tweedy enthusiasm yet, though. I'll keep working on them. I'm patient.

Being an at-home mom all summer to a 4- and 5-year old means that "accomplishment" isn't a word in my vocabulary! We are all ready to go back to school and work. Our "big" vacation was to Minneapolis--the Nickelodeon amusement park was a huge hit. Personal accomplishment: I'm not running so late for things anymore. It was one of my summer goals, because I'm tired of scrambling and being late and that anxiety that comes with it. For years I've been running a bit late to practically everything. Yesterday I got the kids to swim lessons right on time and wouldn't you know it, the lesson before

Spongebob is a a trip even when you're fully sober! I wonder if it syncs up to the Wizard of Oz? This is another creative, silly-funny one specifically aimed at kids (preschoolers in this case) that is said (I personally wouldn't know, for the record!) to double on another level as grown-up stoner humor. My kids have outgrown this show, but for awhile it was a big hit with them and it really sparked their creativity and sense of humor. However, considering that these guys have since been stand-ups at Australia's Marijuana Monologues, it's understandable why they chose to do just one season o

My kids are really into Spongebob this summer, so we've watched this movie again...and again...and again. It is very funny!

Thanks for sharing this! Even though I have heard Jeff talk about the creative process before, it's always nice to hear and a spark for me to be more creative in my everyday life, a needed reminder from time to time. Funny how he has that same starry admiration for Obama the way fans have for him.