Queen Amaranthine

I love the stories here! First the employees at grocery stores look too young to be working there. Then young drivers look too young to have licenses. Next, a doctor is surprisingly young, and your children's teachers too. Then you realize your dentist or optometrist or someone you've see semi-regularly for eons is close to retirement and will probably be replaced soon with some kid. My chiropractor is very young, but no problem--he's fantastic at explaining things, friendly, efficient, and highly professional. For some reason, my 26th and 36th birthday were bitter pills (the 26 one now se

"Drag-ass snag" says so much about the big and little frustrations and setbacks in life!

I still hear (oh, oh) get well soon on I Might as (oh, oh) we'll see... I like the kind of shrug-off cynicism in the lyrics that my ears hear. Fits the song! Not misheard lyrics, but lyric-related: the other day my son came across a forgotten plastic pumpkin in his toybox and said, "This is where I'll put my leftover candy from Halloween." I almost said, "Dude, you transposed a couple of words there," but I've learned to keep my mouth shut regarding All Things Wilco when nonfans are involved.

I agree. The one time I heard it live was when they moved it from later in setlists to be the first song (late last year). The placement change was a good idea--the audience was attentive early in the show. Beautiful song to hear live, although I can see why it doesn't work so well live long-term, for reasons given above. On the album, though, it pulls me in most every time. I'll finish up The Whole Love and think, I'm not in the mood for something somber. However, if I don't stop the CD before those guitars kick on for OSM, I'm pulled into the musical flow and the story in the song.

I didn't have that MJ album. Did have Thriller, though, when it was new, and the only MJ album I had. T My first "grown up" album:

Death Cab for Cutie is great, until after a few songs you realize that they are all pretty much the same song/tune with different lyrics.

Cool Beatles fan experience!

Absolutely. As a kid I liked Wings, but looking back, those songwriters' separate careers show the dividing line between syrupy pop and artsy disillusionment. The mix of those and the songwriting chemistry between the two, though, was an instance of the stars properly aligning. Can't think of any songs offhand I don't like, but must admit I tune out ones mentioned earlier that are overplayed. I don't know the Beatles' entire catalog, I must confess, but I'm most drawn to their mid-career stuff, 1965-68 or thereabouts, for reasons I can't pinpoint. Lyrics? Sound style? Not sure. Maybe off t

That art museum is cool, inside and out. The "sails" are moveable and do so daily. It's right on the lake--beautiful view.

I love Milwaukee. It's unfortunately overlooked because it's so close to Chicago. Chicago is more exciting, of course, but the advantage to Milwaukee is that it's not as sprawling and therefore much easier and quicker to get around. But then, this is an Iowa hick talking! Best yet is Minneapolis/St. Paul, but that is off topic here. Definitely check out the Riverwalk. Lots of cheese marts and great restaurants there. Boat tours too. Any brewery tour or beer museum is a good bet. I've not been to it yet, but I've heard that the Harley Davidson museum is fun, even if you're not a motorcycl

Really funny! Best is Glenn's quip about being a parent, drinking 10 times as much as he used to. He ought to consider himself lucky...as a busy parent, if only I had the time to drink. As for Jeff's mom's advice--it really isn't bad advice. We can't rely on others to complete us or make us feel not alone. That whole "you complete me" line fairy tale could doom a lot of relationships.

Just noticed this this morning--I'm assuming it happened after I voted for a photo in the contest, or maybe it was even back when I ordered tickets to see the band last winter--I don't access the Wilco website often. When I go to wilcoworld.net, my name shows up in a little box in the upper right corner. I don't recall signing up for that? It freaked me out a little (this whole social media and connection to the world thing is still all just weird to me--sometimes I feel like it's the stasi collecting information!). When I click on it, it brings up a profile. It's empty because I haven't enter

At first I read the transcript there, but then decided I had to hear Jeff sing that Duke Ellington lyric.

I remember reading that article shortly after it was published. All I thought and felt about it has already been eloquently expressed here. Anxiety, panic, and depression really can take over one's life. I love that he is open about what he has been through and the connection between music, creativity, expression, and healing. He is also fortunate to have people in his life who are supportive. Not everyone is supportive when their loved ones or friends fall apart.

I wasn't wild about that either. FB and Twitter are fine in general, but it's weird that they have been required for participating in the photo contest and voting. Being in either one feels like being in a fishbowl anyway.

That's a great one too. The Canada novel above made me think of these. The companion DVD is interesting and funny too:

How do you like this? This is one of my all-time favorites! I listened to it on CD in my car, and the guy who read it was hilarious with the aunt's line "raised you by hand!" There's more humor in Dicken's work than he gets credit for. And lots of insight and riveting plots, too. The Simon Callow show sounds like fun; report back here afterwards?

Fantastic, creative photos there!

Sorry if I'm contributing too much here! I was going through photos the other day and came across this that I took a few years ago. It's a sphinx moth, I think. Floating fast like a hummingbird....

That would be my husband's interest level in Wilco too. As much as I'd love to share my Wilco passion with my family, I've decided to keep the band as my own private Idaho. At least for now--we'll see what my kids are interested in in the next few years.

Does anyone notice if the other guys in the band wear the same shirts repeatedly? Maybe Jeff or the band as a whole is trying to travel light when on the road. Less luggage, less hassle. Or maybe it is OCD. Or maybe Jeff just wants to get us talking.

I've only seen Art of Almost so far--excellent choice and energetic performance. Jimmy Fallon seemed genuinely thrilled to have Wilco there. I rarely catch Fallon's show (not for lack of interest--just not enough hours in a day, cliche but true). Is he always so excited about musical guests, or is Wilco just special?

OCD in action, maybe! Yeah, I agree, it's his choice, but still, I'm ready to pass out after just a few minutes out in this heat wearing light summer gear, so I don't know how he's doing it on stage under hot lights. Based on one of the recent pictures posted in Facebook, it looks like Mikeal and John are wearing long sleeves too!?